"But you don't LOOK sick."

How many times have I heard this?  Oh let me count the days.  Days when my elbows, wrists, and hips hurt so bad I could hardly move.  Days when I had the little "floaties" in my vision that I just knew would be followed by a migraine.  Days when I had been accidentally glutened and had to return home until the side effects subsided.  And especially days when the fatigue was so bad, all I wanted to do was veg on the sofa under a blanket.  Yep, all of those days.  I have often wondered why people feel the need to point that out, but then, I realized that the average person does not have any knowledge of "invisible illnesses".  I used to get really offended when people would say this.  I would often come back with, "Do you say the same thing to a woman who is eight weeks pregnant?"  Because she doesn't look pregnant. 


One day I came to a realization.  It is not a perfectly healthy person's responsibility to do the research on Hashimoto's, or Lupus, or Multiple Sclerosis, or any other autoimmune condition.  It would be nice, but it's not required.  And it isn't mainstream media's responsibility to highlight our illness like they do breast cancer or prostate cancer.  Those are big deal diseases, and I get that (although I do daydream about how great it would be for the NFL to have Thyroid Awareness butterflies on their helmets in January).  What is required, however, is that we are our own advocates.  When people ask questions, answer them.  When people say things like, "You don't look sick," explain it to them.  When I was first diagnosed with Hashimoto's in 2010, I had never heard of it.  I was referred to an endocrinologist after my OB/GYN discovered a goiter in my neck during a routine annual exam.  And truthfully, I didn't know what a goiter was either.  At the end of the appointment, my endo told me the ultrasound showed some "suspicious areas," and that my blood results had confirmed Hashimoto's thyroiditis.  He then told me it really wasn't that big of a deal, and very common, and then gave me a three paragraph Wikipedia packet about Hashi's and a prescription for Synthroid (yikes!).  So for the first six months, I was under-medicated and uneducated.  But slowly, I started to research what was going on in my own body.  What is it?  How did I get it?  What do I need to be doing to feel normal again?  And I'm still answering those questions. 
So the next time someone tells you that you don't look sick...take it as an opportunity to teach them what you're going through, because you won't get the chance otherwise. 

Healthy.  Happy.  Hashi's.

Week 1 AIP

Hi Y'all!  I am officially on Day 7 of the Autoimmune Protocol.  And the best news is…I lived!  No, really.  Giving up coffee made me really contemplate if I could get through this.  I have drank coffee every morning since I was sixteen.  I LOVE coffee.  Hot, black, strong coffee, first thing in the morning, on my deck watching the sun come up.  Coffee has evolved into much more than a hot beverage to  me--it is my favorite time of day, and every sip brings back 1,000 memories of my favorite people.  Heck, I even have coffee-scented candles.  So giving up coffee for AIP (since it is a bean, you know) weighed heavy on my heart.  But after my most recent Hashi's spell lasted a never-ending four days, I knew it was time.  Time to stop procrastinating, time to stop contemplating, and time to START HEALING!



I have dabbled in Paleo lifestyle in the past, for a whole three months, actually.  And I enjoyed it and saw some physical and mental results.  BUT I have the willpower of a puppy and cannot stick to anything too long before I get bored.  So one non-Paleo item led to another, and last week I found myself miserable yet again.  Miserable with a migraine, sinus congestion, stomach pains, brain fog, you name it, I had it.  And that's where I arrived at AIP.  Actually, my husband had a little heart-to-heart with me and said, "You know it's time."  And I did.
So about my first week.  I'm not going to lie…the first three days were hard.  And a little of the fourth day was hard, too.  Days 1-3 I had a migraine so bad that it made me long to go back to the good (bad) ole days of Diet Coke and Goody's powders, but I managed to push through.  I could not even THINK of going to the gym to lift, and didn't dare leave my house to take a nice walk (even though the weather was perfect for it).  I think I left work early all three days.  The sofa was my command station, and I barely left it.  But by Day 4, I started to feel good.  Like, REALLY good.  The go-for-a-walk, break-into-a-jog kind of good.  I wasn't really having too hard of a time with the food changes.  I missed my morning coffee, which has since been replaced with hot tea, but I found myself satiated and content.  While my husband had ice cream, I had berries.  While he had coffee, I had hot tea.  And I am lucky in the fact that he has come to enjoy our lifestyle of eating only whole foods.  Otherwise, my willpower monster would rear its ugly head.
On Day 7, TODAY, I have noticed a significant change in the keratosis pilaris ("chicken skin") on the back of my arms; it is no longer surfaced and bumpy, but now faint and smooth.  The first three days, my weight dropped three pounds, but two pounds have reappeared.  I have decided to limit weighing until the end of each week, so I don't drive myself crazy.
So what about you?  What is your AIP story?  Any tips or tricks?