“Seizing Control over the Rollercoaster Symptoms of Hashimoto’s”
Using a Holistic Approach incorporating the Trim Healthy Mama Lifestyle.
My Journey with Hashimotos
In 2011 after having my 6th baby, I started noticing I was extremely fatigued. I just ruled it out to being postpartum and thinking, I’m up so much at night nursing the baby. I have a lot of little ones, so I just don’t get enough rest. Then other symptoms started popping up, hair loss. I said the same thing to myself, “its postpartum”, but the symptoms started becoming overwhelming and every time I turned around it was something else. I seemed hyper emotional, I wasn’t losing weigh as quickly, my joints were hurting (knees, hips, collar bone, shoulders, wrists) so much so that I would wake up and make breakfast and plop myself on the couch. I was hurting and tired constantly. My eyebrows were thinning, my hair was brittle, and my skin was dry, I couldn’t eat one thing and the next day I was retaining water. I was constantly cold/then hot. I was swinging back and forth between the same 5 lbs forever it seemed. I had so many mixed up feelings. One thing that I remember having the most was very high anxiety. I was constantly analyzing everything! Now I’m not perfect. I do still have fears and worries, but it was more extreme. To the point I was running to the doctor or crying and searching the internet for answers only leaving me more fearful.
I finally made an appointment with my Naturopathic Dr. to look for answers. I had apparently already been suffering from Hashimotos and didn’t know, as a teen I suffered major eating disorders of bulemia and anorexia. I had cystic ovaries, horrible digestive problems causing spastic stomach. It wasn’t until middle age plus pregnancy when more symptoms appeared and then became fed up. I always seemed to have a hard time with weight fluctuation, digestive issues, anxiety over my health state. I would go doctor to doctor looking for answers. I had x-rays, blood tests, even had my thyroid checked after baby 3 and the OB said everything looked fine. I even had a Dr. tell me once to seek a phycologist because he thought I was making symptoms up.
“How frustrating and disheartening for your doctor to tell you that.”
I even analyzed his suggestion. But I was really feeling these symptoms, I wasn’t making them up for sure! and they really were affecting how I responded and felt daily. Being moody and tired all the time is not how anyone wants to feel, especially being a mother. No one wants to hurt continually or feel like you can never lose weight, just floating between the same five pounds week after week. When I first went to see my Naturopathic Dr., she ordered tests and diagnose me with Hypothyroid. I did fit a lot of the symptoms for Hypothyroid, but the medicine wasn’t working, and my symptoms were fluctuating back and forth causing what we call “fight or flight”. My system was stressed. Not only from Me worrying, but also from my diet and now I’ve added a prescription to the scenario and something was just not making sense. After several attempts to figure out the issue, I asked My Naturopathic to order a blood test to check my antibodies. My mother had just been diagnose with Hashimotos and I wanted to rule it out. Finally!! Some relief. We figured out the issue was indeed Hashimotos, but now what??? She switched my medicine and started me on a new protocol.
” First off it was and is and will always be my intent to heal as close as I can using natural products.”
Before I go any further these are my experiences. This is how I chose to balance my thyroid. I am “Not” a doctor, nurse or nutritionist in any form. These are my findings and as with anything please!!! Talk with your doctor about any changes to your medication with your thyroid protocol.
I started my Hashimotos protocol using Nature Throid and some supplements. My protocol was to use my thyroid medicine, take my supplements, eliminate gluten and any other allergens and reduce my stress then return in 12 weeks for a blood test to see how things were going with the new approach. I wasn’t too keen on taking the Nature Throid. I didn’t like hearing that Hashimotos is something you can never really get rid of, “its for life”. I didn’t like hearing any of that. I still wanted more answers. I wanted to heal naturally. But I figured she is a natural doctor and they seem to look at symptoms in an individual so I tried to trust her judgment.
Stress is the worst thing for your thyroid
First thing was to clean up my diet. I already ate really well, lots of salads, whole food type meals/but there was still occasional treats and we did consume gluten and a lot of eating out. At that time gluten sensitivity was a new thing for me. I started researching gluten sensitivity and WOW gluten in itself can stress you out trying to come up with a whole new diet for you and your family, or if its just you, making two meals can be so stressful and overwhelming. Mix a new diet protocol in with nursing, homeschooling, everyday life, a new protocol with thyroid and instant stress!! Stress is the worst thing for your thyroid. It really needs to stay under control to keep the inflammation down.
