Health and Fitness, November 2011

[Nancy]

Harriet wtg!
{H.'s bp is borderline.}
Bs is acceptable this morning.
Total gym & ex. bike are omm for this morning.

[Harriet]

At brunch, BIG difference in the coconut oil - really smells like coconut. I opened the jar and HRH was amazed to catch a whif of coconut a few feet away. The other (refined) hardly smelled at all. You would think we were baking macaroons or lying on a beach, very appetizing.

Enjoy your variety of exercise, Nancy.

[Lynlee]

Harriet - I'd stayed for years on a t3 t4 dose some docs said too high - high normal but ziltch tsh. There were all the warnings of oestoprorosis - which I now qualify for that too.. anyway late March last year I went off some meds that are known thyroid suppressors. Prev all attempts to reduce my thyroid med dose het with rapid drop in mood/thinking straight so I'd just kept it high w pdocs blessing and regular docs complaining. Anyway some stage this year I bit the bullet and reduced the dose. I am now taking 25micrograms T4 (1/2 tab) and 5 or 2.25 of T3 (thats 1/2 or 1/4) on alternate days. 1/3 had prev been ok but was so tedious to wittle a bit off the 1/2. Anyway. the changed worked and figures are ok. tsh shows my thyroid is working again and I haven't fallen apart at the seams. Not sure what else I do for it besides the iodized salt. I know there are herbs meant to help cats with thyroid problems.
I started on the T3 because taking T4 alone was making no difference despite dose being upped previously ... years ago. Wonder if thats still the case. Anyway - my eyebrows a back a little more from the 1/2 status of hisamotos (I know I spelt that wrong - its where levels go up and down with out meds - and theres autoimmune problems at its core.)

[Harriet]

Wow, Lynlee you have really experienced a change, that is wonderful. Great about having full eyebrows, which gives you an outward sign that you are doing the right things inside. helia's daughter has been diagnosed with hashimoto's, too. They tested me for auto-immune (never saying hashimoto's) and dr showed me the paperwork results that he says show that's not a problem I have, but it's Greek to me. Although he has tested for T3 and T4 for me, he has never prescribed anything but the Armour thyroid, nothing particularly for one or the other. He just keeps referencing the tsh only, and willing to let the tsh go very low right now - almost to .3 while waiting on testing. So I think it is wonderful you have such excellent care and lots of input. I'll insist on getting my tsh back into a more neutral territory (lol) when they decide I'm ordinary again.

I also wanted to say to your mention of never wanting the dementia bug, that of course I am constantly on the lookout for bright articles about this very subject. Very interested to see on some program - oh, it was Dr. Sanjay Gupta of CNN interviewing - that this research scientist had spent decades cataloging many animals insofar as their elderly years. He said it made him become an herbivore himself vegetarian because in all that time he never found a carnivorous species that didn't end up with our equivalent of dementia if they lived a long life, never found an herbivore that did.

Okay, coming back to edit - I searched and searched and finally found it in my own email to HRH so that he could watch it. Researcher calls it "Alzheimers pathology". It is the video interview that is SO interesting - and also interesting that you are hearing this from a woman who had a 3-egg omelet for her breakfast, lol.



Today:
3 egg omelet fried in coconut oil with green peppers and onion
lunch dish of rice, spinich, potato, beans, tomato, a little cheese
big salad with avocado
whole grain pasta with pesto, parmesan

exercise was stretch, then final 15 minutes of Total workout

[Lynlee]

The armour is natural extract so contains both T3 & T4... i've learned elsewhere by someone who had success with that med only and not the synthetic ones.

I watched both videos in the link - herbavours, and the genetic research one esp.
My dgm who died before I was born had althzimers.
Friends I've know who had it had the brain trauma mini strokes or onset after anesthetic so that gets a mention from experts in the 2nd clip too.
Years ago (mid 90s) I read in an old nat geographic an article of nuns who all donated brains to science. The damage with althzimers was obvious, but some with brains with it had continued as per normal with their lives. So it was a surprise that they had it. Mini strokes was real risk.
Also I wonder at other systems at work like heart and gut knowledge - can we really "think" with these? Sometimes I hear things that seem to say maybe. For some people with much brain damage do surprisingly well.
Also the mineral excesses. interesting. ballance needed in all things. And the footballer studies that link head trauma to much later effect.

As one with much prior head trauma, depression etc, immune problems, I am working on spiritual healing. as well as cognitative function in games, seeking company, physical fitness etc. Guess trying to get new things each day as I can... and retain helpful routines. Still an area of difficulty.
I've forgotten all my supliments atm. Even the Ca. I was sent a link that (current studies not proven) suggested drinking tea helps some receptors that work on our mineral composition/prevents Ca leeching and tollerance of different foods. I still am to find my tea taste buds but have added herbal teas.
I'd suggest it is all somehow intertwined. Anyway - may I die of something other than althzimers - whether its working on me already or not. And not be too much of a bother on the way. And do what I can now as I can do. To be fit for that.

sry - this is long and winding post probably makes not much sence.

