Pain, Pain, Go Away!

Several years ago, I tried intermittent fasting when it first became all the rage. Result? I was hungry all day and ended up binge eating that night. I'd been on a low-carb diet for quite a while. I now know that the problem was likely low cortisol. I've had symptoms of low cortisol all my life: allergies, wonky blood sugar, sinus infections, and recently, my three-month bout with bronchitis--in the summer. And I'm hypothyroid, a condition that tends to go hand-in-hand with low cortisol. Cortisol helps regulate blood sugar. Without enough cortisol you can get hypoglycemia; your liver won't make enough blood sugar. In other words, I need to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner. When I had a more stressful job, I also needed some snacks in between. Since about half of people with thyroid problems also have adrenal problems(1), and Syncrap (levothyroxine, a thyroid medication) is the second-most prescribed medication in the US(2), low cortisol must be a pretty common con

Merry Christmas! First, I'm happy to say my cold got nuked out of orbit before it had a chance to set in. Hydrocortisone and Mucinex FTW! Second, my health is much improved from a year ago. The scary palpitations are now infrequent and only mildly concerning and I'm starting to slowly lose weight after upping my thyroid supplements again. (My latest test showed free T3 in the lower half of the reference range.) My digestion is better, probably thanks to lots of Pepto-Bismol early this year, peppermint lattes (LC, of course), L. reuteri yogurt, and adrenal supplements. I don't have all my energy back, but I've lost the neurotic fear of trying things like making a slipcover and no longer have the feeling of being in la-la land. Next year I'd like to try tuck-and-point the masonry on my house--I think I could now handle a tuckpoint grinder. Third, I'm thrilled to see the complete turnaround in dietary ideas. When I started low carb almost ten years ago, peop

Propublica says, "Doctors who received payments from the pharmaceutical industry prescribed drugs differently than their colleagues who didn’t. And the more money those doctors received, on average, the more brand-name medications they prescribed."That's the result of their investigation using a large database of doctors and the prescriptions they write. Good news, though: you can use ProPublica's database to find a doctor in your area (in the US) who prescribes T3. Many patients have a hard time finding a doctor who'll write a prescription for T3. T3's official name is Liothyronine. Go to the site , click on your state, sort by drug (click on "drug"), and scroll down to liothyronine, and click on it. You'll see some of the doctors in your state who prescribe T3.  Sad to say that the the most common prescriptions in the database are atorvastatin (a statin drug) and levothyroxine (syncrap).  In happier news, I'm fighting a cold-

Things are continuing to improve. I've stopped taking my adrenal cortex medicine and digestive enzymes because I don't feel I need them. I'm now down to hydrocortisone cream and natural desiccated thyroid (NDT). I got some lab tests done the other day--I'm sure they'll show improvement. I couldn't take any hydrocortisone that day (and I forgot to take my NDT until that afternoon). I didn't take my vitamins or electrolytes, either. I ended up eating a whole can of chocolate covered nuts. And a small order of fries with my lettuce-wrapped burger. Cortisol helps control blood sugar; maybe it has something to do with controlling cravings, too. I went back to my supplement regimen the next day and felt no desire to eat fries or chocolate--just tacos. I had chicken, salsa, cheddar cheese, guacamole and pork rinds. Now that I'm feeling better, thinking more clearly and no longer desperate to get well, I took advantage of a slow day at work to look over cos

It's been four years last week since I escaped moved from Denver and ten years ago this month that I started this blog. I have much to be thankful for: My health is a lot better than it was last year. My digestion, energy, palpitations, and mood are better, even if I feel like I still have a ways to go. A nice Thanksgiving meal with good company. My meetup group went to Bob Evans and we talked about Day of the Dead , health care, the economy, and I don't remember what else. I was bad--I had eggs benedict with biscuits since I don't like Thanksgiving fare--but felt fine. I'm not going to make a habit of getting glutened, though. I haven't forgotten how sick I was ten years ago, and how much a gluten-free diet helped.  I live in Indiana, where I can get lab tests without a permission slip from a doctor. I live in Indiana, where raising a vegetable garden is easy. I live in Indiana, where so many beautiful plants grow so well that I'm having a hard time p

Equipment (pick one): Pot-style yogurt maker Cup-style yogurt maker + heating pad and insulated container if you don't have enough cups for the recipe (see #4 below) Sous vide stick and pot Heating pad and insulated container (e.g., camping cooler, insulated grocery bag) Note that your yogurt maker must let you set the temperature at 97 degrees F (36C) for 36 hours.   I use this one  (a cup-style yogurt maker). Since the yogurt takes a long time to ferment, and I don't like to go without while I'm making a new batch, I make a few extra cups in an insulated container.  My heating pad does the job at the medium setting in an insulated grocery bag at room temperature. (My insulated grocery bag is just a paper grocery bag with a bubble wrap liner.) I use  8 oz plastic freezing cups , available where canning and freezing supplies are sold. Ingredients 3 T powdered plain gelatin 1/2 c water (cold or room temperature) 4 cans regular coconut milk (13.5 oz each) 6 T c

Keith Smith, the founder of and an anesthesiologist at the Oklahoma Surgery Center, was recently on EconTalk, a podcast from the Library of Economics and Liberty at Stanford University. The Oklahoma Surgery Center is unusual in that they don't deal with insurance companies, they do post all-inclusive prices on their web site, and they typically charge far less for the same procedures compared to regular hospitals. Time magazine interviewed a patient who had total knee replacement done there for $19,000. The average price in the US is $57,000. The actual cost to the hospital? At one, it turned out to be $10,550. Dr. Smith and host Russ Roberts discuss the surgery center and the US health care system in this mind-blowing episode . Sources: "Keith Smith on Free Market Health Care." Keith Smith and Russ Roberts, EconTalk, November 18, 2019.  https://www.econtalk.org/keith-smith-on-free-market-health-care/ "What Happens when Doctors Only Take Cash." Haley S