I live with hypothyroidism. I was diagnosed more than 20 years ago, and dealt with my symptoms for 10 years before that. So to any of my clients, anyone in this community, or just anyone reading this blog post who also has hypothyroidism… I know what you’re going through.

In fact, I’ve recently had a lot of women come to me with stories that sound very similar to mine. It made me realize that there are even more women out there who are going through what I went through.

Early in my journey, I felt very alone, for a lot of reasons (some that we’ll get into here). So, I want to share my story with you. So that you can know that you’re not alone in this struggle and journey. 

The start

Before I even turned 20 I started suffering from major weight fluctuations, hair loss (including from my eyebrows!), extreme fatigue, and anxiety. All of these symptoms started around the same time while I was in college. I just chalked it up to stress and tried to move on.

But the symptoms just kept getting worse. By the time I graduated from college a few years later, it was in full swing.

And I was miserable.

It didn’t matter what I ate or didn’t eat, how much or how little I worked out… I felt like I was trying everything to shed that weight (as that was my biggest priority at that age), and nothing was working.

The combination of exhaustion and anxiety made it so I could hardly keep my head open during the day, but when I laid down to go to sleep at night, the sleep would rarely come easily.

I finally went to the doctor to see what was up, and that’s when I learned about hypothyroidism. 

The diagnosis

After several blood tests, I was told I had hypothyroidism.

At that time, the tests were showing I had extremely elevated TSH levels. 

And of course, I got thrown on the generic Synthroid thyroid medication. It worked for about a month… if that. Pretty soon after starting it, I felt even worse than I did before the medication. 

I told my doctor, and they said they couldn’t do anything for me, so I moved on to another doctor.

Over the next 5-7 years, I saw at least 7 other doctors (I kind of lost count!). One after another, they kept dismissing my concerns about these symptoms, they told me I was crazy, they wouldn’t test for anything other than TSH, they’d just try to up my medication, and they just, in general, would not listen to me. 

Finally, a solution

After years of suffering through this hypothyroid condition with very little support from my doctors, I finally found a naturopathic doctor who knew what to do.

They did a full thyroid panel and found that I needed a T3 and T4 combo medication. We made the switch and almost immediately I felt my symptoms improve. 

But… I only addressed the medication. So it worked for a bit, but then I hit a slump. This is because I didn’t make any changes to my diet or lifestyle that would positively support my thyroid.

Finally, I found someone who did Functional Diagnostic Nutrition and they were able to help me.

A year later, I enrolled in this same program because I was so mesmerized by how much this helped me, and I wanted to help other women in the same way.

Through this training and education, I learned about SO many other factors that were causing my hypothyroidism that no one - over ALL those years - had thought to mention. 

Introducing: Angela Brown, Thyroid Health Coach

This was my aha moment. I had the education, tools, and experience to help myself…

… and all the other women out there like me.

This is why I started the Sexy Thyroid Solution program, and why I’ve dedicated my career to helping women heal their thyroids. 

If you’ve been going through a similar struggle, I’d love to connect and talk about how I can help you. Because I know what you’re going through.

And because I know there’s hope.