Quote:
It certainly can.
I have a hyperactive thyroid, am not currently on anything but an herbal thyroid support product I found on zooscape.com. Presently I'm not having many problems, mainly due to changes in my diet. I also blame soy for many of my symptoms. Since ceasing eating as much soy as I was (I thought it was a good thing, it isn't for some!) my symptoms have abated.
My thyroid problems came from two sources, I believe. First off was I was living an incredibly stressful lifestyle, having had a husband who ran off (thankfully, but it took some time to realize that!) and having to go back to work fulltime to support the household and get benefits. I had two teenage boys at home, one was most definitely not happy with the father situation, and took it out on me. Long story short, my life was a living h-e-double hockey sticks for awhile. Stress does terrible things to the hypothalamus, which is the connection between your nervous system and your endocrine system (thyroid, etc). People really don't give stress enough consideration in their medical issues, it's a huge factor!
I found a great guy, married him, and things seemed to settle down, but continuing problems with the boy child affected me still. Meanwhile, I've always been a good eater, I think diet is extremely important and watch what I eat, make sure it's healthy, although I'm not one to ignore my sweet tooth - that's why I exercise. Anyhoo, I was eating a lot of soy, instead of meat, for protein. Not all the time, but lots. Plus I ate a bowl of cereal for breakfast most mornings with soy milk.
Last summer I suddenly dropped 8.5 lbs in two weeks. That's not good for a person of my size, I've always been thin, I looked like a wraith. My hair was falling out, my skin was dry and netted looking, I couldn't sleep for the night sweats - I was a mess! I went to the doctor and my thyroid levels were off the charts. He felt nodules in my thyroid. Off I went to an endocrinologist for a thyroid scan and biopsy. Edited to add: Oh yea, tremors and exhaustion, I'd forgotten about that!
Ever have a thyroid biopsy? Oh boy. I'm afraid of needles. They numbed my throat - problem is there's not much tissue in your neck to actually numb. It was pretty awful, although I withstood it. Lasted 45 minutes. They used needles and stuck them both sides of my thyroid in eight different places. And it wasn't quick, each needle was wiggled while they watched it on the screen to make sure they were in the right place. Sorry to scare any of you! But it was necessary to make sure those nodules weren't cancerous. Thankfully they weren't. I've got a large nodule (read goiter) on the left side and a smaller one on the right. Of course they wanted to put me on all sorts of meds and some wanted to take my thyroid out, but I'd like to leave this world with all my parts, so I went off and did my own research.
By the time I actually had this biopsy I had cut out most all soy (especially that soy milk every morning, but I was also eating some soy meals from the health food store, and made tofu stir fry quite often) and had started taking Thyroid Support by Terra Vita . Bugleweed has been shown effective for thyroid problems by German herbal researchers. I find it very strange there's nothing like it available here in the US, but then again, why am I surprised?
My efforts paid off, thankfully.
The serious symptoms have abated. The doctors have agreed that whatever I'm doing seems to be effective. I've regained the weight, my hair has grown back in (it's never been thick, it's very fine blonde hair, losing it was awful, it's thin enough!), my skin has plumped back up, and the night sweats have turned into the normal hot flashes of menopause. My thyroid levels are high-normal. My migraines have calmed down, too, although I'll still get them when the hormones fluctuate, the way they do when you're going through menopause. I'll continue to be monitored and will keep taking the herbs. I've added a couple of soy based things back that I really liked, and it hasn't caused any problems, so I'll keep eating them, along with the rest of my mostly healthy diet. I do know I need to eat six times a day, though, smaller meals, it helps keep my energy levels steady. I am a Pilates instructor, so I am very active, but I still power walk every morning and work out myself four or five times a week. It keeps me sane, too!
My reason for posting here is that there is very little info or support out there for those with hyperthyroidism. People think it's great to lose weight - well, yes, if you're overweight, it's a good thing, but for those of us who have fought the opposite weight problem, not being able to keep weight on, it's no fun at all. Seriously, when you're young and too skinny, you don't have regular periods, you can have issues getting pregnant, it's not a good thing at all. Anyways, that's my story and I'm sticking to it
It certainly can.
