Odd things

So this is a continuation of this thread: www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=30&m=3542322

I got started asking questions (again!) and Astroman answered with this:
Traveler- You are one of the rare ones..........

As I mentioned - "There are supposedly rare instances when the antibody levels were not very high and have reversed, even though conventional medicine takes the stand that this evidence does not exist."

..........and according to leading endocrinology associations ..........you dont exist(drum roll)!! Very lucky indeed, and a rare case of healed Hashi.

This is interesting. Might you remember which thyroid antibodies you had, and approximate levels? (probably not to high? and not very long?

There is ZERO info on this from "conventional medicine". I assume most of these rare occasions had the elevated antibodies in the lower levels, "tetertottering" on the limit, before reversing.

I fit the "Hashi norm", with TPO and TgAb in the mid hundreds, and a distorted thyroid with nodule per ultra sound, for 15 + years.


Georgia Hunter: I have to agree with Astro on this one. Your severe inflammation and high acid load could have caused you to have Hashi-like symptoms. It would be misdiagnosed by almost all physicians using their criteria. The blockage of the BH4 pathway would be the main problem and with enough detoxing, it could cycle enough to make you better. Psoriasis is also a symptom of a blocked BH4 pathway.


Trav: So, not to challenge you (I'm trying to unravel this puzzle!), but if this is the case, would you agree that this is correct? : www.detoxpuzzle.com/bh4.php


G.H. :Trav, I'd agree with that completely. The high quality protein mentioned would be foods containing tyrosine, tryptophan, and the branched chain amino acids. High phenylalanine containing foods should be avoided.

And now I have more questions! LOL! Sorry.

First of all, I just don't believe that I can do Vegetarian diets - Vegan or not. And it really doesn't make sense, since I feel so much better on a high protein, low carb diet - I can actually loose weight on that diet, which surprised the heck out of my doc since I can't loose weight on any other diet.

But that means I'm eating High phenylalanine containing foods - and lots of them, although I'm definitely not eating all the high phenylalanine containing foods. I can't afford an expensive supplement like I've seen advertised to help keep my protein intake up either.

I think we would need to eat some of those high phenylalanine foods like fish and some seeds every now and then to keep sufficient nutrients to maintain methylation.

Something to think about Trav. I have an antioxidant vitamin that contains manganese, copper, antioxidants, and some other things. If I take it daily, it causes me problems and I have to stop taking it. I saw a lot of benefit from it the very first time I started taking it for about 3 or 4 days before I started going downhill. It really causes some problems. To me, this sounds kind of like your situation where if you eat a certain way, it causes you problems. Is it correct to say it like that?

I've thought pretty long and hard about "Why" taking this antioxidant is causing me problems. One of my theories is that it gives me missing nutrients that I need and that gets my immune system up and running which overloads my detox pathways and I suffer. I feel that one aspect of my immune system has been down regulated and these tablets cause it to start functioning again. Perhaps that could be happening to you when you stop eating phenylalanine containing foods.

I feel the same as Scott, the BetterHealthGuy when he says that he is starting to think that fungus may be a bigger issue for us with Lyme than the actual Lyme. Phenylalanine urinary excretion levels can sometimes be indicative to fungal issues and with what you currently eat, your phenylalanine levels would be pretty high.

My mother is 74 years old and has had white hair for years. During the last 6 months, she has fed her dogs raw chicken gizzards. She always has some left over so she has been boiling them and eating them with rice. She's been doing this a couple times a week. As of last month, her hair has been coming in black like it used to be when she was younger. Only around 5% of her hair has come in black, but it hasn't been like that in years. When she told me that, I immediately asked her if she had been eating liver or gizzards lately. That is when I found out she was eating them every week. She is getting trace minerals in the gizzards her body hasn't had in years and that is allowing the copper and catalase to deposit the melanin in her hair.

She could not take the anitoxidant vitamins that I gave her because they caused her too much inflammation. I am going to take my antioxidant tablets twice a week and see if I can handle them at that frequency without herxing too much. Perhaps if you altered what you eat a meal here and there, you could do it. Just something to think about.

Interesting, GH! People in Europe from countries that are on the poor side, don't throw out the gizzards and liver from chicken and all other animals they consume. They add it to the soup. And I haven't heard from anyone having thyroid problems there, although their hair don't turn black once it turns gray. They also eat a lot of bone soup because they don't waste any parts of the animal except what it can't be consumed.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

It is here in US that I've met a lot of people with thyroid problems. My mother-in-law, my mother, myself, the father of one of my daughter's friend, are hypo. I do not think my mother-in-law and the father of my daughter's friend have lyme. But my mother and I were hit by it. Why then even people that don't have lyme have affected thyroids here? Is it after all because of the diet, the very "affected" foods that we eat?

I leave by a nuclear plant--it's about 5 miles away and I've read that nuclear plants have contributed to change in thyroid as well and sometimes it may cause thyroid cancer. There was a report from a top physicist in US that was bashed because he claimed some children developed thyroid cancer after 10 years even if they moved away from a nuclear plant in the mean time, because they were exposed to the nuclear plant as kids. That physicist was taking a lot of heat because he spoke out. Is it then the invisible nuclear toxicity and all toxicity from food, also invisible, that can also contribute to it?

Thanks, Razzle, yes, that's what I thought. We plan to move away from the plant in 4-5 years.

I have read that taking iodine once you are hypo or hashi is not a good idea.

I am confused... Anyone taking iodine besides what is in the sea salt?

I take iodine, 3 drops a week. I've never had any thyroid symptoms (that I know of).

Sorry for being MIA after asking about this. I had to be away from the house for a while due to hubby's medical needs, as he needed to go see a specialist out of town.

I'm on some thyroid groups where they are taking iodine drops - but I don't. My doc doesn't believe my tests reveal I need to. I have been using the natural salt brand "Real Salt" for almost 2 years now.

I have never eaten gizzards or livers - I can't get past the thought of what their function in the body is. And although I've been extremely poor (depending on what I could shoot to feed my kids), I've never gotten past that. I do however use bone broths from time to time even now. Even hubby thinks they feel "healing".

My grandmother had to have her thyroid removed, but my Mom and her sister (the only surviving siblings) have no idea why as things like that weren't discussed back then, at least not with the children. My Mom has minor thyroid issues, but due to my long term illness and then my adrenals crashing, I have hypothyroidism. There were no nuclear plants anywhere near where my Grandmother, my Mom or I have lived, so that's not an issue for us/me.

The part about the diet though is odd. According to what GH is saying, I should feel worse on a high protein diet - sorry, I'm not going Vegan - yet if I don't get enough protein, I get migraines. So I feel my best on a high protein/moderately low carb diet.

But I also don't have mold or mycotoxin issues either.

I believe a lot of my issues are that I had such serious dysfunction in my body on so many levels for so long, many areas in my body may not be able to operate "normally" any longer. I'm just trying to track down some of these things to see if I can do anything about it.