If you have followed my blog, or know me in person, then you know I've spent a lifetime struggling with body dysmorphia, self confidence and all that other crap that most women struggle with. The past couple of years haven't helped any.
So as you know, I was getting my thyroid checked multiple multiple times and I kept getting all those conflicting opinions about my numbers. I didn't have hypothyroidism - they were in the low normal range. I did have hypothyroid and the only thing that'll fix it is Synthroid. No, don't go with Synthroid, it'll make your HBP even higher. So much conflicting opinions. I finally found a functional doctor that listened to me and said I definitely had low thyroid. She then ran my "female hormones" - you know Estrogen, Progesterone and Testosterone. When she got the test results back, she looked at me and said "how are you not in a ball crying right now?" Apparently my body was pretty taped out on everything!
She agreed to put me on Armour - a natural desiccated thyroid supplement. We went with natural because I had such bad reactions to Synthroid. My side effects were severe dizziness, super bad heart palpitations and worsened anxiety.
For the hormones, we tried some bioidentical creams - you may have heard of these referred to as Bioidentical Hormone Replacement. And she ordered a mammogram (which I hadn't had in twelve years) and a Dexa scan.
The mammogram I did right away - it was in fact one of the few things my insurance would actually cover. Most insurance companies will not cover bioidentical hormone replacement (it's not worth it to big pharma) and definitely did not cover my function doctor, or my thyroid meds (once again, I was going natural). It did cover my HBP. I put off the Dexa scan.
So I'm on all the medication, expecting to feel like a human being again and I still felt sluggish, exhausted, brain fog, was losing even more hair (including the eyebrows), couldn't sleep because of the heart palpitations and anxiety (and those night sweats are no freaking joke), was constantly battling depression, quit wanting to go anywhere or do anything, and was rapidly gaining weight (still). SO I began my own research....
I spent any free time I could reading books and articles, listening to podcasts of scientists and normal people, watching YouTube videos of researchers, doctors and patients who were all struggling with the same issues I was. Surely someone had an answer right?
I came across some great resources and began journaling all my symptoms, my research notes and even writing questions down for the doctor. Here's a couple of my go to:
FitRockChick - This girl Erin is funny as snot! She's a Christian loving bad ass girl hailing from Nashville that will make you laugh and sometimes even spit water out of your nose (so be sure not to get that on your computer keyboard). She has a ton of great informational videos from how to lose weight on hypothyroidism, how to eat when hypothyroid, how to get a rocker chick hair cut, how to deal with greasy hair and how to get a perfect sunless tan. She's very real, easy to listen to and knows her stuff. She's got some great interviews as well - with experts - regarding hypothyroidism. Check her out here on YouTube, or here on Facebook or even here for her IG feed. If you don't find her informative and entertaining, then you probably don't have a single funny bone in your body.
Elle Russ - here's another amazing woman who had to fight her own hypothyroid journal and spent time doing so much research with scientists and nutritionists - she's even written a great book - which you can get on Amazon Prime right here - it's called The Paleo Thyroid Solution. She covers medication alternatives, nutrition, exercise - even how to interpret your numbers (which is SO SO SO important. She's on facebook here as well. She been the guest on a number of podcasts as well - just search your podcast for Elle Russ and they'll pop up! She's also hosted some great researchers, scientists and hypothyroidism gurus on her facebook page so be sure to check out all her resources. And if you buy her book - make sure you get the right one - there are a lot of hypothyroid books out there and some with similar names - look for this one...
For Podcasts -
Dr Westin Childs Podcast: Thyroid. He has a ton to choose from so you can pick and choose the ones that you think will give you the most information. Careful though, he speaks quickly and you'll want to take notes (remember that journal I keep?).
Thyroid Nation Radio - It's an older blog - there is hardly any (if any) episodes from 2019 but there are a few good ones form 2018 - again, a decent variety for you to pick and choose from.
Doctor Thyroid with Philip James - honestly, I haven't spent much time on his but I do have it earmarked to come back too. Again, you are gonna wanna take some notes - these guys are really smart and breaks it all done for you.
Thyroid Answers Podcast - Dr Eric Balcavage and Dr Erica Riggleman are also great at breaking things down, from helping you understand your numbers, what blood work do you need, what supplements might do to your tests, diet, exercise, etc. Again, grab that notebook!
Back to the story -
It's at this point that some changes finally started to happen - and it's because I was diving into anything and everything I could find in regards to hypothyroidism and I had decided during this research that it was up to me to take over this journey, make my voice and concerns heard with my doctor and start taking (some) of the matters into my own hands.
The next few posts will summarize what I learned and how I incorporated some of that into my own journey, and where I am now. My hope is that others that are in this hypothyroidism journey will find some resources themselves to help in their own personal health story, and won't have to spend as much time as I did, having to find all the information on my own. My hope is that others that are embedded in the health trenches will find hope and inspiration as they gain control of the health issues they are battling. There will also be a few funny stories along the way - so not all posts will be as dry as this one.
Do you have questions? I'd love to know what your story is and what it is that you are battling. I'd love to know what you tried and what worked for you. I'd even love to just be able to share my resources with you - so if you have questions and or comments, be sure to drop them in the box below. And if you like my post, be sure to share it. You never know who else may be needing this information.
Till next time (which I promise won't be a year) -
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