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How foods you eat, or don’t eat, can make or break your health!

Headshot StandingWhen you think of doing things that will make you healthy, what do you think of?

But there’s one more way to achieve health: what we eat or don’t eat!  The right food is bigger than we ever imagined for our health and well-being as thyroid patients, especially if you have autoimmune issues. And that is an especially important when the shelves of our grocery stores are filled with rows and rows of over-processed junk!!

The following STTM Guest Blog Post…about FOOD…was written by Jennifer Robins. She was diagnosed with several autoimmune conditions like Hashimoto’s disease, had chronic infections, plus Lyme disease. Jennifer became gravely ill and mostly housebound. When traditional medical treatments failed to help, Jennifer turned to food for healing! Yes, food. She removed grain, dairy and refined sugars and began eating “predominantly Paleo”. And because of that radical change in the way she ate, she started reclaiming her life, one whole food at a time. Read about her interesting story!

I remember growing up eating a standard American diet, missing little to no school, and having more energy than any one person ever could use. While my family did not eat out or frequent drive-through windows routinely, our home had it’s share of boxed “food”. As a family, we were “healthy.” We felt good and rarely visited the doctor.

It’s funny looking back, how people defined “healthy”. Rarely did we think about what goes into our bodies as defining health. Instead, we tended to gauge our health by how we think we feel, how many prescription drugs we are taking, and whether or not we have made any trips to the emergency room.

However, with autoimmune disease and other chronic ailments growing exponentially every year, diet and food sourcing is becoming increasingly more important.

Eight years ago after giving birth to two babies less than a year apart, I felt miserable.

I chalked it up to the obvious lack of sleep, the stress of having two babies so close together, and to the fact that my husband was preparing to deploy, leaving me behind with our infant and toddler.

Exhausted, frazzled, irritable, lightheaded, and overheated, I finally headed to my general practitioner to seek advice. She ran thyroid labs and they were “normal”, except for my TSH which read 0. Yes, 0. We agreed to follow up several weeks later and when I did, my labs were all in range, including TSH, FT4, FT3, and reverse T3. My low TSH had resolved yet I felt just as horrible if not worse than the month prior.

Eventually I sought out the help of an endocrinologist who discovered my thyroid antibodies.

My Anti-Thyroglobulin levels were more than double the upper limit. All other thyroid labs were in range, as they fluctuated between hyper and hypothyroid. I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s and sent on my way. I tossed my prescription for synthetic thyroid replacement, as I just wasn’t ready for that step, whatever that meant.

I ended up reading about the connection between gluten and autoimmune disease as I scoured the internet looking for answers to my affliction. I was desperate to avoid taking thyroid replacement for the rest of my life. I ran the stool test looking for antibodies produced against gluten and came back positive. So I gave up gluten and was very compliant; but within the year resolved to start thyroid medication.

I researched natural desiccated thyroid and knew it was the best fit for me, so I found a doctor willing to prescribe it. Over the next year or so things leveled out, symptoms improved, and I felt like I could at least participate in my life. We moved to another military assignment, I began working out more regularly, started routine acupuncture, and realized I wanted another baby.

After a few months of trying, I got pregnant.

I was elated and I was feeling better than I had in a long time. My pregnancy was fairly uneventful other than managing my thyroid dosage, and my delivery was unmedicated–a goal I had had for awhile. I had 3 healthy children and life was good.

But around 5 months postpartum, I began feeling terrible. 

It was even more terrible than I felt after the first two babies were born. I chalked it up to juggling 3 babies and the hormone shift as well as the need to recalculate my thyroid dosage. I had let my strict gluten free lifestyle go as well and it was time to refocus. So I lowered my meds, cleaned up my diet, and tried to ride it out.

And I got worse. Much worse.

I became so sick in fact that I was housebound 90% of the time and often bedbound. Now I was stricken with neurological symptoms including brain swelling, vertigo, migraines, severe emotional lability (especially when my brain was inflamed), heart palpitations, disorientation, word searching, and more. It was a living nightmare.

I visited a new integrative doctor, in yet another new city and sought help.

She ran labs for viruses, candida, thyroid, adrenals, nutritional deficiencies, and infections and included urine, stool, blood, and hair. The results were overwhelming. I had elevated antibodies for so many types of infections I didn’t know where to start. She noticed I had a few antibody bands come back positive on a western blot for Lyme disease and suggested I test further. I fell down a rabbit hole of more testing, more doctors, and lots of medication recommendations.

