I was recently diagnosed with Hashimoto's Thyroiditis. Up until five years ago, I was moderately active, could eat what I wanted and had great energy. I was curvy at 180lbs, give or take and had a lust for life. :drinker:

Long story short, I became hypothyroid from the result of chemo and radiation about five years ago after kicking Ovarian Cancer in the *kitten*. Unfortunately, the treatments also shut off my thyroid function (as I later found out.) I slowly started gaining weight and couldn't figure out why (up until a few months ago, when it was explained to me) It became harder and harder to lose weight, if any at all. I was gaining 5-10lbs a month and did everything I knew of at the time to keep it at bay. I was put on a 800 calorie diet to a 1800 calorie diet, and tried everything from Jenny Craig, Eating Clean to Weight Watchers. I've tried every shake, supplement, pill and exercise and wanted to explode from frustration: "Why is it so hard to lose weight!?"

Last year I then I went on Keto through the advice of my doctor (extreme low carb, high animal fat and moderate protein) and dropped 20 lbs with ease. Then I started gaining again after leaving my stressful job to unfortunately go to another one and couldn't lose. My boyfriend has lost 91 lbs with calorie restriction, simple exercise and I did the same. I gained even more weight when I tried to follow his regime. I feel like I am stuck in a fat-suit nightmare. I will admit, Keto is hard to go into cold-turkey from being brainwashed into thinking you need lots of carbs. I'll go back once I get the hang of Low Carb/Paleo.

I finally found an endo that would listen to me and not judge me by my weight, thinking I'm just lazy and not willing to change. My previous endo would up my Synthroid and tell me my labs were fine. I had no idea the labs shouldn't be the end-all of your treatment, and your endo should focus on your symptoms. My new endo works with me, talks with me and is open to using Armour. She did tell me she isn't thrilled at using it but is willing to let me try it soon.

In the meanwhile, she told me to try Nutri-Meds and keep a log of how I feel, weight loss and calorie via macro nutrient intake. Nutri-Meds Porcine Thyroid Supplement is weak compared to Armour/Efra but I feel a bit of a difference now taking it for a month. My basal body temp is becoming more normal but I still get a spike in temp at evening/night, yet that's when i feel the most pain.

Today, I am at 367 lbs from 368lbs as I finally kept off a pound for this week by going Paleo/Low Carb and with the use of Nutri-Meds. The supplements I take are Vitamin C, Super Complex B (liquid), Selenium, and Centrum Complete (chew-able) with the fattiest meal of the day for optimal absoprtion and 8 hours apart from my other medication, just to be safe. I use the community called Reddit, and they are informative, funny and open-minded. My protein and fat come from animal sources and I cook all my vegetables except for lettuce and anything pickled, in coconut oil. Seriously, upon the discovery of coconut oil has changed my digestive IBS woes into a normal state again. This stuff is amazing tasting on meats and vegetables and even more so, the liver utilizes the "fat" as energy immediately instead of storing it due to it being a Medium Chain Triglyceride (MCT.) It is found in food like avocadoes, nuts and cold-water fish (think Sardines, Salmon.)

Believe it or not, fat is good for you and especially for us women. I used to avoid it like the plague when I was gaining weight. My dietician explained to me that dietary fat (animal, nut and fruit-based oils) supports healthy brain, organ, vein, hormone and tissue function. Going low fat is much akin to killing yourself slowly. Keep your fat at 40-60% of your daily calories: you'll be surprised at how your mental fog lifts! I was taking Xanax and Zoloft, I no longer have to take them and enjoying even, logical moods! Menstrual Cramps are nil and my hair isn’t falling out anymore. Yay! If any of your are consuming soy and feel like crap, ditch it immediately. Also, do yourself a favor and get rid of your vegetable/palm oil products. They oxidize quickly and have an inflammatory effect on your body when consumed. Stay away from hydrogenization as well. I know, reading labels suck but you get good at it when your well-being depends on it.


As for medication, I am hoping to go on Armour or Efra (Canadian brand of desiccated thyroid.) by the 18th of April and start feeling better soon. I know there will be an adjustment period. I currently take the supplement by Nutri-Meds "Porcine Thyroid Supplement" that is whole desiccated thyroid. The capsule is 130mg and I take them with a meal as a whole capsule and alternate days with taking it sublingually (open it up, sit underneath the tongue for 30 seconds with a small amount of water, then swallow.) This has been a big difference in energy and less body pain from Hashimoto's. I still get a bit of adrenal fatigue here and there.

I take the Nutri-Meds supplement 4 hours apart from my Synthroid. Because of my weight, my endo has put me on 237mg and doing my research when I start Armour.

**From what I have read on Armour conversion, 1 grain is 74mg of replacement thyroid hormone. Please keep in mind that T3 is four times as potent as T4.
Multiply the 9 mcg of T3 times 4 ( that would be 36)

Then add that number (36) to the 38 mcg of T4: 36 mcg (9 mcg of T3 times 4) + 38 mcg of T4 = 74mg

So the end result is 74 mcg. The conversion for 1 grain (60 mg) of Armour equals approximately 74 mcg of T4 (Synthroid)

For better info, please go to http://drumlib.com/dp/000016.htm - it has a conversion chart for those who can't math sometimes. :bigsmile: (I'm one of those on my bad Hashi days.)

I also use Natural Progesterone cream (20mg) to help with low progesterone, as Hashimoto’s patients who are overweight can benefit from it. It helps my skin stay clear and keeps leg edema at bay.

Exercise is moderate to light due to pain but trying hard to keep active. Swimming is my next step to keep the joints from wearing out. I'm only 31 and I feel like I am 91 some days. :sick:

Thank you all for reading. I look forward to reading your stories!