No more suffering in silence
Okay—in a total deviation from my usual blog content, I offer this post. And? I’m not a doctor. You should not take medical advice from some random stranger on the internet. This blog post is a reflection of my personal experience and truth, as well as the privilege that I have to be able to try different things, and is not intended as medical advice. I don’t want to receive emails about this post.
Because I have this platform, and because I would have given anything to have read the very blog post I’m about to write before I was diagnosed, I would like to briefly touch base on auto-immune conditions, particularly thyroid conditions.
Why? Because you might be suffering from one, and not even know it. Or perhaps someone you know and love is suffering, and they don’t know why.
The Basics
Many years ago, I was diagnosed with an auto-immune thryoid condition called Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. Today, I no longer feel symptomatic. This post is about how that happened. Again, not suggesting you follow in my footsteps. Just sharing my experience.
Briefly, when your body goes auto-immune rogue, it starts attacking its own cells. The thyroid gland is responsible for many functions in the body, and most especially how energy. When a condition is auto-immune, the body mistakenly attacks healthy cells. Doctor after doctor has told me that they don’t know why this happens.
In my opinion, doctors and the medical establishment don’t really give a fuck why this happens—most would rather simply prescribe a pill for it and send someone out of their office. That’s why I needed to find some options that were outside of the typical medical options prescribed for thyroid patients, to no longer experience symptoms of this condition.
Sometimes these conditions are genetic. They can also be linked to several things which the medical establishments don’t support with empirical evidence. I’ve read personal accounts of people having conditions like mine if they grew up in an old house and could have been exposed to lead piping and other heavy metals in small doses over time; if you were on birth control pills for a long time; if you have a serious illness and your body goes into “hyper-arousal” mode and can’t turn off after the illness has abated; if you are sensitive to or allergic to gluten; there are ties in the medical literature to thyroid and endocrine disruption, and cigarette smoke exposure as well as chemical pesticides.
No, it’s NOT in the Normal Range
Back in 2008, I went to the doctor because I was tired all of the time. Blood was drawn and something called “TSH” (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone) was measured.
“Everything’s within the normal range,” the doctor at the time told me, and she sent me on my way.
Turns out, this doctor–lovely as I’m sure she was/is–didn’t know that she was telling me the WRONG information.
TSH used to be measured on a 0.5 – 5.50 scale. THE SCALE WAS CHANGED. MY DOCTOR DID NOT KNOW THAT.
Therefore, I was sent on my way, told that my thyroid levels were normal, when in fact they were not normal—not by the new standard range.
The range considered normal now is 0.3 - 3.0 . Anything outside that range can give you symptoms of a thyroid problem, at which point you’ll feel achey and exhausted, you’ll gain weight or lose weight suddenly and drastically, be irritable/anxious, and a whole host of other symptoms.
My TSH in 2008 was already at 3.45 . Using the 5.50 marker, I was sent on my way to spend another four years tired, achey, etc.
If I could say anything to that former self, I’d say, “Don’t just let your doctor say, ‘It’s all normal.’ Actually ask WHAT THE NUMBER IS, and then google what the correct range is.”
I’m very lucky that getting my blood re-tested in 2012, the doctors I saw knew and understood that people are usually symptomatic by the time their TSH is above a 3.0.
In 2008, they also didn’t measure a few other important markers of thyroid function, and these are the tests that I personally wish I could have taken earlier:
TSH test
TPO antibodies test (this is the specific test to see if you have the auto-immune condition, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis)
A “free” T3 test
A “free” T4 test
Vitamin D test
Iron/Ferritin test
A1C and fasting glucose
Why T3 and T4 tests? These are the two thyroid hormones that work together to regulate the thyroid, and from there to regular your energy levels, hormones, metabolism, the whole nine yards. Getting these tests will give a fuller, more complete picture of what’s happening.
Note: Some doctors are resistant to doing anything other than TSH test and perhaps the TPO test. Why? Who the hell knows. Some say that it’s an accurate measurement, and others think it’s not. It’s annoying to encounter doctors who react this way, because why not just let the patient know? No one is asking for an expensive MRI—it’s blood work.
Why D and Iron? Vitamin D and Iron both affect thyroid function and energy levels, so it can be good to get those measured.
Why A1C and fasting glucose? The thyroid functions as part of the endocrine system. It produces hormones. Little understood is that insulin is ALSO a hormone in the body. Insulin interacts with the thyroid.
What I Know, Now
In 2012, the worst my TSH test ever registered–and at this point, I felt truly awful–was a 5.18.
It is unbelievable to me that even that number, by the old range/metrics for TSH, still would not have been enough to officially “qualify” me as having a problem. It’s unbelievable to me that anyone like, LIVES through their day with a higher TSH than that, because at that level my exhaustion was so extreme. That’s why I think it’s so important for people to know their actual numbers, not to just let the doctor send them off with “Well, you’re within range.”
No. I had to learn to advocate for myself. “Send me the actual ranges. I want to see the actual numbers.”
I have had far more success in getting appropriate treatment working with a DO, a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, than I have with a traditional MD.
Prescriptions for Thyroid: Armour
I tried Synthroid and Levothroid. My TSH levels normalized on my blood work, but I felt no different.
