Starting Over

Those temps are not normal and if the doc ignores them, he's an idiot. My BIL is a medical officer in the army and he also agreed that something is off with one's metabolism when the BBT is low.

I am on Armour and I read that you are supposed to take it in two doses throughout the day but when I opened it and smelled how bad it's odor was, I just couldn't cut the pill in half. Lol!! It's made out of desiccated pig thyroid so you can imagine how bad it smells. So I usually take it around 10am each day. The reason for splitting it up is because when the T3 gets absorbed, it boost the metabolism which in turn boost your energy, mood and body temp. Almost like epehdrine just not bad for you. Splitting helps it give you energy throughout the day instead of running out after 10-12 hours.
 
Oh Amy, I'm so glad I have you to commiserate with since I know you understand my situation. Now I know I eat a lot more than you, and sometimes I go a few weeks without much exercise, but STILL, this month I made a special point of logging all my calories and my workouts. I'm giving myself 100 calories burned for every 15 minutes of strenuous exercise with either heavy weights or a relatively high heart rate. I've exercised every day but 6 this whole month and ate an average of 1800 calories. I know its higher than I might need so maybe there is nothing wrong with me, but when you add in the deficits from the exercise, I should be losing and I did lose before this past year doing the exact same thing. So as of today my deficits add up to 2.4 lbs that should have been lost, yet I am up 1 lb from my start weight for the month. I just cant take the discouragement anymore! I know I should be eating less but I lost on this amount before and my appetite is such that I get hungry if I'm not eating this amount on average (I have a lot of low and high days that average out to 1800 per day). Perhaps the year of dieting (which I did the healthy way eating around 1800 calories per day and exercising) damaged the thyroid a little? I dunno, but my temperature is definitely 96.4 upon waking and 97.4 at its high in the afternoon. Definitely lower than normal. I just hope I dont get one of the bull headed doctors that refuses to test anything but the TSH given this low body temperature and weight gain when I should've lost. And no, its not muscle since my pants are definitely tighter now that I've gained over 5 lbs in the last 6 weeks. This sucks! How can I find the right doctor that can help me address this? Or am I just looking for excuses.
 
If I were you, I'd start calling different endos and ask them if they check those levels, just to make sure you go to one who is thorough and will listen to you. I'm sure it's easier to find a doc like that in NY, here in AR they are still a bit behind.

Don't back down with the doc, make him/her listen.
 
AAAAMMMMMAAAAYYYYY!!!
I loooove you!!

BLAWW!!!!!

Hahahah;)
I just wanted to remind you that you're rad. Thank you for the birthday goodies. And where the frigg are you?!?!
 
AMYQUOTE:As for the body temp question, it went up to 99.4 for a few weeks after starting the new med but has gone backdown to 96.6. The doc said it took my body a few weeks to get used to it then normalize again. This way he has an "idea" of how much to raise my dose.

So I dont get it, is the dr increasing the Armour til you get to around 98.7? Or is it OK to stay at the frigid 96.6? Ahhh, that's better than my freakin 96.4 LOL. Are you still losing around a pound a week? Oh I hope the answer is YES.

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Blancita said:
AMYQUOTE:As for the body temp question, it went up to 99.4 for a few weeks after starting the new med but has gone backdown to 96.6. The doc said it took my body a few weeks to get used to it then normalize again. This way he has an "idea" of how much to raise my dose.

So I dont get it, is the dr increasing the Armour til you get to around 98.7? Or is it OK to stay at the frigid 96.6? Ahhh, that's better than my freakin 96.4 LOL. Are you still losing around a pound a week? Oh I hope the answer is YES.

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The answer is NO. :( The lower my body temp dropped, the less weight I have lost. The low body temp indicates a slow metabolism as well as other thyroid issues. Therefore, my doc wants to keep raising my dose until my metabolism is at an optimal level, but not too fast. We are doing this is SMALL doses because too high of a dose can send my thyroid into overdrive and push me into hyperthyroidism.

I have noticed the past couple of weeks that I am staying cold throughout the day again so I will be checking my temps more often. This is no easy feat!
 
