Miss Lizzy | Miss Lizzy Thyroid Support

Miss Lizzy Thyroid Support

Thanksgiving Dinner Survival Guide

Vermont CremeryThanksgiving is one of those holidays that’s all about carbs and sweets — pretty much the foods which make me feel bleh because of hypothyroidism. That’s why I developed my own way of eating with the Miss Lizzy Diet.

At Thanksgiving everyone is eating what they want, so I wanted to find a way to survive Thanksgiving where I felt great and totally satisfied with foods (as well as not gaining weight!). Here’s what I do:

1. Thanksgiving morning, eat a good breakfast with protein and veggies (this really helps with carb cravings and holds me over until dinnertime)

2. Bring an appetizer that makes me happy and that I can eat — like cheese! — have I mentioned I really love cheese? Cheese really helps with my carb and sugar cravings because its rich and satisfying. Pretty much anything from Vermont Cremery is heaven for me. I skip the crackes and just eat the cheese straight.

3. At mealtime, I fill my plate with any food that don’t have carbs (a little breadcrumbs or flour in the gravy won’t hurt) I am always suprised that there’s a lot of non-carb dishes to choose from — like salads, vegetable side dishes, Turkey, gravy, even some potatoes. I’ll have seconds if I am still hungry, but again avoiding all carbs. Maybe at the end I’ll try a little stuffing, but at this point I am usually full I can have a little carb without overeating.

4. For dessert, bring a super awesome treat specifically for me (I am going to post my special cheesecake recipe shortly!)

So that’s pretty much it. Eating this way on Thanksgiving helps me avoid the brain fog and lethargy of carbs, but still enjoy the day, feel great, and not gain weight (!)

xxoo

Lizzy

Latest Update on My Medicine for Hypothyroid and Adrenal Fatigue

Miss Lizzy

Hi my friends,

It’s been a while since I’ve posted about my medicine, and it’s been an interesting year! So I wanted to share what I’ve learned. First, I want to say wow – it’s all a big experiment! And that’s tough sometimes because I want the answer right now. But the only way to learn is try, test, observe and somehow be patient along the way. So my dear friends, keep at it and you will find answers too. Here is my medicine and general update…

Update on Thyroid Medicine

For a year I have been on the Thyroid compound prescription I special order from Collier’s Pharmacy (details below) in Arkansas. I continue to love it. On the new compound medicine, I take 180mgs day which seems like the right dose for me. On Naturthroid, when I raised above 130mgs I had super freaky hyper and hypo symtpoms. Yet on the compound I can take 180mg beautifully. Weird, isn’t it? So I am super happy to report feeling great now though on the compound. We affectionality call it “The Miss Lizzy Compound” — you can ask for it by name at Colliers. Neat.

Update on Hydrocortisone

The other super big change…I weaned off Hydrocortisone! This was a huge step. I started Hydrocortisone three years ago to help with low cortisol and adrenal fatigue. And Hydrocortisone definitely helped me. But I was always a little worried that the Hydrocortisone was causing some weight gain, and perhaps had something to do with hair loss, though I wasn’t totally sure. This summer I decided it was time to try weaning off Hydrocortisone. Here is what I did:

On STTM Janie felt she had avoided adrenal fatigue because of the high doses of Vitamin C she took daily. So I increased my Vitamin C to 2k mgs a day along with 1k mg Bioflavonoid (per Dr. Wilson’s suggestion). And btw — chewable vitamins really make it much more fun!
I started the process of decreasing my Hydrocortisone by 2.5mgs a week.
If I was stressed during the process, I would hold the dose, and then continue when I felt ready. The idea was to take care of my body and not cause shock.
If had I felt any adrenal fatigue symptoms, I would have stayed on the Hydrocortisone but luckily it seems my adrenals are really well healed now! YAY!!!

