Tag: hypothyroid

Week Two Recap

Week two of my 10 week journey has come and gone!  I can’t believe it’s already been two weeks honestly!!  So I thought I would share some of my “new and goods” and some of my struggles so far.

I always ask my clients, “what’s new and good”, so I only think it’s fitting that I start with my mine! 😊 First, I’ve officially done more yoga classes than I have in seven years 🧘🏼‍♀️…which wasn’t hard to do since I haven’t done any since my seven year old was born! 🙃😂 I’ve really enjoyed the classes and it’s been even more fun than expected because I have several friends who have been doing the classes with me. I forgot how challenging yoga can be and I always love a good challenge! 💪🏼

My second new and good is that I’ve made it two weeks with being about 90% compliant with AIP. 🙌🏼  There are a few things that I have had here and there but there’s one that I have had on a daily basis and that’s coffee. Not only should I be skipping the coffee, but I’m also using coconut milk creamer and almond milk and both aren’t allowed.  I’ve tried just using canned coconut milk but it’s too high in fat.  All of my recipes that I’ve been following are really high in fat and I can’t do it all!  So I switched back to my almond milk from a carton.  I also haven’t been compliant with sweeteners.  I add 1/2 tsp of honey to my homemade coconut yogurt and I add a few drops of stevia to my mineral water with freshly squeezed lemon and lime.  I used to have a Zevia every day before I started AIP, so this replaces my Zevia.  One other thing that I’ve not been compliant with is chocolate. I’ve been eating 70% cacao, or above, but it’s still something I’m supposed to omit.  😞 I definitely don’t have it every day but I have had it a couple of times.  I know carob is a good substitute so I’m going to look into that.  Normally, chocolate is not a big deal but there is definitely one time of the month that chocolate is a must! 😬 So, my coffee, stevia, honey and chocolate are my non-compliances.  (I see a trend here…. do you?? Can someone say I clearly have a sugar issue?!?! 🍯 🍫) However, I don’t like having to tell you that I’m being non-compliant so I will probably make some adjustments!! 🙂  Look at this blog keeping me accountable!!

Another new and good is that I got to spend the whole weekend at home WITHOUT ANY OTHER PLANS, other than to watch my daughter play soccer.  It’s been awhile since I’ve had some weekend time at home so it was much needed!

My last new and good, and this is new as of this morning, I took my final exam for The Institute for Integrative Nutrition Gut Health Course and I got a 100%!!!  💃🏼 I’m so excited that I passed, that I got a 100%, but most importantly, I’m looking forward to some MUCH NEEDED relaxation time on the couch with my husband in the evenings!! ❤️ I’ve truly loved the courses I’ve taken at IIN but I’m ready for a break!!

Moving on from my new and good, I want to share some struggles from the last week because this is where I learn the most, not only for myself, but for future clients who try AIP.  First and foremost, I’m finding that I have cravings.  I have found that when I restrict myself, for whatever the reason, I want to eat the world and I want to eat whatever I know I shouldn’t have.  Luckily, with this, the cravings for things that I shouldn’t eat hasn’t been that bad.  However, I do find that I bounce back and forth from craving salty foods to wanting chocolate…now this may be TMI, but Auntie Flow is coming in hot, so that may be where the chocolate craving is coming from! 😉 But mainly, I really am wanting the crunchy, salty stuff.  I’ve ended up with several bags of Bare Chips (Beet, Sweet Potato, Apple) and salted plantain chips.  I don’t usually go for a bag of chips so I’m thinking this is because I used to have peanut butter powder, almond butter, mixed nuts, or a combination of the three, every afternoon.  I’m wondering if I’m not subconsciously trying to replace the nuts.  Anyway, the cravings have been pretty high and I’m hoping these will subside as I go.

Another struggle that is kind of along the same line as the cravings is that I’m trying to follow my macros while doing AIP.  I find myself not caring about going over or under on my macros as long as I’m making AIP choices.  Which would be fine but I’m going fairly over on my calorie intake and eating more than is necessary.  Being a macro coach, I find that this brings a fair amount of guilt with it.  So, I’m struggling with that.

