How to take thyroxine so that it actually works!

How to Take Thyroxine So That it Actually Works

Some foods and habits can stop your thyroid medication from giving you the energy you need. Find out how to make sure your thyroxine works.

Posted by Sarah Tomley | Last updated: Mar 25, 2013

• Take thyroid meds with a full glass of water

Many people experience problems when taking thyroxine. Before suspecting that the dosage is wrong, or the brand you’ve been given may be incorrect, make sure that you’re not doing anything yourself to prevent your thyroid medication from working correctly.

Be Consistent With Your Thyroid Medication

The key thing is consistency: take the same dosage at the same time, with the same interval from foods, each day. After you’ve been on the medication for a week or so, which is how long it takes to build up to optimum levels, you’ll notice your body “expecting” a dose of thyroxine at that time. If you become inconsistent with the timing, undesirable side-effects can build up.

Consistency is more important than which time of day you choose to take your medicine. Although most doctors recommend taking Synthroid or any form of Levothyroxine first thing in the morning, many people find they suffer from fewer side-effects if they take their dose mid-morning (three or four hours after breakfast), or even last thing at night. In fact, recent studies have shown that a night-time dose seems to be the most effective, least disruptive and best-tolerated time for taking thyroid medication.

Make Sure You Drink Enough Water

The majority of the thyroxine dose is absorbed from the small intestine (the jejunum and upper ileum). To “propel” the pill down to the jejunum you need to drink a full glass of water – about 300ml (half a pint). This is essential, as the drug will not be adequately absorbed from other sites in the body.

Many people on thyroid medication keep a bottle of water beside their bed so they can take the synthroid or levothyroxine tablet upon waking, with plenty of water and nothing else. This helps to give the tablet time to absorb as you go about getting up; showering, shaving, putting on make-up and so on, before you’re even tempted to eat breakfast. It is critical to allow at least one hour before eating or drinking anything else, to allow the medication to be absorbed and converted correctly in the body.

Don’t Eat or Drink Anything That Stops Thyroxine Absorption

Some substances bind with thyroxine, preventing it from crossing the gut wall to be absorbed. These substances should never be taken at the same time, or within an hour of taking thyroxine tablets:

1. iron salts
2. antacids
3. calcium carbonate (including milk)
4. sucralfate
5. cholestyramine

Leave at least four hours if possible between taking calcium or iron supplements and a dose of thyroxine. Be sure to check that any orange juice you drink is not fortified with calcium, as even a small amount will affect absorption.

Be consistent with what type of foods you eat too, within reasonable limits. Eating higher-fibre foods means you’ll need a higher dose of thyroxine. If you were eating a high-fibre diet when you established the dose, stay with that diet. If you were suddenly to switch to a lower-fibre diet, your body would receive a higher dose of medication. Likewise, if you were eating lots of low-fibre foods, build more fibre into your diet very gradually, and keep your doctor informed as you may need to increase your thyroxine dose.

Many people find that cutting down on tea and coffee helps enormously, and recent research suggests plausible reasons: caffeine seems to prevent full absorption of thyroxine, while tea has a high fluoride content (see below).

Hidden Fluoride Affects the Thyroid

Flouride works wonders for our teeth, but spells disaster for those with hypothyroid conditions. Doctors actually used to treat hyperthyroid conditions (i.e. people with over-active thyroids) with fluoride – because it is so effective at slowing down the actions of this gland. Chief sources are tap water, toothpaste and tea. For this reason you may like to consider using a water purifier or filter, and buying fluoride-free toothpaste (available from many supermarkets and most health stores). Switching to herbal or fruit teas and avoiding the green and black teas will decrease your fluoride intake dramatically.

