thyroid log - ratio worries

[SQu]

So I'm taking at least 20 mcg t3 in 4-5 doses and it feels good. More t3 than t4 which is not following the ratio but in that peatarian thread he also talks of regular few mcgs throughout day, some t4 at night, and that's about what I'm doing. Did I miss him saying ratio must , any way you look at it, not go lower than 2:1? I can't find anything on that. I know my liver is very poor at converting because t4 builds up in a few days, like 3 or 4 not 10-12 as expected. So I think very little t4 works for me. So far, anyway. About 12 mcg right now. We'll see if it needs adjusting. Time will tell.
Some fructose the past few days feels good too, also calmed an adrenaline spike this afternoon, and got rid of that 'nothing I do makes a difference' feeling. I haven't felt this relaxed in the evening since forever.
One thing it did not do was give me a decent sleep last night. 3/10. Luckily thyroid and coffee turned me back into a sane(ish) human being shortly after breakfast and the day was saved. Going to try swapping t4 to mornings, see if it helps.

 

[SQu]

I think B1 also helped me not turn into a bear last night as per usual. In my notes I see I wrote that it helps lower adrenalin. So that might explain it, not just the fructose. Slightly better sleep 4/10,but doesn't yet feel like T4 in the morning is an improvement over the night. Taking T3 at night did work for me though, and the first part of the night was better than usual as a result. We'll see. I certainly got colder this chilly dark early morning sooner on T4 than T3. Based on just one day's experiment (bit premature to say just yet). T3 is definitely the thing for me, not T4, yet T3 only did not work when I tried that. As RP says, some T4 needed. Very very little in my case??

 

[SQu]

More t3, fructose and ginger has helped a lot with energy, mood, warmth, brain functioning this week . Sleep no better. 3/10. I'm taking t3 during the night too when I wake. Like all other measures, it warms me, gets me back to sleep fast. But it's not getting to sleep that's the problem. It's staying asleep, and feeling rested in the morning. T3 in the night doesn't help there, but it does help me feel far less groggy when I get up. I'm not using glucose properly, I'm sure of it. I.think that's why I don't sleep well, and why fructose as a sugar is like rocket fuel. Sucrose is not working for me as well. Also about half mg cypro twice a day is good, feels very like effect I.get from bcaas.

 

[SQu]

Much better sleep for once, hope it lasts.6/10. I didn't drink milk in the evening or during the night. One wakeup, took aspirin, salt. No sugar. No t3 in night. Big protein meal shortly before bed, was worried because I didn't accompany it with carbs, but no problem. Previous experiments with low protein dinner have not been a success. This + no milk are the opposite of recommendations. But I'll carry on this way, see if I can learn something and get consistent good sleep. Was a zombie.
Taking t3 every 3 hours so 5, maybe 6 x a day and now it's about 5mcg a time im no longer microwaving. 25mcg t3, 12ish t4. Working for me. No hypo or adrenaline backlash so far. Happy!
Now to get glucose metabolizing fixed!

 

[SQu]

MicroDOSING! I'm no longer microdosing. I.don't microwave. Haven't for years.
Less milk. More eggshell. Protein dinner and fruit. More eggs (feel like them). Same thyroid. Salt and aspirin only in the night. Another good night. 6/10. One wakeup.
Two good nights proves nothing yet, but I feel a lot better. holding thumbs it lasts.
Also looked into vit d. Apparently studies done here find sufficient vit d in sunshine year round, best between 11 & 2. Trouble starts with latitudes beyond 35, this is 26 and very sunny. Sitting in it now to get my dose, until it gets too hot. Beats silicon dioxide in supps (I hope)! Got to change my ways as I Was Sun phobic for years as my skin is fair.

 

[SQu]

Sleep degenerated again. Gradually getting back to awful. Changed nothing the past 3days. Also put on a bit more belly fat. I'm not metabolizing glucose it seems. I'm eating less, not none as that is what broke it in the first place. Unsure how much I should have. Having more caffeine, niacinamide, fructose, tea, eggshell, eggs. Less milk, sucrose, esp at night.
Might it be unfixable? Been trying nearly 3 years. Peating nearly 1.
Raised lactate might explain weight gain, loss of muscle and strength. Poor liver t4 conversion and glycogen storage.
I take about 1g - 1.5g aspirin mostly at night. Used to warm me, seems less effective lately. currently eating more eggs, French toast, and papaya as that's what I.feel better on.
On the plus side thyroid still working for me, serotonin signs low, PMS almost zero, energy not bad considering crazy schedule, and haven't been sick though kids have. And time in gentle sunlight is good for my mood.

 

[SQu]

Update below

 

[SQu]

Ten days on and much the same. Fat has gone on, not off. Body fighting sleep all night. Mood low. Puffy. More salt, aspirin, t3, less sugar, milk, but nothing helping. Made magnesium bicarbonate as I get eyelid twitches but made insomnia worse, why would that be? Very busy and stressed right now and I do notice I get worse then, slightly better on a rest day. No time/energy to make OJ, or gelatin stock, or liver. not enjoying coffee anymore though that does make me feel a little better sweetened with fructose. So does papaya. So does a cold remedy that's 800mg aspirin, 50mg caffeine and about 5g sugar, especially when I add about 2 tablespoons fructose to it. Weather cold the past 5 days but I am out a lot in thesun.

