Looking for help!

[minniemom]

I posted this on the Heal Thyself forum as well, but I thought I'd try it over here too since so many of you are so knowledgeable.  I'm feeling rather desperate and am hoping to get some answers.  I tried following the sulfur sensitivity thread, but got lost about 3 posts in!  My current state of mind with so much brain fog just doesn't allow me to comprehend all the complex details of how the body works.

I'm going to try to keep this as brief as possible, but I figure some background is important. 

I am hypothyroid.  I was diagnosed with that when I was around16-17 and put on synthroid at that time.  I'm now 33.  I was a colicky baby and as a teenager I thought I might have had a touch of IBS or at least been lactose intolerant, but it was never so bad that I went to the doctor or did anything about it.

I have always been a bit more tired than most, but just assumed that was from my thyroid.  I had my first child when I was 24 and I felt amazing during the entire pregnancy.  The best I've ever felt - my husband joked that he was going to keep me pregnant all the time! LOL!  The only complaint I had was that my memory started to go.

I had my second child when I was27 and my only problem then was that my hormones were raging.  I had a sex drive like I've never had before in my life!

Fast forward to about 2 years ago.  I started exercising which I had never really done before and I felt really good, actually started to kick the fatigue I always had.  I ended up going on a vegetarian diet and went through a very intense workout program.  I started to develop a bunch of food sensitivities - first soy, then I noticed sharp stomach pains that seemed to be from gluten.  I was tested for celiac and it came back negative, but I had already eliminated all gluten for 2 months prior to the test and my understanding now is that the test wouldn't have been accurate because of that.  I should also add that I wasn't a soy-eating vegetarian.  I ate primarily veggies, beans, and nuts/seeds, and LOTS of fruit.  Very little processed foods though.

I later ended up with a dairy sensitivity as well as avocado, hemp, flax, etc, etc.  I thought it was leaky gut and ended up going on an anti-candida diet since I seemed to have a lot of the symptoms.  No matter what or how much I ate, I looked 3 months pregnant!  I've always been thing, but yet always had a "pouch."  I had MAJOR die off when I cut out all sugars. 

The diet seemed to work well for about 4 months.  All the bloating, fatigue, gas and cravings that I had went away.  But then after about 4 months my stomach started to feel raw and sore all the time.  I don't know if it was from the natural anti-fungals I was taking or the psyllium husks that were too hard on my system or just the fact that I was still eating pseudo-grains like quinoa, buckwheat, amaranth, etc. I also had more fatigue come back.

I ended up finding the GAPS diet and started on that November 27th of last year.  Within a few weeks I started to get a bit more energy and feel better.  My stomach improved also. 

As a side note:  I've had 8 amalgams out since last November  - 6 of which were just done in February.  One has a crown and the others were all composite fillings.

Now onto my current issues!  I was doing well on GAPS with some setbacks here and there that I attributed to die off, detox, or food sensitivities.  I've been working with a doctor and nutritionist a bit who have ordered a ton of tests, but I don't necessarily feel like they are acting on them appropriately.  I know my free T3, T4, and TSH are low as well as my ferritin, B12 and vitamin D.  They had me do a NutrEval test from Genova recently and I cannot understand the results at all, but based on that test they had me start molybdenum, P5P (B6), folic acid and a few other supplements that I haven't started yet.

I started the molybdenum about two weeks ago, but unfortunately also took some new digestive enzymes the day before so I can't be certain of reactions.  I ended up with diarrhea and nausea.  The diarrhea stopped when I stopped the enzymes, which I now just think I can't take since I've had reactions to other brands too.  Unfortunately, the nausea is persisting.  For a while it seemed to happen before I ate and then if I ate something it was relieved.  Now it's a little before I eat, but then after eating I get extremely nauseous with a headache and stomach pains. 

I've been doing so much reading and I'm worried about the molybdenum and B6 somehow causing a problem with my sulfur detox pathway.  I can only tolerate 3 veggies right now and they are all high sulfur - peas, broccoli, and green beans, so I'm really worried about having to cut them out. 

How can I figure out this sulfur mess?  My brain fog is so bad that I just can't understand even 1/4 of the stuff I'm reading about detox and the transsulfuration pathway.  I did read that it can sometimes be a genetic problem and I know my son has behavioral problems when he has any artificial colors - could that all be related somehow? 

Another thing is that when I first started GAPS I started taking Epsom salt baths to detox.  At first they made me nauseous and I really had to work my way up to a full cup per tub.  Then they started to make me feel relaxed and energized all at the same time.  After starting the molybdenum and B6, they are now making me nauseous again. I know there are some connections to sulfur, but again - the brain fog just doesn't allow me to connect the dots. 

I have no idea what to do, what to eat, what to think, etc, etc, etc.  I'm sorry this was so terribly long, but I'm hoping someone on here can point me in the right direction to find out what is going on!  I did just order a hair test yesterday, so I'm hoping to have those results within the next few weeks. 

Thanks so much for any help you can offer : )  How can I attach my NutrEval results? 

[Poddi]

Just want to give you a hug.  I'm not very experienced, though.  I went through years trying to fix what's wrong in my body.  It's still not quite right but much better.  I went to see a naturopath and that's what helped me.  Do you have access to a good naturopath?  It can be hard to figure out everything by yourself.  I agree the hair test can be a good place to start.  Although try not to follow their advices too strictly.  My naturopath modified lots of their suggestions based  on my personal situation.

Sometimes having perfect diet/nutrition doesn't mean you will not have any health problems, especially if it's genetic.  Maybe lowering your expectations a bit would help.  I was frustrated about poor sleep / lack of energy for a long time, until I realize many other people have that problem, too, they just drink lots of coffee.  None of my parents are exactly good sleepers so I might be expecting too much. 

[lil_miss_understood]

Have you had any answers to your questions from another source, minniemom? It's late here right now, so I see clues in your description (big ones being amalgams and the Epsom salts) so I can't quite piece it together- though I've never been quite as good at it as Theloose. It sounds like you are having problems once the sulfur is turned into sulfate, which makes me wonder if your vegetarian diet is a contributor to the current problem, since the sulfation pathway is dependent upon methionine and cysteine, which tend to be highest in meats, iirc. This points to you being low in methyl donors.

Because of this, I very much hope that you are taking methyltetrahydrofolate (5-MTHF) rather than folic acid and are planning to use methylcobalamin (methyl b12).

Are you taking selenium? This can help to bind and escort mercury out of the body and really should be supplemented, imo, by anyone with thyroid issues as it is a co-factor in the synthesis of thyroid hormones. Iron can also bind to mercury in a similar manner and is one of the main building blocks for T4.

Supplemental vitamin C can help to increase glutathione which could decrease the stress on your methylation pathway while you are building yourself back up. Vitamin E, selenium and B6 are additional supports.

It really does sound like your doctor is doing a better job than most I've heard of since coming to this board, honestly.

Need to head to bed soon here. Please let me know if I've helped or can help further.

JR