Hoping this is the best decision I have ever made.....

[Tereza Toledo]

Good thing you are lifting which is of great help to slow down osteopenia!

15 pull-ups is an awesome goal! 5 pull-ups is pretty darn good for a start, dang, girl!my pull-up game is t all that. Funny how I could do more a few years ago (or at least I thought), but my upper body strength still has a way to go.

[FionaSchipke]

Yes, my Dexa scan was for body fat. I wouldn't mind seeing if I can include bones for next time also though to give me a benchmark for them as well.

Wow! Is it unusual for femurs to show lower first? Hopefully next time will show improvement.

[West]

(01-15-2018 12:31 AM)FionaSchipke Wrote:  Yes, my Dexa scan was for body fat. I wouldn't mind seeing if I can include bones for next time also though to give me a benchmark for them as well.

Wow! Is it unusual for femurs to show lower first? Hopefully next time will show improvement.

I don't know From what I can gather it is usually the hip and spine where it first starts to show. I reckon that would be the case if you were genetically predisposed to Osteoporosis. Here's my take, using no technical words and very little knowledge: during severe cases of anorexia when the body needs *stuff* then surely the biggest bones in the body would be the best place to *rob* it from. As it is the biggest bone it will retain some strength, whereas if it went for loads of little bones they would be easily weakened. So for short term measures the biggest bones are the best option.

Thats probably totally wrong I have a list of questions I need to ask on Thursday, hopefully they will be able to help.

[Tereza Toledo]

Actually it does make sense! Like having bad teeth after pregnancies. The body will definitely get calcium from the stores available. That is definitely true for protein, if we don’t eat enough, it pulls it from the muscles.

[West]

Well, up to 9 chin ups on the bounce, have no idea if i'm on target but doesn't matter as I will get to 15 by hook or by crook

It's been three weeks since my Dexa scan, was told at the time that they were 17 weeks behind with the reporting but if it was serious then I would hear in the next two to three weeks so it looks promising.

Got a new tattoo earlier in the week.

[Tereza Toledo]

9 chin ups and a new tattoo?! How exciting!
17 weeks behind with report? Omg, that’s definitely crazy!

[West]

(02-11-2018 11:29 PM)Tereza Toledo Wrote:  9 chin ups and a new tattoo?! How exciting!
17 weeks behind with report? Omg, that’s definitely crazy!

That's the NHS for you! I was surprised I got an appointment so quick, when I mentioned it to the nurse at the appointment she said any referral for a dexa it had to be done in six weeks. Thinking now I should have just gone private and got the results sooner......

I'm still waiting for an endo appointment Got a letter on the 19th Dec saying I was on a waiting list and not heard anything since. GP suggested it because of my poor response and that they can do tests that they can't do. Hoping I can get all my pituitary hormones tested, active b12 and TSH stimulation test. But when is the big question...

In the meantime i'm still taking t3 (I bought my own) after endo saying I didn't need it (his opinion ) So GP doesn't know.... i'm not knowingly going to make myself worse whilst they are making me wait!

Good things have come from taking t3. I broke my elbow back in 2013 and it has never felt "right" range of motion was good but just felt weak, I had no confidence in it. i.e. plank (not where you on are on your elbows) and you switch to one arm, one arm burpees etc. But since starting t3 it has improved so much I can't believe it.

Bicep curls - no matter how much I persevered I couldn't do them with 10kg dumbbells, now i'm on the 12's! With squats the weight is starting to go up again.

However, I still have several major symptoms: intolerance to cold, my hands are so dry, my face is covered in big patches of flaky skin and periods are really heavy and irregular. Still tired so have to be careful with what I do.

[FionaSchipke]

It sounds like the t3 is doing something for you at least - though it seems like there may be something still missing if you still have the major symptoms you are having.

Great improvements on the weights fronts :-) 9 chin-ups is huge. You will get to 15. In the end it doesn't really matter how long it takes as long as you get there. I seem to increase my chin-up reps at a snail pace but I am fine with that - as long as I am improving.

The wait for your results seems ridiculously slow - hopefully you have them soon.

[West]

(02-14-2018 09:04 PM)FionaSchipke Wrote:  It sounds like the t3 is doing something for you at least - though it seems like there may be something still missing if you still have the major symptoms you are having.

Yeah, I know But both ft3 and ft4 both have room for significant improvement but GP is only interested in my suppressed TSH and says i'm over replaced

I got a genetic test done, got the results yesterday. The DI02 gene tells you how well you will convert t4 to t3 and couple of other things. If the result was:

TT Thats the best result you could hope for, no problems converting t4 to t3 and t4 montherapy for hypothyroidism would not present any problems.

TA One faulty gene means impaired conversion. You'll probably need t3.

AA Two faulty genes and t4 monotherapy is not ideal.

Guess what my results were? AA. So not only a decreased ability to convert t4 to t3 but also increased propensity to gain weight and become insulin resistant. So I probably need much more t3 than the measly 10mcg i'm taking.

I also found out when I asked for a copy of my entire medical record that I have Gastric Parietal cell antibodies. So they attack the cells in the stomach that secrete Hydrochloric acid, that acid helps strip vits and minerals from food and low stomach acid is also linked to needing higher doses of thyroid meds. I'm also likely at some point to become b12 deficient. That is why I want an active b12 test but my GP will only test b12 and that is next to useless as up as it measures total b12 and up to 70% of that can be inactive.

[West]

11 chin ups, 9 look effortless.