It has been over a year since I wrote about being stuck. I'd like to say that it's because I've figured everything out, am at my goal weight & feeling healthier than ever, but that'd be a lie. The truth is that this past year brought many changes to my life & I have found myself struggling to just keep moving. It seems that around every corner there is a new challenge that I must figure out. Luckily for me, while life may throw some curveballs, I do realize how lucky I am to be surrounded by love. While love can't solve problems, it sure makes waking up each day easier.❤️
The biggest problem for me is my overall health & weight. I know that my health issues exacerbate every other issue that my body has. My weight gain increases my chronic pain in my back, neck & shoulder. It causes anxiety & depression, which makes me want to stay in bed. Staying in bed increases my chronic pain, because I'm not providing blood flow to my injured body parts. It is a vicious cycle, which often leaves me anxious & irritable.
It's not as if I've been eating horrible all year or not drinking my Shakeology. The fact is that every clean eating, calorie counting diet that I've been on hasn't brought me any noticeable results. In fact, I've gained weight while being super vigilant with my diet and exercise plan. I've tried 21 Day Fix, Cize, Combat, PiYo, yoga, walking/hiking etc. I know the programs work, because I've seen so many people be successful. It's just for me personally, they haven't. It is beyond frustrating.
I've struggled with Hashimoto's Thyroiditis for over twelve years. In the beginning, my symptoms were pretty mild & the medicine seemed to help a bit. I had accepted that this was my life now & that I'd have to get over feeling sorry for myself & keep going. Nearly nine years ago I accepted a job, which I loved, but that was very stressful both emotionally & physically. I noticed after the first year that I'd gained about ten pounds and I was exhausted all of the time. I chalked it up to my thyroid & found ways to deal with it. As I didn't believe that there were any options for me. I'd get my blood work checked regularly just to make sure my thyroid medicine was working, but that was it.
In February 2012 I was attacked by one of my students. The attack required two shoulder surgeries, months & monthS of physical therapy & injections in my back to try & relieve the chronic pain. During all of this, I, admittedly, became bitter and angry. Mainly because, I'd requested that the student be removed from my program a few months before
the attack, due to escalating violent incidents & aggression towards others. It was a tough pill to swallow. I was stuck at home, in excruciating pain & everyone else, including the student, just happily moved on with their lives.
During that period of time I became very aware of my body and emotions. I noticed that without the intense stress from my job, that other areas of my life got easier, even though I was suffering constant, physical pain. I think it was the first time in my life that I noticed the role stress played on my body. It left me wondering if it'd been my thyroid disease that had been making me feel sluggish, or if it had been my stressful job. I'll never know for sure, but I know stress is not helpful.
The stress from my job was quickly replaced by stress over my future, stress over my pain & stress over our finances (virtually overnight I was reduced to 2/3 pay & then the pay ended altogether). I was never cleared to go back to my job in that classroom (due to the risks involved) & there's a part of me that wasn't sure I'd want to. The chronic pain makes life, at times, difficult. The chronic pain combined with an autoimmune disease, that's been raging out of control since my first shoulder cortisone injection, makes life impossible much of the time. I've tried discussing my autoimmune symptoms with several doctors. Each of them write me new prescriptions share their personal diet recommendations & ultimately tell me there's nothing more they, nor I, can do.
I've been in chronic pain for five years. During that period I've had huge hormonal flares which have caused boils on my back that were so severe & painful, I had to go to a dermatologist, who, ironically, wrote me a referral to another endocrinologist. At one point, I was taking over ten prescriptions for my thyroid, hormones & chronic pain. It was no way to live a life. It has become so overwhelming that I avoid going to the dr, because I feel like they don't hear or believe me. I've taken myself off of most of the medicine, except my thyroid meds, one hormone regulating pill (for fear of bacne🙅🏻) &, for now, a prescription that helps with nerve pain. I'd like to be prescription drug free, but I'm not sure that'll ever be completely possible.
I've been researching homeopathic remedies for both chronic pain & Hashimoto's. My research led me to a docu-series on Hashimoto's entitled The Thyroid Secret. I watched the nine episodes, taking notes the entire time, & for the first time in years, I saw the possibility that I could get my health & life back from the clutches of chronic disease. Watching the series was enlightening in so many ways. It was almost too
good to be true. I mean, if the answer to Hashimoto's is really that straightforward, why aren't all endocrinologist aware of it? Does the medical field, as a whole, avoid treatments that don't involve expensive tests & prescription drugs? It makes me wonder. While, I'm in no way stating that I'm turning my back on traditional medicine, I am stating that I will never again just accept a diagnosis or prescription without fully
understanding the risks & benefits, & making sure there's not a less invasive treatment plan. Like, nutritional supplements & diet.
