medical environment
I had been eating the Medical Medium way for a few years, and considered myself a pescetarian, eating whole plant-based foods and not eating dairy, meat, poultry, or eggs.
Diagnosis
6 weeks ago I decided to go see an herbal doctor, Richard Whelan, I had wanted to see him for years but I think I was not ready to face what he might say about my health. My goal was to have my high blood pressure seen alternatively, and it hadn’t been that long since I had been diagnosed with high cholesterol.
Well, I was a little surprised, he did quite a few blood tests, taking my finger, running it through machines and looking at it under the microscope. Listening to my heartbeat and taking my blood pressure.
He said that as soon as he saw me he knew I had metabolic syndrome, which is a combination of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and keeping your weight around your midsection that’s so stubborn that everything you try doesn’t budge. And he had tried a lot, besides exercising. Nothing changed those numbers.
He said it wasn’t a case of if I got diabetes, but when. He considered me prediabetic.
I was speechless, muttering that I thought I was fine and healthy, that I liked refined sugar, but for the most part I wasn’t out of control.
So he gave me some herbs for my liver and some other vitamins and herbs to take, magnesium acetate, chromium, vitamin B complex, St. Mary’s thistle, hawthorn and reishi.
keto
He then said he wanted me to eat Keto.
I was like “Keto????” what????
I was horrified, I said Keto is what took my thyroid out 4 years ago, low carb.
He then asked me what I was prepared to do, I told him I was prepared to look into it. And he was happy about it.
Thyroid and Keto
So I had to do some solid research for about a week. He had suggested that I sign up for dietdoctor.com, which I did.
And I spent a lot of time trying to figure out why the ketogenic diet didn’t go back to throwing out my thyroid like it had.
Then I set out to find out why it happened.
I had been eating dirty keto. Which is basically eating all the fatty foods like sausage and bacon and meat and eggs, and none of the vegetables.
I spent quite a bit of time exploring keto vegan and decided that it would be too difficult.
So I brought some meat, eggs, and other foods, and I threw out most of the things in my cupboards that had more carbohydrates. It was very difficult to throw away my old foods that I considered healthy.
However, I’ve found that those foods are healthy for some people, just like keto doesn’t work for everyone.
Stomach ache
So, it seemed like I was doing pretty well for the first few weeks, I went into keto while my body was adjusting, then I got diarrhea.
I gave up all my vitamins and herbs. After 10 days I went back to my old way of eating to see if maybe it was the fat, maybe I had changed my diet too quickly instead of adding foods slowly.
I did food tracking and was about to make an appointment with my doctor when I got back fine.
I was fine for a week and then last weekend it started up again. I dissected what I had been eating and was finally able to figure out what was causing it, because it was going to suck if it was the fats.
It was sucralose. The sweetener that was in the powerade zero that I was using for electrolytes when I was feeling keto flu. Which was a vicious cycle, because I would think I needed to replenish electrolytes due to diarrhea and then drink more.
going forward
I haven’t weighed myself in a few weeks, but I was starting to lose weight steadily, and this morning I measured my waist and I have lost 15.5 cm in a month.
I really like eating keto. It is very satisfying. I have introduced some dairy but not much. I am eating mostly chicken, some meat and eggs. But this time I am eating a lot more vegetables than last time.
I had a blood test a few weeks ago and my thyroid is in range and my liver results are also in range, something I haven’t seen in the 4 years I’ve been doing blood work.
I’ll give you updates on how I’m doing from time to time.
Postscript: 5 months after starting the ketogenic diet, I started having anxiety and took a blood test. Sure enough, what I feared has happened: I have early-stage hyperthyroidism, have increased my carbs, and have an appointment to see Richard in early February 2021. I have lost 25 lbs.