Symptom Tracking

The next several sections will be the symptoms of why I suspect there is something amiss in my endocrine system.

Family History

Every woman on my dad's side gets diagnosed with reporductive issues, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes THEN thyroid when all others are not reversible and starting their own side diseases.

Personal- Mental

Due to affect on adreanls it bares note that I have lived in fear for my life for the better part of 28 years. I also pushed myself like crazy to fill my days with anything to do when I wasn't sleeping (slept minimal). I currently have PTSD, phsyical panic attacks (sans emotions) and work stress.

Personal- Energy

Most days I don't have the energy to clean my home. I can sleep like the dead for 20 hours and feel like I only slept 2 mins. Since I have been working on my endocrine supplements I can lightly function but not enough to do anywhere near the heavy work outs I used to. Some days I can muster enough to do my dance or martial arts warm ups.

Personal- Weight

Liked I have shown visually, I have never really been thin nor have I been able to drop weight. I've either maintained or gained despite anything I have done that should have resulted in weight loss. I have tried being vegetarian, heavy work outs, weights only, anorexia, etc. Nothing dropped me below 180 since I was around 14. Even when I was in martial arts and eating what the FDA claims to be healthy I was staying around 400 despite 30 hrs of working out a week.

Personal- Physical

☠ Weight gain and water retention > thyroid, adrenal
☠ Tongue feels too big for my mouth > thyroid
☠ Hair falling out in clumps > thyroid, adrenal
☠ Skin and nails dry and brittle > thyroid
☠ Scalp shedding in sheets (much larger than dandruff and not helped with dandruff shampoos) > adrenal
☠ Permanent black circles around eyes > adrenal
☠ Hoarse voice, pain and swelling at base of neck > thyroid

*** thyroid symptoms can manifest due to adrenal fatigue, so it could all be to just the adrenal.

Personal- Reproductive

Every cycle since I wsa 9/10 has been:
☠ heavy bleeding
☠ frequent medium sized clots
☠ vertigo and black outs
☠ 3-30 days long, 1 day to 4 months in between. More steady now that I haven't been having sex for a few years.
☠ nausea and vomitting, unable to eat for a few days.
☠ everything hurts below the ribs, more frequent migraines
☠ feels like something tears when my lower abs contract
☠ unable to carry a child/miscarry

Sex Drive:
☠ Prior was insatiable, nothing could stop the 24/7 arrousal
☠ The past 4 years has been nothing unless provoked then it's back to insatiable

Endometriosis? Docs have suspected this but never checked for it.

Personal- Internal

☠ Constantly weak and tired
☠ No appetite to speak of (can be full on 8oz of fluid)
☠ TSH was 4.3 to 22.9 before sythroid
  * T4 meds did NOT help symptoms
  * on Adrenal supplements the TSH was 2.9
  * Waiting for TSH levels on thyroid supplements
☠ High blood pressure (but I'm usually agitated when they take it because they can't hear my vitals well)
☠ Higher than preferred cholesterol (borderline)
☠ Prediabetic on days I'm not hypoglycemic
☠ Thryoid is enlarged, nodule found (haven't heard of it's size or worry level yet) in '10
☠ Thyroid will throb when grains or strawberries are eaten.
☠ Temps range from 95.6 to 99.3
   * low temps > thyroid
   * fluctuation > adrenal
☠ Slightly high uric acid
☠ Constipation and diarrhea constantly
☠ Intolerant to temp changes and cold
☠ Low memory and concentration

Nutritional Information

Background: I was raised on a diabetic style diet since my grandmother was diabetic. She made all meals compliant with what she had to follow: so no fat, no salt, no sugar. I stayed relatively healthy per FDA standards in my meals even after I moved out of her house. I went no red meat, no fat, atkins, pescatarian, vegetarian, vegan, anorexic, ketogenic, liquid, calorie restriction, calorie increase; you name it, I've tried it. I've maintained 180+ since I've been 8 years old.