I'm new to this journey, although I feel like I've been doing this for years & years. The reality is, that I've just been following the most popular diet & lifestyle plans. The plans
that allow me to still have the freedom to have cheat days, etc. What if that isn't something my body can handle? What if the food that I've thought is nourishing my body each day, is actually poisoning it & causing me to suffer from reactions that I didn't even recognize?
One of the first things they discuss in the Thyroid Secret is diet & the foods that a person with Hashimoto's should avoid,
some, like eggs, for ninety days, while others, like gluten, for life. The plan is called the Autoimmune Protocol. The list of restricted foods is long, especially for the first 90 days. It restricts gluten, dairy, eggs, seeds, alcohol, coffee, nightshade vegetables (tomatoes), peppers, seeds & nuts. The diet is made up of organic grass fed meat, fruits & vegetables & some approved healthy fats. Would it be worth it? Could I even do it? These are all things that were rushing through my mind, as it occurred to me that I've spent over a decade suffering with symptoms of Hashimoto's. Five of which have been absolutely unbearable, most of the time. Why couldn't I just give this plan a try & see how my body responded. There's no harm that could come from it. Right? Still hesitant, I told myself that I'd just do thirty days & see if it was worth giving up so many food items, before I'd agree to ninety days. I mean, no chili powder or tortillas, what would
Taco Tuesday become? My health, obviously, should come before tacos.😉
Today, I'm proud to write that I'm beginning week three of a diet that two weeks ago I wasn't sure I could even do for a week. At day seven I was unsure if I noticed any difference. By day ten, I noticed I had more energy during the day & that I was waking up early in the morning, on my own, with no desire to curl up & go back to sleep (that's huge for me). On day twelve I noticed that an orange I'd eaten as a snack had made me stomach very uncomfortable. Which made me think, what if there's more foods, which I typically eat, that cause my body to have an adverse reaction!? The next morning I read an article about adverse food reactions in people who can't handle foods with high levels of histamine, like the orange. I decided that I'd add foods with high histamine levels to my restricted food's list. But, before I'd do that completely I wanted to eat the coconut yogurt in my fridge, so that I didn't waste it. Yogurt is a high histamine containing food. Within thirty minutes I noticed that my mouth had sores on the roof. Within an hour I noticed that I had a headache & I felt lightheaded. I don't know if my reaction was to the histamine in the yogurt or an ingredient in the yogurt,
but I can tell you, it's clear that I need to pay attention to how foods make me feel.
As I begin week three I'm completely committed to the Autoimmune Protocol & avoiding foods with high levels of histamine. I feel better, & dare I say lighter (I'm not emotionally ready to see numbers on a scale. 😬), than I have in a long time. I feel like for the first time in over a decade I'm on the path to heal my body & take control of my health. I'm excited to be on this journey & I no longer have any doubts about whether or not I can follow this diet. I also can happily report that I have no cravings...which, for me, is
nothing short of a miracle.
The Autoimmune Protocol is not something that can be done 80/20, like so many other diet plans, because it's about completely healing your body & recognizing which foods cause you to have a reaction. Trust me, I thought I'd be able to say, at the end of this, that my body doesn't react to the restricted foods, but fourteen days in, I know that's simply not true. There are people who are able to heal and regulate their bodies so that foods that their bodies may have reacted to during the elimination phase, no longer cause a reaction. There's just no way to predict that. For now, I'm focused on nourishing my body with high quality foods (organic, grass fed, non-GMO) that are approved during the elimination phase & low in histamine, so that I can truly begin to heal myself from the inside out.
In the coming days & weeks I'll be posting about how to get started on the Autoimmune Protocol, recipes that I started with, & my weekly meal plans. Later on, I'll be posting as I add supplements into my diet & eliminate other items which may be allowing toxins into my body, such as hair care products, deodorant, personal hygiene products, makeup, laundry detergent & other household cleaners. The list is daunting, but I'm focusing on one area at a time, to avoid becoming overwhelmed. For now, my diet is my core focus.
