All right, point 2. I know you are dying to know after I left you hanging on point 1 :-) And also, family members, I am not trying to scare you or paint a worst case scenario pictures. I am being honest. And hopefully most of you heard this from me before I posted this.
As I pointed out in the last post, I have been getting a ton of blood work done. For both the food type allergies as well as some other issues. My body is basically so out of whack, it's a wonder it works at all!
:-) That's a joke, although sadly slightly true.
My doctor has been concerned that maybe I may have PCOS or Hashimoto's. You can read about both of those in the links. That has been the other concern I have been trying to get checked out, in the midst of the food/allergy issues. Like I said above, my body just doesn't seem to want to function correctly. This has been a long time of trying to get this area checked out because my work changed my health insurance, and I could no longer go to the doctors I was originally going too. I finally found a female doctor that I like, she is great and she went a step farther in doing the blood tests. They usually find that all my hormone levels appear to be fine, despite some problems. This doctor finally ordered an additional test, not just a hormone panel, which looks at all the normal stuff, but also checked my thyroid antibodies. These came back high. High thyroid antibodies usually occur in people who are hypothyroid. Currently, my thyroid hormones (TSH) are at normal levels.
I was referred to an endocrinologist. High thyroid antibodies means that my body is attacking my thyroid. This is not a good thing. My thyroid hormone levels are fine, the endocrinologist checked those and he also checked my thyroid for any problems. So my thyroid is still functioning correctly despite being under attack. Basically, he does not want to start me on thyroid medication to help my thyroid out, because he is afraid that it will push me into the hyperthyroid range for the time being. I am now being closely monitored and will have my thyroid hormones checked every three months to make sure that they are staying normal. Once my thyroid hormone levels start to fall, this will indicate that my body (thyroid) is not able to keep up with the attack any longer, and I will need to go on thyroid medication. So basically, it is a waiting game until I become hypothyroid and the possibility that my thyroid could fail. My official diagnosis from the endocrinologist is that I probably have early Hashimoto's, because right now there is no damage to my thyroid, so this is a good thing! He has said that I will always have high antibodies and that this autoimmune condition (my body is attacking my body) will always exist. There is no medication to cure the condition, just thyroid medication to stabilize the condition. So I have now been looking into natural ways to heal they thyroid and lower antibodies. Personally, I do not want my thyroid to fail or to have to take medication. So I am going to try to stop the progress as much as possible.
Now, my other doctor, believes the hashimoto's to be the problem, and suggests taking the thyroid medication. She is very concerned that we are ignoring the issues, because I do have symptoms and there is a possibility that many of my symptoms could be linked to the hashimoto's picture. But I have decided to not start taking it.
This is why I decided to start paleo and gluten free again, despite the diagnosis that I do not have a gluten allergy (celiac's disease). I have read some research which supports that a gluten allergy (or other food allergies/sensitivities) go hand in hand with an autoimmune thyroid condition which is what is happening to me. It may not be the cure, but I think it is interesting how the wheat sensitivity or allergy plays into this, when before it was always suspect. I learned that just because I don't have celiac's disease doesn't mean I can't have a sensitivity to wheat and gluten. I just don't have the full blown disease (which is so good too! Celiac's causes a lot of damage to the small intestine and a subsequent loss of nutrients from your food. It can get really serious).
So right now, I just wait. Which is fine. I like my life, I love my husband, and I have more than enough stuff to keep me busy. Like I said, I will continue to pursue my health quest, because if you lose your health, what do you have? (Besides the Lord, anyway. He will always be with me, but I do feel he wants me to make the most of this life and not live with my head in the sand). Yes, maybe I will get a miraculous healing, or maybe God wants me to use the brain he gave me to figure it out. As much as faith is just believing, it is also action. You can just sit and say God exists but if you do not take the action to ask him to be your Lord or become a Christian, then that is not really following God. I feel like it is the same way with life, you can just sit and meander through, or you can act, and use the brain that God gave us to figure things out!
Okay, off my soapbox. Thanks for listening to my rant. Michael and I have some fun stuff planned so I will hopefully make this blog "fun" again. :-)
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