I started this blog a couple months ago with the intention of writing on a regular basis. I had gotten a good bit of material lined up, post ideas, social media – all the stuff. Then I got sick. It was really only a 24 hour bug or some food poisoning, but it robbed me of my energy. Everything I ate for weeks was a menace on my system. That sent me into a health crisis which turned out to have a silver lining.
See, I’ve had some undiagnosed autoimmune issues ever since the birth of my second child. I have seen doctors, naturopaths, functional doctors, and I’ve done tons of research on my own trying to figure this out. I’ve tried a million different things. It has gotten to the point when I read a new book about how to help *insert an issue here*, I am seeing a general pattern of how these issues should ALL be treated. The generalities of feeling better with an autoimmune disorder are to clean up detox pathways, follow the Auto Immune Protocol (AIP) diet, and clear up any underlying issues. Of course there are nuances with every given issue – certain supplements that need to be focused on, different nutrient deficiencies, and different medications to alleviate symptoms.
Research
I had to take some time to heal myself and get my health back on track before I could continue blogging. This meant – I needed to get back onto a strict AIP regimen for a while to let my body heal. Frustration and a bit of depression set in. Then what? I didn’t know what my specific autoimmune issue was, so I couldn’t make sure that I was covering all of my bases with supplements, lab tests, etc.
In my frustration and restlessness, I was browsing the internet one day and came across a symptom analyzer tool. I started plugging in symptoms and it gave me a list of possible diagnoses. The potential list grew smaller with each symptom I added until there were only a couple left. I researched them and found that hypothyroidism sounded the most reasonable. I had been down this path before. When I first started searching for answers over 10 years ago, I looked into it. Four years ago, my naturopath ran a thyroid panel and my labs were in range, so we’d moved on to something else. Now, four years later, I’m back to a thyroid issue.
Answers
Then I started reading about Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (an autoimmune disorder where your body attacks your thyroid). Many of the things I was reading sounded like me. I checked out Dr. Izabella Wentz’s Hashimoto’s Protocol book from the library and devoured it in two days. I dug through my medical records and found old lab tests where the results all matched what Dr. Wentz was saying they would most likely be if you had Hashimoto’s. Next step, run new labs! And poof…I have Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. Just like that. 13 years of looking for a needle in a haystack, and I’ve found it.
Healing
This gives me a direction. It empowers me to work with my body to correct what I can and deal with what I can’t. I can join Hashimoto’s discussion forums online and learn what others are doing and talk about common symptoms. I’ve read many stories of others who have gotten Hashimoto’s into remission. I will be one of them. I’m sure you will hear stories as I go along as this is a part of my life, who I am, and how I choose to live.
And now that researching my health is not consuming every spare moment I have, I can get back to blogging about my adventures!