Jen's Post W30 Log

[pjena]

Interesting, M!  I've always suspected slow thyroid but the tests always say it's normal.  How do you work on a goal of keeping it higher?  BP was 91/53 (first try was 87/49) and pulse was 44 - is yours lower than that?

[LadyM]

Whoa, those ARE low numbers, lady! My BP was 100/80 last time, and my pulse is between 55 and 60. Those are slightly increased from two years of iodine and thyroid supplementation from FMD. She says we're actually rebuilding my thyroid tissue. She wants those numbers slightly higher and stabilized long term. Finding a doc who works with such nuances is difficult--and if you're lucky enough to find one it's hella pricey. An acupuncturist might be another way to go if you're interested. You don't seem to have any real problems aside from that last niggling 10 pounds, though, so I wouldn't blame you if you didn't pursue it.

[pjena]

Yeah, I have never pushed on it, but it might be worth looking into more.  Cold sores and miscarriages (I had 3) are also symptoms.  As well as restless sleep/insomnia, being cold all the time, hair falling out (though it's not thinning - I just have a ton of it), constipation, dry itchy skin.  You'd think, though, that doing this W30 thing would help even if that I did have it.  I'll ask my naturopath step-mother about it.  Thanks for the info.

[pjena]

Dr office just called.  Apparently she went over the EKG and numbers with a cardiologist and wants me to come back to have my thyroid checked.  So smart, Dr M!

[LadyM]

Keep us posted, please!

[pjena]

Will do.  I have an appt to get more blood drawn on Monday.  So, we'll see.  We just checked my thyroid a year or so ago, so I won't be surprised if it shows up normal.  I've heard the tests aren't the best.  But, at least my dr is concerned enough to figure it out.  I'll still ask my step mother about it at Thanksgiving.  Maybe there are other things I can do (similar to what you are doing, M).  Here I was all proud of my low blood pressure.    I guess extremes either way aren't good. 

 

On a nicer note - made the bars with no sampling or even really any desire to sample.  Yay!  And, that means bar making is done and most of the candy is gone so I think I can say I made it through Halloween successfully!  Woohoo!  On to Thanksgiving and Christmas. 

 

And, Paleos the restaurant is soooooo cool!  The owner told us that they are one of only three 100% paleo restaurants in the country.  Not sure if that's true, but it's still cool.  The entire menu was free of grains, dairy, legumes, even white potatoes.  They aren't W30 - they serve alcohol and have sugar in some dressings, but they are more than happy to discuss ingredients and subs and all that.  So, even on W30, it would be a super pleasant dining experience.  We had sweet potato slices (they called them fries, but they were really just baked slices) for an appetizer.  I had Asian style shrimp lettuce wraps.  Husband had a guac burger with portabello bun, fauxtatos and wasabi coleslaw.  He said it was good, but he really missed the bun and fries.  I really want to support them so I'll have to go with girlfriends for lunch or something because I'm not sure I can get husband to go often.  The food was good, but expensive for how much you get (top quality everything).  I think it's worth it, but he likes to eat more and loves his grains and dairy.  It was fun, anyway. 

 

Weekend should be good.  The kids and I are going to visit my mom and stepdad.  I'm going to enjoy cooking in a real kitchen!  We're just going for one night so I can still get in a couple yoga classes.  I'll miss my favorite one, though.  Oh well.

 

Have a great Friday, everyone!

[Emma]

The restaurant sounds fantastic and so freeing to be able to order most things.  Seems like there could be a really good loyal clientele for paleo restaurants that do a good job.  Congratulations on getting through Halloween.  The Snickers bars I purchased to hand out were really hard to resist and really hard to give away after Halloween.  I wanted to pop them in the freezer for later.  I'm glad my husband dumped them into our bag of treats to turn in at the local candy exchange.  Thanksgiving and Christmas (especially Christmas) is going to be rough.  

 

Have a great weekend visiting family, cooking, and going to yoga!