The other struggle is that I’ve felt pretty tired and rather easily frustrated and angered.  I don’ t know if week one was due to being overwhelmed with the process and everything that was going on?  And maybe this past week was due to PMS?  I did have a client mention something about possibly detoxing while going through this, so maybe that’s what’s going on?  I also think I’m not getting enough sleep and I know that sleep greatly impacts my overall mood and energy.  😴 My kids have also started school during all of this and I’ve been getting up a little earlier, so that could be contributing as well.  And the other thing that could be contributing is that my fat intake has increased and my carbohydrate intake has decreased.  Being that I typically am more energetic when I have higher carbs, this could be another factor.  Regardless what the cause, this fatigue is another thing that I’m hoping I see some changes with! 🙏🏼

So enough of the struggles…they are such a downer!!  And no one needs a Debbie hanging out!! 😉 😂 I look forward to the challenge of “fixing” my struggles… as I’m a “fixer”.  So here’s to a new week with NEW CHALLENGES, less struggles, and more to learn. 👊🏼

Week 1 Is Over…Thankfully!

I cried, I laughed, I yelled…I got angry, I got frustrated, I got overwhelmed…but, I lived.

This past week has probably been the most overwhelmed I’ve been in a very long time. Now, how much of it was because I was fighting, what I have named, The Devil’s Cold, I don’t know. I AM sure that my lack of energy 💯% played a roll in my ability to stay in control. But, I continued to press through, making changes when needed, and today, I can finally say I don’t feel so stressed. 🙌🏼

So I have learned a few things already that I definitely want to share with anyone ready to take the plunge to an AIP diet, or really anyone ready to make some drastic changes, health-related or not.

Lesson 1: Don’t make matters harder than they need to be.

I brought on a lot of unneeded stress by trying to follow a 28-day-plan without considering the amount of time and finances it would take to cook all of the meals. (I spent roughly $400 for four days worth of food, snacks and smoothie stuff included. 😳) AND I failed to reference my planner…had I done so, I may have noticed the amount of practices, parent meetings, and the guaranteed homework duty, that was going to wreck havoc on my dinner making. 😩 Instead of following multiple recipes, I could have stuck with my normal chicken and apple and/or sweet potato for lunch and some meat and veggies for dinner and called it a day.

Lesson 2: Don’t try to do everything. Little steps can make big differences.

I had planned on making several changes all at once and I definitely don’t recommend that! I even tell my clients, “baby steps”, start small and build on it. I planned to up my chiropractor appointments (an additional hour and fifteen minutes per week), add yoga to my schedule twice a week (two and a half hours per week), start my ozone therapy (hour and a half per week), and follow an AIP diet (countless hours of cooking, making sure I’m taking all of my supplements, drinking tea and bone broth with collagen, etc.) And there was a funeral in there as well that took a fair amount of my day, but that doesn’t count because that was unplanned and I wouldn’t have missed that no matter what. Regardless, this is too much for anyone. Even if you are young, single, don’t have a job yet and still living with mom and dad or you are a stay-at-home-mom who has the luxury of a house cleaner and groceries delivered… STILL TOO MUCH. If I were to start this process over again, I would have slowly added each of these in prior to starting my Ozone treatments, instead of adding them all in at once.

Lesson 3: NEVER TRY TO MAKE DRASTIC CHANGES WHEN YOU ARE SICK. 😩😩😩

This one I can’t say enough. I think my whole week and whole outlook AND my blog would be different had I not been sick. JUST….WAIT. You won’t lose anything by waiting one week.

Lesson 4: When you sit around a campfire, no matter where you sit, smoke will follow you.

Lol – this one definitely doesn’t pertain to what we’re talking about however, the fact that I’m camping and sitting near a fire does. Make time for yourself. Whenever you are trying to heal, make big changes, pursue goals, OR JUST HAVE LESS STRESS, find time to relax, kick your feet up, look at the scenery… and breathe. After this week, I honestly just wanted to stay home and “catch up” on everything and sleep in some. But God knew that if I stayed home I would not sit down and relax, or play cards with my family and outdoor games with my kids, or laugh around the campfire (while my dad “catches flies” next to me 😂). These moments when you relax are the moments that allow your body the chance to refuel, so you go after any goal or intention that you have. (Don’t worry, I made extra and packed all my AIP meals and snacks to bring with me. 😉)

