Katty's Log

[Katty]

Wanted to start a log to help keep track of things. This first post will have TMI for those interested in reading =)

DOSING PAST: So I switched from Nature-throid to T4/T3 (generic) synthetic on Monday, 6/16/14. Started with 56.25mcg of T4 and 12.5mcg of T3. 2 weeks later started getting VERY depressed, haven't felt this bad in years. So on 7/21/14 (exactly 5 weeks later) I lowered the T4 dose to 46.8mcg. Depression went away pretty much that day.
On 8/2/14, I switched from synthetic T4 to cynomel for 3 days, same dose of 12.5mcg (from online pharm)-- Felt horrible for those 3 days. Muscles really tight and painful, a little loopy, and what felt like a caffeine withdrawal headache. Temp went up to 99.7 at one point, and oddly, my pulse went down to 82 pretty consistently. Had to switch back to generic T3 on 8/5/14. Felt better immediately. But this means I'll have to rely on Dr for Rx and can't order online. I also lowered my T3 dose down to 10mcg on 8/5/14. I did this because I suspected that the cynomel was more potent (extreme muscle tightness, headaches, etc... maybe indicated was pushing me too hard and I needed more minerals). I had slight muscle tension and caffeine headache on the 12.5mcg of the generic T3, so that's why I lowered dose.

DEPRESSED/DOSE: On 8/8/14, felt really depressed in the afternoon. It's almost 2 weeks after lowering my T4 to 46.8mcg... wondering if I should lower T4 even more. However, I also lowered T3 a few days ago from 12.5mcg to 10mcg. Maybe I just need more T3. Decisions- ack! Hair also shedding a bit more for past 3 days or so (need more T3?) Had the loose stools today 8/8/14 (see below) so maybe the depression was from sudden loss of minerals, and not the T4/T3 meds.

TEMP/PULSE: Ever since going on cynomel for a few days, my pulse has had occasions of being much lower than usual, even now that I'm back on the generic T3 for a few days. For past 3 years, my pulse is pretty much always at 90. But since cynomel, there are several times where it's around 82. And temp was really high on cynomel (though it was just before menstruation). Not sure if this means my metabolism is dropping as my body adjusts to the T3. Or maybe it is a good sign, that the T3 is finally lowering my stress hormones so my pulse doesn't have to be so high. Hard to say. I haven't been checking temp as much past few days.
Been getting extra hot, though this probably started with the B1 in spring, even before switching to T4/T3. When on cynomel for those 3 days, I would get hot, sweat it out, and then get cold-- meds pushing me too hard? Had a few times of cold hands since switching back to generic T3 as well.
Wondering if the excessive sweating I've been having is really a cortisol problem, and not a good warm from thyroid. How do I tell the difference?

PERIOD: came on Day 27 (8/6/14)-- miraculous because it's usually been a bit late (day 30-32 for past several months). And no fake spotting or cramping first-- just came and stayed-- wa hoo! Did have a slightly lighter Day on Day 1, and then morning of Day 2 and into day had some mild cramping, but pretty easily controllable with food and aspirin. A bit tired, on Day 2, but not excessively. Because period came on Day 27, I think my body seems to like the T4/T3 instead of the natural desiccated. (If I stay on lower dose of T3 at 10mcg, check when period comes next month to make sure dose is sufficient)

MAGNESIUM: Can't take full baths at the moment, so I've been doing some epsom foot baths. Also spray with magnesium oil approx 2x/day. I thought it wasn't enough so I made some magnesium bicarbonate (milk of mag plus seltzer)-- about 1.5 weeks ago I took a small dose 2 nights in a row- about 120mg. I slept really hard those nights and was still sleepy next morning-- but I think it irritated my stomach- gassy/scratchy intestines. I took some more again last night to try it (didn't measure, but about 70-100mg). Slept hard again... stomach was fine in the morning, but had loose stools in the afternoon and stomach uncomfortable after. To note: the depression came on after those loose stools (when magnesium left my body?)
I've been noticing a bit more odor from my underarms the past 8 weeks or so. Maybe the T4/T3 is pushing my metabolism, meaning I need more minerals. Adding magnesium has often helped with body odor in past. Interestingly, I had no underarm odor today... until after the loose stools this afternoon. Does magnesium leave my body in the stools? Frustrating that it does seem to help with body odor and sleep, but then messes with my stomach. The epsom foot baths and mag oil on skin don't seem to be potent enough. Maybe I'll look into ordering some mag glycinate and see how my tummy handles that.