[pjena]

So, I looked up hypothyroidism in my nutritional healing book last night and they also list orange tinted skin, especially palms, as a sign!  I assumed that was due to eating too many sweet potatoes.  And I assumed being cold all the time was because my body got used to hot yoga heat.  I was cold even when it was 82 outside this summer.  I have low temps, too.  It will be interesting to get the results of the test.  Odd that it would take low blood pressure for the dr to think of looking at it.  Even if it comes back negative, I will ask my step mother about it because I have been reading that the tests are flawed. 

[Emma]

Whoa - really interesting!  And really interesting because you've been sharing that information with so many people on the Whole30 forums who seem to dig figuring all these things out and nobody mentioned it.  I never questioned your orange skin assumptions.  And cold when it's hot out really isn't the norm.  It will be interesting to hear what the doctor says - or maybe not.  You're bound to come up with the conflicting worlds of medicines in how to treat or work with whatever is going on.

 

Have you read anything on Chris Kresser's site?  I was just there reading about preventing colds and saw he has stuff on hypothyroidism.  Here's the link  to one of the articles I saw:  http://chriskresser.com/?s=hypothyroidism

[pjena]

Thanks for the link, Emma.  I'll take a look.

 

The weekend was pretty good.  I didn't eat any fudge.  I'm amazed that I just don't really care.  I did, however, have some wine and some of the hummus and chips my mom put out.  So, I had a bit of a tummy ache.  Sad because I really like hummus.  And wine.    Last night we had BLTs and smoked salmon.  I thought that would be enough fat so didn't add any and ended up in the AB later.  Needed more fat, I guess.  Still, overall, not a bad eating weekend.

 

Kitchen update - 7 down 4 to go.  Or so.  This week, they finish the stairs, start painting, maybe install the counter and stain the steps Friday.  It'll be fun to see it start coming back together. 

[SaraRuns]

Wow, I missed a lot.  I hope you get some answers from all the new testing.  I'm glad your doctor is working with you.

 

A good weekend and you are on the downslope of the remodel.  Things are coming together...

[LadyM]

Yay for a good weekend and progress in the kitchen!

[pjena]

No such luck.  TSH came back normal.  Not that I want a health issue, but I have to admit I was thinking maybe this would explain why I never got tiger blood or awesome sleep or why the cold sores came back or why I still don't know why I always clear my throat.  The orange thing doesn't bug me.    Anyway, level was 1.98, which is solidly normal and dr says no further testing necessary.  I'm not sure if it's worth pushing.  I wasn't worried about my low blood pressure before so maybe I shouldn't worry about it now.  I do think, just in case, that I will cut out the buckets of raw spinach I eat for a while.  I cook my kale and now that CSA time is over, don't have much raw cabbage or broc or whatever, so spinach is the main thing on the list of thyroid issue foods that I eat a lot.  I can eat romaine for a while and just see if it makes a difference for any of the little issues.

 

Other than that, same old here.  They are staining the steps this weekend, so I have to get anything we need from the upstairs (bedrooms and only shower!!!) downstairs by Friday morning and won't be able to go back up until (I'm hoping) Sunday night.  They are saying that they are having trouble finding someone to come do the 2nd coat of poly on Sunday.  I said I'd do it if they can't.  I will take a shower Monday morning before work, darn it!  Over the weekend, I'll just shower at yoga or at my friend's house.  I'm hoping the smell isn't too bad in the basement so we can sleep down there, but if it is bad, we'll end up sleeping at our friends', too.  I'm sure it will be worth it.  The stairs look SO much better and the railing is solid and up to code so I don't have to worry that the boys will crash through it.  I never really worried that they'd fall through the spindles, but as they;ve got bigger I am always yelling at them to stop rough housing on the upstairs landing.  The railing just wasn't sturdy.  It's much better now.  And, it will be very pretty!

[SaraRuns]

You are on here early!

 

I'm sorry you didn't get an answer.  I know you didn't want something to be wrong, but having an answer with a solution would be nice.  Guess it is back to experimenting on your own.

 

I bet the staircase will look awesome, but not being able to go upstairs to the bathroom not so much!  Good luck.  Hopefully this is the last of the major disruptions.  Stairs and boys are typically a dangerous combination. 

[LadyM]

You are really taking all these changes and inconveniences like a champ, Jen!

