My second thyroid test since I began the diet showed low TSH again so my levoxyl has been reduced again.  I'm now taking half of what I was when I began.  Can a diet really do that????!

Quoted from mikendomsmum

My second thyroid test since I began the diet showed low TSH again so my levoxyl has been reduced again.  I'm now taking half of what I was when I began.  Can a diet really do that????!

Congratulations on your med reduction.  It's so freeing when our bodies function the way they're designed.  

Some might find it hard to believe a mere diet can lead to reduced meds.  I think it's easier for folks to recognize eating the wrong foods (or okay foods out of proportion) can cause health to plummet and neccesitate drugs.  You're just doing it in reverse.  Adding the non-dietary components of the plan just restores you health that much faster and more fully.

sure a right diet can do all that (BTD).....
just like the wrong diet can make you ill, also.

Congrats!

of course diet can do it! that's what BTD is all about!(IMHO)
big congrats, way to go!!

That's great news, mndmum! Congratulations. And yes, a diet can do that--IF it's nourishing and strengthening you, as the BTD does. Keep up the good work!

I'm so happy.  Now I'm hoping I can eventually stop it.  It's the only medication I take.  I've wanted a "natural" metabolism for so long.  

Quoted from mikendomsmum

My second thyroid test since I began the diet showed low TSH again so my levoxyl has been reduced again.  I'm now taking half of what I was when I began.  Can a diet really do that????!

You've just experienced with your own body something orthodox medical treatment says over and over can't happen with the BTD.  A lessening (and hopefully reversal) of your medical condition.  And all you've done is Eat Right 4 Your Type.

I hate to be a party pooper here, but unfortunately I have to report that my TSH has moved about 35% higher on the BTD. My TSH is now 8.64.

The other bad part about it is that taking thyroid hormones don't help me. Nothing happens when I take them.

About the reduction in TSH...if you've lost some weight, you may need less.  Some people also need more thyroid hormone in the winter.  I don't know how often you have yours tested.  I've been taking thyroid meds since 1963 and I've had dosages that are all over the place.  It may also depend on which drugs you are taking.  Are you taking just a T4 medication like Synthroid, Levoxyl or Levothroid or are you taking Armour or a combination with T3 (like cytomel) and T4?  There are a lot of factors that affect the TSH and sometimes just eh TSH isn't a good indicator or how you feel...Thyroid patients often complain to their doctors that they are "more than just a lab value."  For more information try Mary Shomon's site at thyroid.about.com.  There's a wealth of information there about all kinds of thyroid issues.
Jane

Quoted from ironwood55

I hate to be a party pooper here, but unfortunately I have to report that my TSH has moved about 35% higher on the BTD. My TSH is now 8.64.

The other bad part about it is that taking thyroid hormones don't help me. Nothing happens when I take them.

Help here please.  I'm not familiar with "TSH" or how it appears on a blood panel.  Is that T3 or T4? Does it mean your thyroid is low, or high?  

MoDon, Have you started your amino acid supplementation yet where you in some other posts you were looking for a particular forumula/ratio?

Side note here:
In talking with my herbalist on Wed., she indicated that my 2 degrees lower basal body temp on waking was definitely related to the candida.

You're right about Mary Shomon's site, it's very informative.  I couldn't get "stable" until I took cytomel as well as Levoxyl.  I tried another brand and went hypo immediately again.  These two in combo have worked great for me and I've been able to keep weight-gain at bay for years now.  
If the other thyroid meds don't do much for you,  you can try them in combination with cytomel and it may work out better.

TSH stands for thyroid stimulating hormone, so the higher your TSH is the more your body thinks your thyroid needs to be stimulated.  Typically a higher number reflects hypothyroid and a low number reflects hyperthyroidism, but it is more complicated than just that statement depending on what the cause is of the thyroid system dysfunction.

Yes, I have been on the amino acids for about 2 weeks with no obvious change in any symptoms so far.

I wouldn't be surprised that candida plays a part in my thyroid system under-functioning, but so far I haven't found anything that definitely indicates that or that improves my symptoms.

What other brand did you try? I'm interested because I've been on the levothroid for a few months now and I'm having a harder time with my weight.  I had been on synthroid for years but changed because my endo thought that I might be sensitive to some of the fillers.  My T3 is compounded.  Many years ago before synthroid was around or so popular I was on straight cytomel.  Back in 1996 I had my thyroid removed at the same time as I had a parathyroidectomy.  I was one of those kids back in the 40s that had radiation for tonsillitis and as a result had a very small thyroid cancer.  
Jane

Quoted from ironwood55

TSH stands for thyroid stimulating hormone, so the higher your TSH is the more your body thinks your thyroid needs to be stimulated.  Typically a higher number reflects hypothyroid and a low number reflects hyperthyroidism, but it is more complicated than just that statement depending on what the cause is of the thyroid system dysfunction.

Yes, I have been on the amino acids for about 2 weeks with no obvious change in any symptoms so far.

I wouldn't be surprised that candida plays a part in my thyroid system under-functioning, but so far I haven't found anything that definitely indicates that or that improves my symptoms.

Thanks MoDon, I think I'm beginning to understand it a bit better.

Betsy,
T4 is the same as synthroid.  Most conventional endos will tell you that the T4 gets converted to T3 (and T2, T1).  However, for a lot of people that doesn't happen or at least doesn't happen to the extent that it need to be.  The other thing that has happened over the past few years is that the range of what is normal for TSH has been re-evaluated and moved down.  Most people feel better at the TSH that is lower than what was standard a few years ago.  
Jane

My pharmacist put me on the generic brand when it became available, without asking me or my doc.  Immediately I began to feel sluggish and became overweight. Then, when I went back on the levoxyl, I couldn't lose the weight and my tsh was fine so she gave my cytomel which made me feel amazing.  I counldn't believe how fast it worked.  
My tsh has been in a good range ever since then (about 18 months) but now it's getting too low, two tests in a row so my meds are being reduced for the second time. She's leaving the cytomel the same though and just reducing the levoxyl.
I have a test every 6 weeks at a grocery store that has a HealthStyles lab once a month or so.  It only costs me 45$ for a total thryoid panel.

Wow! 45 cents!  Where's that?  It might be worth the trip for what I'm going to have to start paying now.  My insurance goes up tomorrow.  $2000 deductible!!!!  Some stuff doesn't apply to the deductible but I think I have to pay for the bloodtests.

I'm curious about when you take your meds.  Do you take them together?  With the cytomel, do you have to wait an hour before eating like you have to do with the T4s?  
Jane

I could have sworn that was a dollar sign!  
Anyway, I take my meds together first thing in the morning then I wait an hour before eating.  

Quoted from Jane

Betsy,
T4 is the same as synthroid.  Most conventional endos will tell you that the T4 gets converted to T3 (and T2, T1).  However, for a lot of people that doesn't happen or at least doesn't happen to the extent that it need to be.  The other thing that has happened over the past few years is that the range of what is normal for TSH has been re-evaluated and moved down.  Most people feel better at the TSH that is lower than what was standard a few years ago.  
Jane

Thank you Jane.  Each little bit of explaination helps.