Encouragement for all of those with hypo...

[Becker]

I am on day 9 on induction and I feel better than I have in the last 2 1/2 years! I have been struggling with hypothyroidism since diagnosed in April of 2007. My doctors had me on Levoxyl and my tests showed I was where I needed to be, but I still suffered from exhaustion and weight gain. I have never done a low carb diet before. I tried EVERYTHING else, but nothing helped me lose weight or feel like I did before being diagnosed. I have lost 10lbs as of today and I feel great! This diet is like the miracle I have been searching for. I wake up early and WANT to get out of bed. A few weeks ago, I would go from my bed to the couch for the day and almost always take a nap. By 9:00 at night, I was exhausted and went to bed again. My life was miserable and completely consumed by my lack of energy and my desire to sleep it away! I can't imagine taking a nap now because sleep is no longer "my best friend". I am new on here, but I wanted to post something....especially for anyone else that is new or thinking of starting....you really should give Atkins an honest try. I am learning that my problem was no longer my thyroid...it was all of the carbs I was eating and the insulin resistance that was causing my symptoms. The lack of motivation we feel makes it easy to stay stuck in that rut, but isn't it worth getting your life back to just try it for 14 days?!? I have 2 people close to me that have started this diet themselves because they see how much better I feel...not to mention 10lbs in noticable even if it is only the beginning of my weight loss journey. The first few days were rough, but hang in there...better days come quicker than you think possible! Good luck to you all!!!

[liv]

Thanks for letting us know. How great it is that you worked it out.
I am hypo as well - love my meds and my Atkins - which for me to has worked wonders.

[Sherri]

That's awesome Becker!
Thank you for sharing.
I can relate to what you are experiencing. I too am Hypo. This WOE (way of eating) is so healing.
Within 47 days of starting Atkins 5 years ago my Type-2 Diabetes reversed, never to return again. Kicking many meds to the Curb.
WELCOME to the healthiest lifestyle there is....ATKINS!!
Welcome to ADBB as well
I look forward to watching you reach your goals and become the healthiest that you can be.
Sincerely, Sherri

[ErinB]

I didn't see your post until now, but I want to add my congrats to you for figuring it out.

So many get diagnosed, keep futzing with the med prescribed, bugging their docs about prescribing something else, thinking the doc doesn't know what he/she is doing because they don't feel on top of the world immediately.

We first have to get to the right level of whatever the doctor decides is the right one for us. Then we need to realize hypothyroidism doesn't tend to get diagnosed the day after the thyroid starts to get sluggish. It typically takes many years before the symptoms get obvious enough a doctor orders the blood work which tells the story. So, our bodies need time and some help to heal from having dealt with that hormone deficit for, usually, years.

You're on the right track, as you already know. Atkins, if followed correctly, will nourish your body and help it recover.

I am more active, energetic and full of life now at age 65 than I was in my 40s, even 30s most likely, as I probably needed treatment back that far and wasn't diagnosed until 2006. My story is the same as yours, however. To feel good, I needed to get up off that "thang," eat well and get my body moving.

Isn't it wonderful to feel great again?

My daughter, who is overweight and diabetic, has been watching me with increasing interest over the past year. She decided about 3 1/2 weeks ago to go the Atkins route herself. The first clues she had she is on the right track were twofold: immediately feeling SO VERY MUCH BETTER and having to increasingly lower the (long-term) insulin she needs to administer.

While the weight loss isn't off to a huge start, that is likely due to the fact the lowering blood sugar causes lows which require some fast-acting carb to counteract, which throws her out of ketosis. She isn't worried, though, because she then gets to decrease the insulin and, once that gets adjusted, she hopes to be able to make progress with the weight loss.

I have admiration for people who don't just lie down and quit because some chronic illness or other provides a stumbling block or two, but rather resolve to work around the problems and succeed anyway.

[chinadoll]

Good for you! I have so many friends who have thyroid issues. Mine is normal now but I have had a low test here and there so I know I am borderline. Maybe thats why I am such a slow loser. Good to see someone is having some luck losing even with thyroid issues!

[ErinB]

Borderline could very well cause weight loss to be slow. Do you mind if I ask what your TSH labs have been? Have you kept a record? If not, I would ask for hard copies of all labs and keep them on file. In the U.S. they are required to provide them if requested. My HMO just sends them automatically unless one opts out.

Has your doc tested for Hashimoto's? Not that Hashimoto's Thyroiditus (most common cause of hypothyroid condition,) in itself, would be treated, but the presence of that condition would likely mean it is attacking your thyroid. That would explain why the TSH levels fluctuation and would indicate, at some point, you probably will need medication.

If this TSH level is pushing upward to 3 or more, with presence of Hashimoto's, many doctors will start treatment of the patient. That would, of course, depend on other factors. With some other conditions present, it might be better to wait and see.

In any case, if I were you, I would be trying to persuade the doctor to test for Hashimoto's, free T3 and free T4. In my case, I have never needed those other tests because TSH has told the story clearly. In your case, I would think it would be good to have more information. TSH measures the T4 (inactive hormone). If all is working well, enough T4 in the system and your body will convert it to T3 (active hormone) as your cells need it. It is possible, however, to have high enough levels of T4 present and yet not have enough T4 to T3 conversion happening.

That is an oversimplistic layman's explanation, of course. What I'm trying to say is that some cases are less straightforward than mine. For one thing, as I have mentioned before, it probably takes a long time for a thyroid to completely give up and die. The most difficult part, even in a usual case like mine, is probably the years of thrashing when the hormone levels go up and down.

During that period, however long it lasts, it is very difficult to treat a patient because the med level needs to keep changing, too. If that is happening to you and your doctor is monitoring fairly regularly, it is likely the best he/she can do until the thyroid gives up. I probably would have had an easier life had I been diagnosed much earlier, but I was rather easy to treat once I was diagnosed because my thyroid was dead. Med leveling just meant small increases of the hormone at intervals until the TSH came down under 1. It is usually not that easy and straightforward when the thyroid is still in its death throes.

Whatever the case, you are wise to stay on top of a possible issue there. If it turns out you do have a sluggish thyroid, it will be discovered at the point it becomes treatable. I wish I had done that.

I was so very young when first told I was borderline hypo. That would have been about 1963-1964. I thought it was an answer for life and always looked elsewhere, never suspecting the symptoms which worsened over time were due to that cause. In fact, in 2006, a doctor I had never seen before recognized the symptoms when I showed up in his office because my legs hurt. He treated the edema (veinous insufficiency was the cause) which was causing my leg pain, but ordered the TSH with fair certainty it would come back pointing to hypoT. I will forever be grateful to him.

If I have any message at all out of my experience, it would be to keep having that thyroid checked if one is experiencing symptoms. Don't ignore it like I did.