Have you ever suspected, or been told, that you have thyroid issues? What, if anything, are you willing to do to attempt to heal yourself? Feel free to comment below or contact me if you'd like to know more.
The biggest problem for me is my overall health & weight. I know that my health issues exacerbate every other issue that my body has. My weight gain increases my chronic pain in my back, neck & shoulder. It causes anxiety & depression, which makes me want to stay in bed. Staying in bed increases my chronic pain, because I'm not providing blood flow to my injured body parts. It is a vicious cycle, which often leaves me anxious & irritable.
It's not as if I've been eating horrible all year or not drinking my Shakeology. The fact is that every clean eating, calorie counting diet that I've been on hasn't brought me any noticeable results. In fact, I've gained weight while being super vigilant with my diet and exercise plan. I've tried 21 Day Fix, Cize, Combat, PiYo, yoga, walking/hiking etc. I know the programs work, because I've seen so many people be successful. It's just for me personally, they haven't. It is beyond frustrating.
I've struggled with Hashimoto's Thyroiditis for over twelve years. In the beginning, my symptoms were pretty mild & the medicine seemed to help a bit. I had accepted that this was my life now & that I'd have to get over feeling sorry for myself & keep going. Nearly nine years ago I accepted a job, which I loved, but that was very stressful both emotionally & physically. I noticed after the first year that I'd gained about ten pounds and I was exhausted all of the time. I chalked it up to my thyroid & found ways to deal with it. As I didn't believe that there were any options for me. I'd get my blood work checked regularly just to make sure my thyroid medicine was working, but that was it.
In February 2012 I was attacked by one of my students. The attack required two shoulder surgeries, months & monthS of physical therapy & injections in my back to try & relieve the chronic pain. During all of this, I, admittedly, became bitter and angry. Mainly because, I'd requested that the student be removed from my program a few months before
the attack, due to escalating violent incidents & aggression towards others. It was a tough pill to swallow. I was stuck at home, in excruciating pain & everyone else, including the student, just happily moved on with their lives.
During that period of time I became very aware of my body and emotions. I noticed that without the intense stress from my job, that other areas of my life got easier, even though I was suffering constant, physical pain. I think it was the first time in my life that I noticed the role stress played on my body. It left me wondering if it'd been my thyroid disease that had been making me feel sluggish, or if it had been my stressful job. I'll never know for sure, but I know stress is not helpful.
The stress from my job was quickly replaced by stress over my future, stress over my pain & stress over our finances (virtually overnight I was reduced to 2/3 pay & then the pay ended altogether). I was never cleared to go back to my job in that classroom (due to the risks involved) & there's a part of me that wasn't sure I'd want to. The chronic pain makes life, at times, difficult. The chronic pain combined with an autoimmune disease, that's been raging out of control since my first shoulder cortisone injection, makes life impossible much of the time. I've tried discussing my autoimmune symptoms with several doctors. Each of them write me new prescriptions share their personal diet recommendations & ultimately tell me there's nothing more they, nor I, can do.
I've been in chronic pain for five years. During that period I've had huge hormonal flares which have caused boils on my back that were so severe & painful, I had to go to a dermatologist, who, ironically, wrote me a referral to another endocrinologist. At one point, I was taking over ten prescriptions for my thyroid, hormones & chronic pain. It was no way to live a life. It has become so overwhelming that I avoid going to the dr, because I feel like they don't hear or believe me. I've taken myself off of most of the medicine, except my thyroid meds, one hormone regulating pill (for fear of bacne🙅🏻) &, for now, a prescription that helps with nerve pain. I'd like to be prescription drug free, but I'm not sure that'll ever be completely possible.
I've been researching homeopathic remedies for both chronic pain & Hashimoto's. My research led me to a docu-series on Hashimoto's entitled The Thyroid Secret. I watched the nine episodes, taking notes the entire time, & for the first time in years, I saw the possibility that I could get my health & life back from the clutches of chronic disease. Watching the series was enlightening in so many ways. It was almost too
good to be true. I mean, if the answer to Hashimoto's is really that straightforward, why aren't all endocrinologist aware of it? Does the medical field, as a whole, avoid treatments that don't involve expensive tests & prescription drugs? It makes me wonder. While, I'm in no way stating that I'm turning my back on traditional medicine, I am stating that I will never again just accept a diagnosis or prescription without fully
understanding the risks & benefits, & making sure there's not a less invasive treatment plan. Like, nutritional supplements & diet.
