I use jelly beans & they work very quickly for me. I let them dissolve in my mouth & the sugar hits fast. I’m super carb sensitive. Since one jelly bean has 1 gram glucose, it’s easy to take exactly what I need. I’ve used Smarties also. They’re great for lows.
Sublingual vitamins are more expensive, of course, but worth it. I felt sick taking capsules, especially Vit B caps. I never take tablets because they barely digest for people even with normal digestion.
Wow, what a flood of information. My doctor seemed willing to run thyroid labs, I think he would run the free T3 and T4 if I asked. But he is a resident. If those are out of range, I doubt he would prescribe and even the staff person might just referr me to an endo.
The reason I posted here (as opposed to other places) is the connection to a low carb diet. I have been following a low carb diet for literally years and tightened up. And if it is a side effect of my diet, then perhaps I can loosen up or take somewhat of a break and get some relief for my thyroid. I would really be surprised if I was low on iodine considering how much salt, meat, seafood and dairy I have in my diet.
I do think I will do the test first thing in the morning that Badmoon suggested starting tomorrow. But first, I’m going to get a brand new thermometer.
Hopefully this goes in the right order Gerri - guess we are getting too indented!
I will have to try jelly beans. One thing I don’t like about the Smarties is there are 6 gtams of carbs in each little sleeve and I only need 3. It would be easier to figure them out one gram at a time.
I knew B was sold as a liquid and even bought that - my B is at the top of my lab range though so I quit using that. I will have to look at some of the other ones.
A flood of information indeed, this is a great group!
I checked out Dr Barnes. Here is the Wikipedia listing, in it they say to take the temperature in your armpit, some further research may be in order.
Before he died Dr Barnes set up a foundation to further his ideas, here’s a link to their website.
That’s what I was told to do years ago using a mercury thermometer. My mother had a great endo at the time treating her Hashimoto’s. He told her when her temp was normal, that’s when her dose was correct. This doc, long since retired, dosed according to symptoms.
bsc, if thyroid is related to low carb, then loosening up will be permanent. Thyroid problems & diabetes seem to be auto-immune co-factors. According to some thyroid researchers, hypothyroidism is much more prevalent in the general population than realized because the test standards used aren’t correct.
Most salt is not iodized, unless you use salt with added iodine. Other minerals effect thyroid such as zinc, but too much or too little zinc imbalances copper. Minerals have to be carefully balanced.
You are right, not all standard salt is iodized like it used to be. But I use iodized salt, I believe it gives about 50 mcg/tsp. I might be low on iodine, but it would seem odd given my diet.
If there is a connection between low carb and the thyroid, I might have to loosen up permanently or I might have to cycle. I don’t know.
And although there appears to be a clustering of autoimmune conditions such as Hashis with T1, I have not been diagnosed with T1 and I don’t have any other autoimmune conditions that I am aware of.
The other complicating factor may also be potential adrenal problems. It is my understanding that adrenal problems can trigger thyroid problems. But again, adrenal problems also show up in body temperature as highly variable temperature. I’ll be trying the basal temperature test. If it is low, then that is a big red flag.
Definitely effected by adrenal function. Good luck getting that tested. I tried & tried.
I have psoriasis, another autoimmune condition. Mine is very mild, doesn’t bother me & it’s only on one elbow. When my BG is really good, it goes away completely.
Cortisol is variable by the time of day as well as day to day. They are working on testing a cortisol meter like we use a glucometer. Hair analysis is looking promising in Canada trials. Gerri, how are you testing your adrenal function? bsc? You can use a salivette to get readings at 8am, 4PM, and midnight. Midnight should be around zero. Hashi’s can spurt and sputter giving uneven results. Celiac, RA, Hashimoto’s, and Type 1 Diabetes are linked. I came upon my dx of LADA via Celiac lists, even though the Celiac titers were negative, because I have the common gene…lucky me.
So the story unfolds. Like a soap opera.
I tested my temperature this morning, brand new digital thermometer. Oral temperature, 95.4 deg F. That is not good.
I also have to be honest with myself. I have been fatigued. I go to bed at 9pm some nights. And it is taking me 3-5 days to recover from exercise.
I think this is beyond a simple question of whether low carb may be the issue. I’m going to keep this thread open, but I’m going to start a new one with a broader audience.
So, lets continue the discussion here focused on Dr. B, low carb diets and hypothyroidism.
I also have the low-pulse symptom with my hypothyroidism; however, when I got off of the statin my cardiologist had Rx’d for me, my pulse increased 10+ beats per minute, and I started feeling better, not great, but better. My cardiologist was not happy with my decision to quit the statin, but he doesn’t live in my body. I do.
BTW, many T2s such as myself also have underlying hypothyroidism. The big H doesn’t discriminate. 
And so for a second day in a row my morning temperature is 95.4 deg F. I’ve sent a note to my doctor to set up a visit and get some tests done.
I have found a little more info on low carb diets and hypothyroid. There is apparently some belief that higher protein diets can place a greater load on the thyroid and that perhaps this is the reason that for some low carb diets cause hypothyroidism. The hypothyroidism was already there, but the additional thyroid load imposed by a higher protein diet made the symptoms appear faster.
Interesting. Was how much protein is high protein discussed? Following Dr.B, my diet is moderate protein, but know that some eat a lot of protein doing low carb.
What was it Bernstein said yesterday? Something like half his patients have hypothyroidism. His sentiments were that since they are both autoimmune disorders one just seems to follow the other. He didnt draw any correlation between low carbing and hypothyroidism though. This was on the 5/25/2011 teleconference.
What were the sources you found for that information about the additional load on the thyroid, bsc? Great research and Im glad you caught this so that you can remedy and get your energy levels back up.
Well, I picked it up from this blog, and Broda Barnes suggested the protein might inhibit some of the thyroid function.
My Hashimoto’s pre-dated my Diabetes by many years. The common genes are in the HLA area. I take Cytomel and get my Free T3 tested regularly.
Sheila
I’m type 1 and hypothyroid, both diagnosed at the same time 18 years ago. My med dose has rarely been changed. I started Dr. B’s diet last June and all levels were good. 2 months ago, I tested low. Now they have to figure out a new dose. I never would have thought it was from the diet but now that you brought it to mind I’m concerned. I’m thinking very hard about going off because my weight has gone back to what it was before the diet change, my A1c is back up to 7.8 as it was before the diet, so why stay on it. What to do, what to do… as for the body temp, I have not had any reason to check it so I do not know how it is.
Patty, interesting that your thyroid doses haven’t changed much over the years. My doc must have started me at a really conservative dose because mine are changed frequently.
Hard to keep BG level when thyroid doses aren’t adequate.
The possible low carb/thyroid connection would a great question to ask Dr. B for his next web cast.
Gerri I have never made the connection between BG levels and thyroid. I think I need to explore this topic. I have not ever watched Dr B on his web cast. When is he on? Maybe I can get some encouragement to keep going. Is there a cost to watch him? My next blood work isn’t until July. I hope both levels will be back to normal. Just have to wait and see.
The next teleseminar is 6/29, you can get the info at AskDrB. You just missed the last one. Actually, for a period of time the podcast is left up on the page (a week I think). I have it, just friend me and send me a message.
It’s free. His web casts are 1 hour & it’s all question & answer. You can submit a question.