Soy Inhibits Thyroid Hormone Production

While soy is considered a healthy food on most levels, its isoflavones present a problem for anyone suffering from a hypothyroid condition. This is more pronounced in certain people; those with Hashimoto’s autoimmune thyroiditis seem particularly sensitive to soy’s thyroid-dampening effects. You can easily test its reaction on yourself by eating a soy-based product (such as soy sauce on rice or noodles); any “slowing down” effect will be felt within an hour.

The reason for this is that soy’s isoflavones inhibit the thyroid peroxidase which makes T3 and T4; people with hypothyroidism of any sort already make too few of these hormones, so soy makes a bad problem worse.

If you are taking any vitamin E supplements, check that they are not made from or using soy – most of them are, and these will act against your medication and act as a “thyroid-dampener,” like any other soy product. Either take your vitamin E at night (if you take Synthroid/Levothyroxine in the morning), or – better still – switch to a non-soy version.

Thyroxine–Drug Interractions

Be aware that Synthroid and all other forms of thyroxine may interact with other prescription drugs, possibly affecting both their efficancy and that of the thyroxine. Check with your doctor to see if you need to adjust your dosage if you are on anti-depressants: tricyclic and tetracyclic antidepressants can increase thyroxine’s toxicity. And don’t be tempted to take any form of “recreational” drugs while on thyroxine – many of them will interact to cause hypertension and tachycardia.

References

1. “Soy Protein Isolate Increases Hepatic Thyroid Hormone Receptor Content” Wenxin Huang, Carla Wood, Mary R. L’Abbé, G. Sarwar Gilani, Kevin A. Cockell and Chao Wu Xiao: the American Society for Nutritional Sciences, Journal of Nutrition. 135:1631-1635, July 2005
2. Effect of long-term fluoride administration on thyroid hormones level blood in rats.” Bobek S, Kahl S, Ewy Z.; Endocrinol Exp. 1976;10(4):289-95.

2nd day recording my eating habits!

Day 2 – recording what I eat

9:00am – 2 x croissants, pineapple, grapes and apple, pure apple juice 

2:00pm – 2 rounds of sandwiches with ham, mayo and tomato, packet of walkers crisps and a strawberry Muller light. Lemon cordial

4:00pm – Mars milkshake

9:00pm – Cheesy chips and battered sausage, pepsi max and an icecream

Well..lol as you can see a little better than yesterday! I think i did alright until dinner! What is very clear is that I have way too many takeaways! I think that’s where i need to begin on Monday, just eliminate them completely. I still don’t think that the times I’m eating are right. There is a massive gap between breakie and lunch, 5 hrs, that’s quite a while to go without any food. I need to have like, 6 smaller meals a day instead of two large ones. 

What else is quite clear from reviewing my diet, is that I’m not drinking nearly enough, this needs to be addressed. It could be the cause of my tiredness and water retention.

Medication and health

I almost forgot to take my meds yesterday because I have to take them in the morning and I take all my other meds in the evening before bed. So I have decided to take them at night only because it is important not to forget them. My diarrhea has stopped, but I am now constipated…lol can’t win can I!!!

I got a really early night sleep yesterday, went to bed at like 9:30pm, but unfortunately the insomnia hit and I was awake until about 3;30, tossing and turning. It is extremely frustrating because my eyes are stinging and I know I am exhausted but I just cannot sleep!

I took a nap at 11:00am and was able to sleep for an hour. It was a better time for me to nap and it worked a lot better than yesterday!

Once the children are back at school, Mike is gonna start taking me to the pool at least twice a week, because it is the only place where I can actually exercise almost pain free, and as an added bit of info, one of my friends informed me that they have steps going into the pool now instead of a ladder, which is way better for disabled people. I put on a article I found earlier about other exercises you can do when you are immobile, and they look quite fun! Can’t wait to give them a try!

Right I am off to bed to try and get some more sleep, or to just lay there mind-numbingly starring at the ceiling….whatever my crazy body decides to do!!

