First of fucking all, I HAVE AN APARTMENT!!!!!!!!!! The Oaks of Denton called me the other day to let me know that my apartment number was #19. And guess what folks? Apt #19 is right across from a fucking cemetery. I actually will have to walk through said cemetery to get to school.....and to anything else in town. Ah yes, walking through a cemetery at night--what fun it shall be!
Really though, I'm very excited. It's a pretty big apartment...I've already got the floor plans and have started arranging furniture and shit. LOL, ya know, drawing on the floor plan where I want things to go. Andrew and I are already compromising on what how we're gonna be decorating the place. LOL
But, it's gonna be good, getting out on my own. I can't wait. ;)
But, an even bigger issue has come on the horizon. As you may know, I have been diagnosed with hypothyroidism. A chronic condition where your thyroid doesn't produce enough horomones--causing weight gain (used to be 110 and shot up to now 170), difficulty losing weight, chronic fatigue (some days I just can't get out of bed), decreased libido, mental fog, decreased word retrieval (I do this all the time--once forgot what "toilet paper" was called), infertility and if untreated for a very long time, death.
I am now taking Synthroid, a medication that helps combat the symptoms and restore thyroid levels. I have to take these meds everyday for the rest of my life. And, though my thyroid levels are fine now, I have still be experiencing hypothyroid symptoms. Weight gain, fatigue, brain farts. I was doing some research online to see if there was any changes in my diet I could make to improve thyroid function.
What I ended up running across was tons of testimonials of people who are taking thyroid meds--who were eating soy products and still experiencing symptoms. Apparently, what might be happening for some is that the soy in most processed foods is fucking with the thyroid medications ability to absorb into the bloodstream (or where the fuck ever it goes). This means when tested, people are still showing normal thyroid horomone levels....but the meds really aren't eliminating the symptoms.
What many people have done to stop this--is to stop eating soy products. Which nowadays, since we believe that soy is some miracle fucking product that everyone should eat lots of. (Which has always been insane to me, NOTHING IN LARGE AMOUNTS IS GOOD FOR YOU, EXCEPT SEX)--is in just about every processed food on the market, and most fast food and restaurant foods. It is a preservative, and is a very cheap source of protein. Hypothyroid patients who have switched to a soy-free diet have experience decreased, or eliminated symptoms--increased energy, restoration of memory, better ability to lose weight. Of course, because first of all--fresh whole foods are much healthier in general.....but mostly BECAUSE THE FUCKING THYROID MEDS ARE ACTUALLY WORKING, SON OF A BITCH!!!
Now, there may also be some relation to soy baby formula and thyroid problems in infancy, or later in life. Also an increased risk of thyroid conditions for people who eat LOTS of soy. Those vegans and shit (Sorry, but other than for activist reasons....I don't understand. Everything in moderation, and no animal products just for health reasons seems very off to me. If you wanna go against evolutionary instincts for a cause--fine. But other than that, I have doubts it's worth it. But, with the activism...you can't really act against animal cruelty if you're stuck in bed with chronic fatigue. Trust me, you get to a point where you just can't function.)
ANYWAY! These effects for people with no known thyroid problems are debatable, at best. So, I wouldn't quit processed foods just yet. (I WISH I KNEW HOW TO QUIT YOU!!!!!!). However, thyroid patients really need to take heed.....and it seems that some patients are affected more than others, obviously. Also, people who believe that eating all soy (as some do) is better for you, you might want to look at that too. But, again, debatable. People on my friends list can read
here, this is where I first saw the info and went "Waaaaaaaaaaaaait a motherfucking minute now...."
So, exception of the occasional chocolate, or my Aunt Nong's fried rice (I WISH I KNEW HOW TO QUIT YOU!)--which I would happily spend a day in bed with fatigue for--it's soy-free for me! Here's to a life of reading product labels!
This should suck divinely! But, if soy is the issue with me....I'll be more healthy, able to function, and remember things. LOL, so, hopefully that'll be reason enough to mostly stick with it.
Hopefully. ;)