Monday, October 12, 2009

Pill-popping Me,

I only ran about 39 miles this week, since I'm "cycling down" (that's ultrarunningspeak for "taper") for the Palo Duro 50K.

I have a confession to make.
I tell as many people as possible that I ran 44 miles in a week. I mean, I guess it sounds pretty impressive. It impresses me, and I did it. That's hard to admit out loud I impress myself but there it is. I've told fellow-counselors, my kids, pretty much everyone who's standing still and has ears. You'd be amazed how I slip this little tidbit into conversations.

But anyway, I went to the doc Thursday afternoon, and of course I told him. As in, "the last time I trained for a marathon, I dropped down to about 150 lbs. Now I'm running nearly twice as much, and my weight won't budge. " I weighed in at 176 pounds at his office.

He agreed that my situation was curious, albeit not unheard of. My cortisol levels are fine, although he wants to do a test of my adrenal gland function in a couple months if nothing changes.

He added a T3 supplement to my daily regimen. Side effect watch: I have to watch out for heart palpitations.

I asked the pharmacist if there was any food or drink that I should avoid or limit while taking this medication, and before I'd finished my sentence he said, "Don't eat soy. It interferes with thyroid meds."

Crap. He's the third pharmacy person to tell me that. As in, NO soy. NONE.

I was hoping he'd say something different. I make killer chicken-fried tofu, and I've missed it. I'll have to develop a chicken-fried seitan recipe, I guess. (Wheat gluten is one of our main sources of protein)

So. I've been on them for three days now, and I do feel differently. I feel more like my old self. These new T3 meds have a very short half-life, so we'll see in about a week or so if I'm feeling a placebo effect or not.

Meanwhile: Chicken-fried seitan. I'm on it.
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9 comments:

  1. Anonymous5:46 AM

    I'll be anxious to hear about the seitan; I pretty much never use it. Ok I've only used it once. Alas, what kind of vegetarian am I?

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  2. I remember commenting about soy to you way back when all this thyroid stuff started. Why didn't you listen to me? As an old hand at this thyroid biz I've done lots of research on it. Did anyone tell you about how calcium also interferes? As in, don't be eating yogurt, taking antacids, and/or popping your pill with milk?

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  3. Ok, I'll bite....I'm impressed about the 44 miles. Actually I am REALLY impressed.

    Chicken fried anything sounds tasty. Although seiten anything sounds horrible. I can't imagine that a food that rhymes with Satan, can taste good.

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  4. Girl, I can't believe I didn't share that with you.. my endo said the soy interferes with the medication and makes it extra hard to get it regulated. He also said no peanuts either. Broccoli and spinach only cooked (not raw) and in moderation. There is a book, Living with Hypothyroidism that has all this stuff listed. I'm willing to rule out anything to get mine right.

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  5. Oh, and I am totally impressed by 44 miles. lol Taks me 3 weeks to go that far! :)

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  6. OK, clarification:

    From what I understand calcium/dairy only interferes with absorption of thyroid meds - as in, if you take your pill with a dairy product or within a few hours of one. But then, so does iron. Most people just take the pills and then wait an hour, and wait until lunch to take supplements if you took your pills in the morning.

    Soy interferes with the thyroid meds on a molecular level - something to do with phytoestrogens. So it doesn't matter when you eat it in relation to the pill, it affects the efficacy of the endocrine system on the whole.

    I didn't give up all goitrogenic foods - I still eat spinach and broccoli, maybe once a week each, and cooked. But I did give up soy because I wasn't that into it in the first place, so it was an easy choice. It's hard to find energy bars without it, but the PowerBar citrus ones are soy-free and most Gu also doesn't have soy.

    T3 was the magic bullet for me in terms of weight loss and feeling good. T4 alone didn't do it for me. I hope it works for you!

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  7. One of my friends was having a really hard time losing weight despite going to the gym regularly and eating what I considered a very healthy diet. Eventually, she was diagnosed with a Thyroid problem and went on meds, but was still having trouble with her weight. Finally, she stopped eating soy and dropped a ton of weight - not sure how much, but she could fit into size 4 jeans. I couldn't believe it.

    Good luck, Misty ! I hope you find answers soon.

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  8. Man, this is making me want to check out thyroid meds. I've had the same issues - lots lots lots of running, biking, swimming - no weight loss. I have a theory that my body is used to the diet "famine" I impose on it, and it has adapted. I don't know what to do to fool my body into giving up the weight. For now, I hover around 160 as I have since February. It kills me that a year ago I was 140. 140!!!!

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  9. At the risk of sounding like a fanatic (which I totally am, but I hate sounding like it)...you should REALLY get tested for allergies. Food allergies have been shown to cause asthma, thyroid issues, inability to lose weight, arthritis....I can almost GUARANTEE you if you get tested, you will find things you are allergic to (not intolerant, allergic as in your body has an immune response). AND, if you eliminate those from your diet...you WILL feel better and see a marked improvement in your training. Not to mention, certainly you will lose weight. :D

    ReplyDelete

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