Big Love,

Em x

 

Losing Weight with Hypothyroidism

THIS IS THE ARTICLE THAT IS LITERALLY GOING TO CHANGE MY LIFE! I ACCIDENTLY CAME ACCROSS IT WHILST RESEARCHING HYPOTHYROIDISM. IT’S A BIT WORDY BUT TRUST ME, TAKE THE TIME TO READ IT BECAUSE IT MAKES COMPLETE SENCE, AND I FOR ONE FEEL A LOT MORE POSITIVE ABOUT MY FUTURE BECAUSE OF IT!

DON’T FORGET TO READ MY NEXT POST, I WILL BE PREPARING FOR MY NEW DIET THAT I WILL DESIGN FOR MYSELF AND AND FOR ANYONE ELSE THAT WISHES TO HAVE A GO! ‘THE GUCCI DIET’! 

Big Love,

Em x

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Information adapted from the book The Thyroid Diet: Manage Your Metabolism for Lasting Weight Loss

Many hypothyroid patients struggle with an inability to lose weight. At first, if you’d gained weight before your thyroid problem is diagnosed, you were probably told you’d be able to lose it more easily — or perhaps you were even told you’d lose all the extra weight — once you started on your thyroid hormone replacement. 

So you take your thyroid hormone, and the weightdoesn’t come off.

Later, despite “normal” TSH levels, and lower-calorie, low-fat diets and exercise, you find yourself still gaining, or not losing weight. You may also have high cholesterol levels. The doctor then tells you that your weight problem doesn’t have anything to do with your thyroid. 

Some of this site’s visitors have reported to me that they were on a 900-calorie a day diet, walking 3 miles a day, and not losing weight, and the doctor says, “well, you just must be eating too much.” 

What thyroid patients need to know more about are three factors that are likely at work for many of us with a difficulty losing weight — a changed metabolic “set point,” changes in brain chemistry due to illness and stress, and insulin resistance. 

Metabolic Set Point

According to Dr. Lou Aronne, author of the best-selling Weigh Less Live Longer, when you begin to take in too many calories, you have a small weight gain. Then, in order to maintain your set point weight, “your metabolism speeds up to process the excess calories, your appetite decreases, and some of the newly gained weight drops off.” He calls this metabolic resistance. 

Dr. Aronne believes that every person’s body has what is called a weight “set point.” Just like your body works to maintain a temperature “set point” of 98.6, it also appears to work toward maintaining a particular weight “set point.” 

His theory is that in people with a chronic weight problem, the body puts up only modest metabolic resistance to weight gain. If you continue to take in more calories than you burn, the metabolic resistance loses strength, and your body then establishes a new, higher weight set point. 

What this means is, if several years ago, as a woman at 5’7″ and 160 pounds you needed 2500 calories a day to maintain your weight, and now, after a diagnosis of hypothyroidism and a steady weight gain, at 210 pounds, you need 2800 calories to maintain your weight, if you dropped your calories back to 2500, would you lose the extra 50 pounds? No, as you reduce your calories and lose weight, your metabolic rate slows down, and according to Dr. Aronne, you’d probably only drop to around 197 pounds, although you’d be consuming the same number of calories as another woman of the same height who’s stayed steady at 160 pounds. 

This is probably the mysterious factor at play when we see someone who apparently eats even more than we do, but maintains a lower weight level, or conversely, the person who swears they don’t eat that much, but gains weight, or stays heavier. 

Dr. Aronne believes you can’t completely eliminate the metabolic resistance, but a slow steady approach to dieting helps to minimize it. Also, a key way to increase metabolism is through exercise. 

Changes in Brain Chemistry

Hunger is intricately tied to your brain chemistry. According to Dr. Aronne, your hypothalamus senses you need energy, and issues the brain neurotransmitter neuropeptide Y (NPY) with the message “eat carbohydrates.” The surge of NPY is what you experience as “hunger,” Once the hypothalamus senses you’ve eaten enough carbohydrates, it releases serotonin to tell the body, “enough carbohydrates.” 