It took about 3 months to fully wean off the Hydrocortisone (long time, I know!). And I happy to report, I feel great. It was definitely worth it for me to be on the Hydrocortisone but it was time to try without. It’s been two full months, and so far I seem to be keeping my weight down with greater easily. Over the coming months I will be observing weight gain/loss and hair volume/regrowth to see if the Hydrocortisone might have be related. And of course I will share what I learn!

xxoo

Lizzy

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Here is the info for Collier’s. The pharmacist Rodney at Colliers is SO awesome. He gave us his direct phone extension for ordering the compound (479) 935-4336. Ask for “The Miss Lizzy Compound” and he will hook you up. (A doctor’s prescription is of course needed and he can explain what to do.)

Super Easy Flourless Chocolate Cake, Sweetened with Honey

Miss Lizzy

Time for something fun and happy. If you’ve read my hypothyroid diet, you might recall I don’t eat grain or sugar. But this makes it pretty darn hard to have baked goods. And I am no martyr, my friends. Through sheer determination to satisfy my sweet tooth, I’ve found some great recipe workarounds.

Like many hypothyroid people, sugar just makes me feel horrible. And If I even so much as look at sugar, I gain weight. My body seems to do okay with protein and fats (better than with sugar and grain). And for some curious reason honey seems to be okay for me (in moderation, of course). So I started experimenting with honey as a replacement for sugar in all my recipes. Granted, honey is more expensive than sugar so I don’t bake that often but when I want to indulge in something treaty and baked, I am happy to know there are options, like this latest recipe experiment:

Super Easy Flourless Chocolate Cake Sweetened with Honey

This recipe makes a thin rich fudge-like cake, for a taller cake double the ingredients.

INGREDIENTS

1 stick of Butter
4 oz Baker’s Chocolate
3 Eggs
1/2 cup Honey (or to taste)
1/4 Cup Cocoa Powder (to thicken batter)
1 TSP Vanilla (optional)
Whip Cream, Strawberries, Blueberries (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Preheat Oven to 375 degrees. Butter an 8″ springform pan or 6 muffin tin. Using a double-boiler (or put a glass bowl over a pot of water on a low simmer, just enough to melt ingredients). Add the butter and chocolate to the bowl and stir until melted. Add the honey to taste, blend with a whisk. Remove from heat and add eggs, one at a time. Add some cocoa powder until the batter is a little thicker. Add vanilla if you are using it. Pour batter into pan, bake for about 12-15 minutes (longer if you’ve doubled the recipe). Remove from over while the middle is still a tiny bit soft so the cake doesn’t get too dry. Cool. Decorate with whip cream and berries if you want.

xxoo

Lizzy

Get a Buddy!

Miss Lizzy

Hi friends,

I have an idea to share. I think it’s big.

Here is what I’ve noticed… all this hypothyroid stuff is overwhelming! There is so much to learn. We have low energy, difficulty coping with everyday tasks and have foggy thinking. So simple things for other people, like calling a doctor, ordering labs, learning about medicine, etc… is totally overwhelming for us hypothyroid peeps. How can we possibly find our way to treatment alone?

That’s when I realized: We need to Get a Buddy to help us through! It’s one small thing that will hopefully change everything.

Here’s what to do. Find someone you trust (who won’t nag or judge) and ask them to be your support buddy. You might fear it’s an imposition but it’s really not. Helping you on the road to good health helps everyone in your world. So a good friend, mom, sister or coworker may be happy to step up.

Ask your buddy to read about hypothyroidism (like my worksheet and symptoms list, or Stop the Thyroid Madness). Send them this blog post. They can do the simple tasks that may be overwhelming for you like:

Finding a good doctor
Get referrals if needed
Make the doctor’s appointment for you
Go with you to the doctor if it will help you
Get you setup to track your body temperature
Help you do the symptom checklist for thyroid and adrenals
Help you figure out if you might also have adrenal fatigue
Talk with your doctor about what lab work to order
Help you understand your lab work
Understand treatment options with natural desiccated thyroid medicine

Do you like this idea? Are you feeling a huge sigh of relief? I hope so! So find a buddy today and be okay with asking for help. Trust me, we all need it! And when you feel better you can help someone else.

xxxo

Lizzy

Losing Hope with Naturthroid, Venturing into Compounds and Canada

Miss Lizzy

Hi Friends!

