Very active but unhealthy (thyroid problems)

[vinc3nc]

I got my blood work done recently and realized I got some health problems.

I've always tried to live a healthy lifestyle. I've been lifting weights for like 10 years. Nowadays I'm lifting weights 6 times per week and also doing cardio twice per week. I probably train more (or harder) than 99% of people. I mostly eat things like rolled oats, buckwheat porridge, millet porridge, eggs, spelt bread, low-fat cheese, cottage cheese, milk, peanuts, peanut butter, white meat (mostly), coconut oil, lard, apples, bananas, frozen fruits, white rice, cooked potatoes, etc.

The supplements I take: whey protein, brown rice protein, creatine, multi-vitamins.

So anyway, my blood work showed (mostly) low levels of:

• S-TSH (hypothyroidism)
• S-HDL
• GFR (Glomerular filtration rate)

And high levels of:

1. S-creatinine
2. urethra

So obviously, there are some problems with my thyroid and liver/kidney probably.

My doctor prescribed me Euthyrox tablets for my thyroid gland. I've never been very fond of taking tablets, so I don't know whether or not to take them. I know that you guys/girls are probably not doctors, but still, I wonder if any of you had similar problems with your health. So I would like to hear about your experience with it. Or maybe advice if you're more knowledgeable on that topic.

 

[Michael569]

@vinc3nc Hey Vince, 

46 minutes ago, vinc3nc said:

• S-TSH (hypothyroidism)
• S-HDL
• GFR (Glomerular filtration rate)

And high levels of:

1. S-creatinin

would you be comfortable sharing the values? 

When you say "urethra" do you mean uric acid or urea? 

 

[vinc3nc]

24 minutes ago, Michael569 said:

@vinc3nc Hey Vince, 

would you be comfortable sharing the values? 

When you say "urethra" do you mean uric acid or urea? 

 

S-THS 4.798 mlU/L (normal range 0.358 - 3.74)

S-HDL 1.05 mmol/L (normal > 1,4)

 

GFR 56.2 ml/min/1.73 m2 (normal > 90)

S-creatinin 143 µmol/L (normal range 44 - 97)

urea 7.8 mmol/L (normal range 2.8 - 7.5 )

 

I meant high levels of S-THS*

 

 

 

[Michael569]

@vinc3nc by no means does any of this have to be correct but based on the few available info I got above, here are few assumptions from me. Again this is based on limited amount of information I have

Creatinine
This is increased in more muscular individuals and also those taking creatinine. It is also elevated when the consumption of meat & protein is higher. 
But it may also indicate that kidneys are struggling, prostate growth (not sure about your age, unlikely to be an issue under 45) or some sort of obstruction in kidneys (stone??) 

GFR
This is tricky. It shows decline in kidney filtration. The cause could be intake of protein in the diet, alcohol (probably not your case) but also autoimmunity such as glomerulonephritis. Do you know if your doc assessed any antibodies? 
This could also be caused by high heavy metal content in kidney area. If gut microbiome is damaged it can eleate urea and so can many drugs. 

Thyroid
This can be hard to identify but it could be coming from the gut. If your gut is a bit leaky it will allow certain proteins to migrate through and it has been found that it may damage kidneys and flare up thyroid as well. But again not enough info

* what's your protein intake daily? 
* were there any other numbers on the test? (liver, CRP, ESR, antibodies of any sort, Vitamin D, B12 etc..) 
* any chance you may have been exposed to a lot of heavy metals? Do you consume a lot of bone broth & tuna? 

Very limited amount of information but I would presume there is a connection between gut damage & damage to kidneys of some sort. Would need some more intel 

 

[The0Self]

10 hours ago, vinc3nc said:

Nowadays I'm lifting weights 6 times per week and also doing cardio twice per week. I probably train more (or harder) than 99% of people. I mostly eat things like rolled oats, buckwheat porridge, millet porridge, eggs, spelt bread, low-fat cheese, cottage cheese, milk, peanuts, peanut butter, white meat (mostly), coconut oil, lard, apples, bananas, frozen fruits, white rice, cooked potatoes, etc.

Maybe try 3 days a week for cardio and lifting (full body, no splits) and relax just a bit. Diet seems great except for the vegetable oil from the peanuts -- polyunsaturated fats can reduce thyroid function. If you have seriously reduced thyroid function that doesn't respond to anything, consider hormones, preferably T3 and pregnenolone.