Ultimately, I chose to treat the Lyme disease as it was insinuated that this could be the root of all my issues. I began multiple high dose antibiotics that I eventually took for over a year. I was back to strict gluten free eating, took over 40 supplements, probiotics, herbs, and anything else that my doctors recommended. I saw 3 different Lyme literate physicians (LLMDs) over this time.

And I got even worse. Ridiculously worse.

I was assured that this was “herxing” or bacterial die off. So I persisted, I stayed on meds, and life just kept getting more horrendous. I so often begged to die that I wondered daily when my last day on earth would be. I knew I was dying, I just didn’t know when or how long it would take.

But during this time I researched. I read and read and dug until there was nothing left to read. I kept seeing things about the paleo lifestyle for any number of ailments. Be it autoimmune or otherwise, it seemed I was being pointed in this direction for a reason.

Ultimately I made the decision to stop taking antibiotics and start focusing on rebuilding my immune system instead of destroying it.

Giving up the remaining grains and dairy was terribly hard, but it was the first time I began seeing ANY progress in this very long journey. Slowly but surely, I began reclaiming bits of my life back. I began chronicling my recipes, keeping a blog in secret, and eventually sharing it with others. I simultaneously took my already-gluten-free children off of dairy as well, so I needed a place to revisit recipes that kept them nourished and happy too. I noticed changes in all of us. My five year old’s sleep apnea and enlarged tonsils all resolved, my two year old’s enlarged glands in both her groin and neck resolved, and my son’s tummy aches disappeared without gluten and dairy.

I see now how life altering food changes can be.

I see that what you put in your body has everything to do with not only how you feel from day to day but also has the capability of healing a leaky gut and truly managing autoimmune conditions. This does not mean that food always takes the place of medication or of medical care. But we cannot overlook nutrition as being instrumental in our healing.

In my own story, my body could not even begin to heal until I removed inflammation-causing foods, despite the multiple medications, supplements, and other lifestyle changes. My healing has been gradual, with those expected setbacks that have made me feel as if I was failing. But over the past 2+ years of eating this way, I have finally seen glimpses of the old me. Before my body began attacking itself, before I became a shell of the person I was, and before my immune system became my own worst enemy.

I consider myself a work in progress as I truly believe that once you have a chronic ailment, you must always take extra care in respecting your body and its limitations. But I am living again. I am an active parent, a contributing citizen and am no longer just a spectator of my own life. And for that my heart will never be able to exScreen Shot 2015-08-16 at 2.56.40 PMpress the joy and gratitude to have been born once again.

ABOUT JENNIFER ROBINS: Jennifer is the voice and whole foodist behind the popular food blog Predominantly Paleo and is best selling author of the fabulous book of recipes and information called Down South Paleo: Delectable Southern Recipes Adapted for Gluten-free, Paleo Eaters
–filled with gorgeous photos of the recipes she includes. You can also visit her Facebook page Predominantly Paleo which has some really delicious recipes on it, too.

P.S. I, Janie, have her book Down South Paleo: Delectable Southern Recipes Adapted for Gluten-free, Paleo Eaters and it is fabulous.

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What do these people have in common: Adams, Bouc, Dach, Edwards, Heyman, Heiser, Luber, Lynch, Phan, Roberts, Saleeby, Stone, Trumbower and Yang?

1-Screen Shot 2014-08-13 at 5.22.27 PMWhat do these people have in common: Adams, Bouc, Dach, Edwards, Heyman, Heiser, Luber, Lynch, Phan, Roberts, Saleeby, Stone, Trumbower and Yang? 

Answer:  Brilliance in thought, courage in action, intelligent reasoning, and a willingness to learn from their patients as medical practitioners.

And that is all exactly why each of them was chosen to contribute as an author to a new Stop the Thyroid Madness book, titled

Stop the Thyroid Madness II: How thyroid experts are challenging ineffective treatments and improving the lives of patients

Each of them are medical practitioners who strive to….

  • create a patient-centered practice and personalized method of treatment based on the symphony between the thyroid and all other bodily systems
  • understand that treatment of thyroid disease is more than the use of a single synthetic medication and a pituitary hormone lab result.
  • have the courage to question the basic assumptions held by the traditional medical community as to what constitutes good thyroid treatment
  • listen and learn from their patients.

Why else did I choose these particular practitioners for the book?

First and foremost, it was based on patient reports. The majority of these professionals were reported by thyroid patients to be the better cream of the crop in the medical field.

Could I have chosen others?

