hypothyroidism

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SteeleMagnolia
SteeleMagnolia Posts: 14
in Food and Nutrition
When my doctor ran blood work on me she said all my counts were good except my thyroid was off by only a couple points. Which explains the massive hair loss! Does any one have any special advice for a slow thyroid? I don't take medicine if I can help it but I do take a natural iodine supplement. I do know you have to cook broccoli, cabbage, etc. because it can block thyroid function.

I eat whole food. Organic when possible. No artificial sweeteners or chemicals. No soy. Any other suggestions?

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  • MyaPapaya75
    MyaPapaya75 Posts: 3,143 Member
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    good post my thyroid levels are insane..im awaiting a doctors visit to start med..its possible to lose weight I lost 75lbs prior to knowing about my thyroid it just seems to take a lot more excercise and a very strict diet.
  • key03
    key03 Posts: 26
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    I wish I had an answer for you but I dont, I was diagnosed with an under active thyroid 22 years ago, I now have to take 200 mcg of thyroxine a day and it's still only border line even with the medication. if anyone does know a way around having to take the thyroxine I would love to know :)
  • SteeleMagnolia
    SteeleMagnolia Posts: 14
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    Do you eat anything special or avoid anything in particular - thyroid related that is? And congrats on the 75 lb loss, that's great!
  • Hoosiermomma
    Hoosiermomma Posts: 877 Member
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    I am on synthetic thyroid for about 6 years now with no known bad effects. From everything that I have read the thyroid is not naturally adjustable and the effects of hypothyroidism are not worth risking. I resisted for three years (with many mid-day naps :sick:. ) The information that my doctor convinced me with is the loss of calcium my bones would experience if I did not get to normal levels. I have only had to up my level once and am tested every year. I have not noticed any change in weight loss while on the medicine. I feel NORMAL!. (Good thing) :happy:
  • elid
    elid Posts: 209 Member
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    I also have hypothyroid. I'm on levothyroxine, and I'm careful to take it every day. I also avoid soy in most forms whenever possible (difficult because I love edamame and tofu).

    I've found that one of the most important things (non-medicine) for me has been exercise. Even if I'm feeling fatigued (which still happens sometimes even on meds, though not nearly as bad as it used to be), I'll still try to motivate myself to get moving. *Some* exercise is better than *no* exercise, so if I can't do 45 minutes of cardio, a 10 minute walk will still usually help! I always feel more energetic after I exercise.

    One thing I'm going to try and do this year is get my metabolism tested. (You can go to places that will measure your resting metabolism and can give you a report on how many calories you burn in a day at rest.) My weight loss has slowed a little. It's not slow to the point of being super frustrating, and I've started strength training to combat the slowing down; but when I was bigger, I think I had more wiggle room with my calories, so eating a little more than I needed to probably didn't hurt me any. However, now that I'm getting closer to my goal, I think it might be valuable to know just how slow (or fast) my metabolism is due to the hypothyroid. It is entirely possible that the BMR calculators around the web are calculating me too high, so I need to be a little more exact.
  • entwistle1979
    entwistle1979 Posts: 7
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    In 2007 I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's disease which my immune systems attacks my thyroid gland which causing me to have hypothyroidism. I take a single pill (synthroid) every morning and feel a lot better. I was also having a lot of hair loss and weight gain, was very fatigue, I'm not a big "pill" person either, but if a simply pill can help get my body in tract then I don't see a reason not to take it. Its better then what happens if you don't get it under control. My family has a history of thyroid disease (both types hypo and hyper). My suggestion is listen to what your doctor has to say. GOOD LUCK.
  • WritingMyLife
    WritingMyLife Posts: 57 Member
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    I was diagnosed with Hypothyroid 17 years ago and do take synthroid. I watch out for soy carefully, since it is in so many things as vegetable oil or isolated soy protein these days. (I don't know of a couple point deviation causing hair loss. PCOS will do that?) Also avoid chlorinated water (I found that out the hard way) and flouride (I still brush my teeth with flouridated toothpaste but rinse thoroughly.
  • elid
    elid Posts: 209 Member
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    (I don't know of a couple point deviation causing hair loss. PCOS will do that?)

    Everyone's body reacts differently to hormones (or lack thereof). Mine has only ever been off a couple points, but it had some really awful effects on me that have mostly gone away with treatment.

    (edit: That is not to say that something else might or might not have caused the hair loss; I am not a doctor and don't know! :smile: )
  • SteeleMagnolia
    SteeleMagnolia Posts: 14
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    PCOS - Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome? or something else? I haven't had any problems with that, not that I'm aware of any way.

    I've had the hair loss before and it was really severe then. I only have a couple half-dollar sized bald spots right now. i have noticed it gets worse if I use a non-natural shampoo. But it gets better with a perm. That one I don't understand. It's not some kind of fungus because the doctor tested for that also.

    Thanks for the replies. I was hoping for a 'natural' way to fix this but doesn't look like it so far.
  • juliatheresaxo
    juliatheresaxo Posts: 4
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    i have hypothyroidism. i take 100 mcg of synthroid (t4) along with 10 mcg of the generic version of cytomel (t3). I strongly advise using medicine, as their are BIG risks if your thyroid problem goes untreated. I stay away from anything soy, as it will hurt your thyroid even more, which you probably already know. other than that you can eat pretty much anything you want! veggies, meats, starches, anything! just watch out for that soy.

    also i've never heard about the uncooked broccoli thing.. that seems weird to me. please tell me more if you know!
  • WritingMyLife
    WritingMyLife Posts: 57 Member
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    (I don't know of a couple point deviation causing hair loss. PCOS will do that?)

    Everyone's body reacts differently to hormones (or lack thereof).

    Very true. I just did a little search and see it is a common problem. I have had many of the common symptoms but very little of that one.
  • WritingMyLife
    WritingMyLife Posts: 57 Member
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    also i've never heard about the uncooked broccoli thing.. that seems weird to me. please tell me more if you know!

    Here is a link to a page that explains goitrogenic foods, such as brocoli, for anyone who is interested. http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=george&dbid=47

    I have a big problem with soy. I used to eat it quite a bit as a teen and it may have exacerbated an underlying thyroid problem (which runs in my family.) Now I can only stand a little fermented soy occasionally.

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