Wow! That is very interesting that you stopped losing as the temperature went down. That really confirms to me that my temperature is stopping my weight loss, NOT my calories (which might be high some weekends but do not average out that high that I should be gaining).

Yes, I would've thought the dr would increase the meds given your lower temperature. I can appreciate that he's doing it slowly; I read at a lot of these alternative sights not to be afraid to quickly move up on the Armour as symptoms do not decrease as a delay could create problems of some sort.

I agree you should monitor your temperature every day until it is steadily at at least 98.5 (during the afternoon time) for several weeks.
 
Blancita said:
Wow! That is very interesting that you stopped losing as the temperature went down. That really confirms to me that my temperature is stopping my weight loss, NOT my calories (which might be high some weekends but do not average out that high that I should be gaining).

Yes, I would've thought the dr would increase the meds given your lower temperature. I can appreciate that he's doing it slowly; I read at a lot of these alternative sights not to be afraid to quickly move up on the Armour as symptoms do not decrease as a delay could create problems of some sort.

I agree you should monitor your temperature every day until it is steadily at at least 98.5 (during the afternoon time) for several weeks.
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This is why I love my doc, he's focusing more on the symptoms and just monitoring the lab results.

I know this sounds bad but I really hope you have a thyroid problem, this way at least you will have ANSWERS as to why you can't budge those last few pounds. I really hope the doc can resolve this soon!
 
An hour and a half workout last night = 700 calories burned

Tonight I plan to take Bella jogging in her stroller and then do an hour of TurboJam after she goes to bed. My calories are staying around 1400-1500 but the weight loss has STOPPED again. I am hoping that once my med dose gets increased, it will start coming off again. It is going to take awhile to find the optimal dose for my body so I am trying to be patient.

TOM is any second now since it is already 3 days late. Grrr! I am bloated, retaining fluid, and grumpy and I wish the damn thing would start already!!
 
TOM is finally here and the scale showed me up only a pound so I'm hoping this means I will post a loss this week since I am retaining water right now. **fingers crossed** I just got back from an hour jog around the neighborhood and burned 500 calories. Woot! Gonna get another hour in before bed of pilates, abs and some weight training. Calories for the day so far are at 1400 and I plan to have a 150 calorie snack before the night is over.

I swallowed like ten bugs tonight while running, they were in swarms around the street lights. Bleh! I'm gonna get West Nile Virus from ingesting mosquitos rather than being bit by them!
 
Well my eyes nearly popped out of my head when I read how you finished the jog and then would be working out for another hour at home. Where in the world do you find the motivation to continue when you suspect the meds dose/thyroid is stopping any weight loss. Would you be gaining if you didn't do this? Eeeeekkkk. This is so FRUSTRATING! My motivation for the exercise is starting to wain as I have actually gained weight this month of closely tracking my calories and exercise. It almost seems futile, so why bother! I feel my body looks more toned but I need that validated by the scale.
 
Blancita said:
Well my eyes nearly popped out of my head when I read how you finished the jog and then would be working out for another hour at home. Where in the world do you find the motivation to continue when you suspect the meds dose/thyroid is stopping any weight loss. Would you be gaining if you didn't do this? Eeeeekkkk. This is so FRUSTRATING! My motivation for the exercise is starting to wain as I have actually gained weight this month of closely tracking my calories and exercise. It almost seems futile, so why bother! I feel my body looks more toned but I need that validated by the scale.
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Part IS that I know I will gain if I don't work hard but the other is due to my standards. Sean and I talked about it for awhile last night and he's hit the nail on the head, I set extremely high standards for myself. And if I don't meet or exceed these standards, I feel extreme guilt and beat myself up over it. Chalk it up to stubborn pride.

I have always been the type to jump in with both feet. Many years ago when I changed over to a healthy and fit lifestyle, I completely dropped all of my old habits and created new ones. If healthy food doesn't taste good to me, I find ways to make it better. This is why I have about a billion delicious and healthy recipes floating around my kitchen. When I make something new, I record everything I put into it and calculate the calories/carbs/fat/etc. per serving. When I set goals for my exercise and fitness, I rarely fail to meet them. I live by my own motto "I never fail".

So basically, this is why I push myself so damn hard. Lol!

