Hello, hello. Today I am sharing another throwback from mum inspired days, the one where I chatted all about my experience with Hashimoto's how I was diagnosed, the tips and things that I've picked up along the way that have helped. I explain my understanding of what Hashimoto's and thyroid disease is, which took me a long time to understand cause it can be quite confusing when it's a new diagnosis. I actually took a deep dive into how it made me feel falling pregnant and then obviously having my babies and how it affected my health and the baby's health as well, which if you're in that phase of your life, I hope that you find that really inspiring and comforting because I know for myself it was a really tricky, like, uncertain time, especially with my first pregnancy. I did record this not long after Chloe was born, so I feel like it was really informative in terms of the medical information that I was provided during my pregnancy and postpartum as well. So I really hope that this helps you. Please do share this episode if you know of anyone who is experiencing Hashimoto's or thyroid problems in their pregnancy, even, because I know that can be scary too, and maybe this will help them a little bit or just share it with your friends or family who also have an autoimmune disease because I know for me, it just is really nice to hear somebody else talk about something that you're going through. So I hope that this episode really inspires you. If you are someone with Hashimoto's, I know I have a lot of followers who do have Hashimoto's, so I hope this helps. And of course, I would love to hear what you think or any tips or tricks you have. So please, voicing me on Instagram, or you can leave a comment on the pic that I put up on Instagram promoting this episode because I just love keeping the conversation going. It's just the best way to connect and support each other. So let's jump straight in.
I am just quickly feeling so much better in this life of three children and it's taken me three months. Chloe is literally three months in, like, three days. And it's just taken me a long time to get used to it. So, yeah, I'll be honest, I needed to have a little break, but I'm feeling so much better now, so I wanted to just start jumping on the podcast when I felt like just chatting to you guys about certain topics, or I've got heaps of guests lined up that I'm going to try and record with over the coming weeks and months and, yeah, but I just want it to be sort of more chill, just like random things that pop up in my mind that I want to share with you to create conversation and just connect with you, because that is what I love the most. So in today's podcast, I really wanted to talk to you about Hashimoto's. Hashimoto's thyroiditis autoimmune disease. And this is something that I personally have. I was diagnosed when I was about 26, I think. 26 or 27. And yeah, it's been a long journey, and I always, always, always get DM's and messages about my experience with Hashimoto's, how it affected me conceiving my children and how I coped with it during pregnancy, and how I cope with it now. A busy mum of three. So I just wanted to share with you a little bit about it, a little bit about my journey and some tips that have helped me along the way. Because when you first get diagnosed, I know from experience when someone says autoimmune disease, it's really, really scary. And yeah, I was definitely scared when I got diagnosed, but it's not so bad, guys, as long as you know what you're getting in for and the things that you can do, that will really, really help. So if you're in the same situation as me, or maybe you know somebody who is going through this, please share this with them so that it will help them and reassure them that everything is totally okay and they will feel back to normal in no time, as long as they just learn about it and look after themselves. To begin with, I just wanted to go over what Hashimoto's is. It's an autoimmune disease where your immune system that creates antibodies. When, like, normally you've got virus or bacteria, your body would create antibodies to, like, fight off those things. But in this case, when you've got an autoimmune disease, your body creates the antibodies and then it attacks a certain part of your body. So in Hashimoto's thyroiditis, it's attacking your thyroid gland, and what happens is they slowly destroy your thyroid, and it becomes really, really inflamed, and then it can't produce thyroid hormone correctly. So because of this, it then has a knock on effect to so many other hormones in your body and just basically leaves you feeling like ****. I found it really, really hard to understand what Hashimoto's was when I first got it, it just was so confusing. And the doctors, my endocrinologist, explaining it to me and searching, I just, it was really, really confused me. So I wanted to put it simply for you. So, hopefully, this helps you understand it in more of an easier terms rather than all the medical jargon that they use. So basically, you've got a thyroid in your neck, which is like a butterfly shaped gland, and it produces two different hormones, t three and t four. I'm not going to worry about telling you what the names of them are because it will just confuse the situation. Then, in your brain, you've got the pituitary gland, and the pituitary gland controls basically most of the hormone or all of the hormone production in your whole body. One of the things that