I have been listening to your podcast and want to thank you so much for the amazing information and support I feel and I know others do as well!

I was diagnosed (by the antibody test) finally in October, 2019 after about 4 years of suffering and being told everything was fine (seems like a familiar story of so many). I have hashimoto's but my T4/T3 test results are within the current "normal range". I am taking 25 mg of levothyroxine because the T4 was on the lower end. I am experiencing every hashimoto's symptom on the list and I'm very unhappy, in pain, and tired of it all. (Background: Have had thyroid goiters for over 10 years as well and recently found arthritis in my lower back.)

Anyway, although I have several questions, I want to start with something that is really causing me so much emotional distress right now.

I finally went to my first appointment with a functional medicine doctor this week. Although I have been following a gluten, sugar, soy, alcohol and grain free diet since my diagnosis, the doctor looks at me and says "you need to stop using nail polish and coloring your hair".

These two things are what keep me from going full blown depressed. To be able to at least feel pretty even though, inside I'm in pain 24/7, is what brings me some joy. Sounds superficial I know, but personal upkeep is a huge part of who I am. I'm not huge on makeup, just some eyeliner and lip gloss with foundation if I go out, but my hair is huge for me. With all that my husband puts up with, with this illness, at least he still lifts me up by telling me I'm beautiful. I've given up all the other things that bring me joy; pizza, tacos, breads, chocolate, alcohol and the pain prevents me from doing anything too physical/fun, etc etc. and it's been so hard, but now I am expected to not only feel like a 95 year old but look like one too. My hair has always been dark brown, I only use the mildest demi colors I can find, but I am very gray under there. My toes are always painted, even in the winter, and I have my finger nails done at the salon for strength (because without the strong coating, they are paper thin and I bite them).

These added restrictions will cause me so much stress, something I know is detrimental. It will also cause me to avoid social situations. My confidence will be at the lowest possible level.

My question today is do you agree with this and/or do you have any suggestions for products that are safe(r)? One other question, once all the lab tests are done and I find out the root cause of my problems and work hard to fix them and heal my body, will I always have these limitations... will I never be able to safely color my hair, paint my nails, have a few drinks with friends, have a piece of chocolate??  Or is this a life sentence? My dr. also told me to stop chewing gum, but I literally need it; my mouth is sooo dry and has a bad taste (likely from some issue I will find out through testing) but the sugar free ingredient is her concern. I am a gum addict. I have cut down, but don't know how to give it up completely.

I haven't seen much of these types of issues addressed in articles or podcasts, so I thought I'd ask. I know there must be many other women who could benefit from any help in this area as well.

I understand about the toxins, and I know how important it is to remove as much as possible, and allow the body to heal, but we still need to have some way to be happy and feel somewhat attractive or what is the point of even being here? I am converting to natural cleaning products, hair care, skin care, etc. as well. Just takes time and research to find safe and affordable options in this regard. If you have suggestions for personal care products, that would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you for all that you do to help others with this. My one question kind of turned into more, I apologize, but I really hope you can give some input on this.

LeeAnn

49, mom of three, in Colorado

do you agree with stopping hair dye and nail polish and/or do you have any suggestions for products that are safe

My answer will likely drive you nuts. Yes and no. Removing all toxins may be what you need to do but if it is going to cause you stress as you have stated that will also cause a toxic response so then I would not agree with stopping dying your hair. There are safer hair dye options and there are safer nail polish options and if that is all you have left that makes you happy then I say find safer options and do it. Maybe avoid polish on your feet in the winter to give your body a break. As long as your diet is clean and you provide lots of colorful fruits and vegetables along with quality protein sources you will be able to detox much of the chemicals from those products you are still using.

I understand fully where your doctor is coming from. Not removing them may impede healing or make the healing process that much more difficult but so will unmanaged stress or distress due to the way you feel about yourself. If you can get your diet dialed in to be really clean and work really hard on keeping it clean that is a great first step and you should feel really good about that. It is hard to do all of this at once. In episode 76 I mention all the products I use and you can find that in the post on my site under that episode. It is called How To Begin a Detox Program. 

