My Story

In October of 2003, my husband of three months was in boot camp, I was depressed, exhausted for no apparent reason, and I was living a good 600 miles away from my family and friends. It was a great blessing that I was living with my in-laws at the time. My mother-in-law is an RN, and I was sinking further into depression. She suggested I see a doctor about perhaps getting an anti-depressant to take the edge off until Ryan completed his training and we could be together again, as I was sure that was the reason for my depression. I went to the appointment and as the PA took all my vitals, she stopped at my throat and said a little, "hm." She told me to go straight to the lab with a slip for 3 tests to be done, my T3, T4, and TSH.


Kris came with me to my appointment with the doctor who laid right in to me. A "normal" TSH range is 0-4. Mine was at 39. I'd apparently been living with this undiagnosed for a very long time. He asked me, "Did you think it was normal to be so tired all the time?"
Just before I got married, I'd been a server at Red Robin for a year. I was in college. I stayed out til midnight. Of course, I thought it was normal!

Because of the size of my goiter, I was sent for more tests to be done- biopsies on six nodes to rule out cancer, with a follow-up with an endocrinologist. I felt that meeting went well. He told me I'd have to take a pill every day for the rest of my life. No biggie, I thought. I'd also need blood tests every six months to make sure my levels were ok. Again, no biggie, I thought. I'm stoic. Needles aren't bad, and I have a decent threshold for pain. He also explained the nature of Hashimoto's disease, that it is an autoimmune disease that affects your body's metabolism. It couldn't be cured. I could live a normal life so long as I took my pill every day, but I would still have some of my symptoms. So, I left the endocrinologist armed with a satisfactory understanding of what I was dealing with.

Or so I thought.

See, it's been almost eight years now since my diagnosis. I've learned some things along the way. I actually understand what metabolism is and what it means to have a slow one. During my first pregnancy, I discovered just how easy it was to pack on extra pounds ( I gained fifty) and just how difficult it was to lose it. After the initial twenty-five pounds melted off, I was left with another twenty five I thought I could just exercise off. It took 18 months to lose 35 pounds. I admit I wasn't as committed the first six months, but the last year, I was going to an aerobics class 3 times a week, and exercising at home two and three times a week. I was counting my calories religiously and drinking water like it was going out of style.

I've met with two other endocrinologists and countless general family practitioners, and not one of them ever mentioned diet. Drinking extra water was the only thing they ever told me to do. I was told to not obsess over weight loss, to find a way to be comfortable in my skin. And to celebrate a half pound if it came. Because of my family history of diabetes, I was told to exercise regularly and I could possibly stave it off. I could maintain my weight with work, but I shouldn't expect much weight loss.

The last two years, I have been living with my symptoms. I just had my third baby. And I finally reached my breaking point. I've been so exhausted. I haven't been able to think straight. After my little one was born a few months ago, my mother-in-law came to visit and she suggested I start researching how to eat for hypothyroidism. A month ago, I took her advice, and my life has not been the same. I really owe her special thanks.

I've been doing some research and have been enlightened to the power of food on our bodies. Even healthy-seeming foods. If your body can't tolerate it, no matter how much the food pyramid says you should have it, it's not going to do your body any good. And from what I've been able to find, hypothyroid persons ought to be eating like diabetic celiacs with a soy allergy. Fun, right? I'm determined to see if it can work.