I thought I was invincible: I took great supplements, worked out regularly, even enrolled with a naturopathic clinic to have regular blood work and checkups. All was good for many years, then last fall my doctor said my thyroid numbers looked high. He ordered extensive thyroid blood testing. They came back, we had a call and he said, “you have Hashimoto’s disease”. To say the least I was shocked.
I had done all the right things including eating well probably 80% of the time. My mom has since told me that she, my grandmother and all my aunts have had thyroid issues. Now, I don’t believe we have to have the same issues our parents did. But I guess genetics does sometimes have a say so in our overall health.
My doctor’s main recommendation that day was a ‘pig thyroid’ medication. He prescribed Armour thyroid but the pharmacy substituted NP thyroid. I haven’t really noticed any changes, but hopefully there are some changes internally.
I have to take the medication 30 minutes before drinking/eating anything in the morning. If you know me, you know I love routine. I had a routine I had flowed in for years. Now I get up, take the pill with a drink of water and then set my timer for 30 minutes.
One of my doctor’s other recommendations was to become gluten free. I was diagnosed right before Thanksgiving so that meant no dressing! But I like to cook so found some gluten free recipes and they weren’t bad. I was the only one to eat the gluten free dressing but everyone liked the gluten free pies. (I didn’t tell them until afterwards)
Then came Christmas, New Years, the Super Bowl, Valentine’s Day and on and on. I had to make a decision to stay on the plan and have pretty much stuck to it. Two of my grandson’s had a birthday cake one night and I actually did eat a piece. Other than that I have been pretty good.
Eating out can be a challenge. Some restaurants are wonderful, some are not so helpful. It seems the server always asks if I have a ‘gluten allergy’. Do I? I just have been advised not to eat it. So, I just order salads without croutons or I look for beef, grilled chicken, or fish without a coating. What’s funny is where gluten can be hidden…it can be very strange. For instance Cracker Barrel has a multi-page gluten free menu. It also lists all other kinds of allergies or ingredients people might need to check for, it’s very lengthy. Anyway, would you believe their steamed broccoli has gluten? I couldn’t figure that one out. Also, many condiments and dressings contain gluten. So, I am learning!
Another eating out experience was at a restaurant on the beach in Florida. They had a nice gluten free selection once you downloaded the QR code. I chose a salad from the menu. When it was brought to the table, it had a piece of banana bread and the salad was in a flour tortilla bowl. I asked the server if the bread was gluten free and she said, ”no”. She also said the tortilla bowl contained flour. I said I ordered from the gluten free menu and she informed me that I had to inform the server that I was ordering gluten free- it was my fault. *Still learning my lessons on gluten free eating or should I say ‘ordering’.
I want you to know especially if you have Hashimoto’s that this isn’t a sentence. It is something that we can make lifestyle changes for and feel better in the long run.
Now I’m tackling sugar and dairy as far as elimination from my diet. I love dairy! I’ve got a pretty good handle on sugar but am a work in progress with the dairy. Yogurt is something I’ve eaten over the years and maybe I’ll be able to have it in the future but right now I want to address getting my thyroid health in order.
My diet can probably be classified as clean Paleo or clean Keto. I drink a lot of hot tea at home so have learned to use almond or coconut or even cashew milk in it. The only problem is when we eat out I love a hot tea with my meal and they only have the little cups of cream. Dairy! So my best bet is to just drink hot water with a lemon slice when eating out.
Why do all these adjustments to my diet? I have a few symptoms but not as many as a lot of people. Here are some:
An under active thyroid can go undetected for many years. Others may experience:
Enlarged thyroid or goiter
Fatigue
Constipation
Hair Loss
High cholesterol
Unexplained weight gain
Muscle aches, often in shoulders and hips
Joint pain
Feeling cold
Difficulty becoming pregnant
A pale, puffy face
Depression
Prolonged or excessive menstrual bleeding
Dry hair or skin