 

[SQu]

Update, raised T3 to 6 x 5mcg a day and I take the 11 mcg T4 not at night anymore but as second dose of the day. Seems to help. I feel good when I take it then. Obviously I'm stronger then than on waking so that's why 2nd dose not 1st. Taking at night I stopped due to attempt to sleep better.
Aguilaroja's suggestion of more T3, more light has worked well. Thank you! I'm getting red light at bedtime, sometimes also mornings, sunlight through glass for a couple of hours in the mornings, direct sunlight at intervals through the day. I am feeling relaxed and a bit sleepy, but that's great as I would otherwise be very stressed right now. I feel so much better. I'm sleeping better too, still wake plenty but still adds up to a satisfying enough night's sleep. My sleepiness I think is restorative because I have a LOT of bad nights to make up for.
Other changes: I am dissolving progesterone in coconut oil and filtering through coffee filter. Only done it twice so far, but definitely relaxing.
I've noticed more need for Vit K and maybe A I assume, seeing as I feel like liver more often, like every second day, and liver is something I can't usually have much of or I really go off it. I have chicken liver as I much prefer it to beef/calf etc.
The other sign was bleeding too much from a scratch. Before Peating it was normal to bleed lavishly from the smallest cut or scrape, but since Peating that stopped till a week or two ago. Even though I've been taking aspirin up to about 1500 mg a day. Perhaps it's the light? I'm feeling so much better that I think it must be a good sign, needing to raise levels in line with a raised metabolism. If there's enough K in liver then I'd rather do that than take a supp due to the silicon dioxide filtering hassle.

 

[SQu]

Still wanting lots of chicken liver, finally found a way to eat it that I really like. Had 200g today and could have had more. Kind of craving protein generally.and salt. Working outdoors right now. Still bleeding from scratches. Still suspect more light is associated with these changes. Feeling good on more thyroid. T4 mid morning works surprisingly well. Sleep up and down. Pleased with continuing progress. Coping with v busy period way better than before starting thyroid.

 

[SQu]

From RP email depository
"Some nutrients, like vitamin K, can be stored in the fat and liver for a long time. Intense stress activates epigenetic processes that I think are hard to reverse. Temporary excess of some nutrients can probably help to restore processes to normal, or to higher functional levels. Deprivation increases the ability to tolerate deprivation"

I think this helps explain why I wanted 500g chicken liver in 2 days and could have had even more. There is apparently 14000IU Vit A in 100g chicken liver so I got about 70 000.

As I expected a quick search confirmed that my liver craving is associated with more light and steroid synthesis which is great news! Another thank you to Aguilaroja. I'm still getting more light, red, daylight and through windows.

Seems I still need it for the Vit K too. My craving is still going. Still bleeding easily from scratches, like I always did, but not since Peating in spite of adding aspirin!!

 

[SQu]

Craving gone and bleeding normal again.
Weather warmer so I expect to need less thyroid soon, but not so far
Looking back my mistake has been underdosing, but that's not the worst thyroid dosing mistake to make.
Currently taking 5mcg every two hours, (7 doses a day) 12 mcg t 4 midday
When in doubt I'll take pulse. When I do it's always lowish, around 80. Unless I've undereaten in which case it could be over 90 and if it is, and if it's not due to recent t3, I'll make sure to eat. Then consider more t3.

 

[SQu]

Was congratulating myself for almost 2 months migraine free when I got not migraine but nagging headache that usually becomes a migraine. And once again when I read my notes I find it's because I had more protein. Once again, about 20g more. I did match it with more sugar, but seeing as my body can't use sugar well yet I suppose it ends up dropping blood sugar. I'm taking cypro. Charcoal. T3 I got behind on - busy day. Eyelid twitching a few days in spite of mag bicarb, oj. Ice cream next.

 

[SQu]

Ice cream helped a lot, headache receded, slept quite well. Headache back today but tolerable. It's adding protein without being able to metabolize sugar well enough. I must remember this! Longer gaps between migraines and headaches to blame for not learning this lesson (nice problem to have!)
I'm seeing about keeping main meal aside till lunch the next day, having milk, sugar, maybe the carrot salad in the evening. I have to take care to have enough that I don't go to bed hungry because that's a recipe for adrenalin wakefulness. I'm finding evaporated low fat milk with added fructose to sip in the night when I wake up, quite good. I think it was Mittir who mentioned evaporated milk. I must say it makes it easier to get the 100g protein, and it doesn't leave you awash like too much milk does.
Period just been and gone, mild, fast (3 days), minor symptoms. All good. And with lengthening days and more light, I'm thinking I got through winter quite well and am hoping for big improvements soon in sleep, weight, energy. It's been 3 years since stopping dieting, and almost 1 year Peating! Pufa status must be improving. Before that I avoided Pufas too, for many years, but as I ate way more fat on low carb diet, I think the effect was to raise pufas inadvertently.