I asked my Nutritional Therapy Community what they recommend because I rarely use polish and don’t dye my hair so it’s not my wheelhouse. They are liking 100% pure nail polish, Sophi and stay away from Keeki which flakes easily and then you have to file off what doesn’t come off.  Water based polishes also come off almost immediately after putting them on. Someone else suggested dazzledry.com so you can check them out too. Honeybee Gardens, Static Nails and Cote were also suggested. I don’t know how clean these are though. 

Madison Reed is the most recommended hair dye. Naturtint, Nectaya by Goldwell, All Nutrient Color,  Hairprint, Organic Colour Systems were also recommended. You can google to see what salons near you are using The Organic Colour Systems in their salons.  I saw you wrote back to me and said you discovered the Environmental Working Group which is a great resource for telling you how clean something is. They have a whole database just for beauty products. EWG.org is their website. 

once all the lab tests are done and I find out the root cause of my problems and work hard to fix them and heal my body, will I always have these limitations... will I never be able to safely color my hair, paint my nails, have a few drinks with friends, have a piece of chocolate??  

To this I say, probably. This all depends on what the root cause is and how it gets taken care of. We don’t all have the same root cause and we don’t all need to do the exact same things to heal. There are basic things that most people need to do such as clean up their diet, heal their gut, manage blood sugar, make sleep a priority, manage stress, drink clean water, exercise. You may have to work on your gut for a year, maybe you need an elimination diet for 6 or 8 months. This all depends on what’s going on with you. 

Personally, I have been able to reintroduce most foods after doing an elimination diet. I did just take a new food sensitivity test so I am excited to get those results back to see what is going on with me currently. For instance, I took chocolate out of my diet for about a month aside from some cocoa powder in my protein powder and there is a noticeable difference in the tinnitus or ear ringing when I eat chocolate. The ringing gets more intense and loud when I have eaten chocolate. 

You may decide that something you really like to eat will cause some upset to your system in some way and if you are willing to deal with those consequences that result from what ever your choice was, that is up to you. I do not ever recommend gluten again because of the similarity between its proteins and those of the thyroid. You might be asking for a flare up of your condition. Once your body has time to heal you may be able to enjoy a life like you envision or like the one that you had. We just need to remember that something we were doing before was a trigger for the disease so we have to be mindful of that. Avoid the trigger- even then you may heal enough that whatever that is doesn’t trigger you anymore. 

My dr. also told me to stop chewing gum, but I literally need it; my mouth is sooo dry and has a bad taste (likely from some issue I will find out through testing) but the sugar free ingredient is her concern. I am a gum addict. I have cut down, but don't know how to give it up completely. 

There are better for you gums on the market. You just won’t find them in regular stores. Pur and Spry are sold in food co-ops and other natural food stores. You can get Xylitol Fruit Gum at my dispensary https://us.fullscript.com/welcome/hfh. All products are always 10% off MSRP. The aspartame is horrible for you. There is even a website dedicated to all the adverse effects people have reported. 

If you have suggestions for personal care products, that would be greatly appreciated!

In episode 76 I mention all the products I use. It is the episode entitled How To Begin A Detox Protocol.  My favorite household cleaner is Branch Basics- we use it for hand soap and cleaning all things in the house. I use a steam mop to clean floors. I like MyZen Skin Care and for make-up which I don’t use often I use Beautycounter but am always looking for cleaner brands as their cosmetics are not super clean but their skin care is highly rated on EWG. I just don’t like their price point- mostly because there are so many middle women that get paid and that jacks the price up. 

If anyone ever told you getting well from chronic illness was going to be easy they were lying to you. When you have an autoimmune disease, such as Hashimoto’s, you have it for life. You can quiet it, put it in to so called remission, but you have it for life. That means you have to make changes for life. It doesn’t mean you have to be deprived or feel deprived but there is a certain amount of emotional work that goes along with creating a new life and lifestyle so you don’t have to live the rest of your life feeling like crap.  

