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Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis

A lot of people have been asking me about my health situation and the medical stuff they've been testing me for. I haven't said much before now because I'm just now finally fully understanding it for myself. This is the long version of how I found out I have Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis.

I've been slowly gaining weight for a few years now. Nothing big, five pounds here five pounds there. It wasn't until 2013/2014 when my weight skyrocketed. I gained 20 pounds. Throughout 2015 I gained 20 more pounds and knew this was out of control and I needed to get healthy again. My 2016 new years resolution was to lose the extra 40 pounds I've gained, get back to my normal weight, start hitting the gym and getting toned, and just be the healthiest me I could be. 

So came January 2016 and I cut out all the junk food, fast food and all meats. I went vegetarian for one month so that my body wouldn't associate chicken with fast food anymore. When I did start eating meat again I wanted it with fresh veggies or plain by itself, not smothered in grease. Eric and I also started going to the gym three times every week and we were adamant about going and staying on track. By February 2016 I had gained ten more pounds. 

A few of my friends are on this healthy eating lifestyle called "Trim Healthy Mama." I'll do another post about that because there's just too much information to put in this blog. But it's basically eating your carbs at different times than you eat your fats and my friends have all lost a lot of weight on this healthy eating. 30+ pounds. Wow! Let me try! I tried for a month, my mom did it with me. She lost weight, I stayed the same. 

By the end of March early April I was frustrated. I had cut out all the "bad" food. I hardly ate fast food. I was eating healthy, drinking only water (or the drinks from the THM cookbook) working out at least 3 times a week and I still weighed as much as I did! What is going on!!

I finally made an appointment with my doctor. I knew there had to be an underlying issue that I couldn't see. I wanted my doctor to test my thyroid. We went through a series of questions, Are you fatigued? Are you cold all the time? Are you sluggish with no energy? Thinning hair? Weight gain? etc. etc. Yes to all! So three vials of blood and two days later I got a call to come in for a followup appointment.

You have hypothyroidism. I'm not surprised. My father has that and it's hereditary so no mystery as to how I got it. This explains all the weight gain and the feeling tired all the time. Great, so what does that mean? It means I'll be on a pill for the rest of my life and everything should slowly start to feel normal. Even better. The worst part of all this (and I don't care what you read or what else you've heard) when you have hypothyroidism it is extremely hard to lose weight. I think doctors try to make it better and say "once you're on the medication for a while you should go back down to your normal weight" which isn't true without a lot of food watching and tons of exercise. Luckily I had a doctor who gave it to me straight. Told me that it's possible but going to be a lot of hard work to get back down as far as I want to be. I'm up for a challenge. 

The great thing about my case is that we caught it "early" meaning one of my hormone levels was off just slightly and totally fine for everything else. Which translates to I can be on the lowest dosage possible for my medication. 

Six weeks later I went back to the doctor for more hormone level checks, more blood to give. Everything looked great except my antibodies in my thyroid. I was 800x over what I should have = Hashimoto's Thyroiditis. The good thing was I could stay on that lowest dose of my current medication but she wanted me to see an OB to make sure my condition and medication were right for me as Eric and I had just gotten married last year and are still planning on having kids in the future. 

Your thyroid plays a huge part in pregnancy, especially in the early stages of your baby's life that the doctors watch you extremely carefully before and after you get pregnant. July 5th I was on my way to my obstetrician's office. By the way, if you're in the Naperville (Chicagoland Area) and need a fantastic OB go see Dr. Kimberly Wright at The Wright Center for Women's Health. She is amazing to say the least. I absolutely love her. 

Dr. Wright and I sat and talked for an hour. We talked about anything and everything Hashimoto's meant to me. She took more blood....THOSE VAMPIRES! She prepared us for when we were ready to start trying for a baby. Taught me how gluten plays such a huge role on your thyroid (I may be going gluten free soon) And most importantly she treated me as a whole and not just my symptoms. We took more tests to find out really everything that's going on with me and I'm currently waiting on those results. 

I'm so happy that I had the feeling something was wrong and told my doctor exactly what tests I wanted them to take. I'm so glad we haven't tried to get pregnant because I'm pretty sure they would of ended in miscarriages because of condition. This is exactly why I'm so glad we waited on starting a family, I'm able to make sure I'm in the best health that I can be and able to care for our baby like I should. 

NO this does not mean Eric and I are going to be trying to start a family. No this does not mean I want to be pregnant or that we're trying soon. It just means; I have Hashimoto's, I'm treating it, and we got the ok that I am healthy to have a baby when the time is right. 

Eric and I are finally back in the gym after some time off as I dealt with the issues at hand. I'm optimistic about the future and I'm excited to be sharing the next steps along this life journey of mine. 

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