Survivors who had chemo etc and are into Complementary medicine
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I used my cast iron tonight and forgot how great it cooks. Now maybe I'll get in a better habit about using it. DH was happy
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I am going to go get one of those corn shaped pans for corn bread this weekend.
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I got a set of cast iron pans for a wedding present nearly 27 years ago. I had used my mom's before, so I was a little familiar with them. The new ones were silver-ish and I tried seasoning them a few times, but they smelled like chemicals so I eventually threw them away. I was worried I'd be poisoning my family if I used them! So, was that just a bad/cheap set? What do the new ones look like, and do they all smell bad the first few times you them? I'm not very adventurous I guess! I never tried another set! Wasn't sure what to buy. I've either used the plain metal ones, or (mostly) the non-stick. Can anyone recommend a brand that isn't too expensive?
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Omaz - so glad ou have taking out your port to look forward to! What a milestone!!!
Lindasa - thanks for asking ALL the great quesitons - now I know what blender & where to buy it
I just got a wooden outdoor chaise lounge from them - no tax, no shipping. Lovely, easy to put together.Tip on when oil is hot - put the stem end of a wooden spoon in the oil, and little bubbles should be "dancing" arround it - it's HOT!
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TMarina, That is just how they smell when new. I remember wondering the same thing when I first started using them.
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Tmarina: I would heat the pan up and season it a couple of times before using it. There are chemicals on the iron to prevent rust.
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omaz
Do you or anyone know if you can use cast iron skillets on a glass top stove? I know you can use the new enameled ones.
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walley - good question! I don't know.0
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there is no reason not to use cast iron on a glassed top stove. I suppose the pan could scratch the stove top if swirled around or something, but I wouldn't worry about it.
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apple
Thanks, I have a small one I would like to try.You are probably right about the scratching of the glass top.Have to be careful and not slide the pan around.
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Tmarina they do smell DH has always done the orginal seasonings of pans outside on the grill. Once he gets them the way he likes them then he brings it in the house. He use to do alot of outdoor dutch oven cooking with cast iron I need to see what all he has outside. He has some really nice old ones from Wagner. They are hard to find without paying a fortune for them but he swears by them
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Lodge brand is made in the USA. Expensive but well worth it. The more you use the cast iron the better seasoned it stays.
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last night I used my cast iron to sautee butternut squash. I use coconut oil and then seased with salt, pepper, nutmeg and used orange juice to deglaze the pan and add a sauce to it. Was yummy. DH said it tasted like desert.
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Sherry - that sounds good.0
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Thanks for the tips!
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Has anyone here used complementary medicine to keep their thyroid under control?
My TSH levels are high -- 5.29 mcUnits/ml ("normal range 0.55-4.78 mcUnits/ml"). My T3 and T4 levels were within the normal range but on the low side of the range. My antibodies are high too.
I went to see an endocrinologist who really wasn't very helpful. She more or less left it up to me on whether to treat it or not but she did give me an Rx for levothyroxine.
Would love to hear from anyone who has succesfully treated hypthyroisim without taking Synthroid/levothyroxine.
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MaryNY, if you have high TSH, borderline low T3 and T4, and "antibodies", you probably have immune-mediated hypothyroidism (most likely Hashimoto's thyroiditis). It's an autoimmune disorder -- your immune system is destroying your thyroid gland. The (conventional) treatment is "thyroid replacement hormone" -- i.e., levothyroxine, which is very inexpensive and works very well. I say all that because I was dx'd with Hashimoto's thyroiditis 10 years ago and have been on Synthroid ever since then.
