The Affects of Thyroid

I saw the wonderful doctor today!  Over the past few months I have kind of been through a whirl wind of energy and depletion.  Before I went on the Primal Diet I was completely wiped of energy.  After beginning it my energy level improved immensely and I began losing weight!  YAY!!!  When I went to see an allergist and immunologist we spoke about my past medical history and he decided we should probably look at autoimmune disorders as a cause for the incredible weight gain and speed I had.  He found that I have hypothyroidism.  It looked pretty mild at first and we treated it with a relatively low dose of Cytomel. 

I began to lose weight even more rapidly, I had energy, I was able to think more clearly and was no longer misplacing myself, and best of all I no longer felt at all depressed.  (Had I not gone to some pretty progressive physicians, I may have never gotten treatment though.)  After being on Cytomel for awhile, I was switched over to Armour thyroid; and within a very short period of time I lost the energy I had built up, got foggy and disoriented, gained a whopping 12 pounds in one week, and I definitely was beginning to feel overwhelmed and depressed again.  Thankfully, today it was decided I most probably have Hashimoto's disease (the most prevalent cause of hypothyroidism), and we are increasing the dose.  It always makes me feel better to know that there is an improvement coming :)

My suggestion is that if you have these symptoms and have not had a lot of luck with physicians or felt a little bit discriminated against due to weight with physicians you have seen, you should search around town for a few very progressive physicians and/or an immunologist or low-carb physician.  Being obese is not always caused by overeating; however, finding a doctor that will look beyond saying eat less and exercise more can be difficult.   


Common symptoms

• Hair loss
• Fatigue/sluggishness
• Cold intolerence
• Confusion/mental fog
• Depression
• Weight gain
• Dry skin
• Puffy face
• Hoarse voice
• Elevated cholesterol
• Muscle aches, tenderness, stiffness, primarily in your shoulders and hips
• Pain and stiffness in your joints
• Swelling in your joints
• Muscle weakness, especially in your lower extremities
• Excessive or prolonged menstrual bleeding (menorrhagia)

So what exactly is Hashimoto's disease?  It is an autoimmunity to thyroid.  Your body will actually kill off its thyroid production by producing antibodies that attack the thyroid.  This process also causes inflammation much like how the body responds when fighting off any infection.

The good news is that after going primal there is a good chance that your thyroid will begin to regulate itself a little bit better :) 


For more information - Mayo Clinic