Hypothyroid Symptoms and Diagnosis

Here I am, yet again, starting all over again. For the past 6 years, I've been struggling to get on track to fully heal my Hypothyroidism. I've started and stopped so many times that I've lost count! 

During that time, things have progressed and gotten worse with new symptoms that have come up.

The symptoms have scared me to the point where I'm ready to be extreme and reverse this once and for all. I know it's not going to be easy, but I'm finally in the right mindset to stick with it. 

First thing I'm doing is getting a proper diagnosis. To be honest, I don't really care what the diagnosis is, because I'm still going to follow the same protocol. I'm doing it so that I know my starting point in order to track the progress along the way. 

I met with the doctor today and he gave me a requisition form to get my bloodwork tested. This will be the first step to understanding what's happening in my body. For reference and tracking purposes, here's a list of all the symptoms I have:

1. Dry skin
2. Dry mouth (always need to drink middle of night and choke a lot)
3. Weight gain
4. Fatigue
5. Brain fog
6. Puffy face
7. Muscle weakness
8. Painful & heavy menstrual periods
9. Super high blood cholesterol level
10. Weird random muscle aches & stiffness
11. Joint pain & stiffness that feels like arthritis (hands, feet, right hip, shoulder)
12. Numbness/achyness in lower legs (primarily the right leg) 
13. Coughing up mucus
14. Eczema 
15. Psoriasis (scalp)
16. Anxiety (not all the time)
17. Depression (I seem to be good about getting out of it relatively quickly)
18. Pelvic-floor dysfunction (PFD)

Now I don't have all those symptoms every day, but currently most of those apply. The most notable one, and what's freaking me out the most right now, is of joint pain (arthritis) & stiffness along with leg numbness. This is a brand new symptom as of 3 weeks ago and I have no idea what that's about. It's definitely making things a bit challenging, but on a positive note, this is what's woken me up. Time to reverse whatever I have, no matter how long it takes!

What am I doing to heal myself you might ask? I've decided to follow the protocol outlined in the book 'Goodby Lupus' by Brooke Goldner, M.D. If she could heal Lupus, then I can certainly heal this mishmash of ridiculousness that I have! 

Daily log of food, activity & changes in symptoms

Monday: 

• Water: 2.5 litres of water
• Breakfast: 2 litres green smoothie w/coconut water, 75% greens (6 cups), 25% fruit & fats (1/4 cup flax seeds)
• Lunch/Dinner: salad with 6 cups lettuce, olives, red onion, baby tomatoes, avocado, dressing (1 tbsp olive oil, 4 tbsp balsamic vinegar)
• Dinner: 1 head of steamed broccoli with tahini/lemon/braggs dressing and hot sauce
• Activity: 1 hour walk, 15 min stretches
• Symptoms: Both hands have arthritis pain, right foot hurts most of the day but worse when at rest, the right lower leg is bothering me quite a bit. Feels almost a bit numb but uncomfortably so. Have to rub it a lot to try and ease it although it doesn't do much. Tough day mentally/emotionally, not feeling great but took 2 weeks sick leave. I'm really tired today and my muscles feel weak. Psoriases is quite itchy, scratching a lot, and eczema on legs and elbows are quite flared up as well. Lots of inflammation in the body right now. 

Tuesday: 

• Water: 3 litres of water
• Breakfast: 2 litres green smoothie w/coconut water, 75% greens (6 cups), 25% fruit & fats (1/4 cup flax seeds)
• Lunch/Dinner: salad with 6 cups lettuce, olives, red onion, baby tomatoes, avocado, dressing (1 tbsp olive oil, 4 tbsp balsamic vinegar)
• Dinner: 1 head of steamed broccoli with tahini/lemon/braggs dressing and hot sauce
• Activity: 1 hour walk, dance workout, 15 min cooldown stretch
• Symptoms: Similar to yesterday, both hands have arthritis pain, right foot hurts most of the day but worse when at rest, the right lower leg is bothering me quite a bit. Feels almost a bit numb but uncomfortably so. Have to rub it a lot to try and ease it although it doesn't do much, lots of shifting during sleep. Feeling a bit better mentally/emotionally but I'm still really tired and my muscles feel weak. Psoriases is quite itchy, scratching a lot, and eczema on legs and elbows are quite flared up as well. 

