Many issues: thyroid, hormone levels, cortisol, etc. Considering whole 30.

[Fitmama]

I had my 2nd baby in July 2012.

Difficult delivery (emergency C-section with full anesthesia when I had been planning a VBAC)

I've suffered from PDD, anxiety, and just not feeling like myself since. I've seen a medical psychologist who has prescribed Wellbutrin and Trazadone for sleep. This has helped slightly but not a huge improvement.

Here are my symptoms:

teary-ness (crying for no reason)

feeling overwhelmed

exhaustion

difficulty staying asleep, mind racing at night

weight gain and difficulty losing weight

complete lack of energy and motivation

feeling angry and frustrated for no reason

inability to focus or concentrate

I finally decided that enough was enough and visited a Dr who specializes in hormone balancing, adrenal, and thyroid issues.

Her diagnosis:

Low testosterone

Low DHEA

High Cortisol

Low thyroid function

Slightly elevated Glucose

Fatigue, Weight gain

Ovarian dysfunction

Iron deficiency

Thyroid hypofunction

Vitamin D deficiency

Low DHEA

Elevated fasting Glucose

Mixed Hyperlipidemia

As you can see......I'm a hot mess. I can post actual lab numbers if anyone is interested.

She is starting me on approximately 1 million different supplements, a progesterone supplement, and a thyroid medication (Armour).

She did not mention dietary changes b/c she said that it's important to just get the raging problems under control first.

I'm considering starting a Whole 30 because:

1. I feel like I've hit rock bottom and it can only help

2. I'm repeating my lab work in 6 weeks so it will be a good way to compare how the dietary changes have TRULY affected my health

3. I feel like sh#t and will do anything to feel better.

Thoughts?

[MingoNW]

Well if you are under a doctor's care and are taking a lot of supplements, it would probably be hard to do both because many/most supplements have ingredients that are not compliant.

I would talk to your Doctor about trying it for 30 days, without supplements, especially if you've been on them for a little while with no or little change. Maybe then you can revisit after 30 days with your doctor. It's very possible from what I've been reading from others that a Whole 30 could have a big impact. For me, I have hormone issues that did not seem to get better, but others had radically great results.

At any rate, maybe show some of the testimonials to your Doctor, explain that you'd like to try for 30 days and then follow up with them with your results?

[missmary]

respectfully, Mingo, I disagree.

If the supplements are prescribed by your doctor as medicine, continue to take them until you agree together that they are not needed. If possible, you can check formulations to find one without offending ingredients (ie. I get a Vitamin D capsule in olive oil, rather than soybean or rice bran), but that isn't a dealbreaker.

There is no reason to post-pone the whole30 until you stop needing supplements, in fact, doing a whole30 might just help you get to that place faster.

Personally, I take doctor perscribed thyroid (Armour), DHEA and Vitamin D, and I believe these supplements helped improve my health a great deal, as did the whole30. Armour and vitamin D alone didn't do it for me, at least not right away, but since my diet has been dialed in, and I started DHEA supplements, I have made incredible progress. I feel so much better. What have you got to lose?

[Renee Lee]

I'm with Mary here. We highly encourage working with your doc. Honestly, a lot of these things can be or could be alleviated with the W30, but for folks that have a LOT of stuff going on, W30 may not be the silver bullet all by itself.

Putting nothing but healthy, nourishing food into your body while you're going through this supplementation intervention can do NOTHING but help you and your health.

[MingoNW]

I was pretty clear I was encouraging talking with the doctor...

[Karen]

I can totally relate to you! I was diagnosed a few years ago with pretty much everything you had listed and then some, minus the high cortisol (mine was low) and glucose (mine was normal). You're SO not alone!

I, too, worked with an integrative doc who specializes in hormones, etc. and have tried just about everything you described, including a gazillion supplements. At one point, I was taking 60 pills a day (all but two were supplements)... I know! In my experience, starting ALL those at the same time, including diet changes, can be really overwhelming. After all, if you see some improvements or have some weird side effects, how can you pinpoint which medicine/supplement/food is responsible when there are 5 or 10 different factors at play? I'm not telling you what to do, but I think it's a conversation worth having with your doctor and getting her advice on how to approach and sequence it all so you can take note of any changes.

