Have You Been Diagnosed With An Underactive Thyroid?

I have just been diagnosed with an underactive thyroid and, being me, I obviously came straight home and terrified myself by googling the subject.

It's important to understand what your test results mean.

I have been prescribed 25mg of Levothyroxine and advised to have my blood retested in 6-8 weeks to see if the medication has improved the level of antibodies in my blood.

I am completely rubbish at taking medication and made the mistake of reading the side effects leaflet which came in the pill packet.

I am now awaiting weight gain, baldness, palpitations and depression and, having taken precisely 3 tablets so far am convinced I now have dry eye syndrome since my eyes are sore and gritty.

The Husband is already out of patience!

The problem is, if you visit the many thyroid forums, that testing in the UK only takes into account one of 4 antibodies, T4 and medicates for that whereas our American cousins say that an holistic approach is needed to supplement all four.

To add to the confusion, many of the symptoms of an underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism) are the same as those suffered by many women during the menopause.

So what is the thyroid gland and what does it do?

The thyroid gland is a butterfly-shaped organ located in the base of your neck. It is about 2-inches long and lies in front of your throat below the prominence of thyroid cartilage sometimes called the Adam's apple.

The Thyroid System

This gland produces hormones which regulate the body's metabolic rate as well as heart and digestive function, muscle control, brain development and bone maintenance. Its correct functioning depends on having a good supply of iodine from the diet.

The thyroid function is normally regulated by a hormone produced in the pituitary gland (thyroid-stimulating hormone, or TSH for short), which ensures that neither too much nor too little thyroid hormone is produced.

If too little thyroid hormone is produced, the body functions slow down and the thyroid is said to be underactive - hypothyroidism.

If, conversely too much thyroid hormone is produced, the sufferer is said to have an overactive thyroid - hyperthyroidism.

Some of the symptoms of an underactive thyroid include fatigue, weight gain, cold intolerance, constipation, impaired fertility, and depression.

Some sufferers have also reported dizziness, inability to pay attention and memory loss, hair loss and tinnitus.

In truth there are loads of symptoms and it can be very difficult to pinpoint the exact cause of these.

Underactive Thyroid is more common in older people and in women than men, with estimates that 10 times more women than men are affected.

The conventional treatment for an underactive thyroid is with the hormone levothyroxine (LT4 or Synthroid), which I have been prescribed.

If an underactive thyroid is left untreated for a prolonged period of time, more serious symptoms will develop as the condition advances, such as cardiovascular disease and raised cholesterol.

An underactive thyroid is a lifelong condition, so you will probably need to take levothyroxine for the rest of your life.

It's important for the health of you and your baby that an underactive thyroid is treated properly before you become pregnant.

An annual blood test to screen for an underactive thyroid is recommended for individuals with this condition.

Current research tells us that the best diet for an underactive thyroid is one that contains whole foods, is high in protein, and naturally rich in iodine and selenium.

Seaweeds like kelp are an excellent natural source of iodine, whilst Selenium can be found in Brazil nuts, cod and mustard seeds – 3 to 5 Brazil nuts each day provides plenty of selenium for proper thyroid function.

I am at the beginning of my thyroid education and am hoping that this small dose of Levothyroxine will be enough to return my hormone levels to normal.

Have you been diagnosed with an underactive thyroid?  I would love to hear your experiences and the lifestyle changes you have made to cope with this condition.

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How To Talk To Your Kids About The Risks From Cigarettes, Vaping & Marijuana

You might be a smoker, you may or may not support the legalization of marijuana, but you will never want your kids being involved with any of these things.

With the new trend of e-cigs and related vaping products becoming increasingly popular among teenagers and the ongoing debate on the topic of legalization of weed, a lot of parents find themselves on a shaky ground during an argument about their usage.

To make things worse, you find a lot of celebrities posting their pictures using such products and it leaves you with a question, “Will we be able to raise our kids without them being addicted to any drug or related smoking product?”

The answer is “Yes” but it always pays to have a plan.

You don’t want to sound uncool or strict while dealing with such scenarios.  As parents we know that both of these approaches can be counter-productive.

Below are some of the things that you can do to make your children aware of the pressures placed upon them by the marketing campaigns of regular and electronic cigarette manufacturers, as well as the risks both short, and long-term of marijuana use.

Regular Tobacco Cigarettes

• Tell your kids about the dangers of smoking by showing them the health-related statistics and pictures of the complications that smoking cause. Once they will realize that the consequences aren’t as cool as the act, they will hopefully decide to stay away from smoking by themselves.

 • Explain how addictive nicotine is and how hard it is to get out of its addiction. Your kids should know the physical signs of nicotine addiction and how bad it is for them.

• Make your kids aware of various marketing gimmicks - for example even if a cigarette is menthol or any other flavored, it’s still just as bad for your health as a regular one.

Electronic Cigarettes

• Tell your kids about the latest research on e-cigs and vaporizers that indicate that these vaping products contain carcinogenic chemicals like formaldehyde.  A spokesman at Simply E liquid advised that they are only permitted to sell to the over 18's and that if they are suspicious of any orders then they will contact the buyer to verify their age.

• Tell your kids about the harmful effects of vaping on growing bodies.

• Tell them about the nicotine addiction they can get by using vaporizers and electronic cigarettes.

• Ask your doctor to tell your kids about the various health hazards related to vaping and usage of other related e-cig products.

• Explain to your kids how e-cig sites use celebrities for the sake of their product’s advertisement and make these products look harmless and eco-friendly as compared to regular cigarettes.

Marijuana

• On contrast to the popular belief, teenagers still tend to listen to their parents and look up to them for guidance. You can guide your kids about the importance of a good character, better judgment, and how the promise of a successful future is compromised by an addiction.

• Explain the side-effects of marijuana addiction and how it affects a developing brain.

• In scenarios, where the kids do not respond to a restriction very well, asking them to wait until they’re old enough, and their body and brain has developed, can help you delay this situation as long as possible.

• Look for the factors that influence teenagers to develop a habit like this. Make sure that your kid is not dealing with any social or education-related stress or he/she is not facing any emotional instability.

• No one, especially kids these days, like being tricked or made a fool of. Explain the advertisement strategies of companies and how they tend to use the name of famous celebrities like Bob Marley or Willie Nelson to boost up their marketing campaign for their own benefit.

Smoking is never an easy subject to address but the sooner you do so and the better armed you are with the right information about the dangers to their health, the better chance you stand of stopping these habits in their tracks.

And of course, if you are a smoker yourself and don't want your kids to pick up your bad habits, this may be a very good time to cut back and eventually quit altogether.

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Parenting Solo - What I've Learned When The Husband's Away

Although he has the luxury of 'working from home', the Husband spends most of his weeks travelling which leaves me to hold the fort and parent solo.

There's never a dull moment

Now I am not claiming that my experience is anywhere near that of a single parent but my time alone with the kids has given me an insight into the trials and tribulations we parents face when the role of good cop and bad cop falls to us for days on end.

In the early days, I used to feel very anxious at being left alone and I still hate locking up at night. Houses tend to make all sorts of funny noises when they cool down and I am such a scaredy-cat that I hate passing uncurtained windows just in case someone is lurking.

Of course I can't pass on any of this anxiety to the kids!

Here's what I've discovered.

Kids will gang up on you

My two have worked out how to wind me up with all the subtlety of MI5 in order to avoid i) eating unnecessary vegetables and ii) getting into bed before I have spent 30 minutes pacing the floorboards while they clean one tooth at a time.

The logical extension of this is that the kids will then start to parent you, viz, "Mum, you're really grumpy so we think you should go to bed the same time as us tonight".

No matter how many toilets there are in the house, the kids will fight over one.

They will also synchronise bladders to precisely 5 minutes before bedtime, even though they otherwise have the bladder capacity of camels.

There will never be any toilet roll left.  The cardboard tube will be rolling round the floor and new toilet rolls will have to be unearthed from the cupboard under the stairs using a torch and several choice expletives.

You will not find out that the toilet roll has run out until 11:59 pm.

There will be something very urgent to be communicated as soon as you go downstairs last thing at night.