It’s been ages since my last post. While I’ve been a totally bad blogger, to my credit I’ve collected lots of good info to share. The big news: I’ve been experimenting with desiccated thyroid medicine! After the Armour reformulation fiasco two years ago, and then the Naturthroid reformulation about six months ago I’ve gone renegade and decided I needed to find stable medicine.

I took the advice of many of the great ladies on the Stop the Thyroid Madness and the Yahoo Thyroid Group and decided to try having my medicine made by a compound pharmacy. Why go with a compound? Well, it’s all in the filler. When Armour and Naturthroid reformulated, people claim the new cellulose filler was the root of all evil. I don’t really understand why but I definitely found my thyroid symptoms got worse after both reformulations. Whatever the drug companies did, it was Bad (and not in a Michael Jackson way). The lesson learned: no more cellulose for me.

A Journey into Compound Pharmacies

Thyroid medicine is my life line, it has to work, and I have to know it’s reliable. So that’s when I decided to venture out on my own into the mysterious world of compound pharmacies. For those of you who don’t know, compound pharmacies are super cool. Basically, they will custom make your medicine using the filler you want. Kind of like “Build-a-Bear” of the medicine world.

A visitor here on the site, Kama (Hi Kama!), recommended a great compound pharmacy called Colliers Drug in Arkansas. I got on the phone with Rodney at Colliers and he was fantastic (and has a super cute southernish accent!). See contact info below. I explained that I wanted a thyroid medicine that could dissolve under my tongue (rather than capsule form which has to be swallowed). Rodney offered to make my medicine in a form called a “Troche” (or lozenge). They even sweetened it to cover the awful desiccated thyroid smell. Also I explained I wanted Vitamin C or Acidophilus as a filler (suggested by STTM) instead of cellulose, which Rodney was totally happy to accommodate. It’s a great little pill. I’m very proud.

Progress

Anyway, back to the important details. It’s been a month on the compound thyroid medicine and, so far, my hypothyroid symptoms seem to be improving. Most importantly to all us ladies, I am finally losing the 6-7 lbs I freakishly gained for no reason after the Naturthroid reformulation. Yay! Now you would think that I would feel better right away on the compound but it took about three weeks before my body decided to like the new medicine. So a big thumbs up for the effectiveness of Colliers thyroid compound!

That’s all the good stuff. Now, the downside… the compound is waaaaaay more expensive than the Naturthroid prescription. It costs $50 for a one month supply with partial insurance coverage, zoinks! I know *sigh*. It’s a lot of money.

It’s unlikely I can afford to stay on the compound, but at least I know where to get reliable medicine. Instead I’ve decided to try another medicine called Erfa, out of Canada, which was highly recommended by the Yahoo Thyroid group. The ladies say Erfa is “like the old Armour” and it costs about $50 for a three month supply. Now, its worth noting that switching medicine too quickly can really upset my body. My plan is to stay on the compound for another month just to make sure it works well. And then try Erfa by adding it into the daily medicine mix slowly.

Once I have more info on Erfa I will share what I’ve learned. Meanwhile, if you want to try my compound give Colliers a call and ask for Rodney.

xxoo

Lizzy

ORDERING DETAILS!

Rodney at Colliers is SO awesome. He gave us his direct phone extension for ordering the compound (479) 935-4336. Ask for the “Miss Lizzy Compound” and he will hook you up. (A doctor’s prescription is of course needed.)

Weird Reactions to Thyroid Medicine

Miss Lizzy

Some people have reported odd reactions to many types of thyroid medicine, including shooting pains, burning sensations, heart palpitations (and probably lots more we don’t know about).

