Beverly, here's what I posted earlier. The words in parenthesis I just added. I was always aware that yogourt was supposed to be good for you, as I referenced the really old people in the Balkans or Siberia, and the digestive benefits in the thread. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> I have never been a big fan of yogourt, and I saw other people loading up on yogourt and have always thought I was missing something good. I have had various types previously from time to time, but the taste never appealed to me. Out of impulse (and reading the packaging which suggested what I thought was good stuff), I bought Yoplait Source, but did not expect much. I figured this was my once every 5 years experiment with yogourt and would not even finish the package. It comes in a four pack, blueberry and peach at bottom. Well, it was really good. I have never been on a diet, so I really don't know what all this means, or if it's all good, but here's the nutritional info: Energy: 73 cal Protein: 4.1 g Fat: 0.1% Carb: 13.9 g Sucralose: 17.1 mg Calcium: 13% Vitamin A 6% Vitamin D 17% Splenda not Aspartame Too much calories? carbs? anything else? The package says it's endorsed by The Diabetic Association. The one thing I do kind of watch for in my foods is fat, and particularly the saturated fats, and the 0.1% seems to be pretty good. I'm wondering if plain non-fat yogourt (which I can't stand)is totally non-fat, ie. 0%. All I know is, this is better tasting than any yogourt I had before. It fills the bill for a quick snack and I now have one a day. I'm lactose intolerant, but yogourt never adversely affected me the few times I had it, or at least not to the degree to cause distress. I will also add that the portions are a nice size to make for a light, but satisfying snack in the afternoon or evening. The fruit part is nice too.

all this thyroid talk is interesting. I just turned 53, but over the last 5 years, I've had progressively worse fatigue, joint aches and pains, dry skin, etc. My body temp has been between 97-97.3 for several years. Also, I started getting 'suspicious' mammograms (have always had fibrocystic disease) and have had several surgical biopsies that were benign. Two years ago I had to go to the emergency room for my heart murmur (born with it) as it got suddenly worse and they decided it's mitral valve prolapse with regurgitation. I take atenolol for it and have to take 2,000mg of amoxicillin just to get my teeth cleaned. My DH encouraged me to take early retirement last July to focus on my health. I had gone part-time the year before, but was still having health problems, so retirement seemed like the thing. Once retired, I started working in my garden on a daily basis. I was doing HEAVY work -- shoveling 28 yards of garden soil, equal amounts of mulch, digging holes, creating a dry stream bed from rock, building a flagstone patio. I did this for 3 months, mostly in 90+ degree weather. I didn't lose a half a pound! I didn't gain, either -- but, with all that exercise, it didn't seem right to me. With yet another mammo problem before Christmas (a complex cyst to follow-up in 6 months) I decided to do more research. I started searching the web for combinations of symptoms and hypothyroidism kept coming up. But, something else made a bell go off. Iodine deficiency! I am allergic to seafood and I don't use iodized salt. The body doesn't create iodine. I started researching iodine and kept finding a relationship between the thyroid and fibrocystic disease. So, I've gone many, many years without a source of iodine! On January 1st, I started taking a kelp (seaweed) supplement to get iodine. Immediately, my sinusitis went away (along with the dry nose/blood thing). My skin stopped itching (no more prescription hydorcortisone). My tinnitus (ringing in my ears) is almost gone. My cuticles look healthy instead of brittle. My energy is back! I no longer have to take a nap at 2:00! I haven't had a headache since I started the kelp. I was having headaches several times a week before the kelp. My temp is still only in the 97 range and I still haven't lost any weight. Everyone has to be careful with any supplement and not assume it's okay to just take anything. Since I am positive that I don't get iodine, I felt safe to take the kelp. Thought I would share.

Another great informative post, Dr. Meghane! :-) I'd sure hope there a C+S done for the urine but as I'm sure you've experienced too ... often the client declines it and you're forced to do one of those ~best guess~ treatment options. Unfortunately people often can't spend the $$ for one culture and forget multiple cultures so one can only try to do their best within the constraints the client allows us. It's *REALLY* frustrating when there's a stone culture and the lab can't identify a specific nidus or worse ... no bacteria! We had one lady who's cat was developing bladder stones because she was a vegetarian and forced her cat into a vegeterian diet. After the second surgery she was annoyed with US because her cat kept developing stones. She wasn't listening to our diet recommendations so referred her to OSU for a nutrition consult. She didn't listen to them either. :-( *~*~*~*~*~* Hi Elly. Sorry you lost your kitties. :*( Pee issues can be so very frustrating for everyone. When I was an animal tech. a thousand years ago one of my cats had FUS, was obstructed BIG TIME, and had the PU surgery. He still had crystals and blood in his urine. We did repeated cultures, dye studies of the urinary tract ... no improvement. Finally we went to Ohio State Univ. and met with Dr. Chew, the kitty pee problem guru. He too did all we had done and concluded there was NO reason why my cat should have crystals and blood in the urine. All these years later I remember his asking me, "Do you want to try some voodoo medicine? ... Give your cat Vit. C daily ..." (For the reasons I mentioned earlier) "... and he'll be fine." What did we have to lose? Woody got Vit. C , 100mg. tablet once a day for 17 years! If we miss one dose, he'd have blood in the urine for 3 consecutive days. Of course, bear in mind, every kitty is different but that's what worked for my kitty early on and I have no problem recommending it for my patients either, unless there's other medical issues to consider. As Dr. Meghane stated, the struvite crystals can be normal for dogs but, especially in male kitties, they can be a real risk for problems. I tend to think that very early castration of the male cats could predispose them to obstruction because the urethra doesn't have a chance to develop more fully. That's just my own personal theory from observation of the male patients who are obstructed. As with anything, PLEASE consult YOUR veterinarian BEFORE changing anything for your kitty! Don't take the word of a faceless, nameless me when it comes to your pets health! Your vet. and you know your kitty better than anyone and you need to make sure any changes are safe for them. :-)

@taconichills.... I have not been shy about speaking up. I fully relate and have dealt with problems which necessitated jackhammering concrete, redoing tile, ripping up crooked sub-flooring etc. My list could go on. And I certainly don’t think it’s wrong to insist on the proper installation of things and a quality build. I’m just tired. For the record, some of the subs may be sloppy, unskilled and not exactly sticklers for quality, but most of them have worked extremely hard and some have worked well into the night in almost complete darkness. Laziness has, for the most part not been one of the problems I’ve dealt with. Lackadaisical attitude towards quality - yes. Laziness - no. I’m not a drinker, but I might just start :)