Yes. There are others of whom patients have reported they like! But serendipity led me to each one of these masterful professionals and it has all played out like a well-tuned chorus.

How is this book different than the revised STTM book?

The revised STTM will forever stand out as a compilation of highly important and life-changing experiences and wisdom of thyroid patients worldwide.

The new STTM II book brings the minds and brilliance of medical professionals into the mix, not only giving you more details that only a trained professional can give, but the book can also be seen as a practitioner-to-practitioner book, as well. THIS is a book that will end the refrain among certain doctors “Who is Janie Bowthorpe and where is her medical degree?” (i.e. as if only someone with a medical degree can know something important medically!).

THIS is the book that you can give your doctor since it’s written by his very colleagues!

THIS is the book that will play a dynamic role in changing the worldwide medical mindset about the proper treatment of thyroid disease.

What did they write about?

CHAPTER 1 The Integrative and Functional Medicine Approach to Thyroid Diseases by James Yang, MD, MPH and Andrew Heyman, MD, MHSA

CHAPTER 2 Stress, Adrenals, Your Thyroid, and You by Laura R Stone MD, Andrew Heyman, MD MHSA and Carla Heiser MS RD LD

CHAPTER 3 Thyroid Replacement Therapy: Natural Desiccated Thyroid (NDT) by Yusuf (JP) Saleeby, MD

CHAPTER 4 The Unreliable TSH Lab Test by Jeffrey Dach MD

CHAPTER 5 When Normal Ain’t Normal by Geoffrey T. Bouc MD

CHAPTER 6 Nutrition and Hypothyroidism by William D. Trumbower, MD

CHAPTER 7 Hashimoto’s Autoimmune Thyroid Disease by Jeffrey Dach MD

CHAPTER 8 Why Are Doctors Like That? by Nguyen D. Phan MD

CHAPTER 9 Gluten Intolerance and Thyroid Disease by Paula Luber, MD

CHAPTER 10 Thyroid Toxicity by Philip L. Roberts, MD

CHAPTER 11 Moving Forward with Reverse T3: the Causes and Health Implications by Paige Adams, FNP, B-C

CHAPTER 12 Methylation, MTHFR and Thyroid Dysfunction by Benjamin Lynch, ND

CHAPTER 13 Hypocortisolism: An Evidence-Based Review by Lena Edwards, MD, FAARM, FICT; Andrew H. Heyman, MD MHSA; Sahar Swidan, PharmD

Who wrote the Foreword?

Dr. David Brownstein, MD.

Where can I order the book?

Currently, only at the publishing company website. It will eventually catch up to Amazon, but that can take time.  You can order one or multiple copies of the new STTM II book here: http://laughinggrapepublishing.com/stop-thyroid-madness-ii-book/

Or you can order a set(s) of both the revised STTM book and the STTM II book here:  http://laughinggrapepublishing.com/stop-thyroid-madness-books-revised-and-ii/  ALSO NOTE that by snail mail, you can order an amount of each book. There’s an Order Form to print out on the above page.

Want to read more about each author?

Go to the following page and click on their photo: //www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/stop-thyroid-madness-ii

 

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Why Forest Labs had gotten away with a “newly formulated” Armour that is causing so many problems

Armour tablets

 

This post was originally written in 2009, and gives you great history as to the disappointing change that happened to Armour as reported by patients. But it happened again in 2015, and you can read that here: //www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/2015/09/19/armour-and-unhappy-thyroid-patients/

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Numerous and ongoing comments to my blog posts below about the newly formulated Armour are shocking and despairing.

Additionally, thyroid patients are crying out about the loss of being able to do Armour sublingually. (Was Forest Labs not paying one hoot of attention to thyroid patients the last few years in their praise of Armour because of it’s sublingual effectiveness??) Sublingual administration was a godsend for thyroid patients who had digestive issues, including gluten intolerance and Celiac, as well as those who needed to take iron tablets (which you can’t do at the same time as you swallow desiccated thyroid, but could do with taking Armour subingually)

So how in the world did Forest Labs get away with reformulating and producing a product that so many patients are reporting to be problematic?

It’s not FDA approved. As many of you may know, Armour desiccated thyroid, even when it was produced by a pharmaceutical other than Forest Labs, was around far before the FDA (Federal Drug Administration) came into being in 1938.  That’s why it does not have the designation of  “FDA approved” as do those drugs which were created after the FDA existed. It’s called an unapproved drug, but Armour was presumed to be safe and effective already.