I'm glad you have a medical professional that knows about hormones, though. Because of that, I'd be willing to bet she'd have an opinion on diet and the Whole30 and when the most appropriate time may be to start with all that you have going on. 30 days can do wonders for lots of people, but if you have a lot of health issues going on and just functioning each day is a struggle, is a strict Whole30 the best place to start? Will you have the energy for that? I know I didn't at my worst! I agree with Renee, though - eating nourishing foods right now will only help - but perhaps now isn't the best time to dive head first. Prioritizing or baby steps may be the better route. Then again, if food sensitivities are contributing to your health issues, you'll never know until you eliminate/reintroduce them. Again, your doctor's perspective might really help here.

For me, getting my thyroid dose where it's at and eliminating the long list of foods that I'm sensitive to had the biggest impact in how I felt. I'm finding, though, that Whole30s send my body into a tailspin for whatever reason. It's done wonders for many, but for me, being that strict wasn't the fix. I do believe, though, that for a person on a SAD, it's a great place to start when the time is right.

I really sympathize for you. Feeling like crud sucks. But, I applaud your openness to new approaches and your determination to get better. You can try everything at once, but if you don't want to, it'll always be an option to try them later on, one by one. Wishing you lots of optimism and health!

[Maycat]

Oh! Sweetie! I am so sorry that you are going through this. It is not easy when you have that feeling of overwhelm, and on top of that your body has not been supporting your emotions. I had similar issues and have been on Wellbutrin and trazadone. I am also on Levoxyl for my thyroid.

For the thyroid, I had particularly low thyroid levels at one time, right after a bread and cake eating binge (because if you don't feel good, if's easy to reach for anything you think will make you feel better). I got so cold that it scared my husband. He kept on piling blankets and heating pads on me, and I kept on shivering! At that point, I said, "That's it! I'm done with gluten!" I decided to go Paleo.

Up to that point, Robb Wolf and his wife had shared this diet with me and I was fascinated, but not sure how my life would be without bread and pasta. My chiropractor had told me I should try this as his wife writes paleo cookbooks. I was so cold, depressed, and miserable, and although my endocrinologist said wheat had nothing to do with Hypothyroid/hashimotos, I decided to trust Robb and Nicki, and just try it for 30 days.

Well, immediately I felt better. OK, the first 4 days where rough but a week into this "strange" diet I felt incredible. Then, my thyroid stopped getting worse. I had more energy, and I stopped feeling like I was moving through jello, which is what it is like when my thyroid was super-low. All of my digestive issues improved completely. I have never gone back to eating gluten.

In the beginning, I thought there is no way I can live without bread, pasta, or sweets. Now I realize that it is just a mindset. I am actually eating more delicious food now than I ever did before. There is some planning involved, but the trade-off is nothing compared to what how good I feel when I eat clean, whole foods like when on the Whole30. Because I have the mindset that I am eating this way because I want to feel good, I don't feel like I am sacrificing anything. Well, there was a point in this Whole30 that I craved brownies for about 5 minutes, but that went away after a while.

Congratulations on taking the first step. I know you can do this, and we will be supporting you.

[missmary]

30 days can do wonders for lots of people, but if you have a lot of health issues going on and just functioning each day is a struggle, is a strict Whole30 the best place to start? Will you have the energy for that? I know I didn't at my worst! I agree with Renee, though - eating nourishing foods right now will only help - but perhaps now isn't the best time to dive head first.

Karen, I know you mean well...but this has been on my mind since yesterday and frankly, it's making me too mad not to comment. I've been underestimated by people too, FITMAMA, but if you are ready, don't listen! Nourishing your body is everything good and nothing bad. If you are overwhelmed, come to us for support, but don't let other people make you second-guess your committment. YOU get to decide if you are ready and willing to give this a try (and YOU get to decide if you want to wait or want to stop) but you are here, so I happen to think you just might be ready.

I WISH I had found the whole30 sooner instead of farting around with marginal improvements FOR YEARS before I got here.

[Fitmama]

Wow, Thank you so much for all of your wonderful input and support.

I REALLY appreciate it.

It's hard sometimes to find other people who "get it".

I can see both points of view re: being overwhelmed by starting supplements and medication and a change in diet at once and just going for it.

These posts have really given me a lot to think about.......I'm going to respond with more detail later.... (have to put on my mom hat right now )

Sincere thanks,,,,

Maryanne (fit mama ......or formerly fit mama lol)

[Laststraw]

Maryanne,

I could have written your post. Every word.I used to wear my bathrobe and gloves in the middle of summer in Az because I was so cold. All the same symptoms and issues as you.

