I wrote part one of this post ages ago here. And then life got busy, and kids are kids, and I was still learning and trying different things, so I didn’t feel ready to write this part yet. But now here it is. This is the practical stuff, the things that are are the difference between me being bedridden and being able to get things done and take care of my kids and pursue other interests.
Natural Desiccated Thyroid:
The website Stop The Thyroid Madness taught me so much about my condition and functioning. Through full thyroid panels we figured out that a large part of the reason I was getting sicker and sicker was because despite having enough T4 (which is what Synthroid contains) my thyroid was unable to convert it into adequate T3 – which is what your cells actually use. Once I got a prescription for NDT (Thyroid by Erfa in Canada) and got past the adjustment period I felt like a new person, I was able to make it through the day, my nerve pain was gone, many other symptoms vanished or greatly diminished! And the weight! It was incredible how fast all that baby weight that refused to fall off no matter how I ate or how much I pushed my body fell off. In a month of being on NDT I was below my pre-pregnancy weight without even trying!
Supplements:
After doing very well on NDT for some time, some symptoms started to become more predominant or had never really gone away. Because my thyroid levels were good, (or at least good enough that the Dr.was worried that increasing my prescription would tip me to hyper); I started looking into other things. I was taking probably at least 8 different supplements a day and not feeling much better for it. After switching to a high quality whole food supplements I was able to cut down on the amount of supplements I was taking with great results! I no longer needed a nap, my hair that had been falling out finally started to grow back and not fall out by the handful every shower.
Adrenal Fatigue:
The first 2 years of having my children was surrounded with a lot of stress, financial, legal, learning how to parent my oldest in a way that best met his needs, not to mention I don’t think I had ever really recovered after pregnancy and childbirth left me with adrenal fatigue. I have had to cut way back, I limit even walking as too many steps a day seems to set me back a day or two of difficulty functioning, I unscheduled our lives to reduce as much stress as possible, and I take products containing adaptogens to boost my cortisol.
Diet:
I did an experiment one summer and went completely gluten and dairy free and the results were great, I had more energy, less brain fog, was less moody! I am a strong believer now that inflammation is definitely an enemy of a thyroid disease sufferer. I will admit that at this point in life financially and time and energy wise, I am not completely gluten and dairy free, but I am probably 90% gluten free and 100% lactose free and function far better when intentional about keeping these things out of my diet.
Essential Oils:
I am so blessed to have been introduced to essential oils when I was. Between using them to reduce the toxic/chemical load I and my family are exposed to (which I do believe also had a large impact on my not being able to function well), they have worked wonders for my personal mood and well being. One of the things that I have struggled with that as never quite gone away was depression and anxiety, both hypothyroid symptoms, both I have tried to address with diet and supplements, with varying degrees of success. But oils for grounding and mood and that support adrenal functioning have been vital to my healing and well being. Frankincense, Arborvitae, Rosemary, Peppermint and Wild Orange and the Grounding blend and Encouraging blend and the Cellular Repair blend have been my “life support” especially during this extraordinarily long winter, that emotionally ground me and pick me up to be able to handle the day with enough energy and patience to deal with the stressors that come with it.
All in all, I am greatful for all these tools that help me manage my symptoms. I would be lying if I said it was all great and I never suffer, in fact, I have been made acutely aware these past two years what chronic means. It will never go away, I will never be healed and have the life that I had before back; but I am grateful for the knowledge out there that helps me manage and gives me hope that even in spite of my illness I CAN accomplish things in my life, I may never be as as active as I once was, but I CAN be the mother I want to be, I may never be able to handle high stress work environments, but I CAN be used by God to bless others – even in the midst of having to take care of myself very intentionally every day. If you are interested in what brands I use please contact me with your email address, I am happy to share with those who want more details.
Through My Eyes 