Thursday, August 09, 2012

The Thyroid Saga Continues

About a month or so ago I started to notice that I was losing more hair than usual.  I started to wonder if maybe my thyroid had gone hypo again.  That's the only time I noticed hair loss, was when it was low a couple of years ago.  I decided to give it a couple of weeks then go for blood work.  I figured if something was wrong, my doctor would call, which she usually does and adjust my medication.  I didn't hear from her for a couple of weeks so assumed that maybe it was just my imagination and since I had an appointment scheduled with her for the beginning of August that I would ask her about the hair loss then.  She actually did call me a couple of days ago (I am assuming that maybe she was away on holidays in July) and ended up leaving a message that said I should call her because my medication needed adjusting, but because I was due to see her today, I just decided rather than playing phone tag that I would just wait to see her.

Sure enough, my thyroid has gone hypo or low.  Not by much, but enough to make my hair want to jump off of my head apparently.  The plan is to cut my medication back by half, and for me to go for blood work again in a month.  We will keep a close eye on it this time, so it does not end up hyper again, like it did when she cut the medication back last summer. 

I made a comment on Facebook about my thyroid woes and received a comment from one of my friends who also has thyroid problems.  She said she has done a fair bit of research and has found that for her it has been very beneficial to start a gluten free diet.  I have read a few websites today and it really does seem to make sense.  Most thyroid disease is caused by an autoimmune attack on the thyroid.  What I am reading is that a good number of people with autoimmune thyroid disease also have gluten sensitivity or intolerance which can cause autoimmune problems in the body.  So by treating the cause of the autoimmune reaction you can reduce the severity of the body's reaction toward your thyroid.

I know most people hear gluten free diet and think "Oh my goodness, I could never do that!"  I think that if I do decide to try that route, it will certainly be challenging.  I think there are foods that I will miss.  However, there is no food that tastes better than being healthy feels.    

No comments: