Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis: Don’t Blame Your Doctor

Recently I took my daughter (who also has Hashimoto’s) to our HMO for a regular check-up. As we asked for the test for thyroid antibodies, we got the regular reply, “Once you have antibodies, you will always have them.” But we still asked if we could please get the test anyway. Surprisingly, we were humored.

Here’s the problem – if you are in a system that is only treating for your TSH numbers, why would you expect them to do anything else? Even diagnosing Hashimoto’s is a difficulty for them. Why? Because they don’t have a way to treat you with drugs, so why bother diagnosing you? And if you already are diagnosed, why keep beating a dead horse? They see this as a progressive condition that will eventually kill your thyroid. Why watch the destruction? Just accept it! We are living in a world that looks to drugs for all our health concerns.

Can you imagine…..? In fact, now that I think of this, it doesn’t have to be imagined. We go on eating all the sugar we want when we have Diabetes as long as the doctor continues to increase our dosage of medication, with whatever it is they have decided to give you to “treat” your Diabetes. But is that drug improving your condition? No. It’s managing the symptoms. If, however, you decided to lay low on the sugar, fruit, grains and other foods that raise your blood sugar levels and your levels naturally lower to the point that you don’t need that side effect laden drug, you are not only improving your condition, but you are preventing complications (long term) while staying away from drugs that will give you side effects that will also need to be “treated.” And the cycle continues with each malady you come to your conventional doctor for. One road attempts to stop the “bleeding” at the root, and the other perpetuates the condition to the point of introducing a variety of new conditions due to a worsening of your condition as well as introducing you to drug induced new problems, which then need their own treatments. I know this. I managed my own mother’s roller-coaster drug induced complications with other drugs as her doctors continued to push new drugs for “preventative” reasons that would have more side-effects; and on and on it went. This toxicity in the body is way too hard on it and many times very unnecessary!

I got off of this roller-coaster for my own health about 10 years ago and will never look back! I am not saying there is no place for necessary medications to treat issues that are either not able to be addressed by diet (like thyroid hormone at times) or sometimes, we need to use these medications on our way to reversing the underlying imbalances our body needs to repair.

There are many ways to seek health naturally, and what I have found is that due to so many personalities, needs, and situations out there, there is not a one-size-fits-all approach as you attempt to find your own road to healing.

There are some resources I highly recommend for this task of finding your particular healing path. These resources can significantly reduce your research time by getting you straight to protocols that have worked for thousands of sufferers. I will list a few of the many resources.

First up, we have Izabella Wentz, a Pharmacist and Hashimoto’s patient. This combination gave her incredible insights and access to lab testing that we normally don’t have at our own fingertips. Her experience and conclusions have been recorded in her fantastic book here on Amazon, my affiliate partner, or in eBook form here for immediate access. There is also a great video explaining her book’s focus below:

And there is the fantastic new book which focuses on all autoimmune disease and lifestyle interventions which have been proven to help thousands of sufferers and the reasons behind these interventions. This one is incredible for those of you who, like me, are interested in the science behind these changes before jumping on the “bandwagon” diets and lifestyle changes some people are doubtful about. In the author’s own words, here is a tour of The Paleo Approach, by Sarah Ballantyne, which is now available on Amazon.com here:

The Paleo Approach is a book I have been waiting months for and will be a constant resource for me as I continue my healing journey! Having these books in your library will be invaluable as you heal because autoimmune disease is complicated and needs fine tuning along the way. An absolutely fabulous interview with Sarah on The Balanced Bites podcast is here.

And for a focus of nutrition and building up yours stores of energy lost through deficiencies caused by stress, lack of nutrition, and others, Jeanette, who I introduced last week, has a new book out that is filled with the science behind these deficiencies, how to test for them, and how to address them. Jeanette solved her own health problems which resulted in practical paralysis by using the methods in her book. She shares her journey and insights on her website and in her book here.

And of course, the focus of my treatment protocol which I have been using for almost 2 years now with fantastic results, the GAPS Diet which has changed my life and brought a ton of healing to my body. Below you will find a video explaining the basis of this diet (which I used as my jump-start into the diet) and this post describes my healing journey while using this protocol after the first year. I am now moving towards my two year annivesary and I still love this approach.

There are more of these fantastic resources in my resource area, but I felt lead to bring these to your attention today.

So, let’s not blame our doctors. They are doing their job. They are providing pharmaceutical approaches to your health concerns, providing your health has failed bad enough to use them. And they are approaching your health needs from their protocol guidelines. If you want to reverse or prevent such disease from taking your body over, you can take these other approaches, but you will not likely find any help from conventional medicine once you make that decision. They will ridicule you and some have even gotten angry at me for even suggesting there are natural protocols that would be successful out there. They feel threatened and their pride is at stake. When I figured out I would not be getting their support, I realized I would not be able to continue in conventional medicine and would have to pay out of pocket for a lot of my care. That is just the way it is if you want to move into healing instead of giving yourself over to their protocol (which you remember is to watch the thyroid die and ignore all your symptoms in the meantime).

If you need help, and I do recommend you find a qualified practitioner in natural medicine, you can look into my favorite type of doctor, a Functional Medicine doctor. I spent at least 7 years with other alternative doctors but knew I needed something that addressed the “root” cause which I wasn’t getting from even the more natural doctors out there. Functional Medicine did not disappoint! From the mouth of a doctor who began in conventional medicine, moved to alternative medicine, and ended up in Functional Medicine, you will see why she is now using this type of approach for herself and her clients. You will also hear her own battle with autoimmune thyroid disease:

Dr. Amy Myers has a blog here. There are also many wonderful natural doctors out there who can help you on this road. Please know that all the choices out there can be overwhelming so always be sure the doctor you chose has come well recommended and has been tested by others you know who can give you feedback on them. You can also review my previous post on why conventional medicine is not the only way to help you sort through the maze of information out there.

And as always, you are invited to join our public Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis Support Group on Facebook as a fantastic way to connect with others so you don’t feel so alone in your symptoms.

Here’s to our healing journey!