Oh Thyroid, Behave!

Boy am I glad this week is over. It certainly has been a week of ups and downs in nearly every area of my life!

I won’t go into all the details except for the few relating to my health. I only write this in case someone is out there googling away and they find these posts and think, “Hey, the same things happen to me!”. To that person, may you discover this problem a LOT earlier then I did.

Quick as lightning recap:

About three years ago I started to get a lump on my throat which has slowly gotten bigger. It doesn’t really effect me apart from the fact that you can see it. In the last few months it has occasionaly started to push on my throat and I can feel it as I breath.

It’s been difficult for me to loose weight for YEARS.

For the last year I’ve been lacking energy, and get tired really, really easily. I can sleep for most of the day if my husband will let me, and he often says things like, “I don’t know how you can sleep so much!”

Nearly four months ago I went to a seminar on thyroid health after hearning an interview on our local radio station. (read what I learnt here)

After that I started going to a naturopath. She asked me to get a blood test (dun, dun, duuuunnnn!). (read about my first experience at the naturopath here)

Now:

Just before we went to Europe I went to the doctor to get the above mentioned blood test. Now, I HATE needles (I am literarly terrified of them for some reason), and was all upset when they took my blood etc. The nurse saw me cry, but I got it done.

All my results came back within the normal range, and so my doctor recomended I get a biopsy to test the cells. This is mostly to see if the cells will mutate into the C word, and if I will become a statistic.

Did I mention I hate needles? And did I mention that the biopsy is basically sticking a HUGE needle into my throat, an area that I haven’t let anyone touch for the last 8 years because I am oddly sensitive about it? Yeah, well, I was TOTALLY looking forward to this procedure, and I didn’t constantly put it off, or spend nights stressing about it, or dodge all coversations involving my thyroid or said procedure. Definitely not… :-S

Long story short, after our holiday Luke nagged me about getting it done, and my mum took me down to hold me hand. Is cost me 150 big ones, and MORE people saw me cry and stress and tense up to the point where I felt like I was going to explode. I am still waiting for the results (I just did this on Tuesday), but will keep you posted. I’m not at all worried about the results, they’ll hopefully just help the naturopath know what to do (maybe it is foolish not to worry- we will see!).

Wednesday I went to the naturopath who I haven’t seen since ages before we left for Europe, and she looked at the results of my blood test. Her eyes nearly popped out of her head when she saw the level of thyroid hormone I had. It was .01 off the minimum. TECHNICALLY in the ‘normal’ range, but as my naturopath says, the ‘normal’ range includes a lot of numbers which are anything BUT normal. So this is both good and bad. Bad because my brain isn’t working properly and it’s telling my thyroid the wrong thing, but good because we now know what the problem is. Any plans we may or may not have had of starting a family soon-ish (*blush*) have been put on the backburner, as apparently that could be pretty bad for my health at this stage.

I’m relieved to know that there’s a REASON it is so gosh darn hard for me to loose weight. I’m relieved that there’s a reason I feel so tired all the time. I’m relieved that there’s light at the end of the tunnel.

So if you’re suffering from these types of things, it might be worth going to the doctors, or a naturopath and talking to someone about it. I’m on some helpful herbs (the legit kind- no Amsterdam style herbs for me!), that are giving my body some of the things it needs to keep me healthy and awake!

Tags: blood, healthy, naturopath, needles, thyroid

Thyroid Problems

Nearly three years ago I was over at my mother in law’s house and she noticed that my thyroid was enlarged. I was instructed to go to the doctor as soon as possible which of course, I didn’t do. Since then it has come and gone- sometimes very large and even itchy, other times looking completely normal.

I went to the doctors a few months ago, and she sent me for a blood test, which of course, I didn’t get (I HATE needles).

When I was listening to coast FM the other day they had a naturopath, Lisa Mitchell ND, speaking about the thyroid. Naturally I was interested, and on Saturday I went along to a seminar on the tyroid at the Myddfai Wellness Centre.

I really like the idea of a naturopathy- an alternative medicine that focuses on natural remedies and the body’s vital ability to heal and maintain itself. To me, as a christian, it makes a LOT of sense. I know from my work in education that the brain is an amazingly complex part of our bodies. It would make sense that, with the right support, our body would be capable of equally amazing things.

I wrote some notes while I was at the thyroid seminar and through I would share them with you here.

Thyroid

1 in 5 women have thyroid disease.

Everybody is different and needs individual help.

Thyroid gland- makes hormones (thyroid hormones and calcium hormones) thyroid hormones dictate the rhythm of our entire body. Sometimes illnesses are misdiagnosed and it is really the thyroid that causes the problem.

Thyroid diseases: Hypothyroidism (low thyroid hormone) Hyperthyroidism (high thyroid hormone)

Low is more common then high.
When your thyroid is low: you might be slow, tired, dry skin, flaky nails, thin hair, sensitive to cold. Sometimes you might be puffy- holding fluid.

How to know if you have a problem: temperature check first thing in the morning. Take temp for a few mins.
36.5->36.9 regular temp. Should be between these.
Take temp on day 2-9 of menstrual cycle.

Tests you can get (from the doctor):

TSH: thyroid stimulating hormone. This hormone is produced by the brain, and makes more to wake up your thyroid. You can test to see if you do/don’t have this.

Free T4: This checks your T4 levels. Thyroxin. This doesn’t have a huge effect on our bodies becuase we have to convert this to T3 in our liver and kidneys.
Free refers to bound (to protein-not active) vs free. Free is active.

Reverse T3- incase of stress/ inflammation get this test. Might be accidentally making this.

Thyroid Antibody: ‘homemade’ antivirus. Immune system check. Immune system is cultivated a lot in our gut.

Vitamin D. Get from sun- you need this to help your tyroid.

Foods and thyroid health.

Thyroid hormones made of Tyrocine which is essentially protein. Eat more protein. Nuts, legumes, meat etc. in REGULAR amounts.

Iodine. Iodine important for brain, ovary function, breast tissue etc. You get this from FISH. Seaweed. Sardines, salmon etc. More ‘fishy’ fish.

Zinc- one of the most important. Helps convert T4 to T3. Eat: eggs, seeds, whole grains.
Affects our tastebuds etc.

Sallenium. Helps with conversion of T3/4. Best way to get it: Brazil nuts. 3-4 each day.

Avoid:
Goitrogens. If you have all the nutrients you needs these aren’t important to cut out. But you do need to cut them out while you’re building up your nutrients.

Brasicas: Cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, kale etc.
Soy: soy milk (whole soy bean not such an issue). Peanuts. When they’re raw and you’re nutrient levels are low it is bad.

Chemicals: fluoride and bromide. Similar to iodine and therefore compete with it.

Fluoride: Found most comonly in toothpastes. Choose Fluroide free toothpastes.
Fluoride protects our teeth is sweet/acidic environments. Better to avoid sugar/softdrink and not need the fluroide.
Bromide: flame retardants etc. Open the windows/doors so that they don’t build up. Indoor plants help clean the air. Anthuriums are v. good.
Less processed and more organic foods. Grow your own.

Tags: food, health, healthy, natruopath, thyroid