 

I hear you on not wanting to push with the thyroid issues. I chose to step outside of mainstream medicine altogether to get some answers. Normal TSH isn't the whole story, but I was tired of fighting with experts to explain that and get what I need. You seem to be at a good accepting place with how things are, so maybe it's best to not mess with it.

[Emma]

Frustrating to still have no answers.  They give us a direction.  Your house renovations sound pretty spectacular and a good thing your boys won't be falling through the spindles

[pjena]

Happy Monday!  We had a nice weekend.  I had a couple glasses of wine Sat night at dinner out with friends, but made good choices the rest of the weekend and didn't eat any desserts.  I didn't get enough sleep.  I still wake up at 4 or 5 and can't get back to sleep.  I've had a few 6's and I thought it was getting better, but it's not.  Sigh. 

 

My neck hurt pretty good Friday night and less Saturday and almost gone yesterday and then started up again on the way to work.  Stress?  I am working on getting a standing desk.  That might help by keeping me from being hunched over my desk all day.  Mostly, though, I just need my current stress/pressure project to go away!  I think it's going to be a long couple months.  It will get better, though.  And, hopefully, I can take some time off over the holidays.  I need to find time to get a massage.  I bet that would help, too.

 

Kitchen 9 down 3 to go!  They spray varnished the stair railings and doors so I was sealed out of most of my house Saturday.  That was difficult.  I couldn't get to any door but the back sliding door (glad there was one door we could get to or we'd have been going out the windows!) and didn't have access to a shower or the washer/dryer.  I showered at a friend's and she was so sweet and did my yoga laundry, too!  We got everything back yesterday so I could catch up.  We gave our water heater a workout with 4 showers and 7 loads of laundry!  Today, they are staining the stair treads (by hand so they don't have to seal us out of the whole house) so we're not supposed to go up the stairs tonight.  I can go up them in the morning, though, to shower and get ready for work.  Husband and the kids plan to climb a ladder onto the upstairs deck and get up to bed that way.  I am not so sure about that.  If it feels dry, I may put baggies on my feet and go up anyway.  Otherwise, I'll just sleep downstairs.  Same tomorrow night.  Then, I think/hope that part is done.  They are also painting and the counters go in tomorrow.  Then just two weeks left to get everything hooked up, put in the floor and do the tile backsplash.  I can't wait to start moving back in.  I'm so tired of stuff being everywhere!  I'm realizing, though, that it's going to take a long time to get everything put back.  I'm hoping I can take some time off between Christmas and New Years and spend some time organizing and putting away. 

 

I'm taking Thanksgiving easy this year.  I'm making the pumpkin butter bars that I bring to my dad's every year and that my sister says I'm not allowed to come without, but I'm not making any other desserts.  I had plans to but decided to take it easy on myself, both with time, kitchen frustration and with temptation.  The supplies I had already purchased I donated to the food basket at church this weekend - I figured someone would appreciate the holiday baking supplies.  My plan is to eat as normal as possible sized meals and skip dessert and wine on Thursday at the in-laws and then have my bars and wine Friday at my dad's.  Other than that, no sweets and right back on track after.  So, Friday is my celebrate/holiday day. Thursday is a normal day that happens to involve lots of sweet potatoes (my fav!!!!).  I think it wil be good.  I know I'll feel much better come next Monday if I eat as normal as I can over the holiday.  There's nothing (besides my sweet potato casserole) out of my normal eating that is special enough to eat.  I don't even like pumpkin pie that much. 

 

Have a good week, all!

[SaraRuns]

Sorry to hear about  your neck.  My masseuse asked if I was having any particular work or emotional stress, since my issue is on my left side.  I couldn't really come up with anything.  But I hear you on the sitting, we are also in talks about getting standing desks.  I think it would be really good for my back/neck.

 

You are so close with the kitchen, and you are really handling it like a champ.  Good for you.  And yes, it may take awhile to get everything back in place, but just being able to cook in a real kitchen is going to be so great.

 

Hope you can get some yoga in this week!  My sister is a yoga instructor and since she's in, I'm hoping she is going to give me some exercises for my feet, back, and general running stuff.