The fact that this is improving how your body looks is reason enough to keep doing it. I am only 14lbs lighter than I was a year and a half ago but have gone from a size 16 in pants/jeans to a size 10 and from an XL in tops to a M/L. This is completely due to all the exercise I put myself through every week. I have lost over 30 inches! My whole body is completely toned now and just looks "thick" rather than fat and flabby. I have curves again and feel really good about myself most the time regardless because I know I look damn good for 165lbs.

You are already hot so extra toning and muscle will just make you irresistible so don't stop!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
We must have identical bodies then, cuz I'm also in a [high] size 10 and medium tops, I have reasonably little flab but I'm so THICK and I'm sick of it. Have you asked the doc to raise the dosage of the Armour yet? I really want mine to put me on a small dose juust to see if it will increase my temperature and get some fat moving. I wonder if this guy (appointment next Wed) will do that based on symptoms or whether he will wait for unreliable lab reports.
 
The lab was closed the other day so I am having to wait until I get the bloodwork done before he will raise my dose. He just wants to adjust it accordingly just in case the different levels have changed (RT3).

Force the doc to prescribe the Armour and take in the research proving that treating the symptoms has been highly successful. Make it impossible for him to say no.
 
That's fantastic that you lost all those inches! :hurray: I agree that Claudia should keep it up. Screw the scale!! Yes, scale whore BB actually said that. :D What counts is how your clothes fit, and how your body looks. There is always reason to keep up the good eating and exercise. If nothing else, to stave off gaining a bunch of weight back.

Amy--I wish I had some more of your perfectionism and high standards. I could really use it right now. :D I'll send you some of my oh-fuck-it-who-gives-a-shit mentality in return. :rofl: I'm brimming with it right now. :ack2: But that's about to change. ;)
 
bikinibound said:
That's fantastic that you lost all those inches! :hurray: I agree that Claudia should keep it up. Screw the scale!! Yes, scale whore BB actually said that. :D What counts is how your clothes fit, and how your body looks. There is always reason to keep up the good eating and exercise. If nothing else, to stave off gaining a bunch of weight back.

Amy--I wish I had some more of your perfectionism and high standards. I could really use it right now. :D I'll send you some of my oh-fuck-it-who-gives-a-shit mentality in return. :rofl: I'm brimming with it right now. :ack2: But that's about to change. ;)
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Yes, exercise is ALWAYS good and beneficial!!

Hang in there BB, we've all gone through the oh-fuck-it-who-gives-a-shit mentality and have overcome it. It's a daily battle for me to keep from throwing my hands in the air and giving up.

You have a new goal, the 5K, to shoot for right now so let's work on achieving that. It's gonna be hard at first but one day a few months from now after an exhilarating 5K run, you are going to look back and think, "damn I've come a long way". I remember getting on a treadmill 6 weeks after giving birth (my worst shape EVER) and only being able to jog 1/4 mile. I was wheezing like a fat kid and left the gym bawling my eyes out. I went from running 10-12 miles during each run before pregnancy to barely 1/4 mile after. I had to start completely over and work my way back up and it hurt, BAD. Now I look back and am so glad I didn't let myself give up.

That 5K is gonna happen for you!
 
Soooo, the symptoms are coming back regardless of the new med. I called my doc on Friday and this is common. It just means it's time to adjust the dose. I also bought a book this weekend written by a Dr. Ken Blanchard. He is an endo that has studied my issue for the past 25 years and has developed a treatment plan that has had 100% success with all 700+ patients he has treated with this. I spoke with my doc and we are going to try this new treatment. Basically I will be on Synthroid (T4) and Armour (T3) at a 98:2 percent physiological ratio and we will then adjust the doses of the two meds accordingly every 6-8 weeks or sooner. We all believe this is the solution, FINALLY!

My bloodwork is tomorrow morning so I should be on this new treatment early next week. Also, I shouldn't expect any weight loss until this new treatment begins. WTF? Oh well, things are at least starting to look up!
 
Oh I so hope this works for you Amy! Can't wait to hear more about it. Its frustrating that there is little chance of losing in the interim. Grrrrr..
 
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