Re: Dawn update and diet issue

[Guest guest]

Hi Dawn,

As you may remember, I had gained over 30 lbs (stopped counting at 30) after starting tapazole. My base weight was around 110 - 112 so I looked and felt huge.That was around august and September of last year. Last week I went to try on some of my old skinny clothes - the size 4s and 6s and they all fit. The best news is that I seemed to have lost it without really trying or dieting. It's been over 10 months since I took my last dose of Tapazole. I imagine as your thyroid levels get back to normal, so will your weight. I know what your experiencing because I felt miserable too. I seemed to gain weight while just having a sip of water. You seem to be going in the right direction. Just take it slow. With all my best, Zoey

Hi everyone,I'm doing really well on the thyroid front, though still miserable about my uncomfortable upper abodomen (it has moved down a bit now!) and poor digestion AND EXTRA WEIGHT that will not go away.This has turned into quite a long email so I have put headings in capitals, but didn't want to send separate emails as the points all relate to eachother.RECENT RESULTSI had another endo appointment on Tuesday and he is happy for me to keep going on my "anywhere between 1.75mg and 5mg according to how I feel" per day of Carbimazole for the next three months.My blood levels were:FT4 11.6 (10-20)FT3 3.5 (2.5-5.3)TSH 1.310 (0.5-4.0)The last look at my TRABs 2 months or so ago showed they were at 2 (equivocal).DIETThese blood levels were taken on about day 10 of the Scarsdale diet (high protein, low carbohydrate diet). I wondered if being on a diet like this would effect my thyroid hormone levels; I had been feeling really quite hyper before I started on the diet, it seemed to reduce my hyper symptoms. I remember Elaine saying to me before on one of these boards, that low carb diets do make you more hypo.I don't want to be making irresponsible claims about dodgey diets, but if this is so (ie... if my memory serves me correctly on this point!) - is going on a low carb diet PERHAPS a reasonable response to thyrotoxicosis???? Or am I barking up a wrong tree with that idea?This is the second time I have done this diet in about 7 weeks. The first time I lost about 9-10 lbs in 14 days (I was 13st 6). Three to four pounds of that went back on, but I stableised at 13 stone (about 40lbs above my normal weight) after that first go and was just so grateful that at LAST I had stopped gaining weight in my sleep!! On the second go at this diet, I exercised everyday, swimming about 16 laps of a 50m pool and walking on the treadmill for about 45 minutes. I stuck to the diet totally and didn't loose a pound, in fact some days I gained a pound or two but that always came off again!WEIGHT WHINGE!I have the feeling that my body has decided that 13 stone is the new "set point" for me and is doing all it can to maintain me there. I don't want to go on restricted calorie diets because my instincts tell me that rapid weight loss and low calories might spark the whole hyper nightmare all over again.Equally, I do actually feel incapacitated by this weight, my knees hurt on the treadmill! I switch between feeling rebelliously bountiful and voluptuous(!) and terribly embarassed by my cellulite. Even if I could just loose 10 more pounds and get out of the "obese" category, I think I would feel alot better. I do not move JOYFULLY anymore and I used to forever be stretcing and flexing just for the sheer brilliance of those feelings... I used to climb things for my job, now I don't work and I look at bits of scaffolding and wonder if it would bear my weight and check around to see who would laugh at me for trying to get up there !I keep meaning to find some literature which celebrates the voluptuous, the fleshiness that many women encounter at different points in their lives... anyone got any book tips on that? I think it would make me feel better about myself if I could find such books and then that will help me to remain active.IRON.The endocrinologist said that my blood iron levels are at the low end of normal, and my body stores of iron (serum ferratin?) are below the normal range. This seems very strange to me as I was vegetarian until Jan 2001, and since I caved in and ate the ham I initially CRAVED with a vengence, I have been eating meat almost every day!My serum ferritin levels were low when I was veggie, and now I am a carnivore it has made no difference. I don't think it is about what I eat, but about what I am able to absorbe. I asked the endo if there are any "pernicious anemia type disorders that affect iron instead of Vit B12?" and he sat back in his chair to think about it before suggesting celiac disease (sorry..sp!)- I have been tested for this and it has always been negative. Is celiac disease like other auto-immune diseases - sometimes active, and other times not? Should I get retested for it and try and pick a time when my gust are hurting/after a bowl of pasta (which I don't eat because it often but not always, disagrees with me!)?This is very long. I should stop. Any tips gratefully recieved.Love to everyone.DAWN ROSE_________________________________________________________________Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp--- End forwarded message ---