But this system can be dramatically altered by several factors, all of which can be present in chronic thyroid disease:

• Your metabolism is too slow for the appetite level set by your brain. Thyroid disease slows down the metabolism. What your brain perceives as appropriate food intake levels can then exceed your body’s metabolism, creating weight gain.
• Your body is under stress, which interferes with the neurotransmitter functions, and is known to reduce the release of serotonin. In fact, part of the success of the recently recalled diet drugs fen-phen was the fact that they increase serotonin and create a “feeling of fullness.”

Dealing with brain chemistry, and helping to stimulate serotonin can be dealt with in several ways in addition to taking traditional anti-depressant drugs. Alternative medicine guru Andrew Weil, M.D., author of bestsellers Spontaneous Healing,, and Eight Weeks to Optimum Healthbelieves that the natural alternatives to boosting serotonin include aerobic exercise. Dr. Weil recommends at least 30 minutes of some vigorous aerobic activity at least five times a week. Dr. Weil also recommends the herbal treatment called St. John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum). More information on Dr. Weil’s natural recommendations for dealing with serotonin are featured at his website. 

Insulin Resistance

Insulin is a hormone released by the pancreas. When you eat foods that contain carbohydrates (which make up the majority of most of our diets), your body converts the carbohydrates into simple sugars. These sugars enter the blood, becoming “blood sugar.” Your pancreas then releases insulin to stimulate the cells to take in the blood sugar and store it as an energy reserve, returning blood sugar levels to a normal level.

Carbohydrates can be “simple,” high-glycemic carbohydrates such as pasta, bread, sugar, white flour and cakes, or “complex” lower-glycemic carbohydrates, like vegetables and whole grains.

Current theory claims that sugars and starches are far easily broken down than in our more prehistoric past, and today, many of us simply do not need and cannot process the amounts of carbohydrates that are considered “normal” by current dietary standards. For an estimated 25% of the population, eating what appears to be a “normal amount” of carbohydrates in fact raises blood sugar to excessive levels. The pancreas responds by increasing the secretion of insulin to the level where it will drive down blood sugar. For this group, consistently eating too many carbohydrates — but remember, what is too many for this group is not necessarily too many for the average person — creates a situation called “insulin resistance.” 

Insulin resistance means that cells have become less responsive to the effects of insulin. So your body has to produce more and more insulin in order to maintain normal blood sugar levels. The insulin can also remain in your blood in higher concentrations. This is known as hyperinsulinemia. 

In addition to those who seem to have a lowered need for carbohydrates, some people simply eat too many carbohydrates. Today’s low-fat diets emphasize more and more pasta, bagels, Snackwells, and sugary fat-free products, and most of these are high-glycemic carbohydrates. Basic over-consumption of high-glycemic foods carbohydrates can also trigger insulin resistance and overweight.

If you are insulin resistant, eating carbohydrates can make you crave more carbohydrates. You’ll gain weight more easily, and have difficulty losing it. It is estimated that 25 percent of the general population — and 75 percent of overweight people — are insulin resistant.

High insulin levels can stimulate your appetite, making you feel even hungrier than normal for carbohydrate rich food, while lowering the amount of sugar your body burns as energy, and making your cells even better at storing fat, and even worse at removing fat.

When you’re creating this excess insulin, it also prevents your body from using its stored fat for energy. Hence, your insulin response to excess carbos causes you to gain weight, or you cannot lose weight. 

The weight problems are not the worst aspect of insulin resistance. Insulin resistance may set up a whole syndrome of other serious health problems. For example, insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia, which tend to go together, are often precursors of diabetes. And insulin resistance is also associated with a substantially increased risk of coronary artery disease, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. 