Things to think about adding in:
-Magnesium glycinate
-Niacinamide
-More regular aspirin?
-zinc
-Vit B6
-B12?
-chromium

 

[Peata]

Hi, just a few comments. I do think magnesium can be lost in stools/diarrhea. I take magnesium glycinate. It doesn't seem to cause diarrhea for me, and I like that it has glycine, another Peat-friendly substance. For aspirin, when I take it, I like plain Alka Seltzer. I can mix it with beverages or take on its own. It has baking soda in it too, another Peat-friendly thing.

 

[Katty]

Hi, just a few comments. I do think magnesium can be lost in stools/diarrhea. I take magnesium glycinate. It doesn't seem to cause diarrhea for me, and I like that it has glycine, another Peat-friendly substance. For aspirin, when I take it, I like plain Alka Seltzer. I can mix it with beverages or take on its own. It has baking soda in it too, another Peat-friendly thing.

Thanks Peata! I think I will order a mag glycinate... it will be nice to get some glycine in too because I can't really tolerate much gelatin.
I have a powdered aspirin that I use. I'm a little worried about using an antacid (like alka seltzer) because it seems to halt my digestion a bit and then my gallbladder flips out. I even take sips of apple cider vinegar (a watered down version) to help with digestion/gallbladder when I eat a lot of fat or protein, so I think the antacid might be counterproductive for me.
My other concern with using aspirin regularly is that I think I've had a mild-ish allergy to it. When I first started using it a lot, I was itchy and would get a stuffy nose. Now I usually only use it for menstrual cramps, and it's ok. But if I use too much, I sometimes wake up with a stuffy nose the next morning.

 

[Katty]

Depression might be creeping in again. Been very irritable last few days. I know I didn't eat enough on Sunday (today is Monday), so perhaps that is the problem. I ate the usual number of calories today so I don't know why I'm feeling this way- maybe I still need to make up for yesterday. It gets particularly bad in afternoon and evening. I guess the 37-40mcg of T4 isn't necessarily making the difference (On last Friday, day of Dr appt, I lowered my T4 to 37mcg- which maybe was a poor choice, but I did feel better for a day or two on that lower dose, and taking half of my pill was easier than trying to cut off more little pieces)... unless I need to lower it again? Though hair is falling out at a higher rate the last 1-2 weeks, which makes me think T4 actually needs to be higher.
Just had blood test again, waiting for Dr to call with results. Maybe that will give me more data points.
Trying to keep telling myself that this depression isn't "real," just a result of my incorrect thyroid meds. Arg.

And been getting some gallbladder/liver and pancreas pains the last few days-- I'm on Day 13, so should be around or just before ovulation. Tried a new skim milk (organic valley, lactose free, some added vitamins)- just had it, and my liver area is a little achy now =( Not positive if it's the milk, but something I need to keep a watch on.

 

[Katty]

Received my recent lab results and I'm a little confused.
After being on 1.25 grains of Nature-throid for a while (maybe a year or so?), here were my labs result on 6/13/14:
TSH: .54 (range: .3-5.0)
Free T3 2.6 2.0-4.4 pg/mL
Free T4 0.76 0.80-1.80 ng/dL

After these results, I went on synthetic T3 and T4 (both generic) - started with 56mcg of T4 and 12.5mcg of T3. Eventually lowered to 46mcg of T4 for about 4 weeks and 10mcg of T3. Then had the following labs done on 8/13/14:
TSH 1.90 0.30-5.00 mcIU/mL
Free T3 2.7 2.0-4.4 pg/mL
Free T4 0.74 0.80-1.80 ng/dL

I didn't take my meds the day of the lab. T3 and T4 are essentially the same, but TSH jumped up quite a bit. What gives?

