No, I don’t have celiac—Going gluten free

Just in case you didn’t realize, I am not a doctor. What I am is a person who has been living with hypothyroidism for about 14 years. And quite frankly, was sick of feeling exhausted all the time. And the weight gain, anxiety, and overall brain fog. So I took my life in my own hands by researching and researching some more. Hopefully this will help you to try to find answers for yourself! And I think the first step is finding a doctor who won’t dismiss your concerns. And by first step.. unfortunately probably the hardest.

I mentioned back in June I believe that I planned on going gluten free in an attempt to feel better. Honestly, best decision I’ve made!

For years, I’ve been plagued with stomach issues. A few years ago, I had gone to the doctor numerous times to try to figure out what was going on. I was told to drink more water. I did, and nothing changed.

One doctor I finally went to, after telling him my family history, agreed to do a blood test for celiac. It came back negative. I just wanted to know what was going on with my body could actually be prevented in some way! But I did nothing. For years.

Last year, when I started feeling like my hypothyroid symptoms were getting worse, I went to my doctor yet again, and was told my numbers were fine. That’s when I found the Stop the Thyroid Madness website and Facebook group. They are a wealth of knowledge! Once I started taking both a T3 & T4 med (after finding a new doctor), I did begin to feel a little better, but the exhaustion, brain fog and stomach issues persisted. The doctor who prescribed my new thyroid medication also suggested the 21 Day Vegan kickstart. Which got me to thinking. After searching the internet, you might find yourself finding information about removing soy, dairy and gluten from your diet. Gluten kept popping up, so I searched and found this article.

As stated before, I went gluten free and it was hard to say definitively at first. Then I took two trips and didn’t stick to it. It was almost immediate regret. There was a lot of stomach pain and I struggled with exhaustion (even with enough sleep.)

It’s a tough road because I’ve had to go based on how I feel without a definitive test. I’ve had a person tell me it wasn’t necessary (gluten doesn’t affect thyroid!) and others who completely agree.

I just hope this information can help some!

Personal health: update!

Last month, I shared that I was going gluten free in an attempt to try to feel better and I thought it was time for an update.

I'm still going strong! I thought about adding gluten back in about 3 weeks into this health change, but after talking with a number of people, it seems like it should be a longer process.

Do I feel better? Eh.. that's debatable. There's days where I feel I have more energy, and there was a week straight where all I wanted to do was sleep, even after getting enough.

So the jury is still out, but I also haven't eliminated other possible thyroid triggers like milk. I have an appointment with my doctor next week. While I think she's helping, I also think my thyroid levels are no where close to being optimal yet.

This brings me to my weight! My work gym hired a full-time trainer and nutritionist a few months ago and just recently started a fat loss competition. Since scale hasn't budged in months, I asked and got a nutrition plan focusing on Macro nutrients. I'm on the second week, and now that I have a food scale, I think this is going to be a powerful tool in making sure that while my thyroid isn't optimal, at least my nutrition can be!

Haven't moved the scale much at weigh-ins, but I'm determined!

(In picture, I am 146.8)

Going gluten free.

As with most things I set out to do, I tend to be the queen of starting something, and not seeing it through to the finish. Like, at the beginning of the year when I tried the 21-day vegan kickstart to eliminate inflammatory foods, and try to help my hypothyroidism symptoms. It only lasted so long before I fell back in to my old habits, and here I am, six months later and having gained even more weight.

As easy as it is to say, “I have hypothyroidism! Weight loss is hard” Is that really all it is? Am I doing enough to help myself? Nope. Not even close. I am a part of a thyroid group who share their experiences in trying to get their thyroid optimal. I am not there yet, but something that I’ve seen over and over is people who have started to feel better after going gluten free. It doesn’t work for everyone, but it’s something I am willing to try. How else will I know? 

“The problem is that your immune system can mistake the thyroid for gluten, causing it to come under attack. When people think of gluten intolerance, they typically think of celiac disease (CD), but this is just one manifestation of gluten intolerance.” 

Source https://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-18316/this-is-what-gluten-can-do-to-your-thyroid-it-isnt-pretty.html

This is going to take some work, so I’ve been researching and pinning things to help. But starting today, this is something I’m going to try to see if it helps! 

Day 1: June 4, 2017

Weight: 148 

Symptoms: Even after full night’s sleep, still exhausted. Some days of feeling light-headed. Various stomach ailments, like bloating and pain. 

Do you have hypothyroidism and hashimotos? I’d love to hear if you’ve tried going gluten free and if it’s helped your symptoms!