From the FDA: Under the 1938 grandfather clause (see 21 U.S.C. 321(p)(1)), a drug product that was on the market prior to passage of the 1938 Act and which contained in its labeling the same representations concerning the conditions of use as it did prior to passage of that Act was not considered a new drug and therefore was exempt from the requirement of having an approved new drug application.

Because it’s not “FDA-approved”, it does not have an NDA, aka New Drug Application. An NDA is used by the FDA to establish if the pharmaceutical product is safe,  EFFECTIVE, more beneficial than side effects, and has in-house  “controls” which maintain the quality, strength and purity of the product. (Thanks to “Ben” the pharmacist for reminding me of this.)

So…without that NDA, Forest Labs is, and has been, on their own, including with the latest introduction of a newly formulated Armour. So you might say, WE as patients were the guinea pigs.  And sadly, we’ve been squealing and it’s a muddy picture.

The most important fact to state: USP (United States Pharmacopeia) desiccated thyroid is an effective and important drug which is changing the lives of a huge and growing body of individuals around the world. That was evident before Armour was reformulated, and is still evident with products like Naturethroid or Westhroid, which many patients are switching to.  See my blog post about Naturethroid here, plus RLC Labs comment about Naturethroid here.

But something has gone terribly wrong with the reformulation of Armour, and patients appear to be leaving it behind in the dust in favor of another great and effective brand like Naturethroid. And whether it’s the fillers are not, Forest needs to take a new look at their reformulation of what was once a GOOD product, and hopefully this time, LISTEN TO PATIENTS.

– Want to be informed of these important blog posts? Curious what’s on Janie’s mind? Just use the Notifications below.

– Come on over the STTM Facebook page and “Like” it for daily tips and inspiration! 

 

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Tips on how to do desiccated thyroid sublingually

Though this was originally posted in 2009, it’s been updated to the present day and time!

The brand of Natural Desiccated Thyroid called Armour used to be easy to do sublingually, even if the official line was they didn’t make it that way. That means letting it dissolve under the tongue which can potentially make its way to the sublingual gland under the bottom of the mouth and more directly to the cells.

And patients liked that sublingual ability with Armour.  It allowed them to work around the problem of swallowing desiccated thyroid several hours from having swallowed iron, estrogen or calcium–all which can bind ‘some’ of the thyroid hormones in your stomach.

It also helped those with digestive issues, since some of it may be bypassing the stomach.

But with the first newly formulated Armour in 2009, it became difficult. The pill became harder with less dextrose and more cellulose.  It now fell into the ranks of all other desiccated thyroid pills, including Naturethroid and other good brands, as a more dense tablet.

Tips from patients on how to do sublingual

Even for those NDT brands which are made quite hard, below are tips from patients on how to continue doing  desiccated thyroid sublingually. Let your doc know, too.

1) Some are adding a tiny touch of the contents of a Pixie Stix under their tongue. It’s flavored sugar in a straw, and the sugar seems to help the tablet dissolve sublingually through tissues under the tongue.

2) If you are using sublingual B12 lozenges to treat low B12, try adding it under the tongue with your desiccated thyroid. The action of the sublingual lozenge seems to move over to the thyroid tablet, say some.

3) Swish warm water in your mouth before you place the tablet under your tongue.

4) Crunch up the desiccated thyroid tablet before any of the above and before placing it all under your tongue.

Can’t I just swallow my NDT?

Definitely. You’ll just have to make sure you don’t also have a stomach full of iron rich foods, calcium or estrogen. Generally, it’s best to take your tablet away from any of the former, such as a two hour difference at the minimum.

*Have more sublingual ideas or experiences? Share it in the Comments section.

*Want to be informed of my blog posts? Curious what’s on my mind? Just use the Notifications to the bottom right of the links.

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Ten reasons you may still feel bad: health is like a chocolate cake

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(This post has been updated to the present date and time! Enjoy!)

I frequently bake chocolate cake for birthdays in my family. Of course, part of it is so I can lick the beaters and bowl. **blush** But in my family, we are chocolate lovers. So any cake I bake is THE BEST cake in world.

Why? Because of the combination and/or amounts of several important ingredients that make any cake “great”… by anyone. Leaving out any of those specific ingredients, or putting in too little or too much, could result in a cake less than great.

And your health and feel-goods as a thyroid patient are like a good cake: the combination of ingredients and amounts that you have to get right.

Below are ten healthy “ingredients” to investigate to make sure the “chocolate cake of your life” is great!