Also, I'm wondering if the armpit odor isn't because I'm using up minerals more quickly, but because my body doesn't like something in the T3 or T4 I'm taking.

Dr wants me to take 75mcg of T4 and 10mcg of T3. Then test again in 6 weeks. Even though I know that the ratio of T4/T3 is not what Peat recommends, I'm inclined to my follow my Dr at least for these 6 weeks to see where I'm at. I'm kind of bummed because I felt like I was starting to make some progress 8 weeks ago before switching to the synthetic T4/T3.

Zinc on blood test was also low-- Dr wants me to take 30mg for 3 months. I'm also taking Vit E now.

Also wondering if my weight gain is from being on thyroid meds. I was probably gaining a little weight before going on them (though I think I probably needed to gain at least a little at that time). But I've been gaining weight like crazy the last 2 years and I'm wondering if my body is just not diggin' the thyroid meds. Seems counterintuitive--- if I wasn't feeling great, how could a little natural desiccated thyroid hurt?

Also, my appetite has dropped a bit the last few days. And digestion is a little wonky-- I took activated charcoal 2 night in a row (about 1/2 tbsp in water before bed)--- bowels were a bit slow the next 2 days. I also tried some milk products and I'm wondering if they're responsible for the digestion issues. I hate when my appetite drops because nothing sounds good to eat and then getting enough calories in is such a chore.

 

[Katty]

Digestion was bad all week. Had intestinal pains (near ileosecal valve, some pancreas, near right ovary- pain even went to pirofrmis area). Not sure if the Activated Charcoal I took for 2 nights at the beginning of the week diluted my digestive juices/stomach acid and caused the problems. Also not sure why the pain is lasting so long. Haven't had a week of digestive pain this bad in a while.
Used about 1/3 tsp of aspirin powder most days... not sure if it's doing anything.

I want to add Taurine to the list of possible supplements to try... I have a few other things I want to add in first, but maybe the taurine will help with bile production and I won't get as many gallbladder/digestive issues.

Body odor still going on... switching to the brand Synthroid this coming Monday night (after pick up Rx). Hopefully that will help.

I think part of the problem is I'm having trouble getting enough calories in again. I'm about at 1800 usually, but if I drop for a couple days, it compounds all the bad issues, especially the intestinal pains. Maybe I'll shoot for 2000 calories for a while.
Still can't figure out how to increase protein. Really haven't had an appetite for chicken or meats lately. I've been getting 90-100g on good days, but still struggling.

 

[Katty]

Just got back from a 5 day vacation. Before I left, I had really bad intestinal, ovarian, liver pains and digestion was off. Taking the activated charcoal for 2 nights in a row seemed to set off this reaction. As soon as I got on the plane going away, my pains felt better. And I didn't have the pains during the trip. Also, I went from being a tad more constipated to having slightly loose stools. The vacation didn't solve everything- still had acne, was tired and wanted to nap a lot. But the tightness in my muscles and those stomach pains went away.
Returned home last night, and even today I feel like I have more energy. I did sleep for a good 9.5 hours straight, so that could be a part of it. But I'm surprised because I didn't eat enough food on vacation. It seems most people eat more calories on vacation but I have trouble getting in enough food. I think the biggest reason is because I'm gluten free--- I'll eat anything else on vacation, but I'm not ready to try gluten again. Which makes eating out tricky.
So in any event, it's interesting that even when eating less food, I still feel like I have more energy this first day back from vacation because of the reduced stress during the trip.
I also think I'm about to get my period which always gives me some relief physically (either the high progesterone right before, or possibly the estrogen lowering just as I get my period), so perhaps that's part of the reason I feel pretty good.

