Samantha Harris, Thyroid Thrivers
Thyroid Nation
26 years young
Michigan, USA
Adrenal fatigue, subclinical Hypothyroidism, vitiligo, possible Hashimoto’s and other autoimmune…
Diagnosed in 2010
Normally, I’m a happy and positive person, but, battling hypothyroidism and thyroid doctors for the last five years, has been exhausting!
Like many others, I kept running into “dead end” roads when trying to find solutions for my thyroid and adrenal condition. Both my mother and grandmother have hypothyroidism, and my grandmother was diagnosed in her early 20’s – Obviously, it runs in our family.
When I was about 20 years old, I had my tonsils removed. I cannot begin to tell you how my life drastically changed after that surgery. Due to a nasty throat infection, I rapidly began losing weight, to the point where I stopped having bowel movements and my body was completely shutting down. The University of Michigan medical team insisted it wasn’t an infection and that I was fine. Boy, were they ever wrong. Finally, I did receive some help at Sparrow hospital.
Likely from shock, my body then gained over 30lbs in less than 3 months…..my thyroid went nuts and the adrenal glands burned out, too! A few years after that, I came down with mysterious autoimmune conditions such as vitiligo and possibly, Hashimotos, etc. I saw over nine different doctors including specialists, to see if they could diagnose me with hypothyroidism, Hashi’s or anything. Unfortunately, and unbelievably, they all said that I didn’t have any issues and that I was reading too much on the internet. I was even kicked out of a doctor’s office, for asking if I could sign a waiver so the doctor could prescribe a small dose of NDT or any hypothyroidism medication, to prevent the Hashimotos from getting worse. (I knew my body and had learned a lot during that difficult time)
Not to mention the two homeopaths I also went to, that could not diagnose or help me either. Needless to say, I ran up huge medical bills because no one officially diagnosed me with Hypothyroidism, Hashimotos, Adrenal issues or even Vitiligo. They blamed birth control pills, which likely did cause some issues, I’m sure, but, I know my body better than anyone and I knew something wasn’t right at all. I had an instinct that it was a problem with my thyroid, my adrenal glands or both. I DO have antibodies in my blood tests. No one knows what it is caused by. I cannot get a straight answer about autoimmune issues, thyroid or adrenal fatigue from any of my healthcare practitioners.
Finally, after all of the money, worry, and testing, I decided to try treating myself. I’m on a gluten-free diet, I use supplements, coconut oil, fermented cod liver oil, probiotics in the billions, vitamins and also minerals. Believe it or not, I’ve made more of a difference in my Hypothyroidism and adrenal gland problems, than any the doctors did.
One day, I am curious to see if I finally move beyond “borderline” hypothyroidism, and perhaps finally, a doctor will prescribe medications I need. Maybe they will also listen to ME? Maybe they’ll hear my words and recognize my pain and they’ll treat me — not any blood lab results. In the meantime, I hope they realize how individualistic we really are.
Scales and hypothyroidism lab ranges don’t reflect everyone.
In a perfect world, or sometime in the near future, hopefully, hypothyroidism, adrenal fatigue or any thyroid and autoimmune diseases, will get the respect it deserves in medical schooling. We are trying to thrive, despite thyroid symptoms. We want to be heard and not looked at as test results. Cheers to that!
Questions or anything to add about your hypothyroidism? We want your thoughts in the comments section–Please!