My problems with my thyroid started in my teenage years. At
18, my parents took my to a well renown endocrinologist we will call Dr. K. Not
all of Dr. K’s tests were covered, and my parents dished out a lot of cash to
have various tests done. The results came back that I had several issues. One
of them was my thyroid, which would explain the tiredness and sluggish
metabolism among other things. The other issues I didn’t understand; not
everything was explained to me and a variety of medicines were prescribed. We
couldn’t afford them all. As I reached my twenties, I didn’t have health
insurance. My PCP’s were unable to help me other than to refill the generic
brand for Synthroid called Levothyroxine. As my thyroid spun out of control, I
gained more weight, and only had been told by my first doctor the tip of the
iceberg of my issues. I sought out another endocrinologist, one that some of my
other family members regularly saw.
The second endocrinologist, while more forthcoming with my
issues than my first doctor, would only add to my weight gain. He told me
(looking at the records from the first doctor, who just clearly choose not to
tell me everything) that I had Hashimoto’s disease. This is a severe thyroid
disease classified as an autoimmune disease because the thyroid gland is
attacked by in a “variety of cell-
and antibody-mediated immune processes.” (Wikipedia). It results in weight
gain, depression, mania, sensitivity to heat and cold, fatigue, migraines, hair
loss and much more, all symptoms of which that I experienced. It might interest
you to know that family members on both sides of my family, living and
deceased, have Hashimoto’s thyroid disease. It is strongly possible that my
Hashimoto’s disease is caused by wheat consumption. I have discussed this in
previous posts, but I will reiterate that one of the symptoms of having gluten
sensitivity is having autoimmune disorders such as Crohn’s disease, Hashimoto’s
disease, and even rheumatoid arthritis. This is because in some people, the
gluten can not be properly processed in the bowels, and has the ability to
sneak out into the blood stream and wreak havoc including causing the
production of antibodies that will attack the thyroid. My recent blood tests
not only cleared me of my insulin resistance, but my thyroid is functioning
better than ever. Time will tell as I lose more weight, and have my dosage
reduced, if wheat was the cause of this disease. Meanwhile, not only was
Hashimoto’s disease one of my issues, but I heard for the first time “insulin
resistance.” I didn’t know what it meant, or how to fix it. Dr. B, the second endocrinologist
prescribed metaformin and told me I couldn’t eat anything with sugar in it. “Why
are you gaining weight?” I remember him saying “you understand you can’t eat
anything with sugar in it right?” Well, no I didn’t understand that. There was
never any explanation of what insulin resistance was or how to eat properly
with it. And it was more than sugar. I would only find out recently that sugar
was more than what caused insulin levels to spike. It was wheat based foods and
starchy carbs.
I had several
more trips to the second doctor. Metaformin disagreed with me and resulted in
many trips to the bathroom! He tried Actos, which made me gain even more weight;
among other medicines for the “insulin resistance” I still didn’t understand.
My thyroid medicine kept being increased, but the Levothyroxine didn’t seem to
have any affect. I felt the same: tired and depressed. Due to the sudden weight
gain, my gall bladder was affected and I had to have it removed. I was about 22
when that happened. I remember clearly one day wondering if I would ever stop gaining weight. would I be 400 pounds? I didn't know. Would my husband still love me? Desperate, and not seeing results, and frankly tired of
being treated like shit, I went back to the first doctor, Dr. K, which again
cost me and my parents a lot of money out of pocket.
Dr. K said that
Actos and some of the other medicines that the first doctor prescribed were
ridiculous and known for their weight gain. My thyroid still not stable, he
prescribed a higher dose of the generic for Synthroid and also gave me some
samples of liquid metaformin which was supposed to be gentler on the body. It
did work somewhat, but without insurance was impossible to maintain. I went to
my regular PCPs for many years trying to do something about my thyroid, which
still wasn’t functioning properly. In between trying to deal with that, I went
to see a gynecologist in Monroeville who told me (while wearing nothing but a
hospital gown on a table, mind you, because she had just examined me) that
“having thyroid issues was no excuse for my weight gain and that I needed to
eat better and exercise.” I pointed out to her that she herself had some weight
to lose. (She was overweight, criticizing me!! That takes some balls don’t you
think???) She agreed that she had her own issues, but this was about me. Oh,
how caring. Gee, you shouldn’t have. Not
knowing my traumatic issues from childhood (see my very first blog) related to
being forced to exercise when I was younger, and basically growing up thinking
I was ugly and fat already, this pretty much was the worst thing that she could
have said to me. It would be many, many, years before I went back to a
gynecologist due to the depression that set in. No one could help me. I would
give up trying. This is just how I was and I was doomed to have Hashimoto’s
disease that would never get better.
Every doctor and
person around me thought I just couldn’t put down the fork. This was never my
problem. Not that I ate healthy mind you, but I wasn’t one of those people on
the “Biggest Loser” who didn’t want to give up their gallon of ice cream every
day. In fact, one of the symptoms of having such a severe thyroid disorder is
having a complete loss of appetite. I never felt hungry, just tired. I could
sleep in until 2pm wake up, and still not be hungry. I might eat once a day. So
someone explain to me, please, how, if your thyroid causes you to gain weight,
you are tired all of the time, and doctor after doctor is not able to even
stabilize my thyroid, how I was supposed to lose weight even if I found the
energy to work out????
I saw my regular
doctor for many years. At various times, he would encourage me to see an
endocrinologist because my problems were out of his specialty. I still see him
today; he always listened to me and did his best to help me, even at my worse,
darkest times. There were a few other
endocrinologists or specialists I tried during this years, whom I only saw
once, who usually either told me my thyroid was fine, or that I needed to take
metaformin. It was the same old stuff.
