Synthroid patients who actually succeed in eating breakfast?
Options
Replies
-
I'm not sure about the synthoid thing, but I can relate to the ADHD and breakfast thing. I was just recently diagnosed with Hashi's too, but it's too early to do anything just yet. (It's super early stages). I can imagine this will be interesting once I have to remember a pill pre-caffiene. I also have ADHD that until very recently has been unmedicated for as long as I can remember. And if I decide (or remember) to take my adderall for the day it's not kicked in until I get to work. So, dragging myself out of bed to prep lunch or breakfast is hard to do sometimes.
One of the things I do is I have a non-perishible food stash at my desk for just in case type situations. If I forget my lunch, or if I forget to grab breakfast on my way out the door I'll always have something to eat. So things like nuts, trail mix, protien or fiber one bars, instant oatmeal, portable peanut butter cups, instant noodles, canned goods with easy open tops (no need to remember the can opener). These types of things won't spoil if you leave them in your car accidentally. Heck they could just live there actually. When I buy them, they stay in my car instead of bringing them inside so I won't forget to take them to work the next day. If you have a bit of time in the evenings (and your pain can handle it) you could make ahead things like sandwiches or overnight oats for the next day. You could also make extra dinner so you have leftovers. If it's non-perishable hang it in a sack on your door knob so you can't forget it. If it is something that is refridgerated, set an alarm (or three) on your phone, and then a sticky note on your bedroom door, the refridgerator, and on the front door (or wherever it's in your face and you can't ignore it) as a reminder to grab your food and ice packs from the fridge. I hope you find something that works! Best of luck!2 -
Crafty_camper123 wrote: »I'm not sure about the synthoid thing, but I can relate to the ADHD and breakfast thing. I was just recently diagnosed with Hashi's too, but it's too early to do anything just yet. (It's super early stages). I can imagine this will be interesting once I have to remember a pill pre-caffiene. I also have ADHD that until very recently has been unmedicated for as long as I can remember. And if I decide (or remember) to take my adderall for the day it's not kicked in until I get to work. So, dragging myself out of bed to prep lunch or breakfast is hard to do sometimes.
One of the things I do is I have a non-perishible food stash at my desk for just in case type situations. If I forget my lunch, or if I forget to grab breakfast on my way out the door I'll always have something to eat. So things like nuts, trail mix, protien or fiber one bars, instant oatmeal, portable peanut butter cups, instant noodles, canned goods with easy open tops (no need to remember the can opener). These types of things won't spoil if you leave them in your car accidentally. Heck they could just live there actually. When I buy them, they stay in my car instead of bringing them inside so I won't forget to take them to work the next day. If you have a bit of time in the evenings (and your pain can handle it) you could make ahead things like sandwiches or overnight oats for the next day. You could also make extra dinner so you have leftovers. If it's non-perishable hang it in a sack on your door knob so you can't forget it. If it is something that is refridgerated, set an alarm (or three) on your phone, and then a sticky note on your bedroom door, the refridgerator, and on the front door (or wherever it's in your face and you can't ignore it) as a reminder to grab your food and ice packs from the fridge. I hope you find something that works! Best of luck!
Thanks for ideas! Just a note for you (besides sympathy in advance given that eventually you'll be joining the ranks of No Caffeine OR Adderall For the First 30 to 60 Minutes of the Day For the Rest of Your Life). . .consider looking for a second opinion endo. I don't know what exact numbers "too early to treat" means, but based on my experience, many endos won't consider giving you your first teeny Synthroids until the disease has already been making you miserable for years. Starting low-dose Synthroid based on presence of thyroid antibodies plus symptoms, even if the TSH is still "normal", is within the bounds of mainstream licensed endocrinology--no need to go see some expensive questionably qualified private doctor who's into natural hormones etc. Just need to shop around for endos who take your insurance who "treat on symptoms". Worth considering, if you have symptoms already.
Hoping that maybe I can manage some of the ideas you list. If you imagine your whole day with no Adderall, you might have an idea of the degree of challenge here!1 -
i would recommend seeing a professional who can maybe help you develop some coping skills to deal with all this various conflicting needs - i don't have ADHD - but i have talked to people before about issues when i've felt overwhelmed and its been beneficial to me (be it making lists; prepping ahead of time what i can)
you need to come up wiht a plan - because obviously this is causing significant life issues - if you are needing to fast all day or can't focus in the am without a stimulant (which coffee is) - are you on the right dose of meds?4 -
I wish I could help you more, I can hear the struggle in your writing and it can be exhausting trying to solve something that seems to throw up new issues with every idea.