For example, whether Caitlin can go to the beach to collect sea glass or if Ieuan can buy his 27th light-sabre.

Your attempts to cook will be futile

Firstly you'll be so knackered from the constant negotiation to get them to school and back, plus homework and the usual after school activities that you won't feel like it.

If you do cook anything it won't be as good as dad's and you may just as well resign yourself to pizza, spag bol and something inventive with fish fingers.

My lovely Hedgehog Potato

Any household appliance about to burn out or break down will do so.

Our boiler likes to cut out from time to time ensuring a short, sharp icy shower.  It never does this when I am bathing the kids, but saves it for me.

If the kids are going to be ill,  it'll be now

You know that tremor you feel in your gut when you hear 60% of your kid's classmates have gone down with the latest plague?  That suspicion that you're next on the list?  It usually happens when the husband's away.  Best get the bucket and Dettol out just in case.

And if the kids aren't ill, it'll be you

In which case don't bother because languishing in your bed waving a lace hanky around and demanding smelling salts won't get you anywhere.  The best you can hope for is gnawing a chunk of yesterday's pizza slumped in front of Power Rangers in your dressing gown whilst the kids moan about your cooking.

In any case you will have run out of Calpol

I swear the stuff evaporates.  We do, however, have a cutlery drawer containing 25 Calpol syringes.  I should throw them out but they may come in, you know, useful at some point.  For feeding baby hamsters or something.

You won't get to talk to your other half on the phone

When the Husband phones, I either have to physically remove the phone from the kids whilst they run through their day minute by minute, or the poor sod gets little more than a grunt from them because they are lost in Sims or Lego games.

He does little better with me because I am, by this stage, cross at being left alone whilst he,  in my eyes, is living it up in 5 star luxury in a place which never runs out of toilet roll and has things like a mini bar and staff.

You talk to yourself

I do this anyway but in the absence of any other adult conversation I find I can have very interesting two way conversations about business, politics, literature - all sorts of things.

When it becomes a three way conversation I know I'm getting a bit stressed.

You need your mum and your mates

It's great to have someone to turn to when it all gets too much and, for stay-at-home mums like me, I have made some great friends on Facebook.  There's also the wisdom of other parenting bloggers too. We're all going through the same things and sharing our experiences.

You might indulge in a bit of 'whingeing'

Having given up work and despite being lucky enough to be a stay-at-home mum, there are times when I hanker after the freedom that comes with leaving for a job every morning and having someone left behind to carry the load.

I don't doubt that the Husband works very hard but sometimes I think we mums just wish we could hit the off switch for a bit and give our brains a rest from all that fretting and mothering!

You count your blessings.

You know it's not actually so bad and you do discover you can cope with more than you thought.  You do get an insight into what it might be like to be a full time single parent.  I have written before that single parents have nothing but my absolute admiration.

It makes you appreciate your partner a lot more, although it does shine a light on your individual parenting styles.  The Husband always says I am not consistent in my approach which is often true - but when there's one of you, you don't always want to be the bad cop, do you?

I do think there is what I can the "superstar daddy syndrome" - where the partner comes home and the kids react as if David Beckham has just walked in.  You are suddenly invisible.  That mad woman chewing pizza in her dressing gown moaning about the lack of toilet roll.

This usually lasts about 24 hours - or until the Husband lays down the law about vegetable eating or cleaning teeth in under 15 minutes.

Then,  happily, balance is restored.  Mummy is rightfully restored to her place as all round nurturer and the nice one who soothes brows and knows where the Calpol syringes are.

It's very easy to get quite competitive for the kids attention, isn't it?

There's nothing like one partner working away and the other holding the fort to throw a torch light on a relationship and your parenting styles.

Being older, the Husband and I are quite traditional in our approach and we have a system that works for us but you may find that time spent parenting on your own for a bit throws up all sorts of issues that need an honest discussion and possibly a renegotiation of responsibilities.

Do you have to parent solo from time to time?

Make sure you've got enough toilet roll and pizza.

