My story and journey so far: Getting healthy and healing my thyroid
My journey towards being healthy started 5 years ago. But, I have spent a lot of time over the past 5-6 months trying to figure out what was wrong with me even more. After weaning my son from breastfeeding I felt like my body was out of control. I have dealt with thyroid nodules and goiter starting in 2009. By 2011 after being on levothyroxine and having scans and various blood work done I was still feeling the same and gaining weight slowly each month. My mother made a suggestion that I try to eliminate soy from my diet. I thought it can't hurt right?
After just ten days of the elimination diet I was feeling better and my goiter and nodules felt smaller. My endocrinologist check up proved that this was working and we made a plan to stick with soy excluded from my diet and no medication at that time.
The following symptoms disappeared or decreased with a no soy diet:
- Thyroid nodules and goiter
- flushing episodes during strenuous activity
- Increased heart rate
- Mood swings
- Brain Fog
- Painful menstrual cycles
- Insomnia
This worked pretty well for awhile. I did not deal with these issues, unless I strayed from my diet. My goiter and nodules were gone and things were pretty good. I still struggled with weight loss, but I was happier not having the above symptoms.
After being pregnant and then weaning things changed. I noticed in April that my goiter and nodules were back even with my soy free diet and fairly healthy exercise regimen. I was still hovering over the same weight range and I could tell I just didn't feel well. The goiter and nodules would were decreasing and increasing in size
throughout the day and causing pain and pressure on my throat. I decided to eliminate gluten from my diet.
I did notice a difference within a few days. I lost 4-5 pounds pretty quickly and I felt an overall body change. I did not feel bloated and my overall body did not feel as inflamed and irritated as it had. I decided that I must commit to 6 days a week on exercising. If I am doing a program with 7 days of workouts I double up on one day a week. I tried the gluten free diet for 3 months and then decided to eliminate other possible irritants from my diet. I am now soy, gluten, nut, and bean free. I am not dairy free yet, but it is mostly eliminated from my diet. I have seen an overall success in decreasing my current symptoms.
- Fatigue
- Cold Intolerance
- Difficulty losing weight
- Thyroid nodule and goiter
- Muscle cramps and weakness
- Irritability
- Brain Fog
- Decreased appetite
- Hoarseness/trouble speaking loudly
As of this week, I was able to see my Endocrinologist after a three month waiting period. After my appointment she agrees that I could have auto immune issues with my thyroid. Hashimoto's is the name of the auto immune thyroid issues. I will labs and tests done soon to help confirm and discuss further treatments. I am sharing my journey in this blog to help others that are lost on their health journey and possible thyroid issues. Unfortunately, some medical professionals are not aware or up to date on thyroid health. Hopefully they don't mean to overlook our issues, or brush it off that we probably aren't eating and exercising properly. I know for myself I was down to eating 400-500 calories a day because food seemed to trigger my problems even more. I had my family doctor and OB/GYN not really sure how to help me or guide me and said just exercise more and eat more vegetables. I look at those moments know and just think that was the only thing they knew to say to help me. I also knew they weren't the right doctor to help in getting me healthier. Don't ever give up if you know something is wrong and keep fighting for help.
I am waiting to have blood work and a thyroid ultrasound done soon. My Endocrinologist agrees that I should avoid my dietary food triggers and work on adding in more calories to make sure I am eating enough. I range around 1000-1200 calories lately and find it hard to eat that much some days. I would like to be closer to 1500 a day for optimal health and helping in weight loss. My doctor said sometimes if you eat below a certain amount you may shut off your metabolism and not lose weight.
I am excited to change my blog around to incorporate more recipes, tips, guides, and still fitness and mommy information. I am here to help others in this journey of health and wellness whether you have certain health issues or not. I am focused on getting better and sharing what I have learned along the way. I hope my journey and story can help someone else and let them know they are not alone.
