Autoimmune disease is affecting one in ten people in industrialized countries, more than 50 million Americans, and is rising rapidly every year. 

 

Even more striking, 80% of those affected are women.

 

Autoimmunity doesn’t just come out of nowhere.

 

It’s usually brewing under the surface for a long time.

 

It’s a perfect storm of genetic predisposition, leaky gut, and what I call a toxic bucket overflowing from poor diet, chemical or mold exposure, stress, and or trauma, and nutritional deficiencies. 

 

Thirteen years ago, I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s.  

 

I didn’t know anyone with an autoimmune disorder.

 

My symptoms seemed to show up out of nowhere.

 

My hairstylist, Lauren, asked me why my hair was falling out and breaking.

 

I would sleep 10 hours a night and wake up feeling like I’d been run over by a truck.

 

I gained 10 pounds in three months when nothing about my nutrition or exercise had changed.

 

I was 44 and felt awful.

 

I happened to find a book by Dr. Sara Gottfried called The Hormone Cure.

 

She wrote about Hashimoto’s and how it makes you hypothyroid because the body is falsely attacking itself.

 

I went to my doctor and listed off my symptoms.

 

She said, “It’s normal not to feel well in midlife.”

 

I asked her to test my thyroid, but she refused to test me for Hashimoto’s, saying there’s no way I had it.

 

My TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) was over 8.

 

Normal range is 1-2.

 

My thyroid was struggling, which is the reason I was losing my hair, was exhausted, and gaining weight.

 

I had to find a Naturopath to test me for Hashimoto’s.

 

My antibodies were over 1100.

 

She did extensive blood labs on me, and my body was so depleted.

 

I was given thyroid medication, which initially helped.

 

Six weeks later, I was covered in guttate psoriasis.

 

I had red dots from my scalp to my ankles.

 

The doctor who told me it was normal not to feel well sent me to an allergist when I broke out in psoriasis.

 

I discontinued the thyroid medication because she thought I was reacting to the binders in it.

 

The allergist did the skin test on my back and said I was allergic to most of the foods I was eating.

 

I went to an endocrinologist who told me I would only get sicker and require more medication.

 

I would likely develop lupus, she said.

 

She sent me to a medical dermatologist, and with a room full of residents gathered around, he said I had guttate psoriasis and I would likely develop more autoimmune conditions as they often “cluster”.

 

He sent me to another dermatologist to start treatment for the psoriasis, which she said would be chronic for the rest of my life.

 

I was given steroid cream, which made my skin extremely soft and helped to reduce the psoriasis flare.

 

No one bothered to mention it was thinning my skin and was not a long term solution.

 

The second dermatologist said I could come in weekly to use what amounts to a medical tanning bed to receive UVB light for 45 seconds.

 

It cost $250 a session and wasn’t covered by insurance.

 

But first, I would need to sign the 15 page medical release that if I developed skin cancer, I couldn’t sue them.

 

I walked out and never went back.

 

I became increasingly reactive to foods.

 

At one point, I didn’t eat gluten, dairy, grains, soy, or corn.

 

I had been a vegetarian for 25 years, which, looking back, left me so nutrient-depleted.

 

I had taken birth control pills for 17 years, which is also very nutrient-depleting and disrupts the gut lining, leading to what’s called leaky gut. 

 

I decided that if I wanted to get better, I had to figure out what was at the root of all of this.

 

There were a few books about autoimmunity, and I ordered them all on Amazon.

 

I went to the endocrinologist for a follow-up with all of my questions written down.

 

My first was about gluten.

 

I read that gluten can be a big problem for people with Hashimoto’s as it disrupts the gut lining.

 

She leaned in and tapped her head and said, “If that makes you feel better to not eat gluten, go right ahead, but there’s no science to it.”

 

I never went back to her.

 

She knew nothing about nutrition or lifestyle.

 

Doctors receive less than 20 hours of training about nutrition.

 

She didn’t know how to reverse autoimmunity.

 

She only knew how to keep me sick and trapped in a system.

 

I would spend the next five years and $25,000 trying to feel better.

 

I flew to a doctor in San Francisco.

 

I went to multiple doctors and naturopaths.

 

I still felt awful most of the time.

 

Here’s what no one bothered to ask me:

 

• What’s your stress level?
• Could you possibly be living or working in mold?
• What is your nutrition like?
• Have you taken birth control for more than 5 years?
• Do you have GI issues?
• Do you have root canals or cavitations from having teeth removed?
• Do you have metal fillings or crowns?
  

Here’s what I know to be true about autoimmune conditions.

 

They are your body and your nervous system begging for help.

 

The body is highly intelligent and doesn’t make mistakes.

 

Symptoms are signals.

 

They’re not meant to be masked.

 

They’re meant to be explored.

 

I was working six days a week, often from 6:30 in the morning until 7:30 at night.

 

I was managing two pilates studios for a private club, teaching private clients and group classes, and also teaching private clients in another studio.

 

I was living in mold.

 

It was in the air intake cavity of my HVAC unit.

 

I asked my landlord to address it, and he said it was dried out and not to worry about it.

 

I knew nothing about mold at the time.

 

Now I understand how detrimental it can be to health.

 

I believe it was the final straw for me, and it’s what was a big driver of my Hashimoto’s.

 

My nervous system was on life support.

 

I was living somewhere between flight, freeze, and fawn.

 

I was a people pleaser and a perfectionist.

 

I was undereating and not eating a well balanced diet.

 

I was overexercising, trying to stay thin.

 

I had chronic gut issues that were largely brushed off as “normal”.

 

Most people with Hashimoto’s have h. Pylori and SIBO. These are gut issues.

 

Twelve years later, my thyroid numbers are normal.

 

I don’t need medication.

 

My antibodies are at zero.

 

I did the GI Map last fall and realized it was the missing link to digestive and immune issues that plagued me for years.

 

I found it to be so helpful that I got certified in interpreting it so I can help my clients get to the root cause of their symptoms.

 

I can tolerate most foods now.

 

I eat well balanced meals and no longer look at food as “good” or “bad”.

 

I no longer diet.

 

I lift weights to be strong, not skinny.

 

The psoriasis is gone and hasn’t come back.

 

My hair is in better condition than it was in my 40s.

 

I have energy.

 

All the challenges I’ve been through with my health are the reason I became a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner.

 

I don’t want anyone to have to go through what I endured.

 

Our sick care system doesn’t know how to treat autoimmune conditions.

 

If you or a friend or a loved one is dealing with an autoimmune condition, I would love to have a conversation with them. Book a call here.

 

I have two blog posts that are a great place to start, whether you have autoimmunity or a chronic illness:

 

How to reverse autoimmunity

How to prepare for a doctor's appointment