I made the card in the middle by getting one with 18 on it and modifying it!I never thought she'd make it to 81. I recently persuaded the nursing home to give her cooked breakfasts instead of Ready Brek or toast, both of which would send her into a compensatory hyperinsulinaemic stupor. She was relatively with-it today after having bacon, egg etc. Coincidence? I think not! I'm also switching her bread to Burgen Soya & Linseed as it's low in carbohydrate and very low GI. Anyway, on with the post.
I need to give another "Thank You" to Richard Nikoley. His blog rocks! A Little bit of everything including Food Porn, but mostly Roger Waters & The Wall made me really think. It occurred to me that, to ease the pain of seeing my mother go downhill with me rendered powerless to help, I had built a wall and was comfortably numb behind it.
As Robert Sapolsky pointed out in his lecture on Depression, never-ending stress and social isolation are very bad. So I am "getting it sorted". I have resumed social activities and am tackling things that need to be tackled. See also Polite Requests.
8 comments:
Hi Nigel,
All the best for the new year!
I love Pink Floyd too but it rather makes me sad, pensive, melancholic and I collapse in a heap on the floor like when I was 15 and listening to it in the dark. I can empathise with you, your social isolation and your feeling of numbness. I watched Sapolsky, although long it felt short and would have wanted more detail.
Sometime I feel very hopeless, even a failure, I think that my existence is meaningless and crappy, I can't muster any motivation, don't feel any need to compete or to show what I can do, but I couldn't match my symptoms with what he said serious depression is like. Overall I am very negative and low, but I still find sunsets or robins eating seeds in the garden beautiful and still find many things interesting, just not those that I'm supposed to do.
Hi lightcan.
From your last comment on Stargazey's blog, it looks like you still have very low FT3 which will make you feel like total crap.
If you can't get your endo' or GP to prescribe you T3, your only other option is to buy it on-line. This is risky for several reasons:-
1) You don't know what you're getting when you buy drugs on-line.
2) T3 is fast-acting with a short half-life, so it's tricky getting the dosage & timing right.
3) Too much is very dangerous (palpitations/arrhythmias etc).
Have your medical practitioners definitely said "no" to T3 therapy?
Best, Nige.
Good for you Nige! It looks like you know what you need to do and I'm sure you'll get it done. Happy 2011!
Thank you Lynmarie. I hope you have a good 'un, too! I've also switched mum's bread to Burgen as it's much lower carb & GI.
Hi Nige,
I understand what are the dangers with T3 therapy. The endo I saw said it's not licensed in Ireland, which is a lie or she misunderstood the question. (I found out the truth on internet through another commenter and then I asked the pharmacist too to confirm) My husband was thinking about reporting her but it's too much hassle. In the meantime, nothing new, not better. Christmas meant falling off the wagon re sugar, I'm trying to get back to a healthier diet.
August result
free T3 2.8 = low end
T3 1.2 1.1 low end
asked for reverse T3 and antibodies, not received results from her office, I think she didn't order them.
Hi lightcan.
According to The Diagnosis and Management of Primary Hypothyroidism, "Patients with primary hypothyroidism should be treated with T4 using levothyroxine tablets (BNF) alone."
This is probably why you're having so much difficulty getting Cytomel therapy.
See also "The Diagnosis and Management of Primary Hypothyroidism” vs.
Post Thyroid Deficiencies.
If you do decide to self-medicate, titrate the dose up gradually. You probably know all this already but I have to mention it.
Best wishes, Nige.
thanks Nige,
I do not have primary hypothyroidism, not even subclinical. TSH tiny bit elevated compared to 1.5 recommended by our paleo friends and T4 well in upper half. What I have is poor conversion to T3, reduced metabolism for some reason. Why is TSH not higher if T3 is at low end of the range I don't know. Stress is supposed to suppress TSH from the pituitary.(see Chris Kesser) So, I only need T3 or a way to raise it naturally. I keep asking around but I either don't get an answer or they don't know. Is Matt Stone's method of overeating paleo food a good idea? I don't know, I haven't checked my T3 recently. But as you said, common sense says you're supposed to put weight on. And I did.
Hi lightcan,
I think that Matt Stone's HED will just make you fat (and miserable as a result). You've already gained weight but that hasn't raised your FT3 anywhere near enough, so it may be stress or it may something else that I know nothing about. Cytomel is looking more and more like the best solution.
Both T4 & T3 suppress TSH, so it's probably your high FT4 that's keeping your TSH low.
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