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Tips For Travelling By Car Safely This Summer

Now that the half term holiday is approaching and many of us are about to hit the UK roads and motorways, it's worth thinking about how we can keep ourselves, and our children, safe whilst we drive.

We all know that our cars must have a current MOT and be adequately insured.  Even though we no longer need to display a tax disc, the Police are able to track untaxed vehicles on the road.

Fuel, oil and water levels need to be topped up before we set off and our tyres checked and inflated to the correct pressure.

It's best to top your fuel up before you hit the motorway to avoid any price hikes on fuel which frequently seem to hit the unorganised driver.

And it is a good idea to carry a well stocked first aid kit in the boot, as well as some bottled water and some (non-meltable) snacks.

Is your breakdown cover up to date and do you have the relevant contact numbers already entered in your phone in case you get stranded on the M25?

Travelling with little ones means we need to make sure we are up to speed with the rules and regulations about child car seats and ensure everyone is wearing their seat-belt.

If your kids suffer from car sickness, it's also worth taking a bowl, cloths and some soapy water, plus a change (or two!) of clothes for them.  You can bet that the day you don't have these things is the day you'll need them.

Before you go, check your SatNav is in good working order and is charged.  We recently found that ours wouldn't charge in-car and the dulcet tones of Stephen Fry cut out at a critical moment going round a roundabout.  Taking a good old-fashioned OS Map is a good back-up.

Make sure that you drive within the National Speed Limit for the road you are on - not only with this keep your licence point free but it will help you keep your petrol consumption down.

And, if you have had a lot to drink the night before, remember that you may still be over the limit the next morning.  Some prescription medications may also leave you drowsy and nowhere near as alert as you need to be.

Tiredness kills so make sure that you have regular, scheduled breaks, particularly when travelling with little ones, for toilet breaks, food and, in my case, coffee!  You might want to pack sandwiches though because the cost of feeding a family at the UK motorway service stations is often high.

It's also useful to carry a picnic rug or blanket to sit on, or for the kids to snooze under.

You'll want to take a selection of CDs for the kids.  Some kids are able to play on iPads and read in the back of the car but we've found this increases the risk of travel sickness.  Luckily we've finally outgrown the CBeebies classics so we don't sail down to Devon to the dulcet tones of Mr Tumble any more.

If you find driving a bit of a nerve-wracking experience, insurer LV recently published an excellent guide entitled "12 Road Safety Tips To Help You Feel more confident On The Road" which will help you to avoid looking like Matt LeBlanc driving round the Cenotaph.

For example, Chris Gilbert, a former Metropolitan Police driving inspector who taught Princes William and Harry to drive advises us to "drive more consciously" so that we anticipate situations rather than react.

I don't know about you but it can be tricky to drive consciously when you have two kids arguing in the back, the SatNav cuts out and the Husband is trying to give you conflicting directions.

But we should be as alert as we can to what is going on around us, rather than faffing about changing radio stations or trying to unearth the last Werther's Original from the glove compartment because Ieuan hates mints.

Another excellent piece of advice is to make sure there is an adequate gap between you and the car in front.

The advice is that you should keep at least a two-second gap between yourself and the car in front. You can count it from a road sign as the car ahead passes it.

Tailgating is probably one of the biggest annoyances experienced by drivers and I have found that women driving their kids seem to attract more than their fair share of tailgaters for some reason.

Other regularly mentioned annoyances from other motorists include:-

- leaving rear fog lights on when there's no fog and it's just raining

- those who drive everywhere with their lights on full beam and dazzle approaching drivers at night

- or drivers who don't put them on when it's dark and tipping down with rain

- drivers who abruptly change lanes at the last possible moment at motorway exits - sometimes leaving it too late and crossing the hatched area

- drivers who drive while using a hand-held mobile phone - incredibly this is still a frequent sight, as is drivers trying to text with one hand on the wheel.

What tips would you add to my list?  And what really irks you when you're on the road?

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Review: It's Time To Make A Stand4socks - Socks That Make A Difference

Father's Day is approaching (Sunday 19 June) and one of the most popular presents to give your dad is some new socks.

Like my socks?

