This picture was taken 42 years ago; my two oldest of 4 children. Notice the glare from the window on the picture? Yes, that had me upset and disappointed to the point of fretting. Stress - over and over - causes adrenal failure and puts a load on the entire body!The result of stress - great or simple as not taking the 'perfect picture' caused insomnia for me; this results in the lack of the body producing serotonin. Back when this picture was taken, I was skinny as a 'rail' - hyperthyroidism was my problem, but after a critical brain injury in a car accident in 2002, I ended up severely hypothyroid!
Some of the first posts will be about that 'journey' - my particular case; hopefully most will be about the course of recovery and success as I experience it in my own life, and the research I do.
3 comments:
Jessica, just wanted to show you the one comment I'm leaving for you.
I hope you will add your comments and experiences on this blog, because you inspired it. Hugs - Diane
What a beautiful blog Diane. You cetainly are a writer and a wonderful friend as well, and desiring to share with the world is commendable.
I am still struggling with my hashimotos. I have no idea when it first started, but I do remember that about 10 years ago I complained of fatigue to my doctor, thinking that I had anemia, which is comment for me. He found no cause, so I gave up. And the fatigue went away. Then when I moved to California from Texas, I went to another doctor for shortness of breath and fatigue. He found no reason for the shortness of breath, but said that I had Epstein Barr, and began giving me B-12 shots. They gave me energy at first, and at least they took away my shortness of breath, but then the fatigue came back. Six months in to the fatigue, a scientist, who was a friend of my best friend, gave me an article to read on fatigue. The woman was selling a product, but what is more, she said that she began juicing with carrots and felt better. I ignored her product and found a book called, Juicing for Life. They had a juice for the immune system. 5 medium carrots, 1 clove garlic, few sprigs of parsley, and one or two ribs of celery. I began drinking the juice and felt energy within the first week, even though just a little. As I continued to juice I found that I could get to sleep easily, and within a couple of months I was free from my chronic fatigue, plus I had lost 10 lbs. I felt great, so much so, that I found a book on raw food, and began eating raw food and felt even better. I still had my Essene bread and sometimes Ramen noodles, but basically I ate raw. I even made my own smoothies, 2 raw eggs (I have eaten them for years without ill effects, but do not recommend them due to the claim that they can cause food poisoning.) yogurt, banana, berries or mango, few nuts, and one or two oranges. Some people say that that is too much food. Maybe they are right, but I love them.
I often wondered if having all of my mercury fillings removed caused the fatigue. I had gone to the dentist and he claimed that they were all cracked. Could that have caused the fatigue? I had many fillings because as a child I was never taken to the dentist until I had a toothache. So one week he removed the lower right side of my mouth and replaced it with what I thought was not mercury but was. I went home and found that I was really tired. The next week he did the right upper. I came home and was tired again, and each week I was more tired. After the fourth visit I could not get out of bed. I had headaches, achiness, and fatigue. I noticed if I got up I felt achy, but if I laid down it went away. I still have all those mercury fillings because my new dentist said it would cause more problems to remove them. But I understand, if I remember correctly, that juicing with carrots takes out toxins. If it does, then that explains much. When I had a mercury test a year later my mercury levels were low.
I juiced for maybe 6 months before getting bored with it and the raw food. I quit juicing and gained my weight back. But I continued to feel great for many years.
And then we had a fire in Escondido, CA. and after the fires my shortness of breath came back. After my shoulder surgery I gained weight, and I didn't know if it was because of lying around or because the doctor had given me celebrex for pain.
I didn't go back for B-12 shots because I had moved away from that doctor and it was a long drive.
About that time I had begun walking and lost the weight in time, but the shortness of breath remained. I went to all kinds of doctors, test after test they found nothing.
One suggested acid reflux, but I didn't wnat to take their drugs. But when we moved from California to Oklahoma I was at my correct weight. That was good. But the first year I gained 5 lbs, then 10 lbs. then 15. I was finally diagnosed with hashimoto thyroidism. I refused to take synthetic drugs. The doctor gave me Armour. I didn't take it; instead I found an herbalist through my Chiropractor. I called him and did a phone consultation. But then time I had so many complaints that he missed that I had hashimoto and felt it was just low thyroidism. But Dr. Tillotson did help me with my shortness of breath. After getting off grains and sugar, and taking DGL it went away. I still cannot eat grains; I have tried. It isn't the gluten because I can eat noodles when cooked; it is the roughage as I learned. I even have to really chew up news to not have problems. The DGL helps a lot.
We only started doing something for my hashimoto, and I am not certain it will work. So there is no reason to go into the treatment I am receiving at this time.
