It goes without saying that a healthy lifestyle is good for you. It’s written right there on the can! But there are different versions of what a ‘healthy lifestyle’ looks like. Most people stick to conventional ideas – two fruit, five veg, plenty of water, exercise, and treats/alcohol in moderation – but there’s a large chunk of the population for which that version of a healthy lifestyle does not work.

I thought I was healthy, meeting all the above. I thought my disease was under control. I thought I was living a lifestyle suited to me. But I was very wrong. This is my story of finding a new way of living with an autoimmune disease.

In the beginning

When I was 9 years old I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis – an autoimmune condition where your immune system attacks the thyroid gland and impairs its function. High-five to others in the Hashi’s club! Dr Axe’s website explains Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis really well. At this time, my thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) was alarmingly, terrifyingly high, like 200 times over the healthy range. They told me my thyroid was essentially dead in the water and would never work again.

My disease was then successfully managed (or so says modern medicine) by taking prescription medication that replaced the thyroxine hormone that the gland couldn’t produce itself. That is, dealing with the symptoms and not the cause of my autoimmune issues. My autoimmunity was wreaking havoc to my body and, left unchecked, could result in more autoimmune diseases.

In the years that followed I thought I was healthy. However, I still suffered depression, moderate anxiety, fatigue, acne, irregular periods, hayfever, tummy pain and diarrhoea – but my thyroid tests were fine so I thought these were normal! It is only in hindsight that I realise how much I was suffering.

Liver disease

In about 2015 my regular blood tests were showing worsening issues with my liver (function tests were averaging three times higher than the normal range and creeping upwards). More tests, an ultrasound and a biopsy provided a fuller picture but no answers. The gastroenterologists were saying that my liver looked like it should belong to an alcoholic, chain-smoker, diabetic or someone extremely obese (I don’t drink or smoke and weigh under 45 kg). Something was very wrong with this picture.

The vague diagnosis was ‘a chronic liver disease’, non-alcoholic, and likely autoimmune considering my history.

My amazing Mum

Now, my Mum had four autoimmune diseases including Hashi’s and Lupus – a particularly bad form of autoimmune disease for which treatment includes strong medications and steroids (used in cancer chemotherapy) that suppress your immune system. That’s how they deal with autoimmunity if just handling the symptoms isn’t enough – they shut it down. Having no functioning immune system causes lots of issues, let alone dealing with the many many symptoms of the prescription medications, both physical and mental.

I was a child when things were at their worst for her. I didn’t understand what she was going through, but I do remember how scary her mood swings were, how debilitating her tiredness was and how seriously sick she got from a common cold – often ending in hospitalisation!

Then she called it quits with the medication. Enough was enough.

My Mum is a very intelligent woman and somehow she got onto the ‘holistic’ or ‘functional’ approach of healing disease. She did her research, she asked for tests (and fortunately had an amazing open-minded specialist who ran them), she made change after change dealing with the cause of autoimmunity rather than just the side effects. She worked her way to becoming completely sub-clinical! That’s right, she has no symptoms of any of her four diseases and she doesn’t need prescription medication anymore! She is my hero.

A new ‘healthy lifestyle’

So when they started saying I might have another autoimmune disease, one that might also require immune-suppressing medication – I put my foot down too. I didn’t want to collect autoimmune diseases. Instead, I wanted to follow her example and reverse this.

At her suggestion I had already started cutting out inflammatory foods – gluten, grains, dairy and artificial sugars. But over the next six months I learned about the Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) and cut out other inflammatory foods – egg, soy, nuts, seeds and nightshade vegetables (which include tomatoes, potatoes, capsicum/peppers, chilli, aubergine/eggplant etc.). Learn more about AIP from the Paleo Mum’s blog post The Autoimmune Protocol.

I also started reducing the pesticides and chemicals in my life, and natural sugars as well, trying to live as cleanly as possible. To help me in this new path, I also sought the help of an incredible holistic specialist who guided me through additional testing and targeted supplementation.

Successes

Six months later my liver function tests were only a tiny bit outside normal range. Not excellent (probably because of the fat / fibrosis now on my liver) but still a big reversal! It certainly puzzled my liver specialist that hears of worsening results were turned around so quickly!

In other good news, the changes I implemented also reduced of my thyroid antibodies! My anti-thyroid peroxidase antibodies (anti-TPO ab.) level was 710 before the changes (the normal range is under 60 depending on what information you use) but it came all the way down to 29.3 in the space of 8 months! (Another of my antibodies was still sky-rocketing high, but I’m working on it) In addition, with targeted supplementation I have also successfully started producing my own thyroxine for the first time in 18 years!!

It was also at this stage that I felt real energy for the first time in my memory, and it was a truly remarkable thing. I used to get home from exercise bone-weary and I could barely move from exhaustion, like my body had simply given up, unable to work. After these lifestyle changes, I lost that bone-weariness and instead felt tired with an underlying gentle warmth. It felt like my insides were giving me a hug and saying ‘thank you’. I couldn’t stop thinking “is this how normal people feel?” and getting teary from joy!

In addition, I have had no depression, very little anxiety, and my skin cleared up. I am a lot more in tune with my body now, and I know how stress can severely affect my hormone levels and cycle and what causes my tummy upsets (and hence to avoid those things). I also feel GREAT! Well, most of the time… no one is perfect!

As they say, the proof is in the AIP pudding and the results so far have been undeniable! This new idea of what ‘health’ felt like truly blew my mind. I am definitely working towards the ‘healthy lifestyle’ that I need!

The journey continues

Every natural health journey is an ongoing process of learning, adapting, introducing, eliminating and healing. I have a long way to go and a list of issues to try and heal, but I’m determined to see just how well I can be!

My next goals are:

• Bringing my other anti-thyroid antibody down and under control, if not back to normal (after over 20 years of being attacked, I doubt my thyroid will ever be able to function at even close to full capacity so I will always need thyroxine medication)
• Continuing to improve my detoxing pathways and methylation
• Healing my liver of it’s fatty tissue / fibrosis
• Cleaning out excess estrogen and bringing my cycle into a regular pattern
• Improved SLEEP and REST!

To start exploring your health in more detail, check out my post Next Steps ~ Naturally for ways to begin or continue your healing journey naturally.