Around 2007 I had a health crisis where I was randomly allergic to it seemed everything. I had not known about AIP at the time, but I intuitively did an elimination style diet where if I had a reaction to something I stopped eating it. Then I started research into what was causing me to be allergic to everything while following some hacked together lifestyle that went around my allergens.

By 2008 I found the blood type diet and found some things that made sense and during one of my ER trips one of the nurses told me how I resembled his mother who had Lupus. I started to look into autoimmune and found much more information that started to make pieces fall into place. I tried the B.E.D. with zero success, it put me in the hospital in under a week and even the ER told me to drop the diet quickly. In 2009 fell into a strict AIP and GAPS mix to heal my gut, found no change in inflammation, weight, how I felt, or ability to reintroduce foods after several years. In 2014 relaxed back into the original paleo style diet I worked out for myself. I did the calculations for Weight Watchers and I even did a calorie tracker using My Fitness Pal: via both I'm well under what I should be so I should be losing all kinds of weight.... but I'm not and haven't been. My calories are 0-800 on a normal day, 800-1200 on a binge day that I do before my cycle, my cycle tends to make me fast for a few days.

While I do this as much as I can, when the budget gets tight I will be prone to, like many who are poorer, have to resort to ramen noodles or other 99 cent store purchase with a side shot of benadryl.

Basic Ingredients:
All meats; grassfed when I can get it.
  ☠ I do like to keep cans of anchovies, eel, squid, and sardines for snacking on.
  ☠ This includes bone stock to be drank daily
Hemp in all forms: flour, protein powder, milk, skin products, butter, seeds, ice cream, etc.
Coconut products: oil, milk, water, meat, butter, flour
Tropical fruits and melons
Plantain, Taro, Yucca, Sweet Potato
Squash
Cheese, Kiefer Cheese, Yogurt (occasionally)
Eggs
Seeds and Nuts (minus peanuts)

Allergies and Sensitivities

Through trial and error I have found that I am allergic or at least sensitive to the following. I have been able to lessen the reaction of some of them through the healing protocols, but still will get hives at the least but remain anaphylacic level to some.

Basic Allergies: These have come and gone, some seasonal, some only when the offending thing is bad
☠ Cats
☠ Ragweed, especially the type found in the Midwest
☠ Grass, not so much to desert types of grasses

Medicine:
☠ Penicillin

Metals:
☠ Nickel- this is so sensitive if there is a miniscule amount in something I can react. This goes for food based nickel as well as the 2% nickel found in "nickel free" implant grade surgical grade steel, even if it's electroplated with titanium. Seriously I've put these into my piercing holes and within seconds had them burn and inflame. It won't happen with implant grade pure titanium.

Food:
☠ Grain and Grass Seeds- this includes everything from corn to millet. All plants in the grass family.
☠ Legumes- beans, peas, soy, peanuts, etc.
☠ Cruciferous Veggies- broccoli, cabbage, spinach, cauliflower, kale, etc.
☠ Most Tubulers- I seem to be ok with sweet potatoes, yucca, and parsnips. All others give issue.
☠ High yeast fruit- apples, grapes, strawberries, etc.

Chemicals:
☠ chlorine, bromine, fluoride.
☠ Leavening agents- yeast, baking powder, baking soda, creme of tartar

Medication and Supplements

The following are some of the various medications and supplements I've tried over the years to get control over this illness.

2008-2009
I was having issues getting doctors to diagnose what was wrong with me and I did not have the resources I do now, so things were a little sparse during these years. Under the advice of a friend of my step-mom I started Iodoral and Acidophilus. The acidophilus gave me constipation for the entire duration I took them which immediately subsided when I stopped it. Maintained the Iodoral but had no change in my health. I also started taking Raw Thyroid hoping it would help, no such luck.

2010-2012 
I forced the university hospital's clinic to give me a thyroid test and found out I needed thyroid medicine. They set me up on levothyroxine 25 mg, did an ultrasound, and made me come back for a recheck. I got set up with a clinic closer to me who had me on 25mg, 50mg, 75mg, 125mg, and 200mg with no changes to my lab work or how I felt. When I went through a period of time where I was switching doctors I had no medication.