I don’t have a whole lot of lessons, but these are the big ones. But honestly, as stubborn as I am, I’m not sure I would have followed my own advice had I known all of this anyway! 😂

Next week, I have pulled out the breakfast recipes that I’m supposed to make, saving me some time and money. I know coffee is not part of AIP but I figure if that’s the one thing I keep in, it’s not going to kill me. I drink decaf which is definitely better. But my morning fast followed by my bulletproof coffee just has to stay. 😊 I will be keeping dinner recipes that serve four. My husband is happily willing to eat my meals… thankfully! So we will eat a recipe for dinner and then have it for lunch two days later. This will keep a little separation between eating them. Every lunch will be a leftover, cutting out cooking at lunch time. I have planned my week so I know when I need to prep each dinner so that it doesn’t interfere with sports and appointments. My post workout meals will be easy smoothies and I already have everything I need for those. So hopefully, after this next week, my blog will be a much different tone!

On to next week, less stress, and treatment number 2!

Until then, be well!

My First Ozone Therapy Treatment…NAILED IT!

I’m so stoked to share with you all that my first Ozone Therapy Treatment has came and went and I did great!!!

I was admittedly nervous 😟 going in, I won’t lie. Even sitting in the comfy recliner chairs, surrounded by a couple of nurses and a few other ladies doing treatments, I was still a bit shaky. But, God knows me very well. 😊

The Big Man Upstairs knows that I’m just a little bit of a talker….seriously, just a little, tiny bit. 😊 So what did He do?? He planted those two ladies right across from me, one of which enjoyed talking, like me. 😉 Oh and then, He had two nurses in there, one of which was extremely willing to chat with me. And the other?? Well, she’s a trainer at a local gym (I might work out a little), buff girl (like me 😂), who models LuLu Lemon (which I love ❤️ ), and is pregnant. So I might of carried in headphones, my phone, a laptop, and my work bag….NONE of which I used. (Don’t let the note pad on my lap fool you….I didn’t touch it other than to get it out!) 😬 I may have talked the ENTIRE time. 😂 But that was perfect because it kept me from thinking about what was going on!

So, anywho, got through it, easy peasy. I had one IV with a combination of saline and ozone. The second IV had three main ingredients, of which I only remember Glutathione. But the second IV was to help boost my immune system. I will figure that combo out and let you know later. (Maybe if I hadn’t talked so much, I’d remember 😬) My nurse, Dana, forewarned me that some people will feel drowsy after having their IV, others have noticed that they have more energy. Since I’ve been sick lately, I was praying I was one of the lucky ones to have more energy….and I was one of the lucky ones. 😊 We had a lot going on last night so it would have been much more stressful had I been tired! And today, I definitely have more of my energy back that has been zapped from this nasty cold. 🙌🏼 Still not 100%, but definitely better! I feel like I have control of my day again!! 💪🏼👊🏼

So overall, it was a great experience! I wish I could give you all the conclusion right now and say, “hey it worked – my strep and other infections are all gone!” But I guess you’ll have to put up with my cheesy, third rate blog for awhile if you wanna know the answer to that. 🙃 I will continue to keep you all posted! Thanks for following along!!

*If you are interested in macros or integrative nutrition health coaching, contact me here.

Day 1 of the Rest of My Life

So day 1 of my 10 week journey has come and gone…

Here’s what I’ve learned so far!

1. I LOVE coffee even more than I thought I did 🙌🏼

2. I rely on my bulletproof coffee…even more than I thought I did 😩

3. I don’t eat as well….as I thought I did…LOL

4. A dollop of coconut cream on my smoothie is nothing like a dollop of whipped cream 🤨

5. I love fat and I love nuts and it’s SO hard to not grab a homemade treat made with them 😬

6. I’m kinda better in the kitchen than I thought I was… I make a killer homemade apple and cinnamon turkey sausage patty, some pretty fabulous homemade yogurt, and a really good shrimp salad 🥗💃🏼

7. I see why people don’t think twice about grabbing convenience food items or eating the same thing every day for lunch and breakfast… actually making a different home-cooked meal for every meal and snack takes a lot of time….but I WILL master and simplify the process by the end of the ten weeks! (and I will share tips and tricks along the way) ✅