With the compounding medical issues, narrow timeline, and food requirements the only things I can think of are:
1. Get permission to work from home for all/part of your workday, site medical reasons. Fasting and trying to stay functional mean you would be more likely to be productive if they let you work remotely. I know not all jobs are open to this, but you have good reason to ask for it.
2. If #1 fails, look for either a new job or a new home so commute becomes less restrictive. Again, extremely hard to do I know. But your health is important, you cannot continue as you have been long term or you will crash and burn your health.
3. Speak with your doctor and explain the exact issues you are having. If you can't go to a nutritionist/dietitian the doctor should be able to provide some suggestions on how to handle your medications. Maybe they have different scrips you can try that would fit your life better.
0 -
Also, what about non-stimulant ADHD meds like Strattera, Intuniv & welbutrin? Have you talked to your doctor about those? If you can take those, maybe they might help bring back some focus? If not, I personally have found taking fish oil supplements to help with my focus a little. (talk to your doc). And my doctor recommended I take selenium to prevent my antibodies from getting too high. I have found that since I started taking it, I have less brain fog and better focus. Something to bring up to your doc too? Also here's a website I stumbled on a few months ago I found so many helpful things in it to help manage my ADHD even without meds. There's a ton of good info here written by people with ADHD. https://additudemag.com/2
-
emmies_123 wrote: »I wish I could help you more, I can hear the struggle in your writing and it can be exhausting trying to solve something that seems to throw up new issues with every idea.
With the compounding medical issues, narrow timeline, and food requirements the only things I can think of are:
1. Get permission to work from home for all/part of your workday, site medical reasons. Fasting and trying to stay functional mean you would be more likely to be productive if they let you work remotely. I know not all jobs are open to this, but you have good reason to ask for it.
2. If #1 fails, look for either a new job or a new home so commute becomes less restrictive. Again, extremely hard to do I know. But your health is important, you cannot continue as you have been long term or you will crash and burn your health.
3. Speak with your doctor and explain the exact issues you are having. If you can't go to a nutritionist/dietitian the doctor should be able to provide some suggestions on how to handle your medications. Maybe they have different scrips you can try that would fit your life better.
the different formula of synthroid could be considered - for some reason i react to the generic (levothyroixine) MUCH better than i do to synthroid (the brand - which made my levels go haywire)0 -
IHateMyThyroid wrote: »Crafty_camper123 wrote: »I'm not sure about the synthoid thing, but I can relate to the ADHD and breakfast thing. I was just recently diagnosed with Hashi's too, but it's too early to do anything just yet. (It's super early stages). I can imagine this will be interesting once I have to remember a pill pre-caffiene. I also have ADHD that until very recently has been unmedicated for as long as I can remember. And if I decide (or remember) to take my adderall for the day it's not kicked in until I get to work. So, dragging myself out of bed to prep lunch or breakfast is hard to do sometimes.
One of the things I do is I have a non-perishible food stash at my desk for just in case type situations. If I forget my lunch, or if I forget to grab breakfast on my way out the door I'll always have something to eat. So things like nuts, trail mix, protien or fiber one bars, instant oatmeal, portable peanut butter cups, instant noodles, canned goods with easy open tops (no need to remember the can opener). These types of things won't spoil if you leave them in your car accidentally. Heck they could just live there actually. When I buy them, they stay in my car instead of bringing them inside so I won't forget to take them to work the next day. If you have a bit of time in the evenings (and your pain can handle it) you could make ahead things like sandwiches or overnight oats for the next day. You could also make extra dinner so you have leftovers. If it's non-perishable hang it in a sack on your door knob so you can't forget it. If it is something that is refridgerated, set an alarm (or three) on your phone, and then a sticky note on your bedroom door, the refridgerator, and on the front door (or wherever it's in your face and you can't ignore it) as a reminder to grab your food and ice packs from the fridge. I hope you find something that works! Best of luck!
Thanks for ideas! Just a note for you (besides sympathy in advance given that eventually you'll be joining the ranks of No Caffeine OR Adderall For the First 30 to 60 Minutes of the Day For the Rest of Your Life). . .consider looking for a second opinion endo. I don't know what exact numbers "too early to treat" means, but based on my experience, many endos won't consider giving you your first teeny Synthroids until the disease has already been making you miserable for years. Starting low-dose Synthroid based on presence of thyroid antibodies plus symptoms, even if the TSH is still "normal", is within the bounds of mainstream licensed endocrinology--no need to go see some expensive questionably qualified private doctor who's into natural hormones etc. Just need to shop around for endos who take your insurance who "treat on symptoms". Worth considering, if you have symptoms already.