August 2013
Lisinopril 20mg 1/day
Flexiril 10mg 1/8hr (as needed)
Imitrex 50mg 1-2/day (as needed)

November 2013
Armour 30mg
Lisinopril 20mg 1/day

February 2014 
Armour 90mg
Lisinopril 20mg 1/as needed - when heart palpitations hit

September 2014
WP Thyroid 97.5mg
Lisinopril 20mg 1/as needed - when heart palpitations hit

December 2014
WP Thyroid 97.5mg
Lisinopril 20mg 1/as needed - when heart palpitations hit
Topamax 25mg 2/day

Supplements
These I don't have a clear timeline on who was taken when, so it's more or less a list of the ones I can remember that I have taken since 2013. Most links will not be the exact links from where I've gotten the product, they are just for ingredient reference. I usually pick these up while in the vitamin shoppe or out at the stores. I will indicate if I am currently taking it or not so it is clear.

Actalin (paused using to see if I could find a more effective multi)

Adrenal Fatigue Fighter (stopped taking due to folic acid until I confirm MTHFR)

Calcium, Magnesium, & D Complex (stopped taking due to wrong mag)

Himalaya Liver Care (take this every few months in cycle with liver detox teas to keep liver optimal)

Raw Thyroid (didn't see any change worth continuing to take it)

Spring Valley Iron (take the week after my cycle, if I don't have the blood stew)

Black Cohosh (take this when my cycle gets rough, I may go back to regular use to see if it will help other conditions)

Chasteberry (Vitex) Extract (take this during the ovulation time of my cycle to try to balance progesterone)

P-5-P (backed off these while I take the mitochondrial support)

Host Defense Cordyceps (currently have a multi-mushroom drink instead)

Superfruit Oil 3-6-7-9 Blend (was gifted this but ran out)

Triple-Boost Caffeine-Free Energy (didn't quite worked, shifted for a different multi)

Power to Sleep PM (this is pretty good to help me sleep, don't like to use too often as it causes
dehydration)

New Chapter Perfect Energy (this seemed to work well, held off to see if the mitochondrial multi works better)

New Chapter Women's Daily (this came with a purchase, haven't been able to buy again)

Chelated Magnesium (taking, but will be stopping once out since it's the wrong magnesium)

Molybdenum Chelated (take this when I eat things high in sulfur)

NOW Super Enzymes (use these for larger meals, often eat so little they are a tad over kill)

Cell-Fuel Mito-Energy (currently taking this, sometimes I'm not up long enough for full dose)

Dr Ohirra's Probiotics (taking, but expensive enough I doubt I'll be able to use regularly)

Whole Foods brand N-Acetyl-L-Cysteine 500mg, take 1 capsule 1 to 3 times daily. (currently taking)

CVS brand Cranberry 4200mg per softgel, take 2 softgels 3 times daily (taking one bottle's worth to make sure my pain I think is adrenal is not a kidney)

Vitamin C 2000mg-6000mg (various brands and types depending on what I get at the time)

Weight

Since weight is the first things people notice and doctors bitch about, this will be the first thing I discuss.

As long as I can remember I've been in the rut where there was no real weight loss. I did anything and everything to lose and I either maintained or gained. And I have the pictures to prove this.

Most of my life (save a few years when homeless and moments in high school and college where I figured out how to eat on the run from being too busy for actual dinner) I ate relatively healthy per the FDA's idea of healthy. A lot of vegetables (even some years as vegetarian), grains and low fats, no salt.

When I was a child there was debate about whether I was getting fat or if I had "baby weight to yet be lost when I grow". These were 85 (least think the Halloween one with my half sister's brothers was 85ish)

Next we have age 10, around when I was starting my monthly bs they call "nature's gift". Funny even back then I could figure out it was more trouble than what it's worth and I wanted to find a way to never have it again. lol 

I was around 5'4" and prob a size 16/18. 