[mcjule]

So sorry to hear about the neck -- I hope it starts feeling better.

 

Very impressed with your resolve for Thanksgiving!!!  I need to come up with a plan myself . . . 

[pjena]

Having a plan is a good start, but doesn't guarantee success...  I'm going to try, though. 

I skipped yoga last night in order to get to bed early and ended up awake until after 11 and up this morning at 5.  Sigh.  It's probably stress.  I hope that this weekend with some time off I can get some decent sleep.  I'm going to yoga tonight for sure.  I'm going to WAH tomorrow and try to get out for a mid-day yoga class with one of my fav teachers. Excited about that! And, another good teacher is still on for Thursday morning. Yay!

 

I was a rebel and went up the stairs last night with baggies on my feet.  They felt dry to the touch so I'm not worried about it.  The boys all climbed the ladder.  Part of the adventure!  I plan to do the same today.  So ready for the stair work to be done! 

 

Happy Thanksgiving all!  And good luck taking it easy on the sugar. (today is NS30 for me!)

[pjena]

Happy Monday.  I can't believe it's December!  Crazy!

 

We had a pretty good weekend.  Work caused some stress, which makes me angry.  Instead of 4 days of not thinking about work, which I really needed, I was stressing about finding time to get online.  I really hate that.  We did, however, get to see all the family and have some nice quality family time.  So, I will try to focus on that.  We run around to see everyone at Thanksgiving and then they all come to us at Christmas.  So, this is our hectic holiday.  But, it's fun, anyway.  The kids enjoyed their long weekend and seeing the grandparents. 

 

As for food, I ate way too many sweet potatoes, but only had dessert and wine at my dad's Thansgiving meal.  At the others, I just ate turkey, salad and sweet potatoes.  I'm pretty happy with that.  The sweet potatoes were the only thing I really wanted.   The recipe I use has maple syrup so technically it has sugar, but I cut it way down from the original recipe and it's a once a year special treat so I ate as much as I wanted and enjoyed every bite! 

 

I made it to several yoga classes, which makes me happy.  And they were tough classes!  The teachers all wanted to get us ready for and recovered from the big food day. LOL  The owner even taught class on Thanksgiving morning.  He said his wife wanted him out of her way anyway. LOL  I was very grateful for that! 

 

And one day I slept until 7!  Today was 5.  Sigh. 

 

I hope everyone (in the US) had a relaxed holiday!  I'm back at it with super duper work stress.  I really really need this to calm down.  I did get a dr note to get a standing desk, so hopefully work can get me one quickly and we can see if it helps my neck (which was fine all weekend except when I was sitting at my computer working...).

[LadyM]

Boo to stress but hooray for sweet potatoes and yoga to your heart's content!

 

Don't hate me, but after a very late night Wednesday, I slept 15 hours Thursday night. Sleeping to your heart's content is sometimes the best medicine of all. I hope you get some relief from the work stress. Let us know how the standing desk goes. I want a treadmill one!

[Emma]

You did awesome over the break!  What a lot of positive things you were able to list.  Hope your week back to regular life starts off smoothly.

[SaraRuns]

Glad you are getting a standing desk.  I'm interested to hear how you like it, since we do similar work.  There has been talk of potentially getting them here...

 

It sounds like you had a wonderful holiday filled with yummy food, family, and yoga!  

 

I also had some work stress over the weekend.  I also went in on Friday, but it was only for a few hours.  Hope your job calms down soon.  But I'm assuming this is always a crazy time of year for you.

[pjena]

M - So jealous of the long sleep!  I woke at 4 on the dot today, but fell back to sleep until about 520. 

 

The kitchen is getting so close!  They put in the floor yesterday (cork - it's really pretty) and are putting up the final cabinets and starting the final trim work today.  The tile guy needs to come back to do the backsplash and then just the final electric, gas and plumbing hook ups.  Eeeeek!  By the end of next week, I can move back in.  I so cannot wait!  I know it will take a while to get everything back in order, but I will just be grateful to spend time in my new sunny non basement cave kitchen!