As far back as 2013, within a few months of our first child’s arrival (the first of now four), it became apparent that something was not right with my health. Many doctors, another baby and several years later, I would finally be diagnosed with Hashimoto’s Thyroidistis, an autoimmune condition in which the bodies’ own immune system, which exists to protect the body from perceived threats, turns on healthy tissue, causing disease instead of curing or preventing it. In the same year that I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s, my husband discovered that his oddly frequent boughts with “stomach bugs” were not just one man’s terribly unlucky experience with germs. Instead, his frequent, crippling digestive symptoms that left him bed ridden for days, were related to the underlaying autoimmune condition Celiac disease.
As difficult as it was to be confronted with the reality that we both had autoimmune conditions, it was an even greater relief to finally have answers and some kind of legitimately test confirmed landmark by which we could to try to orient ourselves in an attempt to choose a path forward.
I would be lying to you if I didn’t say that I felt despairing, woefully self-pitying and, many times, bitterly angry, sort of like I was throwing an internal temper tantrum, screaming at what felt like an unfairly heavy load of health sh%$ for one family to handle.
This was all on the heels of the birth of our second child, who had been born with a slew of her own very difficult, gut wrenchingly challenging health problems to overcome. In fact, it was probably the stress from all of this that pushed my husband’s health issues from a low, simmering nuisance to a rolling boil so pronounced that it could no longer be casually dismissed or ignored.
Now, some 10 years later, I am happy to say that, for the most part, our autoimmune conditions are in remission. My husband’s is completely, as long as he avoids the foods he has learned trigger his Celiac. With Hashimoto’s, because of the complex interplay of thyroid hormone, sex hormones and everything else that plays into this dynamic biological cascade, I can say that most days, my condition is in remission. But, for me personally, I continue to have to always be listening to my body, staying sensitive to it’s cues and willing to make tweaks and be patient with the realities that Hashimoto’s exerts on my now 37 year old frame. It is an ongoing dialogue between me and my body and some days I feel it’s effects more than others.
I want to share our story, in part, because I think it’s simply a story worth telling but mostly because, I have made so many mistakes, gained so much valuable insight and connected so many hard-earned dots that, if I can shorten the learning curve even a little bit for one other person or offer the assurance that you are not alone to someone else dealing with these kinds of health struggles, that would be incredibly gratifying to me.
The scope of this blog is going to cover a lot more than just our autoimmune story. Over the course of recovering from these autoimmune diseases we have ventured through so much other valuable health territory. Many subjects will fall squarely within the topic of autoimmunity like learning about leaky gut, identifying and dealing with food intolerances, clearing SIBO, killing off parasites (in adults and children), adopting a gut healing diet and lifestyle and more. And while all of this is very important to me, we have dealt with so much more, like hormone imbalances, feeding aversion, severe pelvic floor dysfunction, candida overgrowth, an ADHD diagnosis in my mid-thirties… I mean, it’s a veritable cornucopia of health-challenged potpourri!!!
And, if right about now you’re like, “Hold on. Wait a minute. Let me go my popcorn. I’m so down for this ride,” then well, you are totally in the right place. As much as I hated being sick, I have learned that I love geeking out on health nut stuff. So, knowing that there’s a relatively happy ending to this sordid health story, which at times, I imagine will be somewhat difficult to read, if you’re ready to start this journey with me let’s get to it!