Then my DO suggested Armour thyroid medication.
Within just a few days, I felt like a real, normal person again—one who could sleep for eight hours and wake up feeling actually refreshed! Multiple times since, traditional MDs have told me I should get off of Armour. My obstetrician during my pregnancy was very concerned about Armour. “They can’t exactly regulate the levels of that prescription,” is what I always hear.
I think that’s a load of bull. I’ve had zero problems. I absolutely refused to get off of it. I have no regrets.
Diet + Supplements
Hot button topic, I know. If you feel like you can’t hear anything about dietary changes without a trigger warning, stop reading now. This is your trigger warning. I’m not going to talk about eating to lose weight, but I am going to talk about dietary changes.
For me personally, going legit vegetarian and cutting sugar and alcohol have been game changers.
“Legit vegetarian” is not bullshitting myself and saying, “Well, this box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch is vegetarian, so—healthy, right?”
No. Legit vegetarian means you eat vegetables.
Initially after the diagnosis, I tried gluten-free, dairy-free. I felt an initial lift, then not so great again. I tried paleo, I tried anti-inflammatory diets, I tried elimination diets, I consulted with an Ayurvedic nutritionist. Again, same thing—initial lift, then not so great again.
Later, I went vegetarian. It’s been the most substantial change to my health that I felt, as long as I’m legitimately eating vegetables and legumes.
At a certain point, I did what I would consider to be a microbiome cleanse. For six weeks straight, I ate nothing but green smoothies, green juice, fruits or vegetables raw or cooked, plant-based protein shakes (Vega Plant Based protein) and on days where I did CrossFit, some basmati rice or quinoa.
I have never felt so good in my entire life as I did on that cleanse. The first five days were hell. I was grumpy and tired and wanted to eat sugary carb in sight. Then I settled into it, and from there it was no big deal, and seriously—I have never felt better in my life than when I was on that diet.
Six weeks of eating like that, I believe, completely set up my microbiome in a really positive way. Again, I’m not a doctor. Again, I’m not telling anyone how to eat. I’m just using this post to list out all the things that I think contribute to me no longer being symptomatic from a thyroid condition.
I no longer maintain that diet because I want to live in the world and eat as a social act—I want to eat a variety of foods, I want to find things to eat at restaurants, etc. But with that having been said? Several times a week, I still will have a green smoothie for lunch and that’s it, or just a salad for dinner. Sometimes I have eggs or fish, but I don’t have chicken, pork, or beef.
I also take a vitamin D supplement and methylated—important, methylated!—vitamin B-12.
I do not have a lot of sugar or alcohol. Why? Because these will jack with my insulin levels, and the endocrine system is just that—a system. Different hormones work in conjunction with each other. A nightly wine habit DOES have a negative impact on that system. Sugar DOES have a negative impact on that system.
Exercise
In 2018, I started CrossFit. CrossFit is “metcon” or metabolic conditioning that combines cardio and strength training with some gymnastics/plyometric moves thrown in.
CrossFit has also been one of the things that has left me feeling stronger and healthier and more energized. I feel a noticeable difference in energy and strength levels. Particularly because met cons and strength training have so many positive effects on insulin function—which in turn has positive effects within the entire endocrine chain—it’s something I would recommend if asked for my opinion on the subject and something I wish I had found years earlier.
Someone who was once being a total asshole to me said to me that I had caused my own thyroid issues through CrossFit and endurance exercise like triathlon training.
I mean, wow. Why they felt entitled to comment on someone else’s health issues when no one was asking for their opinion is kind of staggering. This is one of the reasons why I am requesting that no one emails me about this post. Take what you like, and leave the rest. I’m sharing it for those who want the info, and anyone who doesn’t find this helpful can just click to some other place on the internet.
As I said above, the thyroid issues started back in 2008. I was diagnosed (finally) in 2012. I didn’t start triathlon training until 2016. I didn’t start CrossFit until 2018. I feel BETTER now than I ever did, before. I started endurance exercise many years AFTER I was diagnosed with a thyroid condition. So no, endurance exercise and CrossFit did not cause any health issues. I’m fitter and stronger than I was in my 20s, before a diagnosis.
Mindset
Then there’s mindset. Of all the things I’ve done, I think this is most crucial.
I rarely ever think of myself as “having” a thyroid condition, any longer.
I decide what my health is. I decide this life experience. And several years ago, I decided that I was done with this—and when I made that decision, within days of making that decision, I started feeling better.
There are many things that have contributed to me feeling better. There is no science I’ve read to support the idea that if I decided I was done then I would feel better. That’s the experience I’ve had, however. Take with that what you will.
Down to my bones, I decided that I was done. I’ve had little or no symptoms ever since. There is power in the holy rage of being fucking fed up with something and telling yourself that you’re just not tolerating it, any longer.
A Final Note
It would be my preference if you didn’t email me to share your thoughts about this blog post or this condition.
Instead, use the information for yourself as you see it appropriate to do so, and if you know someone who has been suffering from symptoms that they can’t explain, perhaps forward the URL to them in the hopes that it’s helpful. If you don’t like what I’ve shared here for any reason, there are literally billions of other websites you could visit, today—go visit them.
~ with care and love ~
Kate