8. Deciding to clean up your eating while simultaneously being sick has proven to not be so easy… I just wanna eat what I wanna eat 🤧😷😩

9. I can already tell that I will be doubling, at the minimum, each of the recipes that I make cause I ain’t got time to cook a dinner-type meal three times a day 😳 (I believe this is one of the MANY reasons that Americans eat the way they do…. women used to be at home all day to cook meals so convenience food wasn’t necessary.  Now-a-days it may be more common for women to work than not, so convenience food is in high demand)

10. Trying to do two “lifestyles” at the same time is not as easy as it looked on paper!  I am an integrative nutrition health coach, as well as a macros nutrition coach, so I follow a macros diet set individually for me (meaning I have to hit a certain number of fat, protein, and carbohydrates each day).  Trying to follow Dr. Amy Myers 28 day meal plan, using her recipes, while trying to make them fit within my macros, isn’t quite as easy as I thought it would be! So my priority for now is to eat the proper foods and then if I can make them fit within my macros, well that’s just a bonus. 😊

THOSE are probably my top 10 things that I’ve learned today!  I know that each new day will pose challenges that I wasn’t prepared for but I also know, with each new day, I will be healthier than the day before (I have to be, as sick with a cold as I am now! 😂) and I will be stronger than yesterday (as we say in the Crossfit world).

Until tomorrow when I have my first IV!!

**What I ate today (all recipes from Dr. Amy Myers, The Thyroid Connection):

Sweet Potato & Greens Breakfast Hash with Cinnamon Apple Breakfast Sausage

Blueberries and Cream Smoothie

Citrus Shrimp over Red Leaf Lettuce Salad

Miscellaneous AIP friendly snacks, tea, and lemon water

To Exercise or Not to Exercise…

runningSo I’ve had a lot of questions about exercise lately and what you should do when you have an autoimmune condition. So I thought I would share my not-so “expert”, based on experience, opinion. 😂

I think exercise is as bio individual as is food. What works for one person may not work for another. This is an area where it really pays to be mindful of your body and it’s responses to what you are doing. Listen to your doctors and consider what they tell you. But also, no one knows your body as well as you do. So when you are taking part in an activity, really be mindful in the moment and pay attention to what your body is telling you. Most likely, you will have a gut instinct as our bodies are very good at telling us what they need, if only we listen.

If I had to give you my own opinion of what you should do, it would be something like this: If you are in the middle of a flare up or you are in the process of trying to heal, I would definitely dial back what you are doing. As an example, if you are someone who runs marathons and is training multiple times a week with long runs, you might dial it back to running 3 to 5 miles a couple times a week.  If you find yourself at the gym for a couple hours at a time, five to six days a week, doing several high intensity type workouts, maybe you dial it back by only being there for an hour, three to five days a week.

In evaluating your own situation, there is a really important question I would ask yourself. It’s not necessarily how often are you exercising, it’s

how often are you balancing your exercise with something that is grounding or centering?

In a more scientific way of saying it, how often are you balancing your sympathetic nervous system (SNS) by triggering your parasympathetic nervous system (PNS)?

You have to understand that when you exercise, it is a form of stress on the body. Stress isn’t necessarily a bad thing. But, when we are in a state of stress all the time, that’s when it can be detrimental to our health. So, if you are someone that has a very stressful job, several kids that you are running around, you’re exercising multiple times a week, running errands between appointments and/or practices, you are stressing your body all day long. That’s when it becomes a problem. Add in any financial, career, relationship, spiritual, or other struggles and now you’ve got a recipe for staying in, or triggering, a diseased state.

When you are in a state of stress, you are triggering your SNS. This system is designed to take all of your energy resources and put them in the areas, like your muscles, to help you flee from danger. Think back to very early human days when danger was keeping yourself alive from the tiger chasing you. In this state, there is decreased blood supply to the gut and an increase in your heart rate and blood pressure. Being in this state on a frequent, or all the time basis, can be harmful.

We also have another system called the PNS. You will often here this referred to as the rest and digest system. When it is engaged, there is an increased blood supply to your gut which increases digestion. When you are in a parasympathetic state, your body is in a healing state. When you have an autoimmune condition and are dealing with a flareup, you want to be in the parasympathetic state as much as possible.  And even if you are a healthy individual, it is still just as important to have a healthy balance between these two systems.