I also went to a LPN that specialized in adrenal fatigue and put on bio-indentical hormones. I immediatley felt better after the first few months - it has been a year since I have started the regimine. I have had multiple adjustments to the levels of DHEA, pregnelone, progesterone and testosterone. I just started naturethroid in the summer because of throid concerns - once test says I have hashis', the follow up says I don't and so on.

At the same time I started seeing this LPN I got the Mirena to help with women problems. Come to find out my hormones and women issues were all related - but I was seeing 2 different providers. With the hormones and Mirena I felt great. But something was missing. I still had low energy sometimes, annoyed easily and such.

All this while, I still didn't realize that diet played such a huge roll. My LPN never told me to change anything as far as what I ate. I discovered this way of life last month.. I have never felt better, energy, sleep, anxiety, focus.

Work the plan, still take the meds, take the vit d3, fish oil, vit b.. let it all balance out. You will be surprised and feel great.

[Karen]

Karen, I know you mean well...but this has been on my mind since yesterday and frankly, it's making me too mad not to comment. I've been underestimated by people too, FITMAMA, but if you are ready, don't listen! Nourishing your body is everything good and nothing bad. If you are overwhelmed, come to us for support, but don't let other people make you second-guess your committment. YOU get to decide if you are ready and willing to give this a try (and YOU get to decide if you want to wait or want to stop) but you are here, so I happen to think you just might be ready.

I WISH I had found the whole30 sooner instead of farting around with marginal improvements FOR YEARS before I got here.

Missmary - nothing to be mad about, I promise! To be clear, eating nourishing foods to heal, which I 100% agree with, and doing a strict Whole30 are not exactly the same. One can eat only nourishing foods without being on a Whole30.

If you'll read a bit further in my post, I think I hit on both sides of the coin - jumping in or waiting. There are things to consider with both approaches. But, with all that's going on and all that you've been prescribed, if you have a doctor that really understand hormones, for gosh sakes, talk to him/her about the best time for diet FOR YOU, too! I'm not underestimating anyone, Missmary.

[Moluv]

I'm with missmary and Renee on this one- your hormone and nervous system function have everything to do with the food you eat. Your improvements on supplements will be marginal at best if you include gluten and sugar in particular. You still have to eat, shop and prepare food for yourself and switching to foods that are more supportive doesn't have to be that hard. Do you have to follow the meal template to a tee at every meal?-NO. Do you have to try out a new recipe every single day?-NO. Do you have to win an award for the most perfect w30 ever?-NO. Can you eat a simple diet of nourishing foods to support you through the worst medical crisis you've ever had? ABSOLUTELY YES. The w30 guidelines are practical and common sense and will make you better faster. I eat the same breakfast of ground beef and canned butternut squash almost everyday so I'm here to tell you it doesn't have to be so complex as to cause more stress.

[Angela Marie]

I have most of what you have & I've noticed that a combination of both the Whole30 & the supplements together is making the biggest (and fastest) improvement in my recovery so I would highly suggest this, but do it longer than the 30 days. I'm halfway through a Whole30, will directly follow with the AI Whole30, then directly follow with one more Whole30 while reintroducing the approved foods that are restricted on the AI protocol to find all that I'm sensitive to and stop consuming it. I've done the Whole30 alone & I've done the supplements alone, and the joint effort has been really effective for me.

One of the big factors in recovery is detecting and avoiding all things that cause stress and inflammation in your body.

[amchrista]

I have all of these deficiencies and conditions too and have recently started supplements and the whole 30. I think the whole 30 is great but I've noticed a kick-start from the supplements. The way I look at it is: if it weren't for the whole30 (which I plan to do forever), I may have to be on the supplements forever. But since I'm doing the whole 30, I look at the supplements as more of a temporary tool to propel me into better health.

[Becky7773]

Here I sit reading this at 3:59 am, been up for an hour already... I just can't seem to get past that 3am dump of cortisol. I just left my Dr's office earlier this week with nearly the same laundry-list of diagnoses. I'm a nursing student on top of all that life throws at us in the week... Soooo tired all the time, can't sleep, I've gained nearly 20 pounds in the past few months - and I have been counting calories as well as wearing a body-bugg. 

 

Time for a Whole30? I think yes. Reading the entire thread in front of me I don't think I'll stop the supplements the doc prescribed.

