Thyroid Issues and Education

During the past week I have had a lot of trouble getting in to post in my blog. I’m so glad to be back in, I have things to tell you about!

A quick update first.  I had another problem with my thyroid, I was absolutely miserable.  The bad thing about it is that it doesn’t hit fast, it comes gradually so you don’t really notice it until it’s completely taken over.  I was cold all the time (my poor husband had to deal with me always wanting to push the temperature on the a/c up because I was freezing – I finally just resorted to wearing sweats and wool socks in the house).  I was completely exhausted no matter how much sleep I got and so achy I didn’t want to move (which we all know makes it worse).  I finally recognized what was happening and immediately scheduled a doctor appointment.  I also started doing research, I’m so tired of just throwing another pill at what’s going on, I need information.  I need to know what's causing the problem, I need to have some things I can do proactively to keep it from happening again.  With that said, the doctor did give me another pill, but I think this may be a good one.  It’s a synthetic T3, which may have been my problem this time around.  I say that because since Sunday my energy level seems to be coming back and my achiness has decreased (I started taking it last Thursday).

Things I have learned….while I have eliminated gluten it may be that I will need to eliminate other foods.  Soy and dairy are my first targets, and they have been quite difficult to remove.  Dairy has been a little easier, I have replaced the creamer in my morning coffee with a creamer that is made from coconut milk, the cheese in certain things has gone away.  I have to admit, there is a little dairy in the premade baking mix I use, but that will be replaced soon by my own homemade baking mix.  Soy has been a little more difficult because it seems to be in a lot of the premade gluten free items at the store.  Insert big sigh here, that means I have to make everything I eat, I like to cook but really?

An attitude adjustment is in process right now.  I’m focusing on what I can eat versus what I can’t.  I’m looking into Paleo eating, though I’m not entirely convinced about it but I’m continuing researching it.  I do believe that food plays a large part in what is happening to my body so I’m paying even more attention to what I put in my mouth.

Oh, I also wanted to share a couple of Facebook groups that have helped me with information; Hashimoto’s 411 and Thyroid Sexy (when you are logged in to FB just look them up, there is a ton of good information in both groups).  The Thyroid Sexy group has a lot of resources in the “Notes” section, make sure you look there for a lot of good information.

What does that mean for my blog?  It won’t be changing much other than you will see more recipes without dairy and soy in them.  I will start posting those recipes again later this week, I'm still getting my bearings :)

Continuing on the journey to health…I'm so glad you are along for the ride!

A day in the life...

A day in the life, I named today’s entry that, but really it is a little more than that.

I can tell that I’m having one of those times where my immune system has gone haywire for whatever reason stimulated it this time (maybe it’s the flu epidemic running through my office?).  Anyway, since last Thursday I have been achy, tired, feverish, brain foggy and just generally blah.  I can’t get enough sleep, I’m cold, I’m hot, I can’t focus for more than two minutes, my joints ache, then my muscles do, sometimes together.  I get up from my desk chair at work or the couch at home and have to steady myself from the pain that comes.  It’s not a lot of fun, just an example of a few days in the life.

I found a blog recently that has provided some valuable information along with some validation about the ups and downs.  She talks openly about her “thyroidy” days, something I found comforting because there are times you feel like you might just be going crazy.  Her blog is here:  http://www.sarahwilson.com.au/category/autoimmune/ She’s got a great sense of humor and a good amount of knowledge about what’s going on with her and what works for her.  She’s also quick to say that what works for her may not work for everyone.  I think the key I got from reading many of her entries is that you have to take control of your own health.  There isn’t anyone else that’s going to be as much of an advocate for you as you can for yourself.

Moving down the taking control of my own health path I have learned to spend more time really paying attention to what my body is telling me.  If I’m really tired I sleep (I slept 9.5 hours last night), if I have brain fog and can’t concentrate I do those things at work that require less of my concentration, if I’m hungry I eat, making sure to eat lots of veggies while making sure I get the protein I need.  I gave up gluten which helped. However, with the ups and downs I have been experiencing since then, my body is telling me there is more I should do.  Now I’m considering giving up dairy and possibly soy.  One at a time so that I can measure the difference it makes.

There is so much to consider.  Selenium, yes or no (I read I can get what I need by eating a Brazil nut daily), what about iodine?  Do I need to look at other supplements beyond the ones I’m already on (iron, vitamin C, vitamin D, B12)?  There is always more research to be done.  The thing I’m sticking with now though is listening to my body when it talks to me, being gentler with myself.  The world will not end if I don’t vacuum/clean/do laundry and make a gourmet homemade dinner every night.

