The journey of Hashimoto's Part 1 (My diagnosis, LDN, Dr Wentz)

Perhaps you’ve been diagnosed with an auto-immune condition called Hashimoto’s, and perhaps you’ve even been told by an “expert” that it is incurable. That is also how my journey began, and how it goes for so many women. But if we stay positive and inquisitive, listen to our bodies, and band together with information, support, and love, we can overcome! I promise.

In 2017, I was experiencing a bevy of devastating new symptoms after breaking my right wrist, none of which seemed to make any sense as repercussions from simply breaking the bone. I knew that something else was afoot in my body, and as The Universe guided me to the Dr Izabella Wentz book Hashimoto’s Protocol, I became certain that I was afflicted with this disease. Some of the most prevalent tell-tale symptoms for me were inability to lose weight, loose stool, hair loss, lethargy and fatigue, flat affect, and cold intolerance. If you have been diagnosed with Hashimoto’s and are experiencing any of these symptoms, know that you do not have to be plagued with them for the rest of your life. With the right diet, supplementation, testing, team of care, and sleep hygiene, I have been able to get my numbers to a place that is just outside of what is considered remission. This was not an expedient or simple feat, and the goal has not been fully reached, but I am at a place of deep gratitude for what I have accomplished for myself, and my aim here is to share any wisdom I have gained with others who are suffering so they may feel that same joy.

In 2017, when my body seemed to be failing me at age 33, I had already been focused on my health for many years, eating a gluten-free & dairy-free diet, limiting caffeine & alcohol, getting 8-9 hours of sleep per night & focusing on proper sleep hygiene, taking probiotics & eating fermented foods, and trying to stay away from sweets. Dr Wentz’ book lays out many strategies for healing and even reversing Hashimoto’s, and I had already been living and breathing most of the protocol. There were a few components to her program that I had yet to explore, and one of them was LDN, or low dose Naltrexone. It’s a pharmaceutical used in much higher doses to combat addiction, but in micro doses it has a highly anti-inflammatory effect on the body. If you’re interested in LDN, you can explore more about it here.

I had never taken a pharmaceutical before, and I wasn’t stoked to try LDN nor was I excited to get on thyroid hormone replacement therapy, even the more natural options. But I was feeling absolutely awful, and knew that I needed to take care of myself somehow. For the first time in my life, I felt hopeless, and I needed to be able to name why I was going through what I was going through. Somehow finding the proof felt like finding hope.

I discovered a functional medicine practitioner nearby who was a resource from the list of doctors familiar with LDN that Dr Wentz shares in her book. I had an intuition that if I did have Hashimoto’s, LDN might a good fit for me, so I wanted a doc who was well versed. On that first visit, my blood was drawn and we discussed my symptoms, which I was told sounded very in line with hypothyroidism and/or Hashimoto’s. When my results came back, I indeed had elevated TPO antibodies, a sure sign that an autoimmune reaction was happening in my body. I was told I had Hashimoto’s.

My life has changed in so many ways since that conversation, and I have seen a dozen or more doctors all over the country. It has been a journey, and it will continue to be a journey. Hashimoto’s, just like any other auto-immune condition, is not easily fixed, and it is rarely due simply to one trigger, reason, event. In my case, I believe it was due to eating loads of low-fat and fat-free “franken-foods” in the 90s that my mom thought were healthy, with tons of wheat, corn, rancid oils, and dairy. It was due to having chronic ear infections and taking antibiotics frequently, and then never replenishing my microbiome with probiotics. It was due to swimming in a chlorine pool nearly every day for a decade. It was due to only being breast fed for 3 or so months after birth. Neither my mom nor my grandmother have been diagnosed as auto-immune, but it could also be due to a genetic predisposition. There are so many reasons why you may be experiencing what you’re experiencing, and it is different for every person. But once you begin to get clear on what your exposures and triggers are, you can begin to shift them.

I now use a shower filter, drink only spring water, and swim exclusively in salt pools or natural bodies of water. I haven’t touched gluten in nearly a decade, and don’t use toxic seed oils in my cooking, or even on my skin. I only take antibiotics when absolutely necessary, and herbs can usually do the trick, though I rarely get sick these days. I eat whole, real foods and I read every label, every time. And most importantly, all of these lifestyle choices are empowered. They do not feel stressful, they feel joyful. I am choosing my body, my self. That is such a gift.

I personally use food as medicine, and I have seen great results lowering my antibody numbers and reducing inflammation through eating little to no grains, dairy, legumes, or sugar, and eating lots of different colored vegetables, sustainably raised animal proteins, wild fish, and healthy, supportive fats. This is the way I cook for my clients, whether they are dealing with auto-immunity or not. There are many other supplements and lifestyle edits that I have implemented, as well as some biohacking tricks, and I intend to share them all here.

More to come in this series, regarding medication, co-infections, blood markers, and mindset. As you may have found along the way in your journey thus far, there are layers upon layers of hacks and strategies that can make a difference in your symptom expression, and overall quality of life. I have lived with this disease for several years now, and believe I have tried ALL of the hacks and strategies that are out there. Stay tuned as I continue to share what has worked for me, so as to take some of the guess work out of your experience overcoming this challenging condition.

With love,

Chef Kerry