Now socks are a bit of a battleground in this house, not least because the Husband and I have very similar sized feet and this makes his sock drawer fair game.  Men's socks are so much more comfy I find.

All the Husband's socks are black with varying patterns.  (He's a man of habit).  He claims, outrageously, that I deliberately mismatch his socks as an act of marital defiance.

The thing is, matching 20 pairs of black socks in a dimly lit room wearing the wrong glasses is likely to create the odd, um,interesting pairing.

Dressing in the morning in the various London hotels he hides in all week means playing what he terms as "sock roulette".

Anyway,  I recently discovered a brand of socks which should solve my sock myopia nicely - and a brand, moreover, that has charity at its heart.

Stand4socks sells unique socks designed by entrepreneur Josh Turner.  Each pair is ethically made and creates a connection between two people in the world, as each sale has a 'buy one, give one' impact.

This means that when you buy a pair of socks, instead of giving a pair of socks or a percentage of the purchase to charity, the company gives a measurable, tangible aid in the form of education, food or medicine.

Not only this, but the company also raises funds and gives away nearly 20% of its revenue, not profit, to the charities they support.

Stand4socks is committed to tackling social causes and supports the United Nations Millennium Development Goals

Each sock design supports and raises awareness of a different cause such as Gender Equality, Measles Vaccinations, Clearing Landmines or the Syrian Refugee Crisis.

The socks have the cause's logo on the ankles and are ethically made in two sizes UK 4-8 and UK 9-12.  They have a high quality finish with a reinforced heel and toe and are made of 80% cotton, 18% polyamide and 2% elastane.

Here are some examples of what buying a pair of Stand4socks can do.

1 pair of Stand4socks can

- plant 20 trees
- vaccinate 6 kids against measles in Bangladesh
- provide 25 days education in Afghanistan
- provide 2 antenatal check ups in Uganda
- clear 2 metres of landmines in Laos
- provide entrepreneurship education in South America
- pay for a child's healthcare in Uganda
- provide 2 weeks education to a Syrian refugee
- provide 24 hours in a safe house for a woman and her family in Ethiopia

The socks are priced differently according to the cause they are linked to.

I was sent a pair of socks designed to raise awareness of Child Health Issues which are priced at £6.99.

Time To Stand4socks

This design helps support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 3, "Good Health" through one pair of socks paying for a child's healthcare in a Ugandan unique children's hospital Stand4socks supports.

More than half of the Ugandan population is under the age of 15, and dying children are turned away for parents without any money. This is why the brand supports (Stand4) Whisper’s Magical Children’s Hospital in Jinja, Uganda.

Isn't that a wonderful idea?

Does it make a tangible difference?  Well, in December 2015 as an example, Stand4socks planted 2500 trees, vaccinated 228 children and provided 252 days of education of Syrian refugees.

This is what Stand4socks helped to do in December 2015

This Fathers' Day, if you're buying dad socks why not buy him some which do good as well as keep his feet warm.

And they're so brightly coloured I don't think there's any danger of the Husband having to play sock roulette.

I may even actually buy a few pairs of my own.

You can find more information and select your socks at www.Stand4socks.com.

*I was sent a pair of Stand4socks to review - and they're staying in my sock drawer.

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New Releases, Free & Bargain Books Link-up 13 May 2016

It's Friday 13th and if, like me, you're a bit superstitious, the safest thing to do is to stay in tonight and curl up with a good book!  You'll find plenty to choose from on this week's linky.

If you're working hard to tone up with your beach holiday, check out my latest review of Lisa Consiglio Ryan's great guide to all year round detoxing - "Go Clean, Sexy You".  You might have to hide the biscuits though.

Here's the fab books on offer this week.

Sharing the Love of Books
Enjoy our selection of New Releases / Free & Bargain Books this week

Click HERE for this week's awesome selection.