I'm waiting to see if there are answers to your question. I can't imagine how "complementary medicine" would reverse the problem or replace the missing hormone. (BTW, wouldn't this be an example of "alternative therapy," rather than "complementary medicine," since you would be declining conventional treatment in favor of this other approach?)
otter
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Regarding the Thyroid-- I also have Hashimoto's, and it sounds like Mary you do too. Taking a replacement hormone (such as Synthroid) is necessary. It's a med that just replaces what your body is supposed to produce on it's own, but doesn't. There are no side effects from it. Your levels aren't very high, so you'll be ok for a while if you wait to treat it, but you shouldn't wait too long. It'll eventually affect your weight, mood, hair, nails, bowels/digestion, cholesterol and triglycerides. Pretty much every body function will slow down. There isn't anything otc that is a hormone replacement. There are products out there that make some claims about thyroid, but if you have the autoimmune disease, they won't help.
Your Endo should have explained all this and told you have Hashimoto's. I would find another endo to make sure this is what you have and have it all explained to you. Or even a good internal med. dr.
Good luck! Hope you find some answers!
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Thanks Otter and TMarina: yes, I know the levothyroxine would replace the hormone I should be making myself but as my friend pointed out, it does nothing to tackle the underlying issue -- the antibodies which are attacking the thyroid. And yeah, this would really be alternative rather than complementary. My friend said after about six weeks she saw her TSH level drop and her free T3 and T4 increase. One of her antibodies (don't remember which one) was over 100 initially, and that gradually dropped too and now the two antibodies that they check are within normal range. She had seen her father go the conventional route and have problems with dosage. She was also concerned about bone loss.
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Mary--There may be some new info I'm not aware of about autoimmune diseases. I don't keep up on the thyroid stuff very much. If there is, a good endo would know about it. My daughter is diabetic (type 1), which is an autoimmune disease also, and they have been working hard for many years to get the body to stop attacking itself and find a cure for diabetes. Incidentally, once you have one autoimmune disease, you are at higher risk for other ones too.
Let us know if you find any new research! New info is coming out all the time!
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I do know about the higher likelihood of developing autoimmune thyroid problems if one already has another autoimmune disease. I was diagnosed with another autoimmune disease eight months before my BC diagnosis. While going through chemo, my onc referred me to a neurooncologist who thought there might be a connection and suggested paraneoplastic syndrome. But the tests came back negative for antibodies to the antigens involved.
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MaryNY,
You were asking if anyone was using an alternative to treat thyroid imbalance? I take Selenium to keep my thyroid under control. Now, I know we are all different but it works for me.
About 6 years ago my thyroid became under active. I was given synthroid and it made me over-active. So I said to the doc. I don't see the point from going under to over. He said it is hard to regulate the thyroid. So I said, well since I am over active, I will not bother taking it then. A few months later, I read that selenium helps the thyroid "in some cases". So I began taking selenium and since taking it my thyroid is normal. Like I said, we are all different, and one could argue that perhaps my thyroid "just regulated itself" weird huh!!
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Painerly: that's interesting. Was taking Selenium the only change you made? Also since the onset of hypothryoidism is at the time of menopause in many women, I wonder if it would right itself naturally in some cases once the female hormone levels sort themselves out.
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MaryNY,
Only selenium. I was so pleased that my thyroid came back to the normal range, because it was a pain having to take 6 months of medication to Fla. where we spend the winters.
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It takes a few months - testing every 6 weeks or do, to get the right dose. At least that's what I was told, and was true for me. FIrst year I was tested every 3 months, then every 6, which is the schedule I still follow.
RE: TSH. American Society of Endocrinologists in 2003 stated that TSH should be BELOW 2.5.
Many labs till use the old "normal" of it being up to 6.00. That is VERY OLD DATA!
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they thought my mother had Hashimotos disease but it was Graves disease..
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I didn't read all the way back, but is anyone taking CoQ10??
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I am taking CoQ10. It was suggested to me for my heart. I have no idea if it helps fight cancer.
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Lisa, I'm on Crestor and I read a few articles that suggested CoQ10 might be able to prevent some of the muscle problems statins could cause. Nothing definitive -- no "good" evidence, by my standards -- but, CoQ10 seemed harmless, and, if it would help... why not?
I stopped taking it when I realized I needed a separate page in iCal to keep track of the schedule for taking everything. Maybe I should start again?
otter
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