Would Maca Root Help Thyroid?

I was researching natural ways to balance hormones in the body and came across a plant called Maca Root. It's been used for centuries by the people of the Andean Mountain region. It is considered as safe as any vegetable. There is some suggestion of goiter if you eat too much and have a low iodine diet according to Wiki. Seeing as how I have thyroid disease and a goiter on my thyroid, this is interesting to me. It does contain a good amount of natural iodine, which I am very interested in. Since I am researching the use of Iodine in the treatment of thyroid health, goiter, and nodules, this is very interesting.

This is definitely something I want to make note of and study more. I doubt I'll buy grow lights and grow them myself because I doubt I could reproduce the environment of the Andean Mountains for good growth, but this is something I've not heard of before and worth a closer look for thyroid health. Growing other organic vegetables to eliminate chemicals would be a definite plus for my health.

There are some other reported benefits, outside the thyroid, to its use as well if you're interested.

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Can You Prevent Swine Flu?

I posted this on one of my other blogs but it is relevant to this blog as well (Vitamin D is important in the winter months too for our health) so I'm posting it here too:

I found this article, 14 Ways to Prevent Swine Flu, and thought I'd share it with you. I knew a few of these:

• Optimize Vitamin D levels (there's a difference between being optimized and taking the amount to get you within "normal range" which is true for other things as well (such as treating thyroid disease).
• Lower stress levels (SO important).
• Get the right amount of sleep and exercise.
• Wash hands frequently (and not with antibacterial soap).

There's more though. Here's the link so you can check it out!

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New Armour Causing Problems

A lot of people are having problems with the reformulated Armour vs. the old Armour. To read some of the complaints, check it out here at Consumer Affairs.

What was the FDA thinking by forcing this? Big Pharma's greed I think!

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Poll: Do you take natural or synthetic thyroid hormone?

The poll closed. It was a 50/50 split for synthetic and natural thyroid hormone medication.

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Adrenal Fatigue by James L. Wilson

I just finished reading Adrenal Fatigue: The 21st Century Stress Syndrome by James L. Wilson, N.D., D.C., Ph.D. I was interested in reading this book because of the connection between stress and the adrenals (and thyroid disease).

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Questionnaire:

There was a questionnaire in the book to determine if a person has adrenal fatigue (hypoadrenia). You answer questions for a time in your past when you felt good and then "Now" questions.

The time I picked for "past" was early 2001, before I was diagnosed with thyroid disease. Even though I was in a constant state of stress back then (welcome to my life from the time I was a child on), my health wasn't showing the signs - or so I thought anyway.

Here's how I did on the questionnaire:

• For predisposing factors, my score was 10 (past) and 18 (now).
• For key signs and symptoms, my score was 18 (past) and 43 (now).
• For energy patterns, my score was 8 (past) and 14 (now).
• For frequently observed events, my score was 12 (past) and 22 (now).
• For food patterns, my score was 7 (past) and 10 (now).
• For aggravating factors, my score was 16 (past) and 15 (now) - I've learned to get some toxic mess (people) out of my life.
• For relieving factors, my score was 5 (past) and 6 (now).
  
  

Total Questions Answered: 50 (past) & 64 (now)

**This indicates I have some degree of adrenal fatigue.

Total Points: 76 PAST & 128 NOW

*This indicates that at that "past" point in 2001, before I was diagnosed with thyroid disease, I was showing mild adrenal fatigue. I've had a decline in adrenal health. At 128 points currently, I am showing a moderate adrenal fatigue at this time.

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Other notes from the book that pertain to me (there's a lot more to the book, but I only took note of things that struck a chord with me):

• People with adrenal fatigue many times have abnormal blood sugar levels (hypoglycemia). Guess that explains why I get so nauseous if I don't eat by 9:00 a.m. It says I am better off with several small meals as opposed to a couple big meals.
• Adrenal fatigue is usually caused by stress. Welcome to my world!
• Chronic/severe infections can be a source of stress on the adrenals - asthma, sinusitis, bronchitis, etc. I have asthma. Boy, I'm not doing too well am I?
• Stress can mean a lot of things: physical/emotional stress, poor diet, respiratory infections.
• Blood pressure is "an important indicator of adrenal function." Low adrenal function is likely the most common indicator. I've had really low blood pressure for years. At one appointment, the nurse looked at me strangely when it was seriously low. I asked her if I was alive. She said, "I was wondering that myself."
• Increasing salt intake can benefit the adrenals (if you have high blood pressure, you should definitely read more in the book). Sea salt is a good source of salt with more trace minerals than regular table salt. Kelp is a good source of salt. (I use Celtic sea salt...tastes good too.)
• There's a recipe in the book for "adrenal recovery soup."
• The book talks about a person's craving for chocolate and how it may be your body's craving for magnesium. I crave chocolate frequently.
• There is an Elisa panel that can pinpoint food allergies with just one blood sample. It covers 90-100 foods and a more comprehensive panel covers 175.
• Ashwagandha: has multiple health benefits and can treat adrenal fatigue but in too high a dose, it can inhibit adrenal function (above 35 gms/day).
• Adrenal cortical extracts (adrenal cell extracts) support, fortify, and restore normal adrenal function.

Here's his web site.

