Beginning My Journey

My adventure with Hashimoto's began almost a year ago when I was finally, successfully diagnosed by Dr. Sadeghi at Behive of Healing.  After years of communicating symptoms with several different doctors, I finally found one who truly listened and went beyond the standard blood tests (see previous post on Why I Started This Blog.)  He actually did a full thyroid panel and tested my TSH and TPO antibody levels. Finally, I had a diagnosis and the healing could begin!

One of the first suggestions that Dr. Sadeghi made was to read, The Autoimmune Epidemic so that I could understand the disease. Honestly, I found the book frightening  and stressful to read but it did outline all the different forces that come together to create Hashimoto's in the body.  For that reason, it is a valuable resource I can recommend.

What I learned from the book was that there are many forms of toxicity that create an autoimmune response.  A lot of this toxicity comes from the environment.  One thing the book suggests we check are our heavy metal levels.  I had mine checked and my levels for mercury and lead were off the charts.  So, the first part of my healing plan was to address the heavy metal toxicity.

Have you had your heavy metal levels checked?  What types of treatments were presented to you to get rid of the toxins?

Going Gluten Free

When I first started having the digestive attacks, I wasn't quite sure what to do.  After each attack, I wouldn't be able to eat anything for days without it causing considerable discomfort. I began visiting doctors in the hope that someone could give me some helpful advice and relieve the pain. I still hadn't been diagnosed with Hashimoto's yet. After visiting many traditional MDs, I decided to look into some holistic, East/West and integrative medical clinics.  I happened upon a lovely clinic called the Akasha Center for Integrative Medicine.  I had never quite been to a doctor's office quite like it!

When you walk up to the place, you can hear a little fountain in the midst and lush greenery surrounds you. The waiting room at Akasha was so peaceful and inviting. It certainly doesn't have the frenzied pace and sterile ambiance of a traditional doctor's office.  You're greeted warmly and offered tea.  They make honoring your time a commitment and are not behind schedule for your appointment.  They also meet with you for a 1/2 hour or an hour so you can really discuss all your symptoms and questions with the doctor.  It was considerably pricier than going to the standard doc but I was sold!  For the first time in a long time, I was being heard.  The doctor took some blood (unfortunately, they didn't pick up on the thyroid issue) but she immediately put me on a temporary gluten free diet to see if that would relieve some symptoms and it did.  I still go to Akasha for my annual women's wellness consult.

Anyway, I noticed an immediate change in my digestive symptoms once I went off the gluten.  I would learn later that most people living with Hashimoto's have some sort of gluten sensitivity (more on that in another post!

I'm wondering, how many of you have gone gluten-free?  What has your experience been? 
What is your favorite gluten-free treat to eat?

Why I Started This Blog

A few years ago, I began having what seem to be an all-systems breakdown of my body.  My body temperature seemed all over the place.  I was having allergic reactions to all sorts of food.  I was sleeping too much and then too little; always exhausted.  My hair was falling out.  My skin was really dry.  The list went on and on.  I began describing the litany of symptoms to my doctors.  As I was going through a particularly stressful time in my life, each doctor said these symptoms were due to stress or being a new mother.   After insisting something wasn't right, the doctors ran some standard blood tests.  NORMAL.  Then, I wound up in the hospital after a 24 hour digestive attack, not once but twice! More blood tests ensued.  Nothing, blood work was NORMAL.  Ultrasounds were performed.  NORMAL.  But I didn't feel normal and I'm not one for spending my days in doctors' offices and hospitals.  I didn't even birth my child in a hospital.  I had a natural home birth and now I'm begging my husband to call an ambulance during each of these digestive attacks.  I was scared.  I didn't know what to do.  I hoped that this all was due to stress knowing that this stressful period in our lives was about to end.  So I waited and worked on managing stress.  Nothing.  No change. I still felt terrible.  "Oh well," I thought.  This must be what motherhood feels like.

Then a miracle happened.  We were visiting a new integrative doctor for my son and he took one look at me and said, "What's going on with you?" I had never met him before but he saw right away my suffering. I broke down in tears and described my symptoms to him and he said," I know what this is but let's give you a blood test to prove it".  Sure enough, he knew what it was.  I had Hashimoto's Thyroiditis.  What a relief - we finally knew what was going on and it had a name!  Now, what were we going to do about it?

I learned very quickly that the standard medical community believes there is no cure for Hashimoto's.  The belief is that one will be on medication for life or have to have the thyroid removed.  This is the reason most doctors don't perform the full thyroid panel in the blood test.  Regardless of the outcome, the treatment method is the same.  Life-long medication.

Luckily, my new doctor, Dr. Sadeghi, had a different take.  There was hope.  My body could heal itself and he would help guide me on this path. I wasn't alone.  I wasn't crazy. I WAS going to get better.

This blog is about my journey to healing myself of Hashimoto's in a gentle, natural way.  It is a forum for the exchange of helpful ideas for those dealing with Hashimoto's.  It is not only my story.  I want to hear from you and what you've had success with and what your challenges have been.

We are not alone.  We are not crazy.  And, we now have a support group for additional methods of healing ourselves from Hashimoto's.  Thank you for being a part of my healing!