So, if you are having health issues, even if they are very different from mine, take time, slow down, listen to what your body really needs.  The world will not end if you take a needed break. Take care of you!

One last thing…..a recipe!  I make this soup every couple of weeks, blend it up and freeze it in small containers for those hungry periods when I want to take advantage and get lots of nutrients into my body:

Blended Veggie Soup

(This makes a lot of soup, be sure you have freezer space!)

½ T olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic (I actually use 4 but that’s too much for some people)

1 tsp cayenne pepper (I add more but I like things spicy)

2 carrots, chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

2 small zucchini

1 lb mushrooms

1 bag spinach

1 bag of kale

1.5 big boxes of fat free or reduced fat chicken broth

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1.      Heat a large pot over medium to medium high heat, add olive oil

2.      Drop in the onion, garlic, cayenne, carrots and celery and cook until slightly soft

3.      Add in the zucchini and mushrooms and cook for about 1 minute

4.      Add in the chicken broth then put the spinach and kale on top, pushing down with a spoon to get it in the liquid

5.      Cover and let simmer (not boil) about 15 minutes, check to see how everything is doing….stirring everything up at this point is a good idea

6.      Check for seasoning, does it need salt and pepper?

7.      Cover and cook for another 20-30 minutes, everything should be soft at this point

8.      Cool slightly then blend everything together using an immersion blender.

9.      Store in small serving size (about 1 cup) containers in the freezer, it warms up well in the microwave when you need it

Hashimoto's Sucks and People Don't Get It

I took some time off from anything that wasn’t entirely necessary to focus on my health for a few months.  I have learned quite a bit, though I have also learned that I don’t know nearly enough.  It is easy to get very overwhelmed by the avalanche of information available out there on Hashimoto’s disease / autoimmune diseases.

I have struggled with getting the people in my life, family/friends/co-workers to understand what I feel like, what I’m going through.  Unfortunately unless you look sick on the outside people don’t generally believe you are sick on the inside.  I found a couple of great resources during my research.  The first, a letter from someone that has the disease and explains what it feels like really well, I am Hashimoto’s Disease, if you are interested it’s a good link for a description of the daily struggle. Another one is a letter to friends and families of people with a thyroid disease, When Your Family Member or Friend Has Thyroid Disease, it’s also a good way for people to learn about the experience.

I will note here that Hashimoto’s disease is not curable, though I’m hoping that through diet and exercise it is  manageable. The past year was a roller coaster (not the fun kind) of health issues….I lost and gained weight (40-50 pounds!) over and over again without changing a thing, my hair fell out in clumps, my skin would get so dry it would crack, I forgot almost everything that I was told if I didn’t write it down and I would be completely overwhelmingly exhausted for a few days then feeling good the next few days after that.  I can’t even begin to explain how frustrating this disease is.

The thing is, even though I found some good resources to give my family and friends to describe my experience, I’m starting not to care what other people think about it.  Why does it matter to me what they think about a personal struggle I have?  For now I’m choosing to share it only with my husband and close family. They are the ones that matter, my friends matter but they don’t see everything that particularly my husband does.  He understands, my parents understand, and that’s what matters to me.

I’m back to blogging, I hope to share what I have learned so far with anyone interested in reading about my journey.  I will share some really great GF recipes I have tried and talk more about my daily experience.  If nothing else, I hope to be a resource for someone that was in the place I was in last year…..sick and feeling like I was going crazy because nobody could see what was happening.  This is me and my experience.

Gluten-Free Here I Come

This blog is going to change just a bit due to recent life happenings.  I mentioned a couple of times that I have had trouble with health issues in the last several months and finally have some answers (after several doctor visits and finally breaking down and crying to one doctor about how awful I feel).  I already knew I had Hashimoto’s disease, an autoimmune disease that causes your immune system to attack your thyroid.  I have had that for several years and it was mostly controlled through medication.  Then, in February/March, an extremely stressful period, my health started declining rapidly.  I lost nearly 40 pounds in 2 months.  Silly me, I thought it was due to my health efforts when in reality it was due to a hyperthyroid swing.  I was taken off of my thyroid medicine by an extremely uneducated doctor.  I learned later that’s one of the worst things you can do to someone with Hashimoto’s, oops.  When I finally got back on I was still having troubles, a lot of them, and got desperate for answers.  I am getting them.

Along with the Hashimoto’s I also have Celiac’s disease, nothing that’s earth-shattering, there are a lot of people in the world with it.  The significant thing for me is that the effects from that is likely what has kept my immune system continually attacking my thyroid.  Oh, and my vitamin levels had bottomed out because of it too.  Answers, that’s all I needed.  Now I have a plan of attack.