It's nice to feel a bit better (obviously)... but also frustrating because I know I have to go back to work tomorrow and have deadlines and stress again. It's a bit easier to control certain things in my diet than it is to control certain life stressors. I think I need to work on meditating again and/or getting some exercise.

I also didn't really take supplements (other than my thyroid meds) while on vacation, and I didn't eat much dairy. Skin still wasn't great (kind of that constant rash) but no big cysts.

 

[Peata]

I think a vacation reduces stress enough that it gives a taste of how things could be if we could find good stress reduction at home too. Obviously a vacation doesn't solve everything - I still had some issues on my beach trip too, but some things did seem to improve while there. Maybe the stress-reduction of a trip shows us what we need to work on back home for sure, and the things that seem to go away on the vacation are things that wouldn't bug us at home either if we could only reduce stress there? Because reducing stress could overcome a multitude of things that might not be "ideal" otherwise. Just my .02.

 

[Katty]

Thanks for your thoughts, Peata! I agree, interesting what happens when the everyday stress is taken away. Trying to figure out how to cultivate that atmosphere on a daily basis, but it's not so easy.

 

[Katty]

On Day 28 started getting phantom cramps. Not really painful, but I could feel activity in the area. However, no bleeding. Also, on Day 28 or 29 the pre-menstrual breast swelling went down. On Day 31, light light bleeding, and then on Day 32 (today), full on bleeding and cramps. Cramps are worse than they've been in a while. Not debilitating, but worse than usual. Not sure if it's because I haven't been eating enough, or if it's a problem with my thyroid meds. This is my first month on 75 mcg of T4 (synthroid) and on 10mcg of T3. I know this isn't a Peat approved ratio, but I'm trying out my Dr's recommendation for a while. So perhaps I need more T3 or less T4.

Also, libido kicked in around Day 29 or so. Usually libido is highest for me lately around days 2-7 of cycle. So it's like my body thinks it is already menstruating around Day 2, but the bleeding actually takes a couple more days to start. Still not sure what this late bleeding is about. I know in another thread (with Peata) we discussed this is likely a problem of high estrogen in relation to progesterone- but it's weird that the breast swelling goes down and the libido kicks in, but no bleeding.

I still have the body odor issue, so changing from generic T4 to synthroid didn't make a difference. Wondering if I should go back on Nature-throid. I've only been on the 75mcg of synthroid for 2 weeks, so I'll give it the full 6 before deciding. I do think the separate T3 is better than just the nature-throid alone... not sure if I can get my Dr to prescribe it for me though.

 

[Katty]

Day 3 of cycle, in the evening, started getting depressed again. Not sure if it's because I haven't been eating enough, or if it's something I ate this evening, or if it's where I'm at hormonally in my cycle... frustrating that it just comes on but I can't figure out the cause. It definitely started after switching from Nature-throid to synthetic T4/T3. Maybe the new meds are pushing me too much and I'm not getting enough minerals/calories?

Also, did an epson salt foot bath tonight. They're not really helping mood anymore. And my feet ache worse tonight after the foot bath.

---------
EDITED: Just ate a snack... mood lifted a bit. Clearly I need more calories. I still have a bit of a fear--- I keep gaining weight, yet I'm not eating enough.
I'd eat more if I could get more protein in--- I have intolerances to Peat approved proteins (particularly dairy and gelatin) so I'm not sure how to do this. This has been my biggest problem over the last few years: how to get more protein? I have some potato juice resting in the fridge-- I'll try some tomorrow night, hopefully that will be a good protein addition.