your pituitary gland controls in terms of hormone production is your thyroid. So what the pituitary gland does is releases tsH, which is thyroid stimulating hormone, and it signals to our thyroid how much t three and t four our thyroid should make, depending on what our body requires. So now I'm going to break down what t three and t four are and how they work. So t three is basically the one that controls our body function, right. So it maintains muscle control, brain function, development, heart and digestive function. And it also has a huge role in, like, your metabolism and maintenance of your bone health and, like, collagen production and just everything, right. And then t four is produced to help the pituitary gland know how much tsh to release to then balance out the t three. So it's kind of like this big chain, right? It's like a circle, and it all works in motion. So pituitary gland stimulates tsh, and then it creates t three and then t four kind of picks up on that and goes back to the pituitary gland and says, okay, we need this much tsh. And then it goes around in a circle. Now, when the thyroid is being attacked by the antibodies and not producing the right amount of t four, that means it's not taking the correct message back to the pituitary gland and then the pituitary gland. I'm getting tongue tied keeps sending more tsh and more tsh and more tsh to make up for it, and then the whole cycle of thyroid hormones is completely out of whack and you get a whole bunch of crappy health problems. So I hope that kind of makes sense. If there's another way of describing it that you find easier, please message it to me or write it on the comment on my Instagram post so other people can see, because it is really, really confusing, especially when it's something that you had no idea about. And hormones, I don't think we know the nitty gritty about hormones and what they actually do in our body, and there is so many things to know, so it is really confusing. I hope that helped. Now, the ****** symptoms and health problems that you can have if you've got hashimoto's, there are so many. Basically, if you think about it, when you've got a virus or like, a bacterial infection and your antibodies are fighting really hard, that is basically how you feel. Like, you know, when you've got the flu and you just feel like you can't move and you just feel completely run down. That's basically how you feel when you have a flare up of hashimoto's, because your body is, like, fighting itself. If that makes sense, your metabolism will slow down so you can get weight gain really, really quickly. You can have a regular periodic periods or really heavy periods. Extreme fatigue, like just continually, just absolutely dead, no matter how much sleep you get. Swollen, puffy face, constipation, muscle aches, hair loss, depression and anxiety, acne, and also anemia and really low iron. So I had all of those things, and I still do get them when I'm having a flare up. And they're sort of cues for me to know that I need to go and get my bloods checked and make sure things are back on track. I really want to quickly tell you about my diagnosis, because I know that when I'm listening to things like this, it helps to be able to relate to someone's personal story. So, basically, what happened to me was I was in relationship with Simon, so we were in a serious relationship, and we weren't yet engaged, but I just wasn't getting my period. And obviously, this was really scaring me. So I kept taking pregnancy tests, and it was just really, really bugging me. And it was like 18 months, and I just hadn't got a period. And, I mean, it was kind of cool. I was like, oh, well. Oh, well. But then it was, like, playing on my mind and then my body started to really show effects of that. So I got, like, ridiculous acne, like, so, so bad. I was so embarrassed to go out or do anything because it was really bad, just all over my face and neck. I was just tired all the time. I put on heaps of weight, losing my hair, and I was really depressed and upset. And basically what happened was I went to a doctor, and she did some tests and, like, blood tests, and then referred me to a GP. Not a GP, an endocrinologist. And then the endocrinologist ran some more blood tests, and I got ultrasounds on my neck. And then we had to keep doing blood tests, like, I think, every four or six weeks for a few months. And then she was managed to diagnose hashimoto's. So in the blood test, she was testing for the TsH, the t three, the t four, and the thyroid antibodies. So basically, when all of those are off, and my antibodies guys were, like, almost at the thousand level, and they're meant to be, like, below 100. So my body was really attacking something. And then with the other hormones off. And what they can tell by doing the blood tests regularly for a few months is that they can see that it's like attack, attack, attack, and then all the hormones flare up, and then it drops down and there's none. And then it goes back up and then it drops down. So that's how I was diagnosed. I was put on thyroxine, which is a replacement hormone for the t four. So then if you can think back to what I explained before, that kind of then helps the whole system work better because you've got the correct amount of t four. So it's just a synthetic form of thyroxine. I was put on 50 micrograms of that per day, and I am now up to about 900 micrograms per week. So that was about nine years ago. And