You probably will need to take some supplements for a few years until your body gets nourished. You probably will have to permanently cut some foods out of your diet but the trade off is getting your life back. Feeling really good again. Having energy, losing brain fog, no more pain. You get to participate in your life. YOU just have to decide if the work is worth it. Are you to the point of being sick and tired of being sick and tired and ready to do the work? This is when the real change begins to happen. This is when the work becomes less of an issue for you because you know the only thing you have waiting for you is fatigue, depression, not being able to participate in your own life. To me, that is no way to live. My kids were young when I started making changes- 4,8,10. They saw a mom who wanted more for her life. They saw someone who was willing to do the hard work so she could be the best version of herself. They saw struggle and grief. I literally grieved for a good two years over not being able to eat bread anymore. I eventually found some good quality bread and a couple recipes that I could enjoy as bread and have some occasionally. I was able to find joy in food and cooking again and if you don’t even like to cook, you may have to do some work on that because healing your body, feeling good again, requires eating real whole foods. There is no way around that. I do know that anyone can do this. You can do this and you are worth it. You are enough. I’m here to help you figure this out but you also have to be willing to do the work. 

Ultimately it is up to you. You have complete control over how you feel. I completely understand how hard it is to get started. Believe me. I was so fatigued that just getting through the day was really hard. Some days were great, some days were not but each day, I got up and forced myself to make some clean, real whole food and eat it. I started eating vegetables that I had not tried before. I found ways to cook them that I liked. I played around with what foods worked and what didn’t. I avoided some foods on my food sensitivity test and others I ignored until I figured out through the elimination diet that they didn’t work for me. 

I learned to listen to my body. I gave it what it needed to heal. I started learning about nutrition through the Nutritional Therapy Association because I was so amazed at how eating real food could make me feel. I knew I had to share this with the world and help people like me so they don’t have to suffer like I did. Now, in my masters program I am diving even deeper in to how the body works and what I can do to support others in their healing and I’m so grateful I get to learn and help others. 

What your job is, is to take what you learn and use it. Put it in to practice. Make some small changes until those small changes become just part of your everyday life, then make some more changes. Start where you are at and give yourself some grace. There will be days where you will slip up and your body will let you know and then you just get back to it- healing your body. 

Sometimes I want this for people more than they want it for themselves because I’ve been through so much pain with this disease. I was in the thick of it while my kids were growing up and It was horrible. I had terrible moods, was angry all the time, I didn’t sleep, my blood sugar regulation was on the biggest roller coaster out there. It nearly destroyed my family life. The way I treated my body triggered Hashimoto’s and while I was pregnant- my body killed my baby. That is a lot to deal with. The choices I made with food, unmanaged stress, and all the stuff I talk about on here- that killed my baby. I don’t wish that upon anyone. I don’t wish the suffering that can come with this disease on anyone. That is why I am here. I really do want you to not have to suffer like I did because no one should have to. 

No one should have to practically beg their doctor for proper medication, or not be able to get out of bed because they hurt so bad. No one should have to deal with debilitating fatigue because their meds are not right. But everyone can choose to eat well, and make themselves a priority so they can heal. It isn’t easy but it can be done. Try sitting with yourself or meditating on what it would feel like to feel good again. Envision what that is for you. What do you see yourself feeling and doing? Feel the emotions of being in that moment of feeling well. How we feel about our illness is important and it is especially important that we don’t become our illness or identify as sick. 

I hope this helps you. Thanks so much for writing in. 

Please send your questions to helpforhashimotos@gmail.com or go to my website and fill out the contact form. I love getting your questions. 

Since most of us are in some kind of lock down- stay at home situation I was thinking it would be nice to do some group coaching via zoom between April 1 and May 1. If this interests you reach out via my website and the contact form using group coaching in the subject line. Maybe you want to get a group of friends together. I have not decided on a price but it will be significantly discounted and the more people who do it the lower the price. We can meet once a week for an hour or hour and a half and discuss a topic around nutrition.  For that same month if you want one on one services I am discounting them 30%. Now more than ever we need to be diligent about our health and well being. 

If you could be so kind and leave me a rating and review on apple podcasts that would be super helpful so more people can find the show. 

Thanks for listening. I am grateful for all of you.