Insulin Resistance and Thyroid Disease

It seems likely that hypothyroidism, with its penchant for slowing down everything else in our systems right down to our cells, slows down our body’s ability to process carbohydrates and our cell’s ability to absorb blood sugar. Hence, the carbohydrates we could eat pre-thyroid problems now are too much for our systems to handle. So excess carbohydrates equals excess insulin equals excess weight. Plus, the fun side effects of blood sugar swings (tiredness, dizziness, fatigue, exhaustion, hunger, etc.) that we may be mistaking as thyroid symptoms and our doctors say can’t possibly be.

Any illness — such as the chronic thyroid problems we all face — also creates physical stress. And stress raises cortisol levels. And increased cortisol increases insulin levels. (I know my cortisol was through the roof last time the doctor checked. She had no idea why.) More insulin means increased chance of insulin resistance.

There’s also a vicious circle aspect to this. The liver mediates between the activities of the insulin-releasing pancreas and the adrenal and thyroid glands, which are supposed to “tell” the liver to release glucose. If the adrenals and thyroid aren’t working properly on the “telling” end, or if the liver is sluggish, stressed out, or toxic, and not working on the “receiving” end, the system goes out of balance. Either way, the result is elevated excess insulin.

And ultimately, if your adrenal glands are stronger than your pancreas, this can potentially lead to diabetes. If your pancreas is the stronger organ, which is more common, then you get fatigue, lowered body temperature, and low blood sugar (hypoglycemia). 

All these factors mean that insulin resistance is probably even more of a factor for overweight people with hypothyroidism than for the general population. 

How to Lose Weight and Fight Insulin Resistance 

Weight loss is the most important method of eliminating insulin resistance. So it’s one of those chicken and egg situations. The less you weigh, the less insulin resistant you will be. But insulin resistance makes it difficult to lose weight. 

So, for people who are insulin resistant, one of the only effective methods is by eating a low fat, low carbohydrate, protein sufficient diet. This means that in addition to the usual restrictions of a low-fat diet, you also need to seriously limit intake of sugar and starches, cutting back on pasta, rice, potatoes, white flour breads, cereal, corn, peas, sweet potatoes, desserts, dairy products, meats, and fruit with a high sugar content. 

You may feel frustrated that there’s nothing left to eat. But you need to rethink your eating habits, shifting to a diet of chicken, turkey, fish, non-starchy vegetables, legumes, and certain grains. And for those who are insulin resistant, once you start eating this way, you’ll find it easier, as your carbohydrate cravings will subside dramatically. 

Exercise

Finally, according to Jean-Pierre Despres, PhD, Professor of Medicine and Physical Education and Director of the Lipid Research Center at Laval University Hospital in Quebec, “Exercise is probably the best medication on the market to treat insulin resistance syndrome.” “Our studies show that low intensity, prolonged exercise — such as a daily brisk walk of 45 minutes to an hour — will substantially reduce insulin levels,” says Dr. Despres. 

This article was adapted from the book, The Thyroid Diet, by Mary Shomon

So….here I am, I’m officially a blogger! eeeeek! Exciting!

 

Let me start at the beginning…

Like many people I started seriously dieting at 15, after years of bullying and taunts from my school piers. By then, because of the bullying, I had a poor relationship with food, un-knowingly my eating disorder starting at roughly 12 years of age. I would come in from school, after going to the shops on the way home and devouring four chocolate bars, and make myself a cup of tea, grab a whole pack of biscuits, and stuffy myself silly. Mum and Dad were both at work, so for an hour my sister and I had the house to our self. So after slamming back four chocolate bars and a whole pack of biscuits, i would feel full, but it wouldn’t stop me from gobbling up my dinner and pudding, then retreating to the toilet to throw up. I was unaware that this was in anyway wrong at the time. This would happen probably 4 times a week, if I didn’t throw up, i would spend most the night awake with nausea, with my mum by my side. She would say things to me like, ‘You bring this on yourself’, and ‘Your eyes are bigger than your belly madam’ or ‘Your just so greedy Emma’. Little did they know the real reasons behind this behavior. The thing was I never lost any weight it just piled on. I just remember feeling sad all the time at high school, I don’t remember one single thing that made me happy.