So when we talk about exercise, not only should you ask yourself how much stress are you putting on your body with the type of exercise you are doing, but, how often are you balancing that out with something that triggers your PNS?  How often are you doing grounding, centering, and/or relaxing activities like yoga, meditation, breathing exercises, taking a bubble bath, reading a good book, or in my case, watching the birds at my feeders? If you can’t say that you are doing an activity that triggers your PNS as often as you are doing an activity that triggers your SNS, then I encourage you to push yourself out of the comfort zone of your normal routine, shake things up a bit.  Ask yourself what you enjoy doing that relaxes you and maybe look into meditation, yoga, or breathing exercises.  Your body will absolutely thank you for it!  And who knows…you might just lose those extra few pounds that won’t go away.

 

If you need help balancing your exercise, your work/home life, or your stress, reach out to me here!  I would love to help you!

 

Spring is in Bloom and Summer is Just Around the Corner!

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With Spring finally here and summer around the corner,  I wanted to talk about seasonal crops and their nutritional value.  (*Little side-note, these are mid-western crops.) Some of the ones that are going to be popping up and ready to go in June are arugula, radishes, mustard greens, kale, lettuce, spinach, green onions, kohlrabi, zucchini, cucumbers, broccoli, beets, parsley, and chard.  Wheew!!  That’s a lot of veggies and greens!! 🙂  I LOVE this time of year because there are so many greens to choose from!

I know several of these, especially the greens, can be overwhelming at first.  You don’t know how to use them, they don’t sound appetizing, etc.  Because greens can be the most intimidating, we’re going to talk about those today.  There are two easy ways you can enjoy some of these greens.  First is in a smoothie.  I love throwing together some frozen berries, mix in Sun Warrior’s grain free plant-based protein powder, add in some superfoods (like cacao nibs/powder, flax/chia seeds, maca powder, etc.), throw in some sea vegetables like nori or dulse (you can’t taste them and they are good for those with thyroid conditions), and then of course, add in my favorite greens!!  However, I highly recommend you pick a piece of the green leaf first, taste it, and decide if the flavor is too strong for you.  Most of these will taste the exact same way in a smoothie.  For example, I will not put arugula or kale in my smoothie.  They both have pretty bold tastes that I don’t care for.  Spinach is PERFECT in a smoothie!  It doesn’t have much of a taste when eating it raw so you can’t taste it at all in a smoothie!

The second easy way is to saute them.  My favorite of all the greens mentioned above is spinach and chard, although I haven’t yet discovered a green that I don’t mind sauteed.  Even the ones that have pretty strong smells and pretty bitter tastes raw, have a much milder taste when sauteed.  Here is a quick and easy recipe:

EASY GREENS RECIPE
1/2 Tbsp olive or coconut oil
1 tsp Better than Bouillon, chicken flavored
1 tsp minced garlic
1/4 sweet onion, chopped
2 cups greens, diced, stems separate from leaves IF the stems are a hard stem (like a chard).
Salt & Pepper to taste

Turn your burner to medium, add in the oil.  Once the oil is hot, add in your onions and cook until translucent, about 3-5 minutes.  If you are working with a green that has hard stems, such as a chard, you’ll want to put those in next.  Let those cook about 3-5 minutes (I prefer five because I prefer mine to be a little softer).  Then add the rest of the ingredients, cooking for another 3 minutes or until the leaves are wilted.  Bam, you’re done!  You can eat these as a side dish or throw additional vegetables on top.  I like to eat spinach with my sweet potato and eggs in my pre workout but I love to eat chard by itself.  If you are making some homemade soup, you can always add ins some spinach and kale, adding a lot of nutrients without changing the taste of the soup!

As always, enjoy finding ways to add in some of these delicious crops whenever you can.  It’s always more nourishing to your body to eat crops that are in season.  Oh, and there’s the added benefit of it being cheaper on your pocket book! 🙂

For additional benefits of eating in season, check out this link!!
https://www.rebootwithjoe.com/benefits-of-eating-seasonally/

Struggling to Give up Soda Pop? Try this!