Stress does not just come from worrying about things, it also comes for your diet. So how do I take my blood labs “allergies”, my new protocol, my new diet and do every day life as a mom and wife without being stressed??!! I had so much to think about, I felt overwhelmed. Even though we had an answer to what seemed to be causing my symptoms, now I was constantly worrying about what I was putting in my mouth, trying to remember to take my supplements, and trying to relax. I needed all this to come together. I was willing to take a natural approach, but the medicine was nagging my mind constantly.
Every day I took that medicine I was not comfortable with it mentally. I felt slaved to doing something I didn’t want to do and hearing it will be for life? No, I wasn’t willing to settle for that. I started researching natural ways to heal my thyroid, natural ways to heal Hashimotos.
My Dr had a book on display called “Hope for Hashimotos” that my mother and I started devouring looking for answers. This book was a turning point in my approach to healing my Hashimotos.
“There’s no one else in the entire world who is more motivated to take care of your health than you”
Dr. Alexander Haskell lays out a holistic approach in explaining, how to become more educated then your physician. There’s no one else in the entire world who is more motivated to take care of your health than you. For this reason, you can no longer take the easy road of just turning your body over to a physician and expect to get well. It’s becoming more and more obvious that the medical system is flawed when it comes to curing chronic ailments. We often become so frustrated in talking with our physician about our symptoms. You must literally be intentional about your health. Research is imperative to gaining health. It’s not logical to just get a prescription for an auto immune issue.
This book by Dr. Haskell will help you shift your perspective about Hashimotos. I didn’t get too deep in the “thinking myself well motive” I’m not into a New Age approach, but If you have been keeping up with the Poddy on THM you will hear Serene and Pearl talk about how we need to enjoy the journey and how changing our thoughts about our health approach is so major is healing. Our thoughts are much more powerful then we realize, so powerful that a person can actually think themselves sick.
In the word Romans 12:2 says, “Do not copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. “
Simply changing your thoughts to :
“ these are symptoms that can be managed with a more natural approach” and not thinking” long term medicine/forever slaved”..
will help you shift your focus to healing and staying on protocol. Obviously Hashimotos is not a mental condition, it is really symptoms felt that need to be addressed. Trusting your body to heal is very important, but specific nutrients are essential in that process.
Right now, you may be in limbo, a state of confusion, lack of control. It is hard to understand Hashimotos, believe me, I know! But when I started looking at my Hashimotos as a symptom and not a disease, it changed my life. It helped me feel more in control of my symptoms, it helped me get my protocol in perspective which helped me heal to the point I was managing my Hashimotos with supplements not medication.
Yes, I had to take medicine at first to give my thyroid what it needed, but once I was able to get on the right protocol for my individual needs, I was seeing progress. Yay! For me personally that meant several things. Being faithful in taking my supplements, cleaning up my diet, eliminating stress, praying and trusting myself to make decisions for my own health.
There came a time in my protocol where I was just so tired of being slaved to taking the medication that I prayed and asked God for wisdom. I wanted to make the most optimal decision for my health, but I just couldn’t see how I was doing that when I’m continually taking medication. Yes, it’s a compound and yes I’m aware that Nature Throid is as close to nature as you can get, unless since my experience things have changed. I haven’t kept up with the thyroid saga for some time. There always seems like there is a new way to heal the thyroid.
I don’t want my testimony to sound that way at all. I’m not trying to persuade anyone into thinking I have found a magical cure for Hashimotos, I can only tell you my experience and what worked for me. You will need to pray just like I did and make that decision for yourself, using research and working with your dr. I def would suggest you find a Naturopathic Doctor if it’s possible. I know it’s not always the cheapest way but honestly you will get better results , if anything you will prob feel more heard and seen as an individual instead of one size fits all.
Dr. Haskell helps you make a holistic approach. His book “Hope for Hashimotos” lays out a new prospective of Hashimotos and its causes, he goes over nine crucial mistakes you can make and gives you a lay out on how to be dedicated for 3 months to recovering your health.
“But if someone was dedicated enough then, yes they could manage their symptoms without it”
After using some of Dr Haskell’s protocol for a time, one day I was talking to my pharmacist who compounded my Nature Throid and he told me Hashimotos starts in the gut. I’m sure a lot of you are familiar with leaky gut. He told me that a lot of people aren’t willing to gain their health by changing their lifestyle. It’s easier to just continue to take a prescription and trust that its working for you.
He said, “But if someone was dedicated enough then, yes they could manage their symptoms without it.”
That’s all it took for me to be sold. That man was my pharmacist. He was collecting my fifty dollars monthly and telling me at the same time I could heal my gut to manage my symptoms. This is what I had been looking for, some truth, a way for me to start regaining my health back naturally.
