Pain, Pain, Go Away!

Reducing my NDT was a success: the aches and pains are gone and I can sleep at night again. However, my heart started pounding after meals, then between meals, and then I had to lie down after meals or any exertion like bringing a basket of laundry upstairs from the dryer. Google is a lot less helpful than it used to be for finding answers. No matter how I phrase search terms, I get answers involving high cortisol, which I don't have. And the top answers are from corporate pill pushers and official sounding agencies that are adrenal fatigue deniers. I finally found some answers from Nora Gedgaudas's book Rethinking Fatigue , which I heard about over at Jimmy Moore . The second suggestion in the chapter about low cortisol is to check your iron. It's a big deal in adrenal fatigue and thyroid problems. She also says that doing keto is going to be really hard with low cortisol (but to try anyway) and to dig deeper for the source of your adrenal problems. I respect what...

Even with lab tests, it's hard to tell if you're dosing yourself right on NDT (natural desiccated thyroid) and adrenals cortex. Palpitations, being hot or cold, aches and pains, fatigue and nervousness are symptoms of high and low levels of both. They can be symptoms of other things, too. Changing only one variable at a time helps; so does changing doses a little at a time. Turns out I've been taking too much NDT and got symptoms of headache, rapid heartbeat, insomnia, and a bit of diarrhea. I wasn't hot, but didn't get cold even when going out in 44 degree weather with no coat. I've stopped taking it for the time being and will start again at a lower dose. 

DIYing my adrenal fatigue and low thyroid has been a challenge. At least I'm over the brain fog and can read and think more clearly. After my ears got dry and itchy again--which seems to be a symptom of low thyroid for me--I upped my thyroid dose again. I also lowered my adrenal cortex dose since I was gaining weight, even with the increased NDT (natural desiccated thyroid medicine) and decreased carb intake. The cortisol (an adrenal hormone) will make you gain weight if you take too much. I hope this is the last time I need to up my NDT, since my current dose costs $80 per month. I can't even pay for it with my HSA (health savings account, a pre-tax deal in the US). At least the adrenal cortex is cheap, and hydrocortisone is $5 a tube. The adrenal cortex, which I take in the morning at at noon, started turning me into a morning person. I was up at six doing dishes, vacuuming the house, and packing a lunch. I was tired around 10 PM. Since backing off a little, I'm ba...

Some people are still trotting out the old "Japanese are healthy because of their starchy diet" chestnut.  There are a lot of differences between Japanese and American diets and cultures. One I hadn't heard of until recently was annual physicals for Japanese citizens and ex-pats 30 and over living in Japan. The checkups are free--employers are required to provide them. Those without a regular employer can go through their city office. The results of these physicals are shared with your employer, who can tell you to shape up or ship out (or pass you over for promotions). With this in mind, many Japanese go on an annual "cleanse" to prepare for their physical. "They do things such as eliminating fried foods and alcohol, and pay close attention to getting more sleep, usually for a month or so beforehand," says ex-pat Jessica Korteman. A lot of Americans likewise make New Year's resolutions to diet and exercise--but we have a lot less skin in the ...

Jim said he didn't want no more damned adventures. - The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain Getting a shot of epinephrine once again made me feel tired and gave me palpitations. At least this time I knew to pop magnesium pills (good ones ending in -ate) like candy. I now carry three magnesium pills with me in case of emergency--they don't have any at hospitals. The second part of my root canal was Wednesday. Thursday was a major deadline at work, and when a code enforcement officer called me about some overgrown weeds in my front yard, I was all out of nice. Between the mostly cold weather, a dental infection and shots of the dreaded epinephrine, I hadn't felt up to anything but going to work and being bothered by a bureaucrat over some weeds was too much. But by Saturday, I felt well enough to weed the front yard, prune the tree there and clean the house. Today (Sunday), I found I felt better if I moved around--I spaded up part of the back yard to plant mo...

My refrigerator: Ox cheek and homemade mushroom soup in the containers. Bacon and liver sausage in the meat drawer.  My freezer: Black angus beef. My pantry: Note the coffee, jalapeno peppers and full-fat coconut milk--so-called "trigger foods" for acid reflux, which I had until I started a low-carb diet.  My medicine cabinet: All the medicine I own, aside from some Neosporin. I just threw out a bunch of decongestants and Pepto Bismal that expired years ago. The aspirin shown expired nearly two years ago. The toothpaste is for a cavity that started forming last year when I was stressed out and wasn't taking extra-good care of myself.