In this post I will talk about how I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's, what it means for me now, and how it affects my digestive disorder.
With all my digestive issues, fatigue, anxiety, and the newest symptom being loss of hair, I knew deep down that there was more going on with me. Hashimoto's is something I didn't hear too much about. I have known since I was young that my mom and my aunts had thyroid problems. I also knew that there was a good chance I may inherit thyroid problems at some point in my life as well, since it ran heavily on both sides of my family, though for years I didn't think too much about it.
Fast forward to when I was 20 and was diagnosed with gastroparesis after months of stomach pain. Gastroparesis is a digestive disorder that affects stomach motility (see my introduction blog post for more information). Once I got diagnosed I dove into research: I bought and read many books, googled a LOT, and spoke to others with the same disorder. I was diagnosed with idiopathic gastroparesis, meaning that they do not know why it happened to me. I didn't want to accept that answer... you can't tell me that a 20 year old healthy girl that eats good and doesn't smoke, do drugs, drink alcohol... nothing, has a digestive disorder?? That didn't make sense to me, but I went with it because that's what the doctors said.
In my research something that kept reappearing was that if you have an autoimmune disorder or diabetes specifically, you are at a greater risk of developing gastroparesis. I thought I was fine because didn't have anything like that (or so I thought), I just decided I would live with gastroparesis the best I could by changing my diet and moving on. Even with this, about three months ago I asked my regular primary care doctor to check my thyroid. It was always in the back of my mind, and I thought now was a good time to check it. He ordered the test, I went and got my blood drawn and... nothing. The results were good, my TSH was a 1.4 and perfectly fine. I was happy that it was good, but I remember telling my parents that I just wish I knew what caused my gastroparesis...
About a month ago (just over a year after being diagnosed with gp), I decided to set up a phone call appointment with a naturopathic doctor near where I live after hearing a lot of good things about them. On the call I explained my digestive disorder as my main health concern, and wondered if she could help me with it, to which she said yes. A couple weeks later I had an in-person visit with her where we went over every symptom I had, family history, and she drew blood for tests.
Then, last week we set up a Zoom call appointment so she could go over my lab results with me. She told me that I had iron deficiency, anemia, as well as hashimoto's (auto immune thyroiditis). I was shocked, but things finally started to click. It also isn't too much of a surprise given my genetics. I have felt like there was something more going on with me for over a year, but neither the doctors nor myself knew what it could be.
Hashimoto's disease is explained by the Mayo Clinic as "a condition in which your immune system attacks your thyroid, a small gland at the base of your neck below your Adam's apple. The thyroid gland is part of your endocrine system, which produces hormones that coordinate many of your body's functions. Inflammation from Hashimoto's disease, also known as chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis, often leads to an underactive thyroid gland (hypothyroidism)."
Now you may be wondering, why did it suddenly show up now when my primary doctor just tested it? I asked my naturopath, and she said that the labs that my doctor and other doctors generally run do not show the antibody levels, they only show your TSH level. That means they check to see whether you're in hypo or hyperthyroidism, not if you have the auto immune condition that likely causes hypothyroidism. I have finally calmed myself down enough to not be mad about it anymore, but I am grateful that I took the time to get a new doctor who was able to catch this and help put me on a path to try and heal my Hashimoto's and gastroparesis.
How does this affect my digestive disorder? My food options are now even more limited. I was already dairy, soy, nut/seed, raw vegetables and raw fruit free, but now I am gluten free, and am no longer having nightshade vegetables or sugar. I also have to ease into the supplements I will be taking to make sure they sit well with my stomach.
Thinking about all the symptoms I have been experiencing for the last year and beyond, it is hard to know whether they were from Hashimoto's or from gastroparesis. A lot was from gastroparesis, but I do think that Hashimoto's played a big role in me developing the gastroparesis as well as the chronic fatigue I felt for 8 months.
My point of this post is to make sure you understand that you have complete control over your health. If you don’t like your doctor, get a new one, if you really believe there is something else going on, make them test you/ test everything. You know your body and how it feels. If you feel unsure about something, then there is a reason for that. If you currently have gastroparesis and are 10% not sure what it is caused from, I highly suggest getting yourself a good doctor, a naturopath if able, and have them test you for everything and work with you naturally. If you don’t want a naturopath then at least let your primary care doctor run some tests. It’s better to know ahead of time if something deeper is going on!
Do you have an auto immune disorder and/or a digestive disorder? I would love to know your experience with either!
-Loreal
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