[Bet]

I wish I knew about W30 years ago. I always had stomach issues (IBS/Chrohn's) anxiety and other issues. It all came to a head 8 years ago when I pretty much crashed and burned. I was going through peri-menopause and had a lot of hormonal issues. It was my gyno (who was also a fertility endocrinologist) who finally diagnosed me as having thyroid anti-bodies which meant I had hashi's thyroiditis. I had been tested several times over my life for low thyroid, but was always told I was 'low normal', whatever that means. But no one every tested me for antibodies.

 

Back then, I just took the hormone replacement and synthroid. It did improve things, but a few years later the stomach and anxiety issues were worse. I went gluten free, and that did help, but since I didn't understand that all grains cause problems (among other things) I still had problems. I wound up in the hospital with stomach issues and that's when I decided enough is enough. At first I did a good healing diet, SCD, which I needed because my digestive system was in very bad shape (SIBO, hyplori infection, inflammation, leaky gut....). I also started taking anti-anxiety meds (Zoloft) which have helped a lot, and also take Trazedone as a sleep aid (which is another anti-anxiety med that makes you sleepy). I was finally getting sleep, which I really hadn't been for years. I then added digestive enzymes with HCL, supplements to help with cortisol issues, vit D and B12 sublingualy (since I lacked stomach acid, I couldn't digest and absorb these from food or pill supplements and my B12 level was non-existent at one point). I also added vitamin K and Magnesium Glycinate and pro and pre biotics.

 

But still, my diet was probably countering a lot of the help I was getting from medications and supplements. For instance, I was eating legumes and rice and other things I thought were 'healthy'. When I read ISWF, so much of it made sense and I said, let's do it!!! I felt different immediately. After 5 days, my joint pain was greatly diminished, I stopped having 'hangry' episodes. I could eat 3 meals and not be hungry in between, and I lost 8 lbs! I had greater energy and concentration.

 

I look at your list of symptoms and they are all things I have felt. I didn't get tested for hormones (beyond the initial issues). But I feel through W30 and supplements and meds, I have had improvement in all of them. You may be able to eliminate some of the meds and supplements through W30, but do take them in the beginning. Attack this from all fronts. It will take a long time, but you will feel better.

[Vian]

If any of your perscriptions have non-compliant or yucky ingredients, see if you can get them through a compounding pharmacy. I work as a tech at a compounding pharmacy and we can make all kinds of things. We can do hormones in capsules with olive oil, topical hormone creams, we make our own levothyroxine/liothyronine capsules and we can make them with clear vegetarian capsules if the patient wants. We also make vaginal suppositories and mini vaginal troches, as well as oral troches and sublingual drops and sublingual tablets. Most of the orally dissolving items (SL tabs, SL drops, Oral troches) have sweetner in them, so still not compliant, but there's tons of other options still.

 

Anyway, compounding pharmacies can pretty much make whatever you need and make it compliant to whole30 as well.

[MELYMOM]

I am in the same boat, lots of similar symptoms except adrenal fatigue with flatline cortisol and by blood sugar was just below the point of being too high.  I started seeing an LPN, she explained that if the lining of your stomach is unhealthy you have very poor lining, which causes lack of absorption of nutrients, as well as leaky gut.  What was really interisting is that your liver puts out the hormones, dumps them in to the stomach.. With poor stomach lining the hormones reabsorb back into the blood, back througn the liver a back to the stomach, causing fluctuations in your hormones. It is also unable to process and absorb nutrients efficiiently.  Poor nutrition causes your stomach to be continually trying to balance out.  I went to the LPN because I knew there had to be more to correcting my issues besides always having to up my thyroid medication every few months.  Once I started taking the supplents I also started leaning toward Paleo eating, then  came across whole 30, which I knew I needed to do to slay the sugar dragon and feel better since I have been doing the whole 30 and supplements I have more clarity, am more productive at work, and the aching in my feet has decreased...I take probiotics, vitamin D, Vitamin B, Omega 3, Oregeno oil, rhodiola and enzymes. The rhodiola helps with energy and mood. There are pure brands without  added sugars, SUpper Suplements carries them, and most compoud pharmacies can as well.  One thing I have finaly accepted is that it will not all get better in a week, or two weeks, especially since I have eaten poorly or dieted most of my life.  You have to be in charge of your health.  I know it is frustrating going through what you are going through, be patient and take care of you!