For my PCP, treating my thyroid was out of his realm of specialties, but
I begged him to help me anyway, having told him about all of my misadventures
with endocrinologists. He himself was unable to recommend a good endocrinologist in
the area. (Great. They are all clearly a bunch of asshats who don’t know what
the F@$# they are doing, I thought to myself).
He tried me on Armour, a synthetic thyroid drug made from the thyroid of
pigs. I tried this for many years, without any success.
About 26 or 27
years old at this point, and at 330 pounds, and with the encouragement of my
PCP, who was unable to stabilize my thyroid so far, I decided to try the market
again and see if I could find a decent endocrinologist again, who could help
me. I sought out a woman and UPMC in downtown Pittsburgh
I looked online
for reviews of endocrinologists. I wouldn’t be fooled again, I thought. I found
reviews for a Dr. E that had good reviews. He was a doctor that would listen.
Again I traveled downtown to an area that was supposed to be known for its good
health care and quality doctors. He spoke to me for an hour, discussing my long
history and my various symptoms. He wanted to see current blood tests before
addressing anything else, but it seemed promising. Two weeks went by and I
hadn’t heard anything from their office. I would spend the next two weeks
further trying to obtain some answers from someone in his office. They would
continuously refuse to let me leave a message for or allow me to speak to him.
Finally someone agreed to check my results and said that my results were fine,
and that if the doctor wanted to see me he would call to have me schedule an
appointment. I was completely jerked around by his many (no less than 6
different secretaries and nurses) and no phone calls every came. A few months
later I received a letter saying that his office had been trying to contact me
to make an appointment. (What the F#@!) By that time I was completely in
despair and had given up on endocrinologists again. I still have not seen
another endocrinologist since then. I was 28/29 when I saw my last
endocrinologist. I will be 31 in march.
I had my PCP
obtain my blood results from the last doctor, Dr. E. Before I had seen Dr. E I
had been prescribed 250 mgs of Synthroid and 5mgs of cytomel and I had been
taking it for several months. This seemed to be the right dose and combination
of things, my PCP said, as my thyroid was finally showing improvement. My
insulin levels and cortisol levels were still through the roof. I worked on
dieting and cutting sugar. I stopped drink any pop. I read a book called the
insulin resistance diet that instructed that if I ate a balance of protein with
limited carbs in certain proportions that my insulin would improve. I learned
from this book at least that when your insulin levels spike due to sugar or
carb consumption, that your body stores the sugar/carbs right to fat because it
is unable to process it correctly. So I had finally learned what insulin
resistance was- or so I thought. I started to lose weight just by dieting, not
eating sugary foods, pop, etc. Over a year’s time I lost weight and my thyroid
was stabilized for the first time. This was a year and a half ago. I had blood
tests done, and my insulin and cortisol levels were still high. I thought I was
eating better- so what was the problem? Also, the abnormally high levels of
insulin in my blood were causing other problems. High blood pressure, as well
as mood issues. My stress levels were through the roof. As you have seen from
my previous posts, this is the reason I joined the gym last year. I thought
more weight loss would be great, but I really wanted to do some yoga/tai-chi
sort of class to relieve the stress. I couldn’t keep going on how I was. The
driver’s license picture in my previous posts was taken in July of last year.
This is right before I joined the gym. You can see from my face that there is
one of me missing!!!! In 2011 I wore a size 26. Early in 2012 I was a 24. After
joined the gym in July, I started to lose sizes quickly. First a 22, and then
after not eating wheat and training with Brenton (see my last “special
dedication post!) I am now currently an 18. These are a little big on me as I
am starting to gradually work my way down to another size.
The real
breakthrough was when I stopped eating wheat. Not only is the Hashimoto’s
disease a symptom of wheat or gluten sensitivity, but insulin resistance is
commonly related to gluten and wheat. Eating all the gluten and starchy carbs
sends insulin through the roof for people like me with insulin resistance. For
people with insulin resistance, the body stores that sandwich you just ate or
pizza straight to fat. The person is swollen with insulin and unable to lose
weight and your blood pressure among other things is affected. It is highly
possible that reading the wheat belly in combination with the help of my
trainer saved my life. I would have continued to stumble around eating what I
thought was healthy, unknowingly sabotaging myself the entire time.
There is one more
person to whom I owe thanks. My mother was the one who helped pay for the personal
trainer, and encouraged me to do it. She is also the one who listened to me in
tears, over many years, taking me to doctors when I was younger. She also has
consistently been trying with me whatever different health foods, supplements,
or lifestyles I have been investigating this whole time, supporting me the
whole time. She recently bought me the wheat belly cookbook which is amazing!
Readers can look forward to some recipe reviews in the future! Thanks mom, you
saved me too.
Find your own
truth. Educate yourself. The internet is a great resource, but research some
books written about a particular subject by doctors/people who have done
extensive research and have studied numerous cases of what you are
experiencing. The truth is out there. It is up to YOU to find it. No doctor is
going to find it for you, and as Brenton said to me once, “there is no magic
pill” to make your problems go away or make you lose weight. Never give up and
never let anyone, doctor or not, convince you that there is no hope. Have
faith. I know some of you out there are not spiritual or religious, but I am
telling you that my prayers have been answered. “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and
it will be opened to you.” –Matthew 7:7.
God helps those who help themselves. Make the first step and seek the
knowledge. I’m willing to
help! Whether its blood pressure or depression or whatever, let me know what
topics you’re interested in and I’ll try to come up with some books to read and
review for you on the subject. Whether you’re a complete stranger or a good
friend, leave a comment or facebook me on what you would like to see. Be
healthy, have energy, be happy and LIVE!
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