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Thyroid Books

I am interested in reading different thyroid books. I've read several and am posting about some of them here. If you have written a book about thyroid health and thyroid treatment and would like for me to review it here, contact me.

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My Biggest Obstacle in Thyroid Treatment

...well, besides finding a good, knowledgeable doctor who will treat with something other than synthetic from Big Pharma.

My biggest obstacle (other than the above): myself.

I need to get consistent and organized. Taking my medication twice a day instead of all in one morning dose is getting easier to remember as time goes on. I also need to get a schedule going for taking my temperature to help me monitor my thyroid needs (my period is a good indicator too - - painful and heavy when my thyroid is out of whack and normal when hormone levels are better). I also need to remember the Iodoral and look into when I should be taking supplements during the day since some are better taken in the morning, at night, with food, without food, etc. I need to get all that figured out.

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Thyroid-S Working, Weight & Mood Changes

Since switching to Thyroid-S (natural dessicated thyroid medication containing both T3 and T4) a couple weeks ago, from Synthroid (synthetic T4), I've lost seven pounds. My moods are better too. I'm all goofy and happy-weird again! I'm coming back!!

My temp last week was 97.1 (which is what it's been around for many years now and doctors just shrugged off as "normal" since getting thyroid disease). Yesterday, it was at 98, but I also wasn't feeling well so I don't know if that was a very low grade fever for me or if my temps are coming up now that medication levels are starting to stabilize. Time will tell! I need to get in the habit of monitoring my temperature daily since low temps is an indicator for me on thyroid levels and adjustments needed.

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What does celtic sea salt taste like?

I bought the Celtic sea salt, which is supposed to be much better for you than refined salt, but I procrastinated with using it. I was afraid it would taste funny. I'm not too adventurous when it comes to trying new tastes but I finally tried it.

It tastes good. It tastes like salt to me. I've been using it to cook with, as well as in my salt shaker. I'm wondering if I can get the really coarse Celtic sea salt and put it in a pepper grinder? I might have to try it.

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Finished "Feeling Fat, Fuzzy, or Frazzled?" Today

I finished "Feeling Fat, Fuzzy, or Frazzled?" this morning. One sentence in the book described how I've felt for the last eight years: "You began to feel less whole, not quite right, lost in a haze, a mere shadow of your former self."

I took a few notes from it that I want to look more into, such as:

• 500 mg Taurine with morning vitamin
• Digestive enzymes
• Ashwagandha
• Rosemary
• Padma Basic (Tibetan formula)
• Ten Mushroom formula
• Look into saliva tests for cortisol.
• Licorice for adrenal; IsoCort.

The book discussed a topic that I am seeing in a lot of different thyroid books: fluoride. The more I read, the more I begin to wonder why the hell it is in a lot of people's drinking water! Did you know that, according to this book, what they add to the water to artificially fluoridate public waters is "hydrofluosilicic acid, an industrial waste product of the fertilzer and aluminum industries." Huh...doesn't that make you want to go turn on your tap and drink a nice, cool drink of water now? The book also says that less than 5% of the world's population drinks artificially fluoridated water (in Europe, that number is 2%).

What countries have BANNED FLUORIDE? Japan, Denmark, Sweden, India and Holland.

To read more about fluoride, go to the Fluoride Action Network and Keepers of the Well.

The book had questionnaires for a self-evaluation. My total thyroid score was 55. My adrenal score was 48. My Women's Sex Gland evaluation score was 37. This was to determine what type of "endo type" I was. I had the most points for thyroid so that makes my primary type a "physical endo-type" or "feeling fat." Given that my adrenal score was so close to the other, it bears looking into as well. For adrenal, it is an "emotional endo-type" or "frazzled." Sex-hormone evaluation is said to be a "mental endo-type" aka "fuzzy thinking." I feel all of the above so I guess it's no surprise that each category had so many points for me.

Another web site to look into: Canary Club. It's a support web site about hormonal imbalance.

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My Health Update

I've been slowly changing over from my synthetic thyroid medication to a natural dessicated thyroid medication over the last couple of weeks. I'm doing fine on the transition - no hyper symptoms like increased heart rate. No panicky feeling at all.

I've finally lost a few pounds so I think the T3 in the natural medication is better for me personally! I lost five pounds when I did this before (but my medical doctor freaked out over it - natural medication - so I stopped until I found the information I needed to manage my thyroid better myself).

I was taking iodine and am using Celtic salt during that time as well but I haven't been consistent with that yet. I guess it's a routine I have to create and get used to and I forget about the iodine more often than not (thyroid brain fog doesn't help me remember;). Once I get onto the Iodine routine, I'm hoping the goiter and nodules will shrink.

Hopefully the weight loss continues!

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Current Thyroid Reading

I am currently reading Feeling Fat, Fuzzy, or Frazzled?: A 3-Step Program to: Restore Thyroid, Adrenal, and Reproductive Balance, Beat Hormone Havoc, and Feel Better Fast!. It's written by a husband/wife team. They're also a doctor/nurse. They run the web site, Thyroid Power.

I'm about halfway through it yet so I don't have much of an opinion at this point. It talks about three different endo types but I am finding that I have many symptoms that fall into all three types. I've taken a few notes for things I want to remember to try (vitamins, minerals, antioxidants). I'll update after I finish reading the book, which I have to do in the next few days because it's overdue at the library.

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