Hashimoto’s has been a part of my health journey since I was first diagnosed at age 22, probably not coincidentally right after shattering my ankle (unfortunately not even a cool story) which required 2 metal plates and 9 screws to repair. I knew even that that with my family history of autoimmune and thyroid issues on both sides of my family that having a foreign metal implant placed in my body was not a great option. I instantly gained 15 lbs, accompanied by fatigue and constipation. I was miserable, but found help from a holistic physician who prescribed Armour thyroid and a gluten-free diet, which helped resolve my symptoms. I was able to stop the medication about a year later, and was feeling pretty good until after the birth of my second daughter 8 years later.
After that first flare, many tears and a long, frustrating search for an obliging physician (because of course my labs were “normal”) I went back on medicine for about 2 years. I didn’t feel as good as I did the first time on meds, and discovered that my cortisol (or lack thereof) was a persistent root cause of my yo—yo-ing thyroid. I changed my sleep routine (less screen time, earlier bedtime); changed my exercise (no running or HIIT), and added supplements to reduce inflammation and support stress management. Again, I was able to stop medication (suggested by my doctor due to heart palpitations), but it took me about 6 months to wean off because my dose this time around had been much higher.
Fast Forward to This Year
So it’s been
4-5 years since that last flare,
and I’ve felt pretty good following a gluten-free diet, and minimizing alcohol, soy, canola, dairy, and corn. I was still supplementing with adrenal/cortisol support as my workload increased, but other than that I was doing pretty well with just the basics.
Honestly, I felt like this flare sort of came out of nowhere, which was sort of discouraging. I am pretty darn good about my diet—the worst thing that might sneak in is junky Halloween candy once a year, or a cocktail a few times a year. Yeah, really pretty good, right?! But…… I’m working more than I ever have (easy to do when you do what you love!) and juggling a house and kids and all the things. So maybe it makes sense?
I took a look at my labs...
As I looked at my labs objectively (hard to do when they’re your own and you feel like you’ve been doing EVERYTHING), there were definitely a few clues as to why my thyroid was inciting a riot.
- My Vitamin D level had dropped from the 60’s to the 30’s.
- My selenium, Vitamin K1, and zinc were in the lower-normal range (per the full micronutrient panel I ran), and my cortisol was not optimal (more like under-the-ground low--see below).
- As a result, my labs showed very high anti-thyroglobulin antibodies, and
- low-normal Free T3 (see below).
