My Hashimoto's Story
When i was 18 years old i moved to the US to pursue a degree in Architecture. I was happy, healthy and overjoyed at the abundance of gluten free food and options: HELLO WHOLE FOODS! When i turned 19 that all changed. I started to gain weight, not just the freshman 15 we're talking a lot of weight. I was depressed, sluggish, fatigued, and had no ability to control my temperature. I felt hopeless, like i was back to being 12 years old not knowing what was wrong. In the beginning i figured it was perhaps lack of exercise and bad eating habits that made me gain weight so i started exercising and dieting, nothing changed.
Within 2 years i had gone from a healthy 5'7" and 155 pounds to 175 pounds, and a year later 185 pounds. At one point around the 3rd year i was exercising an hour daily and barely eating and i was still gaining weight that is when it clicked, something wasn't right. I went to the doctor and forced them to do thyroid tests on me, that is when they realized my thyroid was enlarged and my levels were down to where they were off the chart.
A few months later after seeing a specialist i was diagnosed with Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, an autoimmune disorder attacking the thyroid and recreating symptoms of Hypothyroidism, except people with hypo create some hormones mine creates none. Which basically means i have close to no metabolism. I started taking medications at 21, two years after i had first complained about gaining weight and being ill. They made me extremely ill and unable to eat, but i thought "hey at least i'm losing weight", for the first time in my life i had lost 5 pounds in 10 weeks. When i went in to my first check up appointment the doctor was shocked at my appearance i was shaking, white as a ghost, and had deep dark circles under my eyes. I told her that the pills were making me ill an unable to do much of anything. After some tests it turns out they were negatively affecting my neurological system and i was taken of them immediately. I was put on different meds for about 6 months and a thyroid hormone was added 6 months later, they didn't make me very ill but they didn't seem to do much else either. As you can tell the timeline is getting fairly close to present day. In a year i gained another 10 pounds (totaling 195) even with diet, exercise, and meds. Confirming all of our fears that none of the meds were working.
I was recently set on a new set of thyroid hormone and yet again another new set of medications. Due to this illness on top of being celiac i have to really watch what i eat and what i do. this part of the blog will give tips and trick to living low calorie (but still delicious), doing great exercises and dealing with the daily struggle of feeling sick, medications, and mental health issues associated with thyroid problems.
I have been struggling with these illnesses for a while with no experienced person to go to, so i want to help everyone and let y'all know that you are not alone!
~Hanna
Within 2 years i had gone from a healthy 5'7" and 155 pounds to 175 pounds, and a year later 185 pounds. At one point around the 3rd year i was exercising an hour daily and barely eating and i was still gaining weight that is when it clicked, something wasn't right. I went to the doctor and forced them to do thyroid tests on me, that is when they realized my thyroid was enlarged and my levels were down to where they were off the chart.
A few months later after seeing a specialist i was diagnosed with Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, an autoimmune disorder attacking the thyroid and recreating symptoms of Hypothyroidism, except people with hypo create some hormones mine creates none. Which basically means i have close to no metabolism. I started taking medications at 21, two years after i had first complained about gaining weight and being ill. They made me extremely ill and unable to eat, but i thought "hey at least i'm losing weight", for the first time in my life i had lost 5 pounds in 10 weeks. When i went in to my first check up appointment the doctor was shocked at my appearance i was shaking, white as a ghost, and had deep dark circles under my eyes. I told her that the pills were making me ill an unable to do much of anything. After some tests it turns out they were negatively affecting my neurological system and i was taken of them immediately. I was put on different meds for about 6 months and a thyroid hormone was added 6 months later, they didn't make me very ill but they didn't seem to do much else either. As you can tell the timeline is getting fairly close to present day. In a year i gained another 10 pounds (totaling 195) even with diet, exercise, and meds. Confirming all of our fears that none of the meds were working.
I was recently set on a new set of thyroid hormone and yet again another new set of medications. Due to this illness on top of being celiac i have to really watch what i eat and what i do. this part of the blog will give tips and trick to living low calorie (but still delicious), doing great exercises and dealing with the daily struggle of feeling sick, medications, and mental health issues associated with thyroid problems.
I have been struggling with these illnesses for a while with no experienced person to go to, so i want to help everyone and let y'all know that you are not alone!
~Hanna
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