 

[Katty]

Have some new temp and pulse data. Haven't taken temp in a while. I take pulse throughout day at work and it's pretty much always around 90.
Last night, took temp at bedtime- it was 98.6. I was a little hungry at bedtime, feet a little colder than usual. Woke up an hour or two before time to get up, very hungry. But stayed in bed and fell right back to sleep. Took pulse when I got up - it was 98.6. Had breakfast-- I'm always warm and sweaty after breakfast. Temp was 99.6-- hmm, better take pulse. Pulse was 110-- ack!!! So this seems bad. Got to work, pulse came down a bit, around 105 or so. Ate usual morning snack with some salt and egg shell calcium. Still felt hungry and a bit on edge (like maybe adrenaline-ish). So went out and got another snack (non-Peaty- 1/2 a gluten free donut... yes, it was delicious!). Hands got very warm after the snack (but in a slightly different way than how I was warm/sweaty before), and I felt calmer and very sleepy. I haven't felt sleepy during the day like that in a very long time. Pulse kept coming down, about 95, and then eventually 92.
So, this info makes me suspect that I've been running on adrenaline ever since switching to my synthetic thyroid supps... or at least since the latest dose (75mcg of T4, 10mcg of T3)- because the donut seemed to turn off the adrenaline response. And it lets me know I should be eating more. Still having trouble eating more foods that are Peaty approved because I still can't tolerate gelatin or much dairy or eggs. Eating a ton of sugar (fruits, juice, sugar syrup, soda) takes the edge off a bit, but not like something starchy (donut!).

It's hard to catch this issue if it is an adrenaline thing because my temps and pulse are high and go higher after eating (well, except after the donut)... but after breakfast, the temp and pulse went up, not down. So it's hard to spot this issue as adrenaline. Perhaps maybe cortisol was involved instead? I feel like I can't always tell if cortisol is involved in my physical reactions.

Also, afternoon snack didn't cut it- smoothie and cheese. So I tried to take another bite of the donut... my body said no, I could tell it didn't want it. So I had dried fruit instead. But it still wasn't enough. Got home, took temp and it was 98.6. So it came down again, which might be good. Hunger kind of went away, but I know my body needs to eat more.

I hate to lower the thyroid meds... need to eat more... why can't i just eat more?!

 

[gummybear]

Gurl you need cyproheptadine

 

[Katty]

Hey Gummybear... I haven't looked into cyproheptadine yet. It's on the list but there are so many other things I was thinking I should try first.
What specifically in my post made you think I need it? It's like an anti-histamine, correct? Will it help me tolerate more dairy and gelatin? Or is there something about it that will help my adrenaline response?

 

[gummybear]

"why can't i just eat more?!"

Whenever I take cypro I eat alot more than normally. Maybe high serotonin suppresses apetite?

 

[Katty]

Gotcha, OK, thanks for the thought! I actually do have an appetite a lot of the time... but my orthorexia kicks in and I freak out about not being able to stomach any more Peat-approved food, but feeling bad about eating non-Peat foods. So I just don't eat. But I do have an appetite. If I could tolerate dairy and gelatin, I'd feel more comfortable eating a lot more.

 

[tara]

Amongst other things, cyproheptadine stimulates appetite. Sometimes used to treat anorexia. Also anti-histamine and anti-serotonin. If peristalsis is depending on serotonin, I think cyproheptadine may slow it down.

What kinds of protein do you seem to tolerate best? I think getting enough protein is important, even if it is not always perfectly balanced etc. Food you can eat is better than food you can't eat. I'm sorry if I'm asking you to repeat yourself. Is it powdered gelatine you have trouble with? How do you go chewing on the gelatinous bits round joints? Oxtail is super gelatinous. If you are having trouble with milk, are you supplementing calcium - eggshell or oystershell powder? For me, I think progest-e helps with handling milk - can't remember if you are using this.

 

[Katty]

Thanks for all the thoughts Tara! I tolerate liver best. Fish and chicken are ok, I just get soooo sick of them and don't always have an appetite for them (but I still pretty much eat white fish most days for lunch). When I'm in the mood for beef I tolerate it fine, but I'm not always in the mood.
I do a little re-strained greek yogurt every day, and I'm not doing cottage cheese. I also do hard cheese, which I'm trying to eat every day. The problem with the cheeses is that the fat content is so high. It would be easier if I could do skim milk. I also can't really increase my dairy any more because my acne is out of control. (My zinc is low and I'm trying to find a supplement I tolerate... I used to do oysters but they started coming up on me, and they didn't help acne anyway).