Authors please feel free to add your own books
Readers please free to add your own finds
(any genre except erotica welcome)

This weekly link up is hosted by Beck Valley Books & these awesome book loving blogs...
Monday
 Life as Leels | IrishdaisylovesRomance | Book Babble | All Romance Reader
Tuesday
It's My Side of Life | Celticlady's Reviews | First Time Mommy Adventures | Bound 2 Escape
Wednesday
Beck Valley Books | A Library of Reviews | Cinnamon Hollow Reviews
Thursday
Miki's Hope | Taking Time for Mommy | Nicki's Nook
Friday
Ebook Addicts | I Love Romance | A Bit Bookish | Mother Distracted | Colorimetry
Saturday
Totally Addicted to Reading | 3 Partners in Shopping | Angie's Angle | I Creat Purty Thangs | Wishful Endings
Sunday
Lynchburg Mama | LibriAmoriMiei | Ali - The Dragon Slayer | Wondermom Wannabe | My Bizzy World |  Deal Sharing Aunt 

For Pre-orders post - PRE-ORDER / genre / title /author

For New Releases post - NEW / genre / title / author

For Free Books post - FREE / genre / title / author / end date 

For Bargain Books post - SALE / price / genre / title / author / end date
(Strictly no Erotica please.  Steamy romance is fine but watch those covers people, incase any underage child is viewing it!)

Click HERE for this week's awesome selection.

And don't forget you can always add some of your own!

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Plant Based Sensitive Skin Treatments From BodyVerde & Giveaway

Back in 2008, Sue Donnellan's husband, a jet pilot in the military, complained that where water was in short supply, shaving was not easy, quick and painless.

As a result, a product called Speed Shave was formulated and extensively tested to offer a ground-breaking waterless shave and BodyVerde was formed.

Over the last 10 years, BodyVerde, an American natural skincare company has offered a range of products based on naturally derived botanicals and renewable resources.  The products are designed to care for your skin without causing harm to the environment and there are no parabens, propylene glycol, mineral oil, petroleum, artificial colours or any of the other common chemical nasties.

The brand has now launched the range in the UK with 5 of the bestsellers initially.

Speed Shave (£13.30, 236ml) – a revolutionary new series of unisex waterless shaving products that protect and hydrate the skin while you shave without the need to lather or rinse.

Speed Shave To Go (£12) – A portable razor with Speed Shave lotion in the handle so you can shave without water absolutely anywhere.

Spot On (£14.95, 15ml) – Everyone suffers from the occasional breakout. Spot On uses nutrient-rich kaolin clay to blitz those spots while you sleep.

Pore Tight (£16.50, 15ml) – This lightweight serum rich in vitamin E, berry fruit and marine plant extracts, makes a fabulous primer, all the while working to make your pores less visible.

Miracle Skin Renew (£14.95, 15ml) – The ultimate multi-tasker! Made from 16 of nature's most skin-friendly and healing plant oils, Miracle Skin Renew Serum is nature’s ‘Medicine Chest in a Bottle’ designed to repair any damage from cuts and grazes to sunburn and stretch marks.

I was sent a bottle of Miracle Skin Renew to try and it is proving very useful indeed.  I've tried it on flaky patches of skin on my face, dry skin on the backs of my hands and on other assorted nicks and scratches I seem to acquire whenever I am let loose in the kitchen.

It's a light, easily absorbed oil and you only need a few drops.  It does have a light fragrance but it is a natural, pleasant smell.

It's made from a blend of 16 essential plant oils - Sea Buckthorn, Soybean, Sesame, Jojoba, Coconut, Grape Seed, Meadowfoam, Borage, Rosehip, Casot Bean, Andiroba, Shea, Avocado, Squalane, Wheat Germ and Hempseed.

Because there are no additives it is safe to use on the kids.  You can use it on burns, sunburns, wrinkles and even chapped lips. You only need a couple of drops so the bottle will last a long time.

It's easy to carry in your make-up bag and to take on holiday with you.

Giveaway

I have one BodyVerde Miracle Skin Renew (£14.95) and one Speed Shave Lotion (£13.50) to give away to one lucky winner.

Entry is via the Rafflecopter widget below.  UK entrants only and the usual terms and conditions apply.  The giveaway ends at 11:59 pm on Friday 10th June 2016.

For more information on BodyVerde, please visit www.body-verde.com Available from independent health stores, Amazon and www.body-verde.com

Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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