The Start of it ALL…
When I was pregnant with my first kiddo, Eddie (now almost 6) I had endured a great amount of stress during my pregnancy. Within my first trimester, I lost my mother. During my second trimester, I lost my mother in law. I took on a new job and also put together our new home we just moved into. As it turns out, stress does NOT go well with my body and soon after Eddie was born, all hell broke loose.
I experienced a severe form of Postpartum Thyroditis. It started with insomnia, which became out of control. I’m talking days with only an hour or two of sleep, with my 8 week old child who was now sleeping through the night. It’s okay, you can roll your eyes at that part. Then my hair fell out, I dropped weight dramatically very quickly, and what I didn’t know at the time was off the charts cortisol levels leading to daily panic and anxiety attacks. My milk supply stopped suddenly as well. As it turns out, my thyroid was incredibly overactive. After a visit to my new doctor on the Air Force Base we were stationed at, where all I could do was sob because I was so tired, she not only told me she thought I had the “baby blues” (I was actually very happy) she DID decide to do a simple blood draw to check my thyroid. That night I got a call that my hormone levels were indeed, off the charts. For those who know about thyroid issues, my TSH was .001. There was so much thyroid hormone running through my body it was like a race car, pedal to the metal, in neutral. My heart rate was so high that regardless of being beyond exhausted, and tired, I could not sleep.
I ended up in the ER twice. I was given a pharmacies worth of pills to take. One for insomnia/sleep. One for depression. One for anxiety. One for my heart rate. I went from taking a single multi-vitamin to being a full on pill popper so I could just simply exist, and take care of my precious baby.
After 9 months of not feeling ANY better, aside from taking pills to sleep, I finally decided I had enough of doctors shuffling me back and forth and took matters into my own hands. This is when I became my own health advocate. I made an appointment with a Naturopath in Phoenix, Arizona. We went through my whole story, and one of the FIRST things she asked me about was my diet. In addition to that she wanted to a FULL blood panel to check for deficiencies and also a check on my adrenal glands.
Here is what we found: My vitamin D levels were almost deficient, which is crazy because I lived, literally, in the Valley of the Sun! My white blood cell count was low. My cortisol levels were off the charts and my thyroid antibodies were HIGH. My body was literally attacking itself, and all I did was have the beautiful baby boy who I loved so much.
We discussed my diet. She asked my about my dairy intake. Simply put I drank so much milk I needed a cow in my back yard. I LOVED cheese and yogurt and ice cream. I’m surprised I wasn’t a cow. She asked about gluten as well which at the time I knew very little about. Her suggestion: Cut WAY back on my dairy and to go gluten free for six weeks. The point of that was to see if gluten had any effect on my thyroid antibodies, since it was obviously inflamed and gluten causes inflammation. I told her I’d do anything I could to feel better, so low dairy and gluten free I went!
The problem. I had NO idea where to start. I was unfamiliar with places like Whole Foods and Trader Joes. I didn’t know the best gluten free options and I felt blind to starting a “clean” diet. A friend of mine posted about her own autoimmune issues and a cookbook she bought to help her. I ordered it and followed it. The Autoimmune Paleo Cookbook .
This book changed my life. I once thought that “clean eating” was hard, expensive and depriving. This book laid out very simply what I should have for breakfast, lunch, dinner, desserts and even snacks, to include shopping lists! I learned that clean eating, meant simple cooking which for a new mom was a WIN for me. I followed it for 6 weeks.
The results? Being gluten free did not have an effect on my antibody numbers. However, I did have a lot more energy, I was finally sleeping again, I was conscious of the fact that I had less brain fog, my mood improved and overall, I was FEELING better. That, was enough for me. I know it was a lot more than just being gluten free. I was taking out processed food and replacing it with whole foods with amazing nutrients. I was actually healing my body with the food I was giving it. A whole heal though, would take more time and more than just food.
My journey continued to evolve and I will share a lot more about that, but I feel for most people with a chronic illness what we struggle with is…where to start! The WHY and the HOW. We also struggle with isolation and feeling alone in it. I’m here to tell you are so not alone.
A bit about the author, Mickey Trescott. Mickey is a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner and works with clients virtually all over the globe. She is the co-creator and co-teacher of AIP Certified Coach, an advanced training health care practitioners. In 2012, Mickey founded AutoimmuneWellness.com, a website that serves millions of readers annually with recipes, resources, and support for living well with autoimmune disease and chronic illness.
Since the purchase of this book, I have become a bit voracious for new cookbooks that service all kinds of foods I love and enjoy. You’ll soon be able to find those in my “Obsessions” page and of course I’ll be sharing nutritious recipes I love HERE, too! For now, I wanted to introduce you to my story, my struggle and the start of the very long road to recovery…which even includes an additional autoimmune disease, yippee!
XO,
Audrey