I asked the yahoo community and one nice lady wrote back with some great insights. She experienced very weird symptoms from thyroid medicines that have a microcrystalline cellulose filler which includes the new reformulated armour, synthroid and naturthroid. Apparently lots of us hypothyroid people have been experiencing similar, bad reactions to the microcrystalline cellulose filler.

It could perhaps be chemically sensitive, or the nature of hypothyroidism, we don’t really know. The solution for her was ordering a compounded dessicated thyroid with acidophilus as a filler from a compound pharmacy. The doctor has to specify to the pharmacy to use acidophilus as a filler, not cellulose. Also she said make sure to find a reputable compounding pharmacy from the PCAB website. Getting medicine through a compound pharmacy is really pretty simple.

For all of you who have been struggling with weird reactions to thyroid medicine, I hope this helps!

xxoo

Lizzy

Hypothyroid Symptom: Inability to Stand for Long Periods of Time

Miss Lizzy

There are so many random symptoms with hypothyroidism, like the inability to stand for long periods of time, I often thought these things were unrelated. At times doctors even told me they were unrelated. So I wanted to describe the symptoms to help you know to look out for with tired legs.

The inability to stand for long periods of time made activities like food shopping, cooking, cleaning, going to the mall, mowing the lawn really exhausting for me. I didn’t have leg endurance. You may be thinking: “Don’t most people find shopping exhausting?” To some extent I think yes. However for me this was a unique kind of tiredness in the legs. An achy kind of feeling in the muscles, hips and joints, rather than muscle soreness, which I realize now is totally different. Forget going to Disney World or the zoo.

Walking for hours like this would be exhausting. I would have to take breaks and sit on a bench (mind you at 30 years old, I ought to be able to walk more than 30 minutes without fatigue!). Naturally, I didn’t have a basis for comparison, so I didn’t realize how tired my legs were all the time. After getting on the right hypothyroid and adrenal treatment, I am now able to stand or walk for hours without tiring. And no more of that achy leg feeling.

Shockingly, now that I am getting the right thyroid treatment, I never get tired when food shopping and I can do it wearing high heels (crazy, I know!). Equally shocking, I can go shopping and still have energy to run three miles, mow the lawn, and clean the house. All in the same day…

Before getting treatment just one of these activities would exhaust me for days. Of course, my treatment may not work for everyone. But if you have find it difficult to stand for long periods of time its worth learning more about hypothyroidism as possible cause. xxoo Lizzy

Beet Roesti with Ham, Egg and Asparagus

Miss Lizzy

I love this meal but a word of caution, it takes every pan in the house to cook so it’s better for a day when I have lots of energy. But the ingredient list is simple which is a big plus. Roesti is just a fancy word for pancake. It’s a fun dinner, and while beets are high in sugar sometimes we need a rich meal to feel happy. Here are the instructions.

Pan Roasted Asparagus

1 Bunch Asparagus
Butter
Salt

In a frying pan over medium heat, melt butter then sautee asparagus until desired tenderness. Add Real Salt for good flavor, use as much butter as you want (assuming you are following my diet plan).

Beet Roesti

This recipe makes enough for leftovers throughout the week.

3 Large Beets
3 Sprigs Fresh Rosemary
1/3 Cup Spelt of Rice Flour
Salt to Taste
Safflower or Vegetable Oil
Sour Cream (Optional)
Chives (Optional)

Using gloves, peel and shred beets with a food processor (or grater). Add chopped rosemary, then rice or spelt flour and salt. Toss to combine. In a big frying pan heat oil over medium high heat. When oil sizzles add beet mix in pancake sized shapes with enough room to flip. Watch heat carefully, lower if needed. After about 5 minutes, a nice crust should form on the bottom and that’s the time to flip. Repeat cooking on other side. When both sides are crispy brown transfer to plate.

Pan Fried Ham (Optional)

While the beets are cooking, slice ham thinly and pan fry in butter until brown.

Poached Eggs (Optional)

Boil water for eggs, add a capful of little vinegar. When the water gently boils, add eggs and poach to desired doneness.