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

Survived yesterday. I think I went 20 points over my daily allotment (i.e. almost 100%) but I'm still on program because I've been careful all week to save up for the weekend. That said, I'll still be over by Monday night since I still have coffee hour and tonight's dessert party to get through. And Monday, Surfer Dude may be coming to cook us dinner (in exchange for a ride back into the city.)

I slept well and woke up before the alarm but at the 7:50 hour of rest. I took a melatonin on Friday night and still struggled with sleep so a good rest was a help. Of course, having the Asian supper behind me really helps. Next big thing is next Sunday's dinner (at home with my former minister) and then the big concert. I have a busy but not overwhelming week ahead and singing is my main job through it, not organizing and answering 5 million questions. I lost track of the number of times I heard "Kathryn?" yesterday!

I'm on the treadmill and enjoying the sweat. Oh, and my temperature was down to under 98 last night. (Normal for me is 97.2, it was 97.9 this morning.) So I might be on the mend.

[Cowinkie]

Yippie Harriet...you're on a roll

My 2 cents on thyroid. Years ago when I was 9, I had a problem with my weight. Thyroid tests came back negative. My family GP told my mom that those tests are not always correct and put me on a low dose of meds. That, plus following the Diabetic Diet help me drop 15 lbs. Four years ago when I was going through my weight gain thing, my GP told me the same thing. Even though my T tests came back negative, my dr. prescribed a low dose of meds. It seemed to help my symptoms. My dm has been on a low dose of thyroid for years even though her tests run negative as well. However if she doesn't take them, all her symptoms of dry skin, lose of hair and being very cold returns. Plus she doesn't have any energy.

I'm still holding on my weight. I haven't had much energy to exercise due to long hours at work. I am looking forwards to my Thanksgiving break to get back on track. We are eating out on T-day so that means I won't have any leftovers tempting me at home.

I have to drop 8 lbs by Xmas to fit into my new dress. I bought it small on purpose. See, there is a method to my madness

[Harriet]

Well, Lynlee, I can't get the second video to work, so I'll just have to check back to it another time and see if it will. I'm glad you got something out of my posting it, even if I don't have a clue about it!

Dear aunt who was my mother's identical twin's doctor explained dementia to us as having categories, but said then in addition to those he considered Parkinson's and Alzheimer's as singular diseases that other dementia sufferers didn't have. He told us dear aunt might have been having mini-strokes, that they are impossible to prove unless you are doing a CT scan at the moment. He considered her to have dementia of unknown type, but his best guess was "Dementia with Lewy Bodies" (Lewy was the scientist who discovered the problem - bodies of protein in the nerves of the brain). He said it was important to distinguish Alzheimer's differently from other dementias because, for instance, some drugs used for Alzheimer's would actually be harmful for a person with Lewy Bodies - the two are that different. But he said symptoms can be overlapping, for instance dear aunt had some symptoms like Alzheimer's and also the Parkinsonian symptom of rigidness of hands and arms, but she didn't actually have either.

I forget my supplements all the time. Usually by the end of the day, when they would be inconvenient, I remember. It's just because we know so much more now than we used to that there's not room in there for remembering small things.

Today I had asparagus-chard-cucumber-carrot-apple-parsley-celery juice, one cup each at 10 and 12. Had a big lettuce salad with avocado and sprinkled a little cheese over the top at 2:30. We are having a very laid-back Sunday and not having formal meals. HRH and dd have shared a bell pepper pizza but I haven't had any. An almond-milk/berry smoothie with coconut oil will last me until supper. Supper was a salmon patty half-sandwich with tomato. So I've had the variety of 9 veggies and 4 fruits today, but of course not nearly that many servings.

Cowinkie, thanks for the rolling encouragement but you have no idea how silly my body can be. I do think the obstacles are breaking down, though. What color is the dress? I know of a thread on posture for looking best in a photo, if you'd like me to share it.

[Cowinkie]

Oh Harriet, I would love that...Thanks

My dress is Christmas red...a simple thing and just my style; round neckline, long sleeves, just above the knee length with curvy lines. Wouldn't call the dress form fitting because I can move in it, but its along those lines. It has black fastening in the back instead of buttons or a zipper. I'm going to wear black tights and short black boots with it. I'm trying to travel light and since it could be snowy or slushy, cute little black heels might just end up giving me cold, wet tootsies.

I went to the car show and ate just what I needed to eat. Hooray for me. I am so thankful I don't have to cook on Thanksgiving Day!!!! I can go out to eat and still stay within my diet.

[Nancy]

Today I've done my this morning ex. bike, walked after lunch, and upper body work out this afternoon learning how to adjust carbs. for doing that so H. is not so freaked out when I do my ex.