This went on until I was 15. I got the shock of my life one evening when I stood on the scales and I was 15st!! That was it for me, I remember looking at myself in the mirror, grabbing my belly and pushing it in hard, while I breathed in. I saw a slim me and I wanted it. But I couldn’t understand why I wasn’t loosing anything when I threw up, by then I knew it was Bulimia but I couldn’t even do that successfully! I remember visiting my Nan one weekend, and she started talking about weight watchers, and how much she had lost. She looked great, and and had the biggest smile on her face. I thought to myself, ‘I want that’. So I asked her if I could borrow her book sometime, but my lovely Nan did more than that. She had a spare points book that she gave me and she gave me a pile of diary sheets. She went through it all with me and said we would do it together. So I weighed myself there and then on her scales, 15st 4lb. The diet was a breeze and I lost 5st 6lb in just over a year! That following summer of 1997 was the best summer I have ever had! I was in a size 10 with DD breasts, I looked and felt awesome! Finally I had friends, and a boyfriend, I was on cloud nine, and I kept that weight off for 3 years. Those 3 years were the best. I got a job and spent all my money on clothes, my confidence was boosted and I dated loads. I still remember how I felt back then, it was a feeling of pure euphoria. (To this day, that time in my life still remains my happy place!)

In 1998 I met Mike. We married in March 2001. During that time, my weight started to creep up very slowly. When I walked down the isle my dress was a size 14, but I was happy still. My theory for the weight increase was that I was comfortable, I had found the man of my dreams, why worry about my weight? He loves me for me.

We married in the march and I fell pregnant in the September. It was fast, but it was what we wanted. Even though I had sickness all the way through the pregnancy, I knew I was putting on weight. I was young and naive and I thought it was all baby.

Our beautiful daughter was born on 7th July 2002. It was wonderful, the birth was long, but it was the best thing I had ever accomplished, I was finally a Mum! My weight after the birth had rocketed to 14st. Unfortunately I didn’t stay happy. I became extremely depressed. Post natal depression was not as well know as it is now, and I put it down to text book baby blues. My depression got worse. My day consisted of changing the baby, feeding the baby, cuddling the baby and crying. As the months went on, I went from an OCD cleaner to putting the hoover over and doing a small amount of washing up. Mike would put clothes in the washing machine of an evening, and when he came home the following evening, the clothes would still be wet in the machine and starting to smell. I felt I had nothing to look forward too. I stopped washing, my hair was greasy, I was a rec. We had shops down at the bottom of our flat and everyday I would go down and buy tons of chocolate and cakes and stuff my face throughout the day. In my mind though, I wasn’t worried I thought I could loose it quick, no problems. By Christmas 2002 I was 16st. Anya was 5 months and in that time I had only had one period. I put this down to the weight gain, that is until I started feeling sick and tired. I took a test and sure enough I was pregnant again!

Freyja was born 5th October 2003. It was a really easy birth and I was home the same evening. I was pleased because I had remained 16st and not put on anymore. The next 3 years were a rollercoaster. I tried many diets to shift my weight but couldn’t shift it. I  lost a stone but then fell ill. I ended up in hospital having a right nephrectomy (my kidney was removed). The kidney pain had been masking a chronic back and pelvic pain and difficulties with my ovaries. I was told in 2006 that my tubes were blocked and I would not be able to have anymore children. I was devastated because both me and mike wanted a large family. Once we had come to terms with the fact we would not have anymore, we set about enjoying the time we had with our two girls.

After my operation, I tried a few more diets, nothing ever taking off more than a stone. I decided to join a gym with one of my friends in the autumn of 2006 as I was nearing 18st. I got on the running machine and started to run. One of the trainers was watching me and after only 2mins, he pressed the emergency stop button. He explained that my heart rate had shot up, which was not normal for me, my blood pressure and heart rate are always low…unless i was pregnant! I rushed home and bought a test. Sure enough I was pregnant!!! We couldn’t quite believe it, it was a total miracle, one because of my blocked tubes but also my weight. Shortly after we found out we were pregnant with twins!

