{getting personal, a lot about me ... long post ahead}
Hello Friends! Some of you may have noticed that I haven't been blogging as frequently as I used to, but lately I just haven't had the energy, or even the interest. And that makes me sad. Blogging is my favorite hobby, and I love creating this online journal of our life and something for my son to look back on. But these days (months) I just haven't had the heart for it. But I hope to get that on track again, and I think I know how ...
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I have an auto-immune disease called Hashimoto's Disease (thyroid). Your thyroid gland is small but powerful! It has so much control over your body, and if it's out of range, you're going to be out of whack! When my doctor figured out what was "wrong with me" she was shocked to see my thyroid level at 72. Normal thyroid range is 0.5 - 4.5/5.0. My thyroid disease was late pregnancy onset and not discovered until my son was a couple months old. Immediately I was sent to a specialist who I see on a regular basis these days. And thankfully my thyroid is back down to normal and within range, and has remained constant for 2 years now. But that's only because I'm on a daily medication, Synthroid, that I take first thing every morning and will do so for the rest of my life.
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However these past couple months I've been feeling really blah, just off, and "not me". I've consulted with my doctor a few times, had extensive blood tests, and everything is in range. He talked to me about diet and exercise and while he gave me valuable information, I was curious to learn more and I've been doing some research about my thyroid / synthroid / and diet.
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Diet plays a big role in how medication is received and absorbed into the system. And of course, I found out I'm making some serious errors in my daily diet. (For the record, I'm 5"7' and 136-140 pounds and have been that same weight since I lost the pregnancy weight & taking Synthroid) ... anyway, my daily diet is hit or miss with healthy, not so healthy, carbs, fruits, veggies, dessert here and there ... I'm just the average person, mostly eating whatever I want.
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But I can't do that anymore.
A few things I've learned about diet and Synthroid ...
~ Dairy and Synthroid do not like each other. So there goes my morning cereal with milk. And cheese. And yogurt.
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~ Iron (in mass quantities) and Synthroid are not compatible. Sadly my morning breakfast of Cream of Wheat (50% of your daily iron dose!!) is out the window. And Raisin Bran, my all time favorite? 60% of your daily iron!! Goodbye Raisin Bran, I will miss you. By taking my Synthroid and then shortly after following it with large amounts of iron do me no good at all, defeats the purpose of taking medication!
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~ Synthroid can make you anemic. So even though I just gave up my Cream of Wheat, I need to have **just the right** amount of iron every day to keep my iron levels up.
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~ Caffiene. I drink 1-2 cups of (black) coffee a day. While not a definite proven fact but more a warning, there are studies that show caffiene can potentially be a factor that worsens symptoms of thyroid disease. And, as I already knew, caffiene robs the body of calcium; but I just read that women with thyroid disease may need additional calcium, such as a supplement, to maintain proper calcium levels. (Didn't I just give up dairy?!) {sigh} I will *try* to give up my coffee intake, starting tomorrow just one cup. Thankfully I drink very few soda's, so that will be easy to eliminate.
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~ Interestingly, walnuts and high-fiber foods slow / impede the absorption of the medication.
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I'm sure the doesn't seem like a lot, but to me it is. It really changes the way I need to eat on a daily basis. I didn't realize my breakfast was loaded with iron, and eating that about 1 hour after my medication intake was doing me more harm than good. Also, I consume a lot of dairy, so that's going to be a major change for me. Coffee, as I stated above, guess I'm cutting back. Sad Panda.
What have I learned? It's going to be a fine line of what will work, what makes me feel like crap and what makes me feel better. Hopefully it is a not-so-long-road ahead of me.
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However, it just makes sense that a good nutritional program will allow my medication to work properly, if not better, and ultimately make me healthier.
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With that said, in addition to the above dietary changes, I'm going to be resigning from my plan this year to cut red meat out of my diet. Further research and reading tells me that the proper amount of iron from both plant and animal will be best for my condition and medication. I'll be re-introducing lean red meats to our menu this week! I'm sort of excited about this.
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Wow, you've made it to the end (almost!), thanks for sticking around! At this point you may be wondering why I just shared all of this? Because it's about me, it's personal and relevant and "now" in not just my life, but our family life. This affects my husband and our toddler. I plan to check in on this post periodically to see how I'm doing health wise with these changes in place. And I'll be curious to see if this major change in diet will show in my weight, which is why I included that above.
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If you're curious about how I've been feeling off, why I'm just not feeling like "me", here is a list of common side effects for my medication. I've highlighted the side effects that I experience every single day (TMI?). I am hopeful that the nutritional changes I'm going to make will wipe out a lot of these side effects and that I can get back to feeling normal ... > > Rash, hives, itchy skin, difficulty breathing, flushing, tightness in the chest, swelling of the mouth, face, lips, or tongue, unusual hoarseness, changes in appetite, changes in menstrual periods, chest pain, diarrhea, excessive sweating, fast or irregular heartbeat, fever, heat intolerance, joint pain, leg cramps, mental or mood changes (eg, anxiety, irritability, nervousness, depression), muscle weakness, seizures, severe or persistent headache, fatigue, shortness of breath, stomach cramps, tremors, trouble sleeping, unusual weight gain or weight loss, vomiting, wheezing. {not on the "master list", but other things I experience every day, dizziness, almost like vertigo, and cold to the touch hands and feet}.
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Note - obviously I am not a doctor. Facts I am sharing here should not be taken as medical advice.
What I have stated and outlined here is a lot of personal information and personal research, and my conclusion as to how best treat my thyroid disease, methods I think may work best for me.
If you have concerns regarding your thyroid you should seek care from a medical specialist.