It’s been years since I had my daily Diet Coke! I could go into all of the reasons why I gave it up, but I don’t think I need to! Now-a-days, we all pretty much know that pop isn’t good for you. (Just in case 😂 causes dehydration, plaque build-up on teeth, SUGAR, ASPARTAME, phosphoric acid, caffeine, possible heavy metal toxicity, and high fructose corn syrup 😳) But, I’ve always missed the carbonated beverage. I got hooked on Zevia (a “better” pop) and I have been drinking that in the afternoons for a couple of years. But, fighting an autoimmune disease, I wanted to give up drinking out of an aluminum can because of the possible toxicity exposure. So, I did some research and found out I could basically make my own beverage! Check out this video to see how you too can give up your pop and make your own healthy version!

Are you looking for support on your autoimmune journey? E-mail me here!

Infections in English

The word “infection” can seem like a dirty word.  And it’s such a broad word… infection.  What exactly does it mean?  Infection.  I’ve heard of an ear infection or people saying “It smells like an infection”, which is so gross, btw, but other than that, I have no clue what it really means.

When the words “possible infection” have been mentioned at previous doctor appointments, I’ve really had no clue what they meant.  I don’t have an infection.  There’s nothing going on with me, except the obvious Hashimotos.  So I have always just, kind of, ignored those words and moved on.  My doctor has never pushed the subject and has never really elaborated by what he meant.  But let’s be real, he has about 30 minutes with me at each visit and I always come loaded with tons of questions!  (And I’m usually good for being about five minutes late.) So it’s not like I give him a whole lot of time to speak on any given subject. (Note to self: maybe I should work on this…)  But back to the word infection, I’ve always brushed it aside when it’s been brought up.  But that is no longer.

“Low white blood cell count”, more words that have been uttered throughout the last seven years.  Again, not something that was talked about more than the quick mention.  And not something that I have worried much about.  The first time I heard them I was either pregnant or it was postpartum, I can’t remember honestly.  Either way, there was a lot going on with my body at the time so I didn’t think it was a big deal.  However, at my last appointment, he said those same words again, “your white blood cell count is low” (aka “wbc” in white coat terms). He decided that we need to look further into it.  So a couple of days ago (about 2-3 months after my last appointment) I had my blood drawn again to see if my count was still low.  What comes back from the test will determine where we go from here.

So the reason that I want to talk about infections is because it wasn’t until recently that I even understood what the heck he was talking about, which means a lot of other autoimmune sufferers probably don’t either. Not only that, but I didn’t realize how much having any one of these infections could affect flare ups of my symptoms. And, even more importantly, that one of these infections could be the root cause of my Hashimoto’s.  THAT right there is priceless information, and ladies and gentlemen, I’m not charging you, so read on to see if any one of these could be affecting you!  (Cause upon further investigation, I know that I for sure have some of these and some of the others are possibilities.)

So why did I not ever understand what infections are?  Or even more specifically, what ones my doctor was referring to?  Well, that’s because, a lot of times when they are talked about, they are referred to in their “white coat” terms.  So most of us who are “plain-clothed patients” don’t have one iota (that word is for you dad!) what the doctor is talking about.  We also tend to not ask enough questions and that’s a whole other blog in itself!  So, I’m going to give you some of the most common infections, in easy “plain-clothed” terms of course, that could be causing your symptom flare-ups or be the root cause of your Hashimoto’s.

First, Herpes, more specifically herpes simplex type 1 and type 2.  In easier terms, think cold sores or fever blisters that you can get on your mouth or sores that you can get on your genital area.  If you have either of these, or think you might, blood testing can be done to determine if you have an active herpes virus.  Because any of the different herpes viruses (there’s more than just these two) can impact Hashimoto’s, to be safe, I would test for them all.

Second, Helicobacter pylori.  You know what this one is?  Cause I sure the heck didn’t. I was even affected by this one when I was in high school and then possibly again in college. Instead of doing testing the later time, they just assumed and gave me medication.  Regardless, I’ve dealt with it and didn’t even know it.  So, Helicobacter pylori, aka H. pylori, is the cause of ulcers.  If you’ve ever had an ulcer, you want to address this.  But here’s the crazy thing, you can have had an ulcer and not know it… so you want to test for this even if you think you’ve never had one.  If you have both an autoimmune condition AND you have problems with your thyroid, then there’s a high probability that you would test positive for this.  Testing for this can be done with a breath, stool, or blood test.