I have a hyperactive thyroid, am not currently on anything but an herbal thyroid support product I found on zooscape.com. Presently I'm not having many problems, mainly due to changes in my diet. I also blame soy for many of my symptoms. Since ceasing eating as much soy as I was (I thought it was a good thing, it isn't for some!) my symptoms have abated.
My thyroid problems came from two sources, I believe. First off was I was living an incredibly stressful lifestyle, having had a husband who ran off (thankfully, but it took some time to realize that!) and having to go back to work fulltime to support the household and get benefits. I had two teenage boys at home, one was most definitely not happy with the father situation, and took it out on me. Long story short, my life was a living h-e-double hockey sticks for awhile. Stress does terrible things to the hypothalamus, which is the connection between your nervous system and your endocrine system (thyroid, etc). People really don't give stress enough consideration in their medical issues, it's a huge factor!
I found a great guy, married him, and things seemed to settle down, but continuing problems with the boy child affected me still. Meanwhile, I've always been a good eater, I think diet is extremely important and watch what I eat, make sure it's healthy, although I'm not one to ignore my sweet tooth - that's why I exercise. Anyhoo, I was eating a lot of soy, instead of meat, for protein. Not all the time, but lots. Plus I ate a bowl of cereal for breakfast most mornings with soy milk.
Last summer I suddenly dropped 8.5 lbs in two weeks. That's not good for a person of my size, I've always been thin, I looked like a wraith. My hair was falling out, my skin was dry and netted looking, I couldn't sleep for the night sweats - I was a mess! I went to the doctor and my thyroid levels were off the charts. He felt nodules in my thyroid. Off I went to an endocrinologist for a thyroid scan and biopsy. Edited to add: Oh yea, tremors and exhaustion, I'd forgotten about that!
Ever have a thyroid biopsy? Oh boy. I'm afraid of needles. They numbed my throat - problem is there's not much tissue in your neck to actually numb. It was pretty awful, although I withstood it. Lasted 45 minutes. They used needles and stuck them both sides of my thyroid in eight different places. And it wasn't quick, each needle was wiggled while they watched it on the screen to make sure they were in the right place. Sorry to scare any of you! But it was necessary to make sure those nodules weren't cancerous. Thankfully they weren't. I've got a large nodule (read goiter) on the left side and a smaller one on the right. Of course they wanted to put me on all sorts of meds and some wanted to take my thyroid out, but I'd like to leave this world with all my parts, so I went off and did my own research.
By the time I actually had this biopsy I had cut out most all soy (especially that soy milk every morning, but I was also eating some soy meals from the health food store, and made tofu stir fry quite often) and had started taking Thyroid Support by Terra Vita . Bugleweed has been shown effective for thyroid problems by German herbal researchers. I find it very strange there's nothing like it available here in the US, but then again, why am I surprised?
The serious symptoms have abated. The doctors have agreed that whatever I'm doing seems to be effective. I've regained the weight, my hair has grown back in (it's never been thick, it's very fine blonde hair, losing it was awful, it's thin enough!), my skin has plumped back up, and the night sweats have turned into the normal hot flashes of menopause. My thyroid levels are high-normal. My migraines have calmed down, too, although I'll still get them when the hormones fluctuate, the way they do when you're going through menopause. I'll continue to be monitored and will keep taking the herbs. I've added a couple of soy based things back that I really liked, and it hasn't caused any problems, so I'll keep eating them, along with the rest of my mostly healthy diet. I do know I need to eat six times a day, though, smaller meals, it helps keep my energy levels steady. I am a Pilates instructor, so I am very active, but I still power walk every morning and work out myself four or five times a week. It keeps me sane, too!
My reason for posting here is that there is very little info or support out there for those with hyperthyroidism. People think it's great to lose weight - well, yes, if you're overweight, it's a good thing, but for those of us who have fought the opposite weight problem, not being able to keep weight on, it's no fun at all. Seriously, when you're young and too skinny, you don't have regular periods, you can have issues getting pregnant, it's not a good thing at all. Anyways, that's my story and I'm sticking to it
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