First, supplements for everything that’s lacking…iron, vitamin d, vitamin c (to better absorb the iron), folic acid, b12, flaxseed oil (to up my HDL).  Second, I’m going gluten-free.  The gluten-free should even out my system and get rid of the aches/pains and exhaustion.  I’m really looking forward to feeling good again!

So, this is still a journey, one toward health, a little bit different path, but still moving toward that healthy direction.  The great thing I’m learning about gluten free eating is that it still focuses on fresh veggies, fruit and meats, I need to leave processed foods alone because those generally contain gluten (unless, of course, they are indicated as GF).  I like the idea of using as many fresh ingredients as I can then using the processed foods every once in a great while.

Here’s to better health.

Still out here, just struggling a bit

I have been missing from the site for a bit due to health problems.  The thyroid issues have gotten much worse and just getting up and getting through a normal workday has been a tremendous struggle.  Things haven’t been good and I have lost my focus.  I have an appointment with a specialist in a couple of weeks; I’m just hanging on until I get there.

I stopped exercising near the end of last week; it seemed to drain so much of my energy I wouldn’t be able to function for the remainder of my day.  So, that’s been set aside for a bit.  I did get on the treadmill for a while this morning, I miss it, but I’m going slow and not on there for long.  For now I’m trying to get back to caring about what I eat.  I have been cycling through eating too much and living on nothing but coffee, not eating at all.  There is either not enough food in the world or everything but coffee sounds gross.  It has been a struggle.  When you are this tired and have no ability to concentrate on anything for more than a few minutes the idea of figuring out what to eat that is on Weight Watchers that is on plan and within points is just plain mentally exhausting. 

I weighed myself on Sunday, even though I told myself I wouldn’t because I didn’t want anything to upset me.  Luckily I have only gained 4 pounds, I’m thankful for that.  I have decided that I’m not getting back on the scale until after I see the specialist, things are too out of control right now and I don’t need to add to the stress.  I’m going to focus on healthy foods and move along from there.

So, I just wanted to say hello.  I’m still out here, just really struggling.  If there are any people out there with Hashimoto’s or any other kind of thyroid disorder that can relate I would really appreciate some encouragement/words of advice at this point.

For information on thyroid disease / Hashimotos: http://thyroid.about.com/od/bookssupportresources/a/letter-to-family-friends.htm

Have a great day everyone.

A Long Pause and Hashimoto’s

I have been absent for a few days, life got a little crazy here.  My husband ended up with a serious infection in his leg that put him down for most of the week.  Between that and my struggle to get my thyroid acting right again I just plain fell back into old eating patterns.  For me that means no cooking healthy wonderful food, it means buying food that others have cooked (aka take out from restaurants).  The result?  Only a .4 gain, thank goodness I kept exercising through it all.  I even added some more weight workouts, it makes me feel like superwoman afterwards.

I saw my doctor this week for the first time in the past two months.  She was out of town for my entire thyroid blowout.  I have Hashimoto’s disease, my immune system attacks my thyroid making it either to into hyper or hypo mode.  About a month and a half ago I went to the doctor for a racing heart, a symptom I recognized meant I was well into hyperthyroid.  My doctor was out of the country and the on call doctor, without looking at my history, took me off my thyroid medication all together.  Big mistake, one of the worst things you can do for someone with Hashimoto’s is take them off of their meds, that gives the immune system free reign to further damage the thyroid.  The biggest problems I have had since are brain fog and total exhaustion along with what is likely depression.  Not a good combo for someone that is trying to really focus on getting healthier.  My doctor put me right back on my meds, it will take a bit for me to level out, I’m looking forward to that.  She also set up an appointment for an ultrasound because my thyroid is now enlarged, and also with a specialist because she wants me to have someone there that knows everything about my condition (I love my doctor!). 

The silver lining in all of this?  I never once skipped exercising, even when I woke up so tired I didn’t feel like rolling over in bed.  I pushed myself; I made sure that I continued at least one healthy thing for me.  I’m really proud of myself for that part.  In the past I would’ve given up altogether and just gone into a mode that was totally unhealthy.  Yay me for maintaining focus in at least one area.

My plan for getting back on track?  Obviously, no eating out!  I also decided to make my entire week’s menu, tracking points for every day.  I put it all down on paper and left a few points on the table for any “oops” I may have.  The goasl for the week are to stay within DPs as much as possible, maintain the same level of exercise and focus on getting the food back on track while my thyroid evens itself out.  Oh, and posting in my journal, it’s important and keeps me focused.

I hope everyone is having a great Sunday!