1) INGREDIENT: The right amount of thyroid hormone medication

One of the most common mistakes made by patients and their doctors is simply not raising high enough to find the right amount. I have a friend who was stuck on 3 grains of Natural Desiccated Thyroid out of habit. Now 3 grains might be right for some, but it wasn’t for her–she continued to have hypothyroid symptoms out of habit. I finally convinced her to talk to her doctor. Labs showed her free T3 was just a few points over mid-range, and having a free T3 towards the top seems to work better for most. That will also push the TSH very low…and without a problem. So she did raise, and it finally did the trick. She now had the perfect chocolate cake of health!

2) INGREDIENT: Optimal B12

Sammy felt like she was doing great on her thyroid meds, but something was off. She had occasionally weakness, a tingling in her fingers, fatigue, and sometimes walking problems. Turns out her B12 levels were not optimal, which can be common for those undiagnosed hypothyroid or on T4-only. She got a B12 test, learned where patients are optimal, and corrected it.

3) INGREDIENT: Optimal iron

Did you know that like most nutrients, being “in range” has nothing to do with anything?? It’s “where” you fall that counts. And thyroid patients who’ve been undiagnosed, undertreated due to being held hostage to the TSH, or treated with T4-only, tend to acquire inadequate levels of iron. Symptoms can include fatigue, depression, weakness, achiness, breathlessness or others.  Learn all about iron and where iron is optimal.

4) INGREDIENT:  The right amount of stomach acid via ACV or lemon juice

Hypothyroid patients can have low hydrochloric (HCL) stomach acid levels. That not only contributes to acid reflux (yes, reflux can be because of LOW iron), it means you don’t absorb nutrients well (including low B12 and iron mentioned above). As a result, it’s crucial to give that acid back to yourself.  A tablespoon of Apple Cider Vinegar or lemon juice mixed in water and taken twice day helps many. Or try taking Betaine, which is HCL in pill form, or any other quality HCL or digestive product.

5) INGREDIENT: Optimal levels of B-vitamins

Did you know that when you become healthier due to the right thyroid treatment, your demand for B-vitamins can increase? Yessiree. B-vitamins along with CoQ10, help drive the production of your internal cellular energy. Though a variety of foods give B-vitamins, patients will often supplement with a good whole food B-vitamin or one brand or kind of their choice.

6) INGREDIENT: Avoidance of gluten

Now, patient experiences have revealed that not everyone needs to remove gluten from their diet. But a very high percentage of Hashimoto’s patients (the autoimmune version of thyroid disease) find they do a great deal better if they do. Why? Gluten can raise one’s antibodies, as well as damage your stomach lining and intestines, thus reducing absorption of many key nutrients. If you have Celiac disease, removal of gluten is also important.

7) INGREDIENT: Sex Hormone balance

When your thyroid or adrenals get out of balance, your sex hormones can follow suit, from estrogen dominance to low testosterone.  When estrogen dominance occurs, you can feel depression, fatigue, and sore breasts.  Low testosterone can equal lower energy and mood. That’s why many thyroid patients also treat their hormonal levels, if needed, to feel better.

8) INGREDIENT: Iodine plus other minerals

Turns out that not only are your thyroid hormones in need of iodine to even exist, patients have reported iodine supplementation to help them feel better. Women like using it to rid themselves of fibrocystic breast disease. We do recommend doing on Iodine Loading Test to first see if you need it, though. Most do, but some may not. Other minerals are important too, like magnesium, potassium, sodium and more.

9) INGREDIENT: A good doctor

Yes, we certainly know how hard it can be to find an informed and open-minded doctor. And because of that, some patients are forced to self-treat, and we don’t begrudge that choice at all. If you do want to find a better doctor, here’s a page to help you do so. It may not always be easy where you live, but can be possible.

10) INGREDIENT: Knowledge

This is where Stop the Thyroid Madness (STTM) comes into play. STTM is the flagship of patient experiences and wisdom, ready for you to absorb all its excellent information and regain your health and well-being again, besides help teach your doctor. There are now TWO STTM books to learn from, too.

P.S. My real chocolate cake: I think cake mixes are just as good as homemade. I use Devils Food Cake a lot, but have used all the varieties for fun. But the icing is ALWAYS homemade: cream one stick butter, add about 4 cups powdered sugar, 1/2 cup cocoa, then cream or half-n-half.  Shake in a liberal amount of sea salt. Add two tsp. vanilla.  Beat, beat.  Taste. Modify as needed. YUM. There are other great icings you can make! 

JanieSignature SEIZE THE WISDOM

** Come join the STTM Facebook page for daily inspiration and wisdom!

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