[Leo Gura]

@vinc3nc Your TSH is pretty decent. If you had a serious issue it would be many times higher, like 30 or 40 instead of 4.7

You must get blood work done for Free T3 and Free T4. These are required to see the true function of your thyroid. TSH is not good enough by itself.

If your T3 and T4 are within range, then TSH is no big deal. But if your T3 and T4 are out of range, you need thyroid hormone pills to bring them back into range.

Any good doctor should immediately test your Free T3 and T4. You can also order these tests online without a doctor.

[vinc3nc]

7 hours ago, The0Self said:

Maybe try 3 days a week for cardio and lifting (full body, no splits) and relax just a bit. Diet seems great except for the vegetable oil from the peanuts -- polyunsaturated fats can reduce thyroid function. If you have seriously reduced thyroid function that doesn't respond to anything, consider hormones, preferably T3 and pregnenolone.

I'm doing an upper/lower split. I'm not changing anything regarding the workout. I feel great. And I have no symptoms (no fatigue or other hypothyroidism symptoms) other than some itching problems at night and low sex drive for the last few weeks. I'll try to reduce some of the fats probably.

 

2 hours ago, Leo Gura said:

@vinc3nc Your TSH is pretty decent. If you had a serious issue it would be many times higher, like 30 or 40 instead of 4.7

You must get blood work done for Free T3 and Free T4. These are required to see the true function of your thyroid. TSH is not good enough by itself.

If your T3 and T4 are within range, then TSH is no big deal. But if your T3 and T4 are out of range, you need thyroid hormone pills to bring them back into range.

Any good doctor should immediately test your Free T3 and T4. You can also order these tests online without a doctor.

Yeah, I've done some reserach about this stuff in the meantime. Also, the range for TSF seemed to be different in the past (0.2 - 0.5 instead of 0.3-3.7). Guess I'm not taking the tablets I was prescribed.

[The0Self]

@vinc3nc Just saw that your TSH was low. Read too fast the first time and assumed it was high. Serious thyroid issues seem to be more associated with high TSH than low. But get your T3/T4 checked. And Euthroid/Synthroid is T4. Some seem to do better on T3 (Cytomel).

[vinc3nc]

25 minutes ago, The0Self said:

@vinc3nc Just saw that your TSH was low. Read too fast the first time and assumed it was high. Serious thyroid issues seem to be more associated with high TSH than low. But get your T3/T4 checked. And Euthroid/Synthroid is T4. Some seem to do better on T3 (Cytomel).

My TSH is considered a bit high - 4.798 mlU/L (normal range 0.358 - 3.74), but fT3 and fT4 are within the range. High TSH is known as an underactive thyroid. But yeah as I've seen, that's not enough to tell the whole story.

[The0Self]

14 minutes ago, vinc3nc said:

My TSH is considered a bit high - 4.798 mlU/L (normal range 0.358 - 3.74), but fT3 and fT4 are within the range. High TSH is known as an underactive thyroid. But yeah as I've seen, that's not enough to tell the whole story.

In that case, simply cutting out vegetable oils might be sufficient. It will lower estrogen and serotonin, which will in turn increase thyroid activity, lower TSH, and increase T3 -- especially if you are getting enough selenium, zinc, and sunlight. Aspirin can even help with this.

Edited November 21, 2020 by The0Self

[Village]

I don't get why people believe that exhausting yourself is healthy. Take a rest, dude.

[Opo]

15 minutes ago, Village said:

I don't get why people believe that exhausting yourself is healthy. Take a rest, dude.

He said he doesn't feel exhausted and 6 times a week is not that much professionals train twice a day. 

Plus he's mostly weight training that's a pretty relaxed type of training. 

Most importantly some people have a bigger need to train than others. I feel great when I train a lot.

Edited December 2, 2020 by Opo

[mandyjw]

I have hypothyroidism and I just take the thyroid meds. I might delve into the issue further in the future, but for now my resources are better spent elsewhere. 

Personally, I'd cut back on the lifting, cut back on or cut out dairy and add in a lot of veggies. Add in sardines. Cut out the whey protein and rice protein. I'm finding that it's really tricky/expensive to get clean sources of protein that are healthy long term. That's quite a lot to ask your liver and kidneys to handle long term.