At age 16 I found out that I had a thyroid problem. The doctors told me that my thyroid hormone levels were technically "normal" because even though I was experiencing all the symptoms, I was ONE number away from abnormal. Due to this they were unable to do anything until my numbers got worse. For a year I dealt with all the symptoms; fatigue, headaches, migraines, chills, shakes, etc. Finally my mom heard about something called integrative medicine.
Integrative medicine is when doctors see and treat the whole person, not just the disease. They focus on a mind, body, spirit connection. We found a practice in my town and decided to give it a try with hopes that they could help me get better. The doctor I saw was Dani William's and upon my arrival she asked all about my medical history and the symptoms I was experiencing. I was completely honest with her and told her everything I could possibly think of. I was so tired of feeling sick all the time and she could obviously see that I was too. They drew some blood so they could see my numbers for themselves and she told me that I had Hashimoto's disease. Hashimoto's is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks the thyroid and can lead to hypothyroidism. She proceeded to tell me that even though my numbers were "normal" in the textbook definition, they were obviously abnormal for me because I am sick all the time and experiencing all these symptoms.
What's great about this type of practice is that instead of simply handing you a pill to mask the symptoms, they actually come up with a plan to heal your whole body both inside and out. She told me that having inflammation in your body is bad for the thyroid and could worsen my symptoms. She told me that if we can get the inflammation in my body to go down my symptoms will improve. Unfortunately Hashimoto's cannot be cured, it can, however, be managed. That day is when she put me on the Virgin Diet.
The Virgin Diet detoxes your body by removing food that are common allergens, which cause inflammation in the body. I couldn't eat gluten, soy, dairy, or peanuts. For breakfast and lunch all I could eat was a shake with a plant based protein powder. For dinner I could have any meat and veggie that I wanted as long as nothing I ate contained those four allergens. I had to do this for about 2-3 weeks. After the third week I could only have the shake for breakfast and for lunch and dinner I could eat a normal meal as long as I avoided those allergens. This lasted for a week and after the last day I would go in for a follow up.
By the time the last day of the diet my symptoms were practically gone. I had so much energy and felt so healthy! When I went to my follow up I was told that my numbers had significantly improved. She told me that If I wanted to stay healthy and continue to feel better I had to completely stay away from gluten because it will always cause inflammation in my body. The other three items I could go back to eating as long as I only ate them about 5% of the time.
I have learned that gluten is in almost everything, but it's not impossible to avoid. You have to read your labels and do your research and as long as you do so, it is very easy to avoid. It is also very easy to have accidents as well, especially when you go out to eat. The first time I accidentally ingested gluten was terrible. Within an hour my symptoms immediately began to resurface and I felt really sick.
It has been four years and I am still 100% gluten free and my Hashimoto's is still dormant. It was hard being 16-17 years old and giving up all of my favorite foods and would constantly have to stop and ask myself, "Is the food really worth it?" It wasn't an easy journey but I regret nothing. If I could go back in time I would tell myself to go on a gluten free diet even sooner. Having a healthy body is one of the greatest feelings in the world and as long as I continue to take care of it my Hashimoto's will stay away.
Sources:
Feature, Katherine KamWebMD. "What Is Integrative Medicine?" WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 06 Aug. 2015.
"Hashimoto's Thyroiditis: Symptoms, Causes, and Treatments." WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 06 Aug. 2015.