each pregnancy, my dosage has gone up, and it just keeps going up because I guess your thyroid just keeps getting attacked and broken down, which is kind of hard for me to grasp. Sometimes I wish it was something that I could cure forever, but it's not. But that's okay. Now let's talk about pregnancy, because I know a lot of you listening are trying to conceive, and you've been told that it's going to be hard to conceive. I was told the exact same thing I was told about miscarriage, because you can have a higher rate of miscarriage if you have hashimoto photos. And let me tell you. It freaked me out. I just remember having to take time off work. Cause I was so depressed, I couldn't think. I was like, I'm never gonna have babies. It was awful. But let me tell you, as soon as I went on the medication, I got my health in track. I made huge lifestyle changes, so I stopped exercising, like, fully, intensely, and just took it back and didn't do as much per week. I took out gluten, dairy, sugar, and I was taking my thyroxine. And, guys, about three months later, I fell pregnant with Zara. And she was a little bit of a surprise baby because we thought it was gonna take us so long to fall pregnant, and everyone thought that we had just, like, miraculously fell pregnant after we got married. Cause it was literally three months after we got married. Yeah, it was crazy. So you can just see from my experience that if you get your health in check and you get everything on track and start getting really in tune with your body, that your hormones will level out and hopefully everything will work out for you. So that is through the guidance of your doctor and your endocrinologist. Now, once you do fall pregnant, it's really, really important to be monitored because the baby's brain and nervous system needs the right amount of thyroid hormone to develop properly. So if you're not taking the right amount of thyroid hormone, it can really affect your baby. So. So, in my pregnancies, I've had blood tests done every four weeks just to make sure that my thyroid is on track. Normally, I have had to increase it in my pregnancy, but that's totally fine. The other thing that happens to me, just generally, is I have anemia, so really, really low iron. And ever since I was diagnosed with hashimoto's, I have had iron infusions because my body doesn't actually take up any iron supplements. It just doesn't affect me. It makes it worse for me. Like, I get other symptoms in taking them, have. Get. I get iron infusions, like, once a year, and then when I'm pregnant, I normally get two while I'm pregnant. And it's so funny because every time I'm pregnant, my obstetrician, because I've had a different one each time, has been like, no, well, you can just try these supplements. I'm like, trust me, it doesn't work. I need an iron infusion anyways. So that's another thing that happened to me now, I already went over the high risk of miscarriage. I am so, so sorry for anyone that's been through this. I just might. My heart goes out to you. Cause that's just the hardest thing in the world. And I hope that with the help of your doctors, you can get things back on track. Postpartum bleeding is something that you're at risk of if you have Hashimoto's. Now, I did have a haemorrhage when Chloe was born. After birth, that was kind of. I wasn't worried, because I knew that my doctors were sorting it out, and then I bled for, like, a long time afterwards for, like, eight weeks pretty consistently. So that's maybe something to be aware of. Low birth weight is another thing to be aware of. And all of my babies were on kind of the small side, or I think Zara was, like, 2.6 kilos. Adrian was 3.3, and Chloe was three, so they weren't. I mean, Adrian and Chloe weren't teeny tiny. Zara was pretty tiny. And then birth defects is another thing. So I don't know. I being completely honest with you guys, I don't know if this is. Sometimes I do think it's, like, my fault, but if you have been following me, you know that Adriene and Chloe both have VSD, which is ventricular septal defect in their heart, basically means that they have a hole in their heart. So sometimes I blame myself, and I feel like it's because of my health that they have those health defects, but they're not affecting their lives whatsoever. They both have specialists who we see, and they are healthy. So I need to put that behind me. But I just wanted to mention that. And then the other thing they check for in your babies is thyroid problems themselves. So one thing I found really interesting was that when Chloe was born, we had an amazing pediatrician. He is so, so good. He explained to me that the antibodies from your system pass through to the placenta and go into the baby. And by three months old, they should have gotten rid of all of these. But sometimes the antibodies will stay in the baby system, and they just need to give the baby a little bit of thyroid hormone in those first three months just to make sure that they're developing properly. So that's what happened to Chloe. She's completely fine, and now she's three months old. But, yeah, they will test, if you have hashimoto's, they will do blood tests on the baby as soon as the baby's born to make sure that there's no thyroid problems with the baby, and also to check the antibodies. Now, the last thing I wanted to talk about is breastfeeding. And this is obviously my personal experience, it's not going to be the same for everyone. But