I'm new to this journey, although I feel like I've been doing this for years & years. The reality is, that I've just been following the most popular diet & lifestyle plans. The plans
that allow me to still have the freedom to have cheat days, etc. What if that isn't something my body can handle? What if the food that I've thought is nourishing my body each day, is actually poisoning it & causing me to suffer from reactions that I didn't even recognize?
One of the first things they discuss in the Thyroid Secret is diet & the foods that a person with Hashimoto's should avoid,
some, like eggs, for ninety days, while others, like gluten, for life. The plan is called the Autoimmune Protocol. The list of restricted foods is long, especially for the first 90 days. It restricts gluten, dairy, eggs, seeds, alcohol, coffee, nightshade vegetables (tomatoes), peppers, seeds & nuts. The diet is made up of organic grass fed meat, fruits & vegetables & some approved healthy fats. Would it be worth it? Could I even do it? These are all things that were rushing through my mind, as it occurred to me that I've spent over a decade suffering with symptoms of Hashimoto's. Five of which have been absolutely unbearable, most of the time. Why couldn't I just give this plan a try & see how my body responded. There's no harm that could come from it. Right? Still hesitant, I told myself that I'd just do thirty days & see if it was worth giving up so many food items, before I'd agree to ninety days. I mean, no chili powder or tortillas, what would
Taco Tuesday become? My health, obviously, should come before tacos.😉
Today, I'm proud to write that I'm beginning week three of a diet that two weeks ago I wasn't sure I could even do for a week. At day seven I was unsure if I noticed any difference. By day ten, I noticed I had more energy during the day & that I was waking up early in the morning, on my own, with no desire to curl up & go back to sleep (that's huge for me). On day twelve I noticed that an orange I'd eaten as a snack had made me stomach very uncomfortable. Which made me think, what if there's more foods, which I typically eat, that cause my body to have an adverse reaction!? The next morning I read an article about adverse food reactions in people who can't handle foods with high levels of histamine, like the orange. I decided that I'd add foods with high histamine levels to my restricted food's list. But, before I'd do that completely I wanted to eat the coconut yogurt in my fridge, so that I didn't waste it. Yogurt is a high histamine containing food. Within thirty minutes I noticed that my mouth had sores on the roof. Within an hour I noticed that I had a headache & I felt lightheaded. I don't know if my reaction was to the histamine in the yogurt or an ingredient in the yogurt,
but I can tell you, it's clear that I need to pay attention to how foods make me feel.
As I begin week three I'm completely committed to the Autoimmune Protocol & avoiding foods with high levels of histamine. I feel better, & dare I say lighter (I'm not emotionally ready to see numbers on a scale. 😬), than I have in a long time. I feel like for the first time in over a decade I'm on the path to heal my body & take control of my health. I'm excited to be on this journey & I no longer have any doubts about whether or not I can follow this diet. I also can happily report that I have no cravings...which, for me, is
nothing short of a miracle.
The Autoimmune Protocol is not something that can be done 80/20, like so many other diet plans, because it's about completely healing your body & recognizing which foods cause you to have a reaction. Trust me, I thought I'd be able to say, at the end of this, that my body doesn't react to the restricted foods, but fourteen days in, I know that's simply not true. There are people who are able to heal and regulate their bodies so that foods that their bodies may have reacted to during the elimination phase, no longer cause a reaction. There's just no way to predict that. For now, I'm focused on nourishing my body with high quality foods (organic, grass fed, non-GMO) that are approved during the elimination phase & low in histamine, so that I can truly begin to heal myself from the inside out.
In the coming days & weeks I'll be posting about how to get started on the Autoimmune Protocol, recipes that I started with, & my weekly meal plans. Later on, I'll be posting as I add supplements into my diet & eliminate other items which may be allowing toxins into my body, such as hair care products, deodorant, personal hygiene products, makeup, laundry detergent & other household cleaners. The list is daunting, but I'm focusing on one area at a time, to avoid becoming overwhelmed. For now, my diet is my core focus.
Have you ever suspected, or been told, that you have thyroid issues? What, if anything, are you willing to do to attempt to heal yourself? Feel free to comment below or contact me if you'd like to know more.
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