I have come to greatly distrust doctors. Most want to throw drugs at you and want you to not complain afterwards. I had great medical care in Calfornia, but here in Oklahoma there are few doctors, and they are overbooked, so they have you see their nurse or just an D.O. I was told one day that I had high b/p, and when I said that I have white collar b/p the doctor said that it wouldn't go up that high. I knew better because I had been in an emergency room for 6 hours with a b/p monitor on my arm that took my b/p every 15 minutes, my idea to have this done. Whenever a doctor came in or a tech. it shot up. I was shocked because I had no thoughts in my mind about this person coming into the room. But I argued the point to no avail with that nurse. She said my herbalist wasn't helping me, and when they say these things they are condescending. No matter which nurse I see I am reminded of Nurse Rached in One Flew Over the Cocos Nest. So I went out and bought a b/p monitor, and I was correct, still.
So I am trying to fight hashimoto in a natural way, even if it ends up that I have to take Armour. I had finally decided to try the Armour that my doctor had given me 3 months earlier, telling me to take 60 mg. Well, I had a lot of energy, too much. I could have worked day and night. I didn't get tired, and I sweat, and when I sat still and noticed my body, I was feeling a nervous energy inside. I went to see a different Nurse Rached. I had only been on Armour for 3 weeks. She immediately said, "It isn't working, is it?" And wanted me to take a generic brand. I went home and called Forest labs who makes Armour. They said that you never start out a patient on 60 mg. you build up to it. That my symptoms did not mean that it was not working. I quit taking it anyway.
I had realized that while juicing I felt better, so I began juicing again. I had also read Dr. Andrew Newberg's books, and so I decided to go back to meditating, and to not watch much news because it was negative and so affects the brain in negative ways. So, I just try to stay abreast of what is going on.
I read Diane's comments on the Buddha's teachings such as, "When doing dishes, just do dishes." I remember reading that a Buddhist monk was reading and eating at the same time, and another monk commented on it, and he said, "When reading and eating; just read and eat." I thought that funny, but what I did notice this year, is while I love gardening, I have taken much of the joy out of it because where we live, in the lushness of east Oklahoma, weeds grow at an alarming rate. One day you see a little green growth, and two weeks you have a jungle. I have been trying to keep up with the weeds and can't. It is exhausting me, and I try to put down mulch, and it only helps a litte. I need much more mulch. But I realize that I need to just garden, to be in the moment, to enjoy weeding, which by the way I have always loved doing until we moved here.
But I would say this year the biggest discovery I made was Dr. Newberg's books. They changed my life, and I underlined so much in them, but I need to go back to reading them---again and again.
His books even got me off the forums, because forums can be so negative with people just arguing points, no one listening, no one changing his/her mind. As a result I am less stressed and have time to do other things in life that are more enjoyable.
I have also decided to think about what is important in life. And so I have learned to just do those things. Being retired helps since I can choose whatever activities I desire. I take more time to read now and read what I want. I say this because I was in a reading group, and I disliked most of the books we were told to read. I spent hours reading them. A friend told me something interesting the other day. An author had told her that if she found a book that was boring her in any way, to not read it. I used to try to struggle through books. I can't anymore. They have to keep my interest now. No more trying to read 25 to 50 pages to see if I can get into any certain book. My experience is, if it is boring in the first few pages, it will not change. So this frees up my life as well. And it lessens the stress.
Learning to say NO to people helps too. Of course there are many other things that are stressful, but I do my best to lead a unstressful life, and saying NO is one of them.
So until I have learned more in treating my hashimoto, I will stop here. If it can be cured naturally, then wonderful; if not then it is Armour. I will not allow a doctor to brow beat me into taking a sythenic, that I won't take anyway after leaving the office.
I'm so glad you commented, Jessica - what a wonderful summary!!!
I think this deserves also being reprinted at the bottom of this blog, because I did say you and I would report our progress at the bottom, so I'm going to add that as well.
I hope you saw the side-bar summary on Hashimoto's. Like you, one doctor said it was Hashimoto's and then another doctor called it Epstein Barr as well.
I think they just keep bouncing these names around because they're not always sure of what's going on.
I also read that all doctors have to use an ICD code (International Code for Disease), when they write up the treatment; submit the billing and expect to be compensated by the insurance companies and Medicare.
If they can't put us into a 'coded slot', then they don't get paid, so when we live in the 'cracks of the ICD code', we don't fit the precise criteria for reimbursement, and that means the medications that are prescribed for the 'coded diseases', are all we can get our hands on (unless, of course, we strike out on our own and find herbs; foods, and other holistic methods and alternatives to 'healing ourselves'.
Your comments really add so much to the intent of this blog - thank you for writing it! Hugs - Diane
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