I was just recently diagnosed on the 21st of May. My problem is the snacking in between. Along with my type 1 diabetes I also have Grave’s Disease, which causes me to be hungry almost every two hours. Is there a trick to this?
I also have Graves and T1D and understand the struggle with snacking. My insatiable hunger has subsided now that I’ve been taking methimazole (anti-thyroid drug) for a year but I still snack and sometimes overeat at meal time. I’ve found the following tricks to be helpful:
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eat low carb snacks like cheese, nuts (careful on those, some have a lot of carbs and it’s hard to eat just 10 or so almonds, for example), raw veggies (that aren’t starchy), paleo bread isn’t too bad and it’s low carb and grain free - the flower they make the bread out of is made with cocunut and almond flour. You can find it in the freezer section in many health food stores like Whole Foods. Cured meats and smoked fish are great snacks too. Things like salami, proschuitto, beef jerkey, smoked salmon can all be eaten by themselves or with some cheese or on top of salad (instead of bread or crackers).
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have a warm beverage - most teas and coffee don’t raise blood sugar and neither does heavy whipping cream or half & half. Since you have graves you have to be careful with caffeine, so I recommend decaf or herbal teas. the warmth will be calming which is great for the graves. sparkling water (although not warm) is good because of it’s fizziness which acts as a mild stimulant to your senses which surpresses my food urges somewhat (they have flavored sparkling water now which is what I prefer).
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go for a walk or exercise - this helps a lot especially when you have had a snack and now need to remove yourself from the area where you could eat more, great time for that yoga class!
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Since hyperthyroid causes you to feel stressed and nervous, I like to take a lot of hot baths. Hot baths with epsom salt or a few delicious drops of essential oil will be calming while fulfilling the need for your senses to be awakened.
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accupuncuture - I’ve been trying this out for a few weeks now and feel it does help somewhat but I don’t think I have been doing it consistently or for long enough to be sure of it’s true affect.
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having a routine - I have been practicing planning out my meals and snacks ahead of time and setting a time in which I have the food. Ideally you eat every 4 hours which is the alloted time for your food to completely digest and be able to begin digesting the new ingested food. So if you eat at 8AM your next meal would be at 12PM, then 4PM, then 8PM etc… Sometimes I cheat and have a snack in between and that hasn’t affected my blood sugar too badly (I haven’t exceeded 180 since I was diagnosed with T1D back in April).
I’m new to all this too so I’m still trying things out myself. I know some of it’s common sense but I thought I’d put it in there just in case…
Hope it helps and good luck with your journey! I know how you feel, hang in there!
Take care,
Sara
p.s. sorry about the spelling - my spell check isn’t working on this blog.
Those are fantastic tips! I highly appreciate it.
I no longer take methimazole. I had my thyroid completely removed (on the 27th) due to my symptoms worsening in such a short time. My Grave’s Disease caused me to lose over 160lbs, and most of my hair. I am now on a thyroid hormone called levothyroxine. I’m just still in that phase where my body is hungry every hour/hour and a half. Before having my thyroid removed I’d eat every hour or so.
I’ve been snacking on things like crackers and cheese, fruits low in cars, meats and the occasional cheeses.
Sipping on broth has also worked well for me. I know it’s not the healthiest thing in the world, but I love tossing a low-sodium boullion cube into a mug of hot water. I keep boullion cubes at work and do this at least once a day.
Good luck with your recovery! I’m glad you find the tips helpful.
My husband makes a lot of stock so I may use your broth tip, Maria. The protein probably keeps you full for a long time.
@mizzemma i feel u like no other i dont have grave’s diease but i loooovveee food. O cant stop eating. I have crackers and cheese and meat and it keeps my bg in range most of the time. I still dose for it nut i take half a unit off it so i dont end up going low. U all habe a great day
Erin<3