Goestrogen/Karen ..........

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-09-2001
Goestrogen/Karen ..........
4
Wed, 08-04-2004 - 11:23am
Hi - I'm sorry I missed your post down below!! I'm going to post it here so that I can answer it for you.

I just went to the doctor for the first time in 5 years on Tuesday complaining about fatigue, nausea, and headaches (I convinced myself that I was pregnant, despite having had a light period), he gives me a blood test, and yesterday he tells me that I need to start taking meds because my thyroid level was low. I'm on Synthroid. Haven't taken it yet. I'm very much not a pill person.

I have so many questions...

BTW, I'm 25, married, and my name is Karen.

1. Can this condition improve if I lose weight? I'm very active, but about 30 lbs overweight.

2. What options are there to treat this homeopathically? Will I really need to take pills forever more?

3. I read the advice on ivillage, and it said to avoid broccoli, spinach, soy, wheat... I'm a vegetarian so that's like all my diet!!! What in the world should I be eating?

Right now, the plan is to take synthroid for about a month, then I go back in for another blood test.

Ok - me again!! This condition will not improve if you lose weight. And your chances of losing weight without taking the medication are pretty slim. You will feel better if you eat a healthy diet and exercise everyday, and with the addition of your medication, you will stay in good shape!

There are ways to treat this homeopathically but I would have to look that up for you. The best thing you can do for yourself, though, is to take your medication everyday. You can take vitamins and supplements, too and that will help you to feel better and keep you healthy but you need to understand what is going on with your thyroid so that you can take care of yourself.

Your body manufacturers two types of thyroid hormone, called T3 and T4. Most of what it manufactures is T4, thyroxine. And that is converted by the body into T3 as it needs it. Your thyroid controls or plays a role in the functioning of all your major bodily systems. You sound as if you are concerned overall with your general health and that you take good care of yourself. That is great but you cannot replace the thyroid hormone that your body is lacking when you are hypothyroid - it has to come from somewhere else. Without it, you can have major health issues that include weight gain, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, dry skin, dry hair, loss of hair, loss of eyelashes and eyebrows, painful cramping during periods, heavy periods, heavy PMS symptoms, irritability, constipation, digestive issues and more. Left untreated, these can have serious repercussions. I'm not trying to overwhelm you with this but hypothyroidism is often dismissed by doctors as being no big deal! It *is* a big deal. And if your hypothyroidism is caused by Hashimoto's disease, an autoimmune disease that produces antithyroid antibodies that will eventually kill off your thyroid if not treated properly, the repercussions are even more serious.

You will need to take medication for the rest of your life, most likely. Sometimes, hypothyroidism can clear up on its own and you may be one of the lucky ones!! Otherwise, it's important to take your medication every day, first thing in the morning, on an empty stomach. Don't eat or take anything with them for an hour. Take your vitamins and other supplements at least an hour later, with the exception of iron and calcium which should be taken 4 hours later.

The foods you mention are called goitrogenic and that means that they contain an ingredient that can cause goiters in people with thyroid conditions. Cooking them kills that ingredient so you can still eat them - just make sure they aren't raw. I think you can have one serving of each, cooked, a day. But there are certainly hundreds of other fruits and vegetables out there, not to mention beans and legumes for protein. I've never seen anything that says that wheat is a problem. Did you see that? In the ivillage info? I'll have to check that.

I'll look up some homeopathic things you can do but I can't do that now. I'll post it for you later. I hope this info has helped you. Sorry I didn't see your post when you first posted it! Cathy :)

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-09-2001
Wed, 08-04-2004 - 10:30pm
Here's a homeopathic site I've found: http://www.homoeo.com/hypothyroidism.shtml

I would realy caution you to thoroughly research this way of treating your hypothyroidism. Some "natural" medication can be really harmful and some can be a form of synthetic thyroid hormone but it isn't as plain as that - it's not necessarily spelled out. They can cause some serous damage to other organs so just be careful if this is the route you want to take. I know that it could be perfectly valid but make sure you know what you're taking and what effect it may have on your system. Cathy

Avatar for goestrogen
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Fri, 08-06-2004 - 2:06am
Thanks so much for your thoughtful response! I've now been on the thyroid meds for a week, and this has been the first week in several months that I haven't experienced debilitating headaches, nausea, or fatigue. I can't believe how I'm finally feeling back to myself.

When I posted those questions I was just so in utter *shock* how someone as healthy as I am (really--I am healthy--despite the extra pounds) could develop a serious condition. I eat very healthy foods (OK, I do have a cheese problem) and I'm very active. I did a triathlon just one year ago.

Anyway, thanks again for your contributions. It's been very helpful to find this board.

I go back to get my blood test in 2 weeks. They're going to test for Hashimotos at that time. We'll see.

-Karen

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-09-2001
Fri, 08-06-2004 - 6:20pm
Hi Karen - I'm so glad that you came back to find my post!! I was afraid I had missed you. I agree with you on what a shock it is to find out you have this. I've always been healthy too and taken good care of myself. But it's not something you control so it's basically not caused by anything you did or didn't do. And it tends to run in families so when I found out this was what I had, I also learned that my mom had been hypo and had diabetes - another autoimmune disorder, my grandfather on my dad's side had been hypo, and my dad had had Reynaud's disease, which is also an autoimmune condition!! Thanks folks!! LOL!

I am so glad that you're starting to feel better!! You don't realize how badly you felt until you start coming back to yourself!! Enjoy! Hope to see you again if you have any other questions. Cathy :)

Avatar for goestrogen
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Sun, 08-08-2004 - 11:47pm
Cathy--wow--I see you are a wealth of knowledge! ;-)

I don't have any knowledge of thyroid conditions in my family (other than when my grandma was in her 70's, which really doesn't count), but my mother does have HORRIBLE Reynold's syndrome and she's had it since her 20s. Interesting. I never, ever would have thought that was related to my thyroid issue. I thought it was a circulatory issue, not auto-immune. Fascinating!

-Karen