Wednesday: 

• Water: 3 litres of water
• Breakfast: 2 litres green smoothie w/water, 75% greens (6 cups), 25% fruit & fats (1/4 cup flax seeds)
• Lunch/Dinner: salad with 6 cups lettuce, olives, red onion, baby tomatoes, avocado, dressing (1 tbsp olive oil, 4 tbsp balsamic vinegar)
• Dinner: 1 head of steamed broccoli with tahini/lemon/braggs dressing and hot sauce
• Activity: 1 hour walk, 25 min Pvolve workout, 15 min cooldown stretch, 30 mins restorative yoga
• Symptoms: Arthritis pain in hands mostly in the morning but eased during the day, right foot was really bad at night and felt a bit better upon waking up but was on & off pain during the day. Leg numbness and achyness still quite prevalent and causing me some anxiety. Depression is starting to lift, still really tired, low energy, and weak muscles. Psoriases is still quite itchy, and eczema on legs/elbows are also flared up. Still coughing a ton as usual, but pelvic floor issues seem to be ok which is great.

Thursday: 

• Water: 3 litres of water
• Breakfast: 2 litres green smoothie w/water, 75% greens (6 cups), 25% fruit & fats (1/4 cup flax seeds)
• Lunch/Dinner: salad with 6 cups lettuce, olives, red onion, baby tomatoes, avocado, dressing (1 tbsp olive oil, 4 tbsp balsamic vinegar)
• Dinner: 1 head of steamed broccoli with tahini/lemon/braggs dressing and hot sauce
• Activity: 1 hour walk, 25 min Pvolve workout, 15 min cooldown stretch, 30 mins restorative yoga
• Infra Red Sauna Blanket: 45 mins (Level 9)
• Symptoms: No real noticeable change from yesterday. Arthritis pain in hands mostly in the morning but eased during the day, right foot was really bad at night and felt a bit better upon waking up but was on & off pain during the day. Leg numbness and achyness still quite prevalent and causing me some anxiety. Depression is starting to lift, still really tired, low energy, and weak muscles. Psoriases is still quite itchy, and eczema on legs/elbows are also flared up. Still coughing a ton as usual, but pelvic floor issues seem to be ok which is great.

Friday: 

• Water: 3 litres of water
• Breakfast: 2 litres green smoothie w/cashew milk, 75% greens (6 cups), 25% fruit & fats (1/4 cup flax seeds)
• Lunch: salad with 3 cups lettuce, olives, red onion, baby tomatoes, avocado, dressing (1/2 tbsp olive oil, 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar)
• Dinner: salad with 3 cups lettuce, olives, red onion, baby tomatoes, avocado, dressing (1/2 tbsp olive oil, 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar)
• Activity: 1 hour walk, 25 min Pvolve workout, 15 min cooldown stretch, 30 mins restorative yoga
• Symptoms: Arthritis pain in hands is mostly gone, only felt stiff briefly upon waking up but nothing in wrist or hands the remainder of the day or eve. Right foot & leg still feel the same, not great and no real noticeable improvement. Feeling much better mentally/emotionally, energy still low. No change yet regarding the psoriases, eczema or cough. 

Saturday: 

• Water: 3 litres of water
• Breakfast: 2 litres green smoothie w/almond milk, 75% greens (6 cups), 25% fruit & fats (1/4 cup flax seeds)
• Lunch: salad with 3 cups lettuce, olives, red onion, baby tomatoes, avocado, dressing (1/2 tbsp olive oil, 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar)
• Dinner: salad with 3 cups lettuce, olives, red onion, baby tomatoes, avocado, dressing (1/2 tbsp olive oil, 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar)
• Activity: none
• Infra Red Sauna Blanket: 60 mins (Level 7)
• Symptoms:  Right foot & leg seem a bit better upon waking up, if still for a few minutes it gets stiff and painful again, and eases off after a few minutes of walking. Feeling much better mentally/emotionally, energy still low. No change yet regarding the psoriases and eczema, or cough.

Sunday: 

• Water: 3 litres of water
• Breakfast: 2 litres green smoothie w/almond milk, 75% greens (6 cups), 25% fruit & fats (1/4 cup flax seeds)
• Lunch: salad with 3 cups lettuce, olives, red onion, baby tomatoes, avocado, dressing (1/2 tbsp olive oil, 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar)
• Dinner: salad with 3 cups lettuce, olives, red onion, baby tomatoes, avocado, dressing (1/2 tbsp olive oil, 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar)
• Activity: none
• Symptoms:  Right foot & leg seem a bit better upon waking up, if still for a few minutes it gets stiff and painful again, and eases off after a few minutes of walking. Feeling much better mentally/emotionally, energy still low. No change yet regarding the psoriases and eczema, or cough.