just from having three children and breastfeeding, hashimoto's actually did affect my ability to breastfeed, I guess. And it wasn't until my third baby, Chloe, just recently, where the nurse actually said to me when I told her I had hashimoto's, oh, so you probably had trouble producing milk? And I was like, yes, thank you. No one has ever said that before. And it was reassuring to me. So, first of all, I think just a tiny little bit of the thyroxine, synthetic thyroxine that you take when you have hashimoto's can go through your breast milk to the baby, but there's nothing to worry about. It doesn't affect baby whatsoever. If you're worried, ask your doctor and nurses. And then the other thing is that having hashimoto's and the fact that your thyroid is just kind of not working properly and that your antibodies are working overtime means that it can affect your milk supply. In my case, it really did. It can also affect when your milk comes in. So my milk normally didn't come in till like five or seven days after birth. That also played a role in why my babies lost heaps of weight. And then after that, just didn't really have much milk at all. So I would literally express or feed for like an hour or two and I would get nothing. Babies would still be starving, and hence why I've gone on to formula feed all the babies. If you are interested in hearing about my breastfeeding to bottle feeding and formula experience, I have another podcast on that, so go check that one out. I'll leave it in the show notes. And just lastly, before I go, I want to talk about some of the things that I implement in my everyday life that really help me manage my hashimoto's. So I obviously take my thyroid, I take it first thing in the morning, and I try and take it at least half an hour before I have my coffee or anything. The best thing that works for me is I get up, I take it, and then I go for a walk, and then I come home. And so it's like been the first thing I've had, or I go to the gym or whatever, and I haven't had anything else for an hour, hour, because then it just is the first thing and it starts kicking off everything in your body properly. The next thing I've learned is to do really gentle exercise. So if I try and do like f 45 orange theory, like full on HIIT workouts all the time. My system just gets really inflamed, really tired, and I'll have a flare up. So I think what you need to realize is that you have an overproduction of antibodies because it's an autoimmune disease. So if you put your body in a state of inflammation, there's just going to be more antibodies, more inflammation, you're going to feel like ****. So what I've learned is if I am doing a HIIT workout, because I do really love them, I will leave at least one day in between, if not two days, before I do the next one. So it just gives my muscles a little bit of time to recover and just gives my body a little bit of a rest. I've also started walking heaps more, and I do pilates every now and then, and those things are much gentler on my body and I feel much better for it that I take every day that really help. I actually take the J's health vitamins for hair, and they have iodine and zinc in them. So both of those are really helpful for your thyroid. And I just find it great that it's all in one vitamin. So I take those. It's good for my hair as well. Postpartum hair loss. I also take vitamin D each day, and I take magnesium at night, so I'll take one or two magnesium capsules at night. So those things are all really, really helpful. If you google vitamins and supplements for hashimoto's, you'll get heaps and heaps. There's so many good ones. There's also. Selenium is really good. You can have that in, like, Brazil nuts. What else? Just you want to have, like, really good fats in your diet, like avocados, salmon. I do eat a lot of plant based foods, but lately I've really been trying to incorporate, like, salmon, fish. I'll have a little bit of chicken and turkey sometimes as well, because I was just feeling like I needed more intense protein in my diet to give me energy and to help everything in all my cells work. I just, I wish I could be on a complete vegan, plant based diet because I love it. It's so tasty. But I think for my body, I actually need to have, like, those lean meats and seafoods as well. Cutting out dairy and gluten is the biggest game changer. Honestly, guys, if I have dairy straight away, I notice a flare up straight away. It is crazy. So if you're going to choose one of them, I would say cut out dairy and then gluten and try to limit your sugar because those three things are such inflammatory foods. That again, as I said before, if you're creating more inflammation in your body, you're just giving yourself a worse chance of a flare up. So I really, really hope that that helps you. It gives you a little bit of a starter if you've just found out that you have hashimoto's thyroiditis. If you're thinking about being pregnant or breastfeeding, I hope it helps you with my journey. I would be more than happy to answer any questions that you have, so please just dm me or email me. I'll leave all the links in the show notes below. I'm obviously not a health professional, but this is just my personal experience and sometimes that can be really, really helpful. So I hope in this case it helped you. I'm getting all tongue tied. I'm going to go make myself a coffee because I'm exhausted, but I will see you guys again in next week's podcast.