What is it Like to Live with Hashimoto’s?

First, I want to say if you have Hashimoto’s you know exactly what it’s like to live with it!  I’m sorry for what you’ve been through and I hope you have learned how to cope and what makes you feel better.

For those that don’t have Hashimoto’s, I will tell you a little about what I deal with.  Everyone is different, so others may or may not have the same symptoms that I do.  Mostly, Hashimoto’s is exhausting!  I am pretty much exhausted ALL THE TIME!  It’s hard to even keep up with regular daily activities anymore because I have no energy.  On the days I do have a little more energy, I try to catch up on things and then I spend the next several days completely wiped out.  It’s a vicious cycle.

Besides exhaustion, I also have insomnia, which I’m sure you guessed by the name of this blog.  Insomnia is actually the first symptom that I noticed.  I went to multiple doctors to try to find out why I couldn’t sleep and they all just wanted to blame it on anxiety.  They called in Psychophysiological Insomnia and tried to put me on anxiety medication.  Luckily, I am stubborn and refused to take meds.  I also refused to believe that I couldn’t sleep due to anxiety.  I was right!  I found a functional medicine practitioner that listened to me and did further testing to find out that I have Hashimoto’s.  As it turns out, all of the symptoms I’d be complaining about to all of these doctors I had seen previously are symptoms of Hashimoto’s.  Some examples are dry skin, hair loss, constipation, depression, puffy eyes, sensitivity to cold, weight gain, brittle nails, joint pain, memory lapses, and many more.

I have trouble remembering things and concentrating most days.  Some days are worse than others.  I used to remember everything!  So, this was a big clue that something was wrong with me.  Of course, the doctors said that was because of the insomnia, so they didn’t think it was as concerning as I did.

My hair falls out in handfuls!  It’s so thin that I can see my scalp.  If it keeps up I will probably be as bald as my husband soon!  I use chemical free hair products and I take vitamins, but it still continues to fall out daily.

My nails are so brittle that they break without me even bumping them on something.  I had super strong nails for most of my life.  In fact, I had a friend in high school that was so mad she couldn’t break my nail, that she bit it off!  Weird, I know, but we all did weird things in high school.  I try to always keep them cut short now so that I don’t have any painful breaks.  Sometimes they will break down so far that they bleed.

I froze all winter long, even inside.  I would sit around my house with my coat and several blankets on and I still shivered!  Even in the summer, the air conditioning makes me cold.  We don’t keep it turned down that low and everyone else in the house is comfortable.  I am usually wearing a hoodie and sitting under a blanket.

I cook 100% of my food at home, so I know exactly what is going into my mouth at all times.  I mostly eat vegetables, meats and seafood, along with some healthy fats.  I have eliminated so many things due to food sensitivities.  Basically, my diet can’t get much healthier than it is, yet I still gain weight!  I have been struggling to lose and it is just not working!

All of my joints get sore regularly.  I go to a chiropractor because I have a fused ankle and he helps me so that I don’t end up with major problems in the future from overcompensating for that.  So, he also helps me with my joint pain when I go.  He does muscle testing on me every so often to see if I have inflammation.  I do still have inflammation in my whole body, which he says is why my joints bother me.  The inflammation is from the Hashimoto’s.

These are just some of the symptoms that are linked to Hashimoto’s.  I deal with these everyday.  Every time a new symptom pops up I find myself questioning if this is related to Hashimoto’s or if something new is going on.  I had no idea how many things are affected by the thyroid.  It affects our whole bodies!

My practitioner and I are still working on getting my meds, supplements and nutrition on point.  I also go to an integrative nutritionist once a month.  So, hopefully I will feel better soon.  Lots of people with Hashimoto’s are able to go into remission with the proper treatment. But, there are so many things that can affect it and we are all different, so it takes time to figure out what works for each individual.  I am pretty confident that I will get there one day because as I said earlier, I am stubborn.  I will not give up until I figure out what works for me!

If anyone reading this has Hashimoto’s, I would love to hear your story!  What’s worked for you?  Are you in remission?  How long have you been dealing with it?  What supplements do you take?