ZenSummerIssue

IN MY
OWN
WORDS
From Exhausted to Exhilarated: My Hashimoto’s Story
When I was pregnant with my first child I felt tired,
but not like the tired other pregnant women were
describing. I felt so tired I could hardly get out of
bed, hardly read my “how to be a good mom” books, hardly
eat enough before I would be sick again, and hardly enough
to care. My OB told me it was normal to be “sleepy” and as
a side note kept upping my thyroid meds with each monthly
visit fter my daughter was born, I still felt tired, but I figured
all new moms did. I assumed it was normal to be too
fatigued to lift my arms up high enough to rock my baby to
sleep. I didn’t want to be dramatic, so I didn’t mention it. My
OB took me off thyroid meds and sent me on my merry way.
A few months later I met an amazing chiropractor who was
treating my daughter for torticollis. Dr. Meyers took one look
at me, and how tired I was, and openly hinted that I might
need some help. I went to see her three times for adjustments
before she told me that she suspected I had Hashimotos
disease I got blood work done, to confirm, and it came
back with flashing neon lights positive for ashimotos he
explained Hashimoto’s and that I had a non-functioning thyroid,
which is unfortunate since your thyroid regulates your
metabolism and effects many aspects of your body, including
energy. My own body was attacking my thyroid until it
couldn’t perform its job anymore, leaving me listless and fatigued.
I still didn’t fully understand, so she recommended
a Hashimoto’s specialist she thought I should see. That day.
I thought cutting cheese and bread out of my life would be
so monstrous that I wouldn’t be able to manage it. But after
the initial period of kicking my cravings, and learning how to
grocery shop in a completely new way, I felt great. I felt better
than great. I felt like an entirely new person. I had suffered
chronic migraines my whole life and realized that it was, in
huge part, due to my diet. I now had more energy and less
headaches and my thyroid was finally showing up to work
When my daughter was nine months old I started to feel a
little tired again and I was really disappointed. I thought that
maybe all my hard work wasn’t paying off after all. After I
realized I was expecting baby number two instead, Dr Myers
and I worked together throughout my pregnancy (and the
following one) to make sure my thyroid behaved itself and I
have never looked back. I am in the midst of training for my
first full marathon and have more energy than I did in my
twenties.
Hashimoto’s is, unfortunately, a very common disease that
can have a huge array of symptoms. The thyroid is an immensely
important part of your body and it needs to be
checked regularly to make sure it is working for you. If you
do find yourself diagnosed with it, dont panic because with
the right diet, medication and supplement plan everything
can be put to right and you might even end up better than
before.
Working with Dr. Meyers (my Hashimoto’s guru) has changed
my life. I started a new eating lifestyle that excludes gluten,
dairy, corn and soy and includes supplements like “Adaptocrine”
that helps my adrenal glands “speak” to my pituitary
gland, hypothalamus and thyroid more fluidly, vitamin
which thyroid patients are seriously lacking in, iron supplements,
probiotics, fish oil, drena stim to help my adrenal
glands and others. She explained that I had to balance out
my hormones, my stress, my eating habits and my thyroid
medication to keep inflammation down so that my body had
a chance to put the guns down (that are pointed at myself)
and relax, allowing my thyroid to be able to do at least part
of its job.
12
ZEN LIVING MAGAZINE