Yes, the powdered gelatin (both green can and properly dissolved red can) bother me. I seem to do ok when I prepare gelatin gummies, but I have trouble eating more than about 5 gummies at a time, which is only 5 g of protein. I also get sick of them after a while. I was drinking a massive amount of broth when I first started Peating 3 years ago, but suspected that it was causing digestive troubles. It was too much liquid and I think it was causing nausea.

I can try making more oxtail type stews... it's just hard to measure how much gelatin I'm getting with each nibble. I'm also kind of meh about stew in general. And having to cook up a stew every day doesn't seem practical- or I'd get very sick of eating the same stew made at the beginning of the week.

I do take egg shell calcium. I started with 1/4 tsp 3 times a day and now I do about 1/4 tsp once a day (occasionally twice).

I tried progest-e a couple years ago. Didn't respond well to it and never felt like it did anything for me. I could try it again, but it caused a really unpleasant reaction so I'm anxious about trying it again.

Ack, it sounds like I'm just making excuses for everything. I swear I've tried hard with the diet stuff. After years of restricting, I'm so sick of eating things I don't really like and taking the time to cook things I don't really like.

 

[Katty]

Zinc update. Forgot to write down when I started zinc- the picolinate made me sick, so I started taking about 30mg of zinc gluconate in the form of Cold-eeze. I think that was about 2 weeks ago. I was also occasionally rubbing homemade zinc oxide sunblock on my feet. My skin did seem to get a tad better. I received the powdered zinc gluconate and started taking it about a week ago- 30mg for a couple days, then 50mg for the last 4. I also added in a cold-eeze that last few days, so I was getting 60-65mg of zinc the last couple days. The first few days of the powdered zinc my skin still seemed to be getting a bit better.
But now skin has gotten worse again. Not sure if it was a coincidence that my skin got better for a couple days. Does one's body get used to the dose, requiring an increase? I can try and increase with the powdered zinc to see if that helps. Maybe I'm absorbing better from the cold-eeze for some reason?
Or maybe my body liked the zinc oxide I was rubbing in my feet. Sort of dubious that I would absorb much on my skin, but maybe I'm wrong.

 

[Katty]

Possible thyroid storm and virus/cold last weekend. Stopped thyroid meds (waiting for new blood tests from Dr and doc's rec on what I should do with my meds now). I haven't taken any t4, but I have been doing small bites of t3 (prob less than 5mcg per day). Didn't feel much different until last few days (which was about 1 week off the meds)- started getting nauseous and possible slight gastroparesis. Also getting cold more often, even when temp stays high.
Interestingly, pulse has been lowest it's ever been in the last 3 years, even lower than before I started thyroid meds. I think lowest was about 78, but been around 80 a lot. Perhaps going off the meds is lowering my stress hormones.
However, pulse also jumps back up to 90 too (which is my usual). Temps are still high last few days, generally over 99.0 (which is usual for me, as my period is due in about 4-5 days).

I'm concerned about stopping my meds cold turkey like this. Thinking about doing 37mcg of t4 (which is half of what I was taking) and then sticking with the 10mcg of t3. However, it kind of feels good to be off the meds. Not sure how to describe the sensation, but my body feels looser. Like I didn't even realize my muscles were tight all the time. Been doing 10-15 mins of yoga and stretching the last few days and it doesn't feel like my body is resisting the exercise like it usually does. I really think my body wants to be off the meds... But hard to say since t4 is still in my system, as I've only been off it a little more than a week.

Cortisol last 2 days is worse- wake at 5am really hot. Not sure if this will get better as the meds leave my system, or if it will get worse. It's frustrating though because I didn't have this cortisol issue before going on thyroid meds or before Peating. I think the meds are driving the cortisol, and yet Peat says thyroid meds should lower cortisol. Can't figure out what's going on.