Next was around age 13/14 (I didn't date the pic but I know I got those boxers in 7th or 8th grade and massive Taz obsession starting). This was the zoo with some cousins I haven't seen since they were near that size lol. Here my activities were home required exercise, hiking, and marching band (more work than it looks). 

I was 5'6" 180lbs and 14/16

Now to 16. I was in sports, always going somewhere, marching band (always training for it even when off season), training at home for sports/band/trying-to-get-thin. This is when I hit a neurotic level health kick.

I was 180 and 14/16.

 Onto 17 and 18. Here I was heavy working out due to drum corps. Miles ran or bladed a day, weights, calistenics, boot camp style working out for hours a day. As well as the band, sports and now add dance.

I was still 180 but down to 12/14 pants or 8/10 dress (hips were always stuck no matter what).

19 at my first job in Cedar Point, I worked all of the time so no time to do extra working out. But the job was high activity so it was like working out. I had destroyed my body with how active I was in high school. By the time I was out of school I was ridden with tendonitis, arthritis (had it since I was a kid), and various injuries who started to give me hell from not healing right. 

I was prob around 200 here and back to 16/18 or even 20. 

From 19 to 22 I was in college for 25 credit hours per semester (double full time student), I held as many jobs as I could (either two jobs or worked as much over time as I could get at one), married so had home duties whenever I could get home and was in a massive abusive relationship (much worse than what I had in my youth). Here is where I decided to be what is now called raw vegan, mostly because it traveled well. 

I got around 300 and size 24/28 by this pic.

Here I got my yellow belt in Kung Fu. I was 23 and was in it to gain self defense and confidence, also hoped to lose weight. I was in class roughly 30 hrs a week while working full time. I used the bus for many years and walked around LA. I was back to health kick on food; high veg, high grains, soy protein drinks after working out, etc. Went high vegetarian around this time, ate what my roommates made. 

I was prob 350 here, 26/28. 

Some shots during kung fu, my weight didn't change during the process. 

At 26 I was circling 400 and still 28. After awhile I started to allow to eat non-healthy foods when my ex and I would go out. The healthy was not resulting in what should have happened. I was just about at my black belt by this pic. 

2013, now 31, this is 3 years of Autoimmune Paleo protocol, settling into a paleo hybrid after finding my triggers due to finding out I was allergic to the vast variety of food I was eating thinking it was healthy.

I'm 340-370 and 26 (verging on a 24 some days).

In January 2014 I had a fight with the swine flu and lost around 30 lbs over 3 days from the constant purging. After a week I fought it off. I gained back a little bit when I could hold water in again. I've been maintaining ~325 since. Still in a size 26 for jeans, especially for the days I hold more water retention.

The semi-amusing thing, no matter how annoying it is that I cannot lose weight, I don't seem to put it on either. I'm at a severe caloric deficit and should be losing, but I don't. There are days where I binge eat before my menses comes, could eat a whole pizza to myself followed by bags of chips and somehow not gain weight; barring constipation since constipation does add some weight. That is nothing a strong diuretic tea healthy dump won't fix.

In December of 2014 the endocrinologist seems to think that sleeving my stomach will fix this. I highly doubt that since I know the mechanism of how the sleeve works. I schooled her on this, how it is an unnecessary surgery, and she got seriously bitchy at me.

March 2015. Started Topamax in December (started 25mg, 50mg by March), no change in my diet.

May 2015, on 75mg of Topamax. I added in a bit of liver support (NAC and Kali Sulphur) plus probiotics for type O blood. My diet also went to whatever I could scavenge from work, 711, fast food, 99 cent store, markets, etc. due to money. So pretty much heavy with what the world thinks a fat person in America would eat. Not much change in activity vs last year, but much weakening in muscle strength and volume compared to when I was sleeping all day with no walking to the store or down the beach. I weighed in at the doctor's office at 314! Not only this but my blood labs for cholesterol and the hormones that were checked are spot on perfect and the healthiest they've been o.O I don't even know how that happened.