I prayed with my husband and I decide it was time to stop my medication. I felt very comfortable with my decision because I was willing to do my best in continuing my supplements and keeping my diet clean. At the time my diet was extremely strict because I had gotten an IgG blood test against hundreds of foods. My labs results came back with gluten intolerance, nightshade sensitivity, dairy intolerance ..and the list goes on. That is another story, but I did my very best to keep gluten/dairy out and I continued taking my supplements.
I prayed every time I took my supplements for God to heal my thyroid. I didn’t say some weird prayer or think to hard on it. It wasn’t a mind over matter issue. It was simply believing the Word in saying I’m trusting you Yahweh. You have always guided me and I feel confident in the natural things you give me for my body.
In 12 weeks I returned to my Naturopathic Dr. I had my regular labs drawn and………..
my antibodies were down to zero!!!
Yes zero!!!
Seriously? I thought WOW (I did that), and it feels great working towards something and getting results.
I am an individual just like you. We come from different backgrounds, so I can not speak for what this book or my experience will do for you, but I can tell you a natural approach is possible and it is very hopeful. Its also worth trying because what do you have to lose?
Please do not stop taking your medication.
I’m not going to lay out the full supplement list of what I took because you need to look over the material and decide which supplements will work for you and where you are in your journey to health.
Dr. Haskell’s Book has the entire protocol on what supplements to use. I personally did not use all of the supplements listed and still was able to bring my antibodies to zero. You may find some supplements I didn’t use helpful for your specific needs.
You can search for other posts where I will be giving recipes and I will talk more about supplements that are good for your thyroid. (see eat to heal
But its important for you to take responsibly for your health. It’s so important to get in tune with your own body, not just go by someone else’s approach.
There is one Bonus about Dr. Haskell book, it uses a “low Glycemic approach” so it completely works with Trim Healthy Mama! You can continue your journey on Trim Healthy Mama while you nourish and heal your thyroid, hopefully stopping the inflammation, restoring optimal function and eliminating your symptoms.
Getting to the root cause will make that a reality for you.
While I still don’t consider myself miraculously healed for all eternity and that I can never experience a flare up again, my days are not occupied by constant symptoms of Hashimotos.
I have had four more babies since my diagnosis and I have never felt the way I use to feel. It also means exactly what I just said, “I just had four babies in four years”. Lol. That is alot on a body. So yes I have some healing to do, and I’m not back to goal weight at the present time. But I will get there. I am determined. I have had success and healing with Trim Healthy Mama . Using the right protocol and eating THM style helps me manage flares and gives me the tools I need to overcome the fight or flight symptoms.
As I heal patiently postpartum I also choose as you will see in some of my posts “food freedom” this is outlined in Trim Healthy Mama. Remember everyone is unique. Something that I may be able to consume, may be something you can not touch.
This is where we have to find boundaries, but not allow this thinking to control us to the point of stress.
When I feel myself eat something off balance I clean my diet back up.
I’m able to consume some gluten if its sprouted without side effects. “If” I do not overdo it. I can consume a little cheese “If” I do not over do it, but If I teeter too much off of protocol I will feel a difference. So I really try not to make a habit of eating dairy daily or even weekly and if its not sprouted I try to say no. There is an occasional low carb wrap.
Our bodies are amazingly designed to show when we are off balance. I do not want to return to my old self, so I really try to stay off gluten/dairy.
I do want to be completely honest here, so I’m making sure you know I’m not perfect and I do choose food freedom from time to time. Maybe one day I will be a little more strict, but at the present time I’m enjoying being with my growing family and sometimes I choose to enjoy a treat. You may choose to be more strict then me and you may very well need too. We are all different and we all have a different way we process information and use it.
I encourage you today if your looking for a “hope” in healing naturally to get a copy of Dr. Alexander Haskell’s book “Hope for Hashimotos” and a copy of the “Trim Healthy Mama Original book”. The reason I would choose the Original book is because it has extensive research the book is huge it took five years to make and it comes with a ton of information “the plan” book doesn’t offer. “The Plan” book is good to have if your wanting to get a jump start on Trim Healthy Mama. It’s a more simplified approach and can help you understand the plan easier when you are a beginner and trying to lose weight, but the original book is full of info that’s good to have when your healing your body, especially from an auto immune and losing weight doesn’t come easy.
“We delight in the beauty of the butterfly but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty”
I hope that you will find some revelation in these resources I have suggested, but remember “knowing is not enough, “Decision” is the ultimate power. Never grow weary in well doing..
~Enjoy life and Always Eat to Live!
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