November 2010...finally caught up! Am I gluten intolerant??

My weight on November 1st was 121.4 pounds. I was down 1.2 more pounds!

This month everything was going well. I had been eating "Chock full of Veggie" Chili over quinoa for lunch most days at work- yummy! I have been exercising most days. I finally read the book Why Do I Still Have Thyroid Symptoms? by Datis Kharrazian, DHSc, DC, MS. I had heard of the book through one of my podcasts (Blog Talk Radio Underground Wellness, available free on iTunes) and knew a little about the book. I knew from the podcast about the book to have my doctor order a blood test the last time I went to see what my levels of Thyroglobulin Antibodies (TGB Ab) & Thyroid Peroxidase Antibodies (TPO Ab) were. My Thyroglobulin Antibodies tested normal but my Thyroid Peroxidase Antibodies tested high. The reference range on the test is less than 35 and mine were 124. This indicated that my hypothyroidism is caused by Hashimoto's disease. Hashimoto's disease is an autoimmune condition in which the body attacks and destroys its own thyroid gland. Although the disorder is a common cause of hypothyroidism, most doctors don't bother to test for it since a diagnosis does not change the standard treatment, which is to prescribe thyroid hormone. When I was given my first prescription several years ago I even remember the nurse practitioner telling me it did not matter what the cause was when I asked her since it would not change the treatment. Dr. Kharrazian discusses the link between gluten intolerance and Hashimoto's disease in the book. If you are thinking of reading this book I must warn you that it goes into a lot of technical details about medical stuff that would be better understood if you were a doctor. I think he may have forgotten that people who are not doctors might read his book.

So I do have a reason for getting into all of this detail. I decided that it could be a good idea for me to try to go "gluten free" for a period of time to see if I notice any difference or if it makes me feel more awake to not eat gluten. So I went through the cabinet and pulled out all of the gluten. I decided to eat up all of the gluten and once it is gone I will start my "gluten free trial" and see how it goes. Ever since I have been trying to "dispose" of the gluten products by eating them I have been having "bowel issues" similar to the problem I had in the spring of 2009...so now I wonder if I really am gluten intolerant.

I took a couple of pictures of me wearing my old pants.

Those pants (New York & Company) are a size 8. I wear a size 2 now. The pictures were taken the first week of November.

I am finally up to date with my blog- YAY!