Next, small intestine bacterial overgrowth, aka SIBO.  This is when your gut bacteria is out of balance.  To test for this, your doctor would order a breath test.

Toxoplasmosis, this parasite is one of the infections that I could totally see me having but don’t know for sure.  So if you’ve ever been pregnant and your OB told you not to change your cat liter, this parasite is why.  This can be a risk to your fetus.  I’ve been around cats since the day I was born, living with 13 different cats in my 38 years.  So to me, the likelihood that one of them carried this parasite is probably pretty good.  However, it not only can be found in cat feces, but also in undercooked pork.  I don’t know that I’ve ever had undercooked pork, but I guess it’s a possibility.  This one also can be tested through a blood test.

Hepatitis C – this one is pretty tricky, just like the H. pylori (ulcer) because a high percentage of people have it and  don’t know it.  Another one that I suggest you test for even if you think you are in the clear.  It’s another one that can be found through a blood test.

Another one, blastocystis hominis…. ever heard of this one?  Me either.  So if you have traveled to a developing country, then this one is something that you want to test for.  Again, you can have it and not know it as some people don’t experience any symptoms at all and many people clear up on their own.  The symptoms include diarrhea, nausea, fatigue, bloating, hives, abdominal cramping, loss of appetite, and excessive gas.  If you’ve been to a developing country and came home and experienced any of these, it’s possible that you may have it.  Again, just be tested to know for sure and you can do that with a stool test.

Borrelia burgdorferi – this is associated with Lyme’s disease and can be discovered with a blood test.

Epstein-Barr… this one probably makes me the most mad.  I’ve heard the name Epstein-Barr numerous times but never realized it’s the same thing as mononucleosis, aka mono, aka the kissing disease.  I know for a fact that I had this in college and had I known that there was any possibility that this could be the root cause or the reason for my symptoms, I definitely would have told someone.  Why the heck these all can’t just be called something that we are familiar with, like mono, is beyond me.  Per Dr. Amy Myers in her book The Thyroid Connection, “a whopping 95% of U.S. adults have picked it up by age forty, and it can present without any symptoms.”  Whaaaatttt?!?!  How did I not know this? (insert eye roll here)  This one can be detected with a blood test as well and since there seems to be a 95% chance that you have it if you’re over the age 40, I say get tested.

The last one is yersinia enterocolitica.  This one can feel like food poisoning…rightly so since you can get it from undercooked pork, or water, meat, or milk that has been contaminated.  You might see symptoms like diarrhea (can be bloody in sever cases), low-grade fever, abdominal pain, and vomiting.  Again with this one, you typically clear up on your own and don’t require medical treatment.  If you’ve ever experienced food poisoning, or food poisoning type symptoms, I would suggest testing for this.  It can be done with a stool test.  But from what I’ve read, you will need a functional medicine doctor for this.

So, these are the main infections that you want to be aware of.  I’m sure there are more and I will definitely add them to my blog as I run across them.  But for now, know that if you have any of these, or THINK you could have any of these, I would highly recommend being tested.  These absolutely could not only be causing your symptom flare-ups, but could be the root cause of your Hashimoto’s (or other autoimmune condition).

For more information on any of these infections, if they could pertain to you, and testing for definitive answers, speak to your FUNCTIONAL MED doctor.  If you would like support with your autoimmune journey, feel free to reach out to me at StacyRawlings@mac.com!  Together we can free you from your symptoms so you can lead a beautiful, healthy life!

**Although these are my own thoughts and takes on infections, there are several books, doctors, and websites that I go to for all my autoimmune, digestion, and gut information.  Among those are my own doctor, Dr. Kevin Logan at The Logan Institute for Health and Wellness, The Institute for Integrative Nutrition, The Thyroid Connection and The Autoimmune Solution by Dr. Amy Myers, Dr. Izabella Wentz, Pharm D, Mickey & Angie at Autoimmune Wellness, The Immune System Recovery Plan by Dr. Susan Blum, and Medical Medium Thyroid Healing by Anthony William.  These are just the start of some amazing resources for people with autoimmune conditions.  I highly recommend them all.