Hoping that maybe I can manage some of the ideas you list. If you imagine your whole day with no Adderall, you might have an idea of the degree of challenge here!
Not to go off topic, but just for info sharing: TSH, T3 and T4 are all *normal , with TPO's elevated being the only sign. I get symptoms, but they are so inconsistant that my doctor is worried synthroid would throw me into hyper while I'm not having a flare up. So I dunno. Since they're not consistantantly bothering me and selenium seems to be taking care of the symptoms I do get, I'm in wait and see mode for now.
And I am on caffiene only today.. Which reminds me I should probably get back to work now actually... :laugh:
ETA: *Normal, as in within current guidelines not the guidelines of yesteryear.0 -
I am honestly not understanding why this is so complicated? Either get up half and hour earlier and eat in the car once an hour is up, or bring something with you and eat it when you get to work?6
-
Thanks everyone again!
deannalfisher: No, I'm not on the right dose of meds.
But I can't take the right dose of meds. I have acquired long QT syndrome because, like many females with adult ADHD who weren't diagnosed as children, I was misdiagnosed as bipolar for years, and those meds have left me with long QT for life even though they were for a disease I don't have.
Likewise Crafty_camper, Strattera and Intuniv are also not permitted with long QT, and Wellbutrin causes freaky emotional side effects and no good effects for me. I'm on a way-off-label fourth-tier regimen of guanfacine and low-dose Provigil so that I'm getting at least some help, and trying to get cardiac clearance to up the Provigil from a titration dose to a therapeutic dose. But that's as good as it's realistically gonna get. Unfortunately, acquired long QT doesn't often go away.
I do take selenium and have done for years, along with ginseng and lion's mane for the ADHD. It's probably as good of a cocktail as I can manage without cardiac clearance. . .but I can't have any of that stuff until after I digest the danged Synthroid lol!
Back to deannalfisher: #1: I've already requested work from home on ADA grounds and been denied. When I had a doctor's note saying I couldn't drive immediately post-accident. I was told that I could Uber to work (60 miles, one way, no public transit exists) or be fired. It's idiotic but there it is. No one in the history of this company has ever been allowed to telecommute.
#2: I can't move house because I own it, but I am both actively looking for a different job and sending out feelers to pain docs and neurologists about whether it's time to consider just going on disability (my insurance policy won't pay out for more than 2 years on mental health, so it would have to be on basis of injury to have a chance). But no firm solutions on either front yet. #3 I see my psychiatrist again on Monday, and my endocrinologist in early January. (Just to add to the black comedy, I've been without an endo all through 2018 and getting my Synthroid written by my PCP since my long-term specialist's partner moved to Texas, she couldn't afford the rent on their office alone, and she only just found a new job! She found a new job before I found a new endo on my insurance and taking new patients! I think once I see her that may help some.)
33gail33: I think it's complicated more because of having all three of Hashimoto's, ADHD, and autism together. I totally see how it's bafflingly uncomplicated if you're neurotypical!
I should try to get back to work too. Not even the ADHD--I just don't get enough work to fill 8 hours at my usual rate of productivity and the boss grades on presenteeism, so Looking Busy is one of my core activities each day.3 -
i'm making the assumption you are seeing a cardiology for your long QT syndrome? I highly recommend you get them, your endo, your psychiastrist and your PCM on a conference call together to figure out a cohesive treatment plan - each one tends to treat in a silo and not the larger picture.
beyond a psychiatrist - i would recommend a behavior therapist - someone certified in CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) to help - sometimes solutions are beyond medical intervention (and there are CBT folks who work with ADHD diagnoses)2 -
As far as 'how do I eat something in the morning': I'm not sure OP ever responded to any of the suggestions to take a small cooler, but as someone who lives in a hot area (110 deg is normal; "cold" for us is low 60's), everyone i know uses one most of the year. I spend a lot of time commuting, and i may not know until the last minute that my start will be in the office 60 miles away instead of the one 25, so i always carry almonds, fruit (apples, bananas, grapes, clementines usually) carrot sticks, home-popped popcorn, KIND bars (no soy, low sugar, gf - and tasty!) sometimes trail mix and other travel-friendly foods. I take my thyroid meds at night.1
-
Yikes, ShinyFuture, adding variable location and last-minute scheduling to the mix is a tough one! I'm impressed!
deannalfisher, I'm looking for a cardiologist. Very challenging to get all the specialist appointments in when I'm on PTO accrual and I've already used it all up for 2018. But definitely on my list. It's very slight long QT rather than "OMG you need to see a cardiologist three weeks ago", but it's just a few microseconds too much for any mainstream ADHD script.