 

[SQu]

Sleep abysmal. Absolutely abhorrently abjectly astronomically awful. Main features: easy to get to sleep; multiple wakeups ; restless ,light ,unrefreshing ; aching in hips ; tossing and turning ; snoring too (charming). Measures taken recently: more protein , taken earlier in day, fruit milk sugar in evening sometimes mashed potato (or else dinner too light for any chance of a good night), carrot salad an hour before dinner ; sunlight ; red light. Usually gelatin aspirin sugar fructose at bedtime. Aspirin mag bicarb water and evaporated low fat milk with fructose taken when I wake at night. Researching this issue for the umpteenth time.

 

[SQu]

Sleep is still truly awful and wrecking my days and making my stomach even fatter. I'm sure if I could sleep I'd turn a corner with health and weight. Perhaps it's the raised stress hormones from making some changes in diet - I'm aiming for 100g protein now and also aiming to have it before the evening. Fruit for dinner.
I've tried salt and it does feel like it helps. Last night 1g niacinamide was a disaster, but I suppose I should have expected that (I did expect that) because it did not agree with me to begin with so a sudden increase is likely to drop blood sugar too much for me.
My breathing is terrible when I sleep. I am aware of breathing fast and loudly in a way that often becomes snoring, yet all with mouth closed. It's very unsatisfying breathing and feels like it isn't working in terms of getting me air.
I tried a sheet over my head but like bag breathing it makes me gasp for breath.
I went to the kitchen for charcoal at 2.30am as I forgot it or carrot at bedtime. Didn't help.
Drank coca cola all yesterday in effort to improve CO2 and breathing, but it didn't help though I did feel swelling in fingers ease a bit.
This morning I felt better only after 3 eggs, coffee with milk, gelatin and aspirin.
Tonight I plan to try the oats after the carrot salad. I'm having gelatin and fruit for dinner.
I'm also going to try and remember not to toss and turn (because of the aching) but to get up and do something - don't know what - rather than lie there pumping out stress hormones.

 

[SQu]

Not the worst night but not a whole lot better either. A 3/10 up from a 2/10. I think the salt and oats did make me feel sleepier and will try them again tonight. I've already had most of my protein for the day today - 83g - and have made a fruit jelly with lots of gelatin for supper tonight.
I still ached, tossed and turned. But breathing a little easier and quieter.

 

[SQu]

An update on thyroid - aware that I was underdosing (based on symptoms and high cholesterol not dropping much), during this holiday I started to raise it. Why did I wait so long? Got into a rut. So used to feeling bad it seems normal.
From 7 quarters of a 20mcg T3 pill I raised it to about 10 - 12, going on how I felt and pulse. Dosing almost hourly. I did this overnight. Very fast for this otherwise snail paced thyroid exercise. But I felt good. Yes sometimes the pulse felt a bit fast, but when measured it would be in the early to mid 90s, only once went over that. But no unpleasant symptoms. Kept the T4 at bedtime the same. So all good.
I was in the mountains and maybe that helped.
I'm hoping that now I'm home and can get fat free milk and the usual routine going I can get some fat loss and estrogen lowering going. Be nice to consolidate the dose into 3 times a day but will wait and get settled on this higher dose before I try.

 

[SQu]

Still good about 1 month into this increase. Very slight arrhythmia (one slight 'clunk' a day) due I think to too much T3 to T4. Upped T4 to 22mcg at bedtime to counteract. So far so good but not taking niacinamide at the moment as it contributes. Less aching, more energy, all good.

Except sleep. Pretty bad. Current pattern is if I go away I sleep badly the first 4 or so nights then very gradually it improves. ditto when I get home again but in this case it was nearly 3 weeks ago. eat gelatin, drink sugared salted milk all night long. wake every 1.5 - 2 hours. 3-4 times a night.

tried RP's idea of setting an alarm at intervals to wake ahead of stress hormone wakeup, eat, go back to sleep. disastrous! timed it to previous night's 1.5 - 2 hourly wakeups (kept a diary in the bathroom, hubby was mercifully for him, away) but just threw sleep out even more, because I woke in the middle of each sleep period. with an hour to go before the alarm!

next time he goes away I may get up the courage to try again. maybe.

 

[SQu]

Reviewing progress after 20 months peating and almost 4 years recovery from low carb and other dieting:
sleep better even during bad patches.
Aching less and ache in hips at night no longer problem at all. Worth avoiding lactic acid.
Bad patches still keep progress modest but recently have had less brain fog so can work on symptoms while they're happening. Point to estrogen pulling plug on energy. Trying more anti estrogen measures. especially upping coffee and caffeine. Bit challenging on body but I'm persevering and glad of it as bad patches do shorten, lighten.
Adrenalin has reappeared as problem while doing this but I'm determined not to let it sabotage me any longer. Theanine magnesium clonidine calcium cyproheptadine all help at times.
Thyroid meds hit ceiling - can't consolidate doses ( adrenalin) and can't get more than about 40ug t3 a day as a result