Millie and Grace were born 17th May 2007. This pregnancy was the best diet I had been on, I lost 3st, but of course its not diet you can really be on long term now is it!! Again after the twins were born, I was in a very good place in my life, but that was short lived because of the chronic back and pelvic pain I suffered. Slowly I began to put on the weight, diet, lose the weight, something would happen, put more weight on. Between June 2007 to July 2009, I desperately tried to loose weight, I just seemed to be getting bigger and bigger. In the summer of 2008 I had a miscarriage. My depression got worse and I developed anxiety attacks. Because of the miscarriage, I was utterly obsessed about getting pregnant again and it only took one try for me to fall.

Daisy was born 15th July 2009. She was a beautiful baby. But the labour had been hard and straight after I had to under-go a traumatic operation to remove retained placenta. The blood loss was huge.

I was now 19st, the pain in my pelvis and back were unbearable. Dr’s gave me pain killers and anti depressants. All they kept saying to me was it was due to your weight, you must loose weight, well I have news for you, easier said than done! I suffered a breakdown which lasted around 8 months. In that time I did loose weight because I just didn’t eat, but I was very poorly. I went down to 17st, then 15st 6lbs.

We decided shortly after my breakdown we needed a fresh start. July 2010 We moved to a different house, I started to feel better, comfortable and started turning to food to suit my emotions. I would eat when I was happy, when I was sad and when I was stressed, which was a lot of the time seeing as we had 5 girls!!  Gradually my weight began to creep on again. I tried again to find a diet to suit me but the same thing happened, i would loose a little and then put loads back on. My weight then took a massive leap in 2012. In the July I weight 16st 8lb and by January 2013 I was 20st 5lb! I was exhausted by then. Everything hurt and ached. I was in agony with my back and pelvis, I was tired all the time yet i couldn’t sleep and my legs and ankles started to swell. I went to see a Dr and they sent for some blood work. It came back boarderline for hypothyroidism. The Dr asked me to repeat the test in 3 wks, which I did and it was the same. The dr requested yet another blood test in the march, but I became immobile because of the pain. Between Jan 2013 and the present day, my weight shot up to 24st 6lb, which what I weigh today. Last week I finally went for the blood test and 48hrs later the Dr called me in. When I went to see her, I said to her, that I didnt want to sound dramatic but I felt like I was dying. You see the reason I went for the blood test in the end, was not because it was long over due, but because the week before, I had suffered two mini strokes. That was extremely scary and for the first time ever I was scared that my weight could kill me.

So now we are here at the present day. My blood test results were really high that the dr couldn’t start me on the correct dose for what I needed because it was a huge dosage. I am from today, starting Lethoroxine 100mcg. I weigh a massive 24st 6lbs and I cannot walk. I am wheelchair bound. The Dr has assured me that everything that has happened has been down to the thyroid.

When I returned from the dr’s on Friday, I goggled hypothyroidism. I was amazed to find that all of my symptoms matched exactly. I feel relieved that finally I have found out what is wrong with me, but as the Dr explained it is gonna take some time to get the levels right. When I was looking at the info on the computer, I stumbled across an article by a lady called, Mary Shomon. It was actually part of her book called The Thyroid Diet. As I read it, it made so much sense. The Dr had told me as she handed me the prescription, that I would now be able to loose the weight. But I knew this to be un-true as I had heard many, many stories about people who had been diagnosed, started the hormone replacement and were unable to shift the weight. But from reading the article (I will share in a separate post) I now feel much more positive about the future.

Read the article and then read my next post to find out exactly how I plan to design my Gucci Diet!!

Big love,

Em x