Presentation

Plate the pancakes, add the ham, then the egg, top with Sour Cream and Chive. Then Light candles (it just makes a meal better, even if you are alone). Voila! Total cooking time is about 30 minutes.

xxoo

Lizzy

Benefits of Salt for Adrenal Fatigue

Miss Lizzy

According to James Wilson author of Adrenal Fatigue, salt craving is a common symptom for all stages of adrenal fatique. Sadly our salt-phobic society has deprived millions of people the very nutrient needed to decrease adrenal fatigue symptoms and increase recovery. For people with high blood pressure salt can be an issue but since low blood pressure is one of the common symptoms of adrenal fatigue salt may greatly benefit adrenal sufferers. Wilson says unless you are one of the rare people with adrenal fatigue and high blood pressure, go ahead and salt your food.

But salt is not created equally. Stop the Thyroid Madness says sea salt contains important trace minerals, that are mostly removed from table salt. Recom mended daily amounts of sea salt are 1/4 to 1/2 tsp in water twice a day for Aldosterone and Adrenal Fatigue.

Health reasons aside, sea salt just tastes better. After following a very specific eating program it’s really important to me that my food tastes good. And for me that means good salt! To understand the difference, take the taste test challenge. Buy some sea salt (I like Real Sea Salt and Celtic Sea Salt) and compare to regular table salt. You will never go back to plain table salt.

Not all salts are iodized and the iodine in salt may not be enough.

J.Crow’s® Lugol’s Solution of Iodine

Omega-3 Eggs: Healthy and Taste Great

Miss Lizzy

Omega-3 Eggs for Hypothyroidism

With hypothyroidism I am always looking for high quality foods that give me energy and help me maintain weight. Chickens that are fed healthier feeds with seeds containing omega-3 fatty acids actually lay eggs with healthier fats in the yolks. In fact, eating these enriched eggs may improve your cholesterol and blood lipids.

For a long time people have been scared away from eggs due to the high cholesterol. According to Mary J. Shomon, The Thyroid Diet, if you eat Omega-3 eggs you don’t have to limit your egg consumption. Eggs with Omega-3 are considered a near-perfect protein. In studies, eating 2 eggs a day did not raise the LDL “Bad” Cholesterol, and did raise the HDL “Good” Cholesterol. Omega-3 eggs are more expensive than regular eggs, but the health benefits and better flavor justify the cost.

Egg Nutrition

Eggs contain several important nutrients:

Choline is necessary for healthy cell membranes in all of your body, and will help your body keep homocysteine levels down. Choline is also good for your mental function and memory.
Selenium is a mineral that your body needs for a strong immune system and it is a powerful antioxidant, its also really good for people with Hypothyroid and Adrenal issues.
B vitamins folate and riboflavin are necessary for your body to convert the foods you eat into energy.
Vitamin A is important for good night vision, general cell growth and for healthy skin.
Vitamin E is an antioxidant that works well with vitamin C and selenium to prevent damage to your body from free radicals.
Lutein and zeaxanthin are related to vitamin A and are found in the yellow pigment of the egg yolk. Lutein and zeaxanthin are concentrated in the retina of your eye and will help prevent macular degeneration.

Why Omega-3?

It’s been proven time and again that Omega-3 fats are essential for your health. The following is a partial list of diseases that may be prevented or ameliorated with omega-3 fatty acids, in descending order of the strength of the available evidence as perceived by this reviewer:

Coronary heart disease and stroke
Essential fatty acid deficiency in infancy (retinal and brain development)
Autoimmune disorders (e.g., lupus and nephropathy)
Crohn disease
Cancers of the breast, colon, and prostate
Mild hypertension
Rheumatoid arthritis (also related to Hypothyroidism)

Other Sources of Omega-3

Eggs are just one source of Omega-3s, and there are other good sources such as Krill Oil. Whenever possible, I prefer to get as much nutrition through foods rather than adding more supplements.

Sources:

About.com

Dr. Mercola

Image source: http://www.hephzibahfarms.com/farm-fresh-eggs/