The behavior therapist is another longstanding To Do. I'm a CBT nonresponder. I used to have an amazing therapist who was certified in EMDR and who had tons of experience with adult autistic women. And then I got laid off from my old job and had to take this one, which is about a hundred miles from her office. Have been trying for a year to replace her within driving range. The only person I found was out of network, and literally within 24 hours after I located the practice, my husband's salary was cut by $8000 with no warning and I couldn't afford the out of network price any more.
I realize that you probably all think I'm writing fiction at this point, or that I'm psychotic and/or a hypochondriac! But I swear that all these laughably, improbably crappy things really happened! (I also got laid off from that last job the first day I came back after a hysterectomy, propped up with an abdominal binder and high on Vicodin. You can't make this stuff up. And if you did, the literary agent would tell you to tone your plot down.)
Everyone has been super supportive. Thanks!1 -
Nvm0
-
Okay. Here's my best shot. (For the record what I do is get up an hour early, take mine, feed the cats, work out, etc. then eat breakfast. But I completely understand if you can't face that hour in the morning. It's a severe pain sometimes, especially when I need to be somewhere at the crack of dawn.)
You can't do oatmeal or eggs because of the texture. How about making those things into your own protein bar / muffin? It would be temperature stable, have a better texture, and not necessarily candy sweet. I made some low-carb high-protein cranberry spice muffins for myself recently using a mixture of almond flour and steel cut oats, pecans, eggs, and so on. The recipe was a bit thrown together but they ended up being very filling, and I feel sure there are enough recipes for this sort of thing that you could easily find one to suit yourself. It wasn't expensive, and 6 muffins would keep you for a week. So you would only have to get yourself organized and together once, and then it would be grab and go.2 -
Since you state you cannot function without caffeine first thing and/or on the commute, and there is no indication in your posts of desire/ability to change that, talk to your doctor about switching to the soft gel cap or even liquid version of synthetic T4 replacement meds available. They were developed specifically to address digestion/absorption/allergic issues in some patients when it comes to the conventional pill based T4 meds. And reportedly there are published studies available online for perusal which demonstrate caffeine does not interfere with their absorption and/or can be taken *with* breakfast for improved QOL (quality of life).
If you learn during your own research concerning these two alternate formulations that the liquid version is still having problems with commercial availability - I skimmed over hits from a few years back concerning possible product discontinuation/subsequent reissue of FDA approval of for another manufacturer - ask your doctor if there are compounding options for it (or even for a gel cap version if there is a patient-favorable cost difference concerning). Compounding also comes with the added value of the ability to choose flavoring, fwiw.
If that is too much to take on at the moment, the other option I didn't see you comment on the earlier suggestion of so may have missed, and I second, is a conventional pill based switch to a different brand of synthetic T4 or a natural T3/T4 replacement medication. See if your absorption window is different with a different drug manufacturer than the one you are currently struggling with.
Good luck,2 -
I take synthroid in the morning and don’t pay attention to the time thing, because, between when i take it and when i eat breakfast, at least 30 minutes has elapsed and I figure it’s close enough. In 20 years, I haven’t had any issues.
0 -
I think dismissing a little prep might be a mistake. You're getting up and out and functioning enough each day, I'm not sure why the weekends would be out of bounds for a little self help? Even just some jars of oats and milk in the fridge Sunday night sounds like it would solve your breakfast issue entirely, and take not even ten minutes to set up.2
-
I take my synthroid in the morning. I’m on 175 mcg at the moment. I started Food Addicts in Recovery recently and have gave up sugar and flour and weigh and measure my 3 meals and don’t snack. It feels amazing. Every morning I have:
6 oz of blueberries (frozen that I put in the fridge the night before)
1 oz plain oatmeal, dry. Then I cook it with just water.
8 oz of plain non fat yogurt.
I split the berries and put them into my yogurt and oatmeal. So far I’ve lost 32 lbs just dieting. I recently started going to the gym to get over a mini plateau. I’m really happy with this program0 -
Can you eat simple sandwiches? Two slices of bread, something spreadable on it if you like (I know I don't), cheese or meat, maybe some vegetable, done. If you're able to eat in the car focus-wise then maybe that's an option.0
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 391.4K Introduce Yourself
- 43.5K Getting Started
- 259.7K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.6K Food and Nutrition
- 47.3K Recipes
- 232.3K Fitness and Exercise
- 388 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.7K Motivation and Support
- 7.8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.2K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.2K MyFitnessPal Information
- 22 News and Announcements
- 918 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.3K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions