Great!! I am 68. I have never really felt old until this and up until recently was quite active and planning a 50th wedding anniversary trip to Europe with my husband. This constant fatigue is new.
I would love a solution. I am so happy that you have your energy back. That is fantastic!
I have had this disease for 60 yrs and have never had a problem with slow healing.
So happy to hear from you! Thank-you
Marilyn
Though thereâs not a lot of literature on it, I believe there is a relationship between hyponatremia and cardiovascular issues. Especially with autoimmunity. Sick sinus syndrome associated with hypopituitarism: a case report and literature review - PMC
https://www.amjmed.com/article/S0002-9343(16)30566-6/pdf
I think it would be really really really really good to dig down to the root causes of that low sodium. And it may mean having to go back to examine it more than once, twice, three times. But someone needs to figure it out. There are many things that can be causing it. Many. Very generally â it could be an ADH issue, which may be related to â inhale â many things, like the kidneys, like an endocrine issue, such as hypothryroidism, adrenal insufficiency. The causal directions here are dizzying, and impossible for me to adequately expound upon and nail down, but someone can, someone with an MD.
Going over your past posts, I see youâve had hypothyroidism for a long time. Just a quick flip through some textbooks shows that hypothyroidism (as you no doubt know) can cause sinus bradycardia, fatigue, decreased cardiac contractility and output, low exercise tolerance, dyspnea on exertion. Anemia. Increased cholesterol and trigs â though I see you say your past low carb eating habits did that. Accumulation of mucopolycaccharides in the intima of small blood vessels. Other abnormal lab findings â increased creatine kinase.
Do you think the losartan could be causing the low sodium and any of the other side effects?
Finally, I just want to make sure I understand why you got the stents placed in 2009. I see the frequent linking with rising LDL levels, but I have never heard of someone getting stents without a blockage and exclusively for rising LDL levels.
ETA: I want to make sure I stress that the above does not mean I think a cardiologistâs assessment on the need for a pacemaker should be dismissed.
Senator, thanks so much for putting so much thought into this. I appreciate it very much.
I havenât gone through my medical records looking at my past sodium levels, but I do know that during the past 3 yrs, I have been quite low twice. Usually I am low normal. Thursday my blood level was 24 and Friday after using a lot of salt my level was 31 which is low but much better. Several of us here have low sodium levels.
The last 3 yrs I have eaten almost no processed foods, and almost no salt. I go out to eat maybe once every two or 3 months and I eat no fast food. Not using salt was not a good idea for me. I assume this is what made my levels go so low. I will see if I was having lower sodium levels years ago. I agree that I need to know more about my low sodium levels.
My two stents were needed because of blockages. I have many theories for why my arteries became blocked and one of the them is high LDL. When low carbing my LDL rose. Dr. Bernstein did not have the problem of rising LDL, but many others did.
That is one reason why some of us abandoned the diet. Eventually I decided to go low fat and I think that paid off looking at my heart now.
I think more exercise has helped too.
I am working on getting my FreeT4 level back up because I know that for me I need both my levels at least mid range for me to feel good. I have been taking a higher amount for about 5 days now. I have to take a large amount of thyroid meds to stay stable. I originally told my GP that I thought these recent months of fatigue was thyroid related. Obviously the low sodium level wasnât helping at all.
My biggest worry now is trying to find out why I am anemic. Monday I will know if the colonoscopy is clear.
I think all of this could have been handled a lot easier, if I wasnât hit with so much at once. It all seem to come out of the blue.
Vivi,
My heart rhythm seems fine. Could you tell that your heart wasnât beating in itâs usual manner?
Absolutely; but not everyone with Sick Sinus Syndrome can.
Some have no symptoms. Also, it is a âcome and goâ feeling vs a âconstantâ. My pulse would drop to 25-30 vs my regular 80-90. Try checking your pulse during the day-especially during exertion.
Vivi
âYou must give up the life you planned in order to have the life that is waiting for you.â Joseph Campbell
Colonoscopy itself was easy and the surgeon only took out a very tiny polyp which he sent for a biopsy. He said it looked harmless and since he has done this thousands of times and is one of the best at this in the NW and beyond, I am ruling out cancer there.
A lot of things are still a mystery though. My electrolytes are all messed up as was my urine osmolality test, so my GP wants to refer me to a nephrologist. I am looking for one since I donât want to wait until March to see the one he knows of. Most are booked months out.
Lately I have been lightheaded even while lying down a great deal of the time as well as fatigued. I assume this is from the anemia.
The anemia is not caused by low iron levels.
Lots of the time I feel extremely hypoglycemic when I am not.
Still donât know for sure if it is from blood loss. If after more testing we figure that I am losing blood then I will have an endoscopy.
Then there is the treadmill issue.
Of course I want answers from excellent doctors immediately so I can get back on my exercise bike and continue my life.
I havenât ruled out celiac or adrenal fatigue although I donât have the symptoms of Addisons.
Continue to let us know how you are. 
We had to call an ambulance around noon today and I am in the hospital. I suddenly got more waves of dizziness which had some of the symptoms of hypoglycemia but my glucose level was 122. Then I couldnât form sentences and then couldnât figure how to use my insulin pen. I have been giving myself insulin for almost 60 years! Then my vision dimmed and I got dancing lights. I havenât had a migraine in years.
At that point I did manage to tell my dear husband to call an ambulance because of 15min car trip. I was downing salt because my levels had been low and I thought that was the problem.
My sodium level was just fine in emergency. I continued to have waves of dizziness, but havenât in several hours.
They did an ultra sound on my neck arteries, but I probably wonât hear anything until tomorrow. They have put me on a heart monitor because the first heart enzyme test was slightly elevated. The second one was fine and i will have another one eventually.
Hopefully I will have an MRI tomorrow looking for a TIA.
I have been so healthy for so long. This is all a huge shock. I havenât had a non diabetic A1c in almost 20 yrs. Fat lot of good that has done me since my many years of urine testing seems to be catching up to me. My first A1c was 10 almost 38 yrs ago. Been around 6.5 for many years until the past 20 years. Got to go. I am just sending without checking the post for errors.
Please thoughts and prayers. 
No errors. Much care to you. Keep in touch.
Big Hugs and love your way. I hope they figure out whatâs wrong.
Thanks so much Marie
Hugs, you are in my thoughts.
Thinking of you @Marilyn6. 
You have them, @Marilyn6
Iâm sending a lot of positive energy your way too, that all of your test show something that is mild and easily treatable!
Hugs to you and your husband!
You are in my thoughts and prayers!
Hello Marilyn, I am a HNF1-alpha (monogenic) diabetic. I require ~14U of Insulin Regular (in two injections separated by four hours) to cover the protein in my single meal per day. I also have a severe form of a primary (i.e. polygenic) immunodeficiency and MSK (medullary sponge kidney) in the organs on both sides. The MSK and HNF1-alpha mutations were likely related during early renal development.
With regard to your thyroid degeneration, my studies in this area have led me to the conclusion that it is most probably caused by oxalate toxicity. MSK causes both continuous loss of RBCs (WBCs to a much lesser extent I think) and kidney stones if dietary oxalate is not sufficiently minimized. Oxalates are present in significant and variable quantities amongst all plant foods, and not in animal foods.
I also have a typical LDL-c of 350mg/dL and a zero coronary calcium score. I would strongly advise against any lipid-lowering drugs, including PCSK9 inhibitors. These are all without benefit in all studies on women, and certainly are dangerous with many adverse effects. I have studied this field for many years, and left many MDs who could not accept lack of pharmaceutical âinterventionâ despite my ideal cardiovascular health.
I would recommend considering eliminating all plant foods, at least for a 6 to 12 month experimental time period, and supplementing 5000IU vit D3 twice daily (e.g. morning and evening). This will restore reasonable emulation of the evolutionary nutrition we are genetically adapted for.
Plants are absolutely chock full of phytochemicals that are evolved to be antinutrients, toxins and endocrine disruptors to eukaryotic predators. By eliminating them it is likely you will recover from your recently acquired conditions, but this will require many months typically. Insidious factors such as increased gut permeability are likley to be involved, and the only practical way to test in any event is to get rid of the plants for awhile.
That is my strong advice, based upon my own and many othersâ experience.
Hi Mac,
Thanks so much for your message. I was on 30 carbs a day, mostly meat, and dairy, and nuts with absolutely no fruit, and a few vegetables for 11 yrs. My body definitely did not like this way of eating! By the time I left that diet, I was getting migraines with auras and I was passing out from my blood pressure dropping when getting out of bed. I had adrenal fatigue and I felt horrible. I would never go back to low carb eating, although it was great for controlling my diabetes.
The low fat plant based diet gave me back my energy, stopped the migraines and raised my blood pressure. Now I fight high blood pressure, but at least I can spring out of bed without passing out and hitting my head.
I am adding more good fat now. A few walnuts and a little avocado to go along with the small amount of good fat I already eat.
From a moral standpoint I prefer not to eat animals and I feel better without dairy which I cut out several months before going plant based.
I could get by with 17-21 total insulin when on a low carb diet, and now I take 26 when not exercising and about 22 total units when exercising. I eat approximately 275 carbs a day.
I appreciate your views in LDL and the meds offered to lower it. I had also read several times that statins donât work for older women.
I have been hypothyroid for decades and diabetic for 60 yrs. I received two heart stents after 50 yrs. I have no other known diabetic problems at this time. No neuropathies. My hypothyroidism has not gotten worse throughout the years to my knowledge. It took years for me to get the correct levels of FT3 and FT4, but that is because physicians just look at TSH. Iâve had to use a naturopath to raise my doses of desiccated thyroid medication so that both my FT3 and FT4 are in the mid to high range. Many, many women are having this fight with their physicians because it is common for women to be under dosed.
Congratulations on your great calcium score!
Your thoughts on beef water salt diet? I currently do it and itâs nothing short of incredible. Beef only truly is the ideal human diet
Hi Marilyn, I am 6 miles into run in woods now. Took break to check email. Everyone is different. Did not know of your improvement from higher carbâs earlier. I assume your figures are for grams, yes?
Nuts, seeds and other reproductive parts of plants contain many phytochemicals in addition to carbâs. Very difficult also to get adequate complete protein without animal foods.
Also, a diabetic requires much more complete protein as substrate for much higher daily gluconeogenesis. Without this only dietary carbâs can keep up with higher daily consumption of glucose/glycogen. Very few women get adequate dietary protein, much less those with diabetes.
I would guess that this is the cause of your history.
You will find no MDs who understand the underlying endocrinology. Eggs, well-fermented dairy, fish are all excellent and fast digesting foods. I recommend 1.5g of animal protein per kg of lean body mass daily.
Impossible to compensate for carbâs with insulin for any diabetic. Both hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia will result. I can explain why if you like. See work by Roger Unger, Alan Cherrington and other giants of portal
research.
Hi Mac2
There is plenty of research to show being a vegan or vegetarian is very healthy and there are doctors that support that. You can find a doctor with different opinions on anything. Iâve been at seminars that have shown the vast variety of opinions that doctors can have.
I have been a vegetarian since I was 11 and a vegan since I was 28 and I am 62 now. I have had type 1 diabetes for 16 years. I truly believe in the health benefits of a vegan diet with all those rich nutrients that are found in vegetables, fruits and grains etc.
Other than being a type 1 as of right now I have no other problems other than a bad back, no high blood pressure, no cholesterol, kidneys are fine, my eyes are fine. I have a bad back because of a nasty fall last year that hopefully recovers but there are issues with my back.
I am happy with my health as my family has a very strong genetic problem with heart issues, strokes and osteoarthritis. My Dad had his first major heart attack at the age of 54, my brother died from a heart attack at the age of 58 and one of my sisters already has heart issues. Both my sisters have osteoarthritis and both my parents did, fairly badly too.
I have no signs of any kind of heart disease, I also have good bones because that is one of the things they checked for after my fracture last year. I believe all of this can be laid at the door of eating healthier as a vegetarian/vegan for so long.
Make no mistake, we all will die of something and I expect heart issues and maybe bone issues at some point in my life. You can just see that throughout my family tree.
Iâm not even going to say whether Marilyn is getting enough protein, I have no idea. But what I fault is the âneedâ for animal protein, that just isnât true and many doctors back that up.
I truly believe a vegan diet is the healthiest choice, But I understand that we all have choices with what we want to believe and what we want to follow. So I have always pushed that whatever works best for the person is the best choice. We all get to live with the choices we make.