Living and Growing with Hashimoto’s Disease
I am a 40 year old woman, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Turkey, who has lived 70% of her life mostly in the U.S. and partly in Russia. This is a personal story of learning and growth through an autoimmune disorder that has cost me excruciating physical and emotional pain including over five miscarriages, diffuse alopecia, early osteoporosis, depression, constant fatigue and dry skin. My hope is that if you are someone suffering or has suffered from any or all of the foregoing, you will find some answers, or even more so, some comfort and possibilities.
I remember having itchy skin since early in my childhood. I would get hives and rashes under my eyes and cheeks and seek relief by taking antihistamines. In my late teens I developed rosacea on the back of my neck, which spread to my scalp, and continues to flare up sporadically. My dad had a similar mark in the same spot so I assumed it was hereditary and didn’t give it much thought, though mine would itch and change form and size. Then, in my late 30s, the small area in bottom of my neck above my collarbone became dry, flaky, and itchy causing extreme itching and torment.
I was in my early 20s when I had my first miscarriage. I recall lying sideways in our strawberry checkered couch with my face burned inside the pillows silently crying feeling a deep void, so raw and hopeless, as the tiny life inside me left. It wouldn’t be my first. Years and a husband later, multiple ones followed, each equally painful and heartbreaking. So much so, my stomach would churn every time a home pregnancy test would show a positive result leaving me in tears of fear of another pending loss.
I owe it to my then OBGYN in Bloomington, Indiana who noticed a sharp elevation in my TsH levels during an active miscarriage compared to my pre-conception levels. A slew of lab tests showed that I had Hashimoto’s Disease — a type of autoimmune disorder that occurs when the immune system attacks the thyroid gland causing inflammation which results in an under-active thyroid and hence hypothyroidism.
While levothyroxine helped to keep my thyroid levels at bay, it was follow-on testing by Mount Sinai endocrinologists that revealed a certain kind of blood mutation was causing clotting, which in turn was blocking the flow of nutrients to placenta resulting in miscarriage. In the months and years that followed I religiously heeded to instructions from a trusted family doctor who advised IVF and put me on blood thinner injections, once daily for 30+ weeks. I found this video on how to administer a Levonox injection quiet helpful at the time, and found it was less painful to use my thighs (versus the abdomen) as the injection area.
Today I am a lucky mom of two beautiful girls, one 2 yo, and the other 5 1/2. It has taken two years of self-injections (it’s true they bruise horribly but the bruises go away quickly once the injections stop), multiple failed IUI cycles, daily prayers, spiritual retreats, personal development forums, and a successful IVF cycle to get here. So, if you are trying to conceive, consider seeking out the opinion of multiple doctors from multiple specialties, be your own advocate and think of your well-being holistically — heart, mind, body combined.
The Hashimoto and blood mutation diagnoses under the care of an exceptional doctor helped me become a mother but they did not prevent my health from deteriorating soon after the birth of my girls. What I thought was a pregnancy brain evolved into memory loss, verbal/nonverbal communication difficulties and foggy brain. Other symptoms followed including constant fatigue, even more excessive hair loss, eczema, amenorrhea, and chronic joint pain. The calcium supplements I was given for early osteoporosis exacerbated my symptoms.
I would be lying if I didn’t admit that struggling with all of these pains while juggling a busy life of kids, PhD study, and full time work was taking a huge emotional toll on me. While my symptoms ensued, all that doctors would recommend was a switch to Nezoral shampoo and IUD to regulate my periods. The progestin led to emotional irritability and the vitamin supplements seemed to flare up my hives further. My foggy brain was affecting my performance at my new job and the continued patchy hair loss was a blow to my morale. It was then when I came across research on leaky gut and healing with the right kind of nutrition.
Apparently, those with autoimmune disorders are predisposed to leaky gut which happens when there’s been damage to the intestinal wall causing bacteria and toxins to pass into the bloodstream. These bacteria than activate the immune system causing the body to produce antibodies to fight the toxins. When the immune system is overstimulated, it spreads thin over its other functions such as detoxifying the blood, fighting infection, and bringing essential nutrients to other cells, our hair and nails being just one of them.
While, I am still new to the territory of nutrition and holistic healing to balance hormones, I find avoiding soy, gluten, and dairy has made wonders for me. I have started following the Paleo diet which restricts all processed and hard to digest foods including grains, sugar (though I admit I still indulge in dark chocolate from time to time), dairy (a toughie for me since there is nothing I love more for breakfast than high fiber cereal and milk), sweeteners, and some veggie oils extracted from corn and seeds. Instead, the diet calls for consumption of meat, fish, vegetables, fruits and healthy fats like coconut or avocado oil. As a foodie who used to enhance every dish with comté and heavy cream and loved spending time experimenting in the world of French sauces, this diet compelled a huge mental and lifestyle shift for me, one I have nowhere near mastered yet. But if my slowing hair loss, reduced hives, higher morale and energy are any indication, it’s worth the try and sacrifice involved. So if you are reading this, consider cleansing your body with fish, omega3 fatty acids, vegetables, fruits, beef stock, turmeric, sea salt, garlic, completely rid yourself of gluten and soy, and talk to your healthcare practitioner about taking 200 mcg per day of selenium with your thyroid medication. If it helps, drop me a note. I’d love to meet a fellow Hashi-sufferer and heal together.
With love,
Dee
References:
http://www.bioray.com/content/Autism%20One%20Conference%2007.pdf
https://www.boostthyroid.com/blog/2018/4/13/the-trouble-with-leaky-gut-and-what-to-do-about-it
