Both Food and Thoughts - My food journey

After numerous attempts to lose weight, I finally discovered the controversy over the so-called "normal" range for Thyroid TSH levels. I looked through my past blood tests to the first time I remember having one due to feeling chronically fatigued and the beginning of my weight gain. Sure enough my TSH was on the high end of the normal range.

Off to see my Doctor and get her opinion on the whole TSH levels and whether Thryoid medication. After reviewing my blood work, she prescribed Armour Thyroid (T4/T3). I immediately felt better. Dose adjustments ensued but when I still didn't feel completely normal, she added a small dose of Synthroid (Levothryoxine). This combination is still not recognized by conventional medicine, but it definitely works for me. I'd been previously diagnosed with Fibromyalgia but that along with the fatigue went away. I started sleeping through the night and woke up feeling refreshed, not as I'd been feeling for years, as if I'd barely slept, waking up groggy and no energy.

Once I started the new medication combinations, the difference was like feeling I had been moving through mud and now could move with ease. My energy levels returned and I was able to continue exercising which had almost ceased due to the lack of good sleep and fatigue.

Also at this time I was entering menopause, no bad hot flashes, but definitely had "brain fog". I'd always been able to remember conversations and what I had read easily. Now I couldn't remember 2 tasks walking from my boss's office to my desk without writing them down!

Back to my Doctor and she put me on a compounded Bio identical Estrogen, hormone cream. All my hormones were low, including testosterone, which yes, women have as well as men. There are ties between your female hormones and your thyroid, so it's good to have all looked at to find the best medical approach for you.

I'm thankful everyday for this combination of medicine that is working for me. That said, each person is different, so you have to work with a Doctor willing to be open to hormone supplementation and explain the risks and benefits. There are risks and not all should take the hormones. Finding your optimal health solution is worth taking the time.