How I healed my thyroid and went medication-free
Short answer: It felt aligned. I decided to. I did it with complete ease.
Let me explain.
At the end of 2018, I was working with my doctor and things were not getting better on many fronts. My thyroid was just one small piece of the puzzle, but I asked to start thyroid medication after doing a bunch of research.
It felt like the right thing to do at that time, after I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s Disease and we had exhausted all other natural thyroid options. My doctor agreed that I needed medication since we had given the other options a fair chance.
I say this because I wholeheartedly believe that medication is sometimes necessary. For both physical and mental health conditions. I would never say that we do not need medication in the world.
I just personally never wanted to be on meds long term.
I’m a free spirit and frankly, the med thing and the constant blood tests and monitoring was something I had to do for 2.5 years, but it felt like it infringed on my life.
At the beginning of 2021, I kept hearing from my guidance system that it was time to let the medication go. I was initially scared.
The fear voices started:
Oh my gosh, but I am doing so well, what if going off meds makes me sick again?
What if I gain weight?
What if I decline in energy and vitality?
What if I set myself back?
What if, what if, what if.
I heard the fear and then another voice came in and said:
What if going medication free means that you will feel better than ever?
What if you go off meds and gain energy and vitality?
What if you could trust that your body knows exactly what to do and how to calibrate itself?
What if you could let go of the meds and be free?
I’m so freaking grateful and proud that I decided to trust the voice of love.
At the end of March, I reached out to my doctor (seemingly out of the blue) and told her that it was time to end my medication. As a quick shout out, this is why you work with doctors who you trust and who trust you. My doctor and I came up with a safe plan to wean off my thyroid medication and made an agreement that I would let her know of any and all changes.
Here are the steps I took to thyroid success:
1) I listened to my body and was so aligned with it that I knew and trusted that it was time to go off medication.
2) I followed my doctor’s recommendation to a “T.” Listen, don’t go playing around with medication. Your body has adapted to it and often needs to come off of it safely so you do not cause any system shocks. We decided that decreasing my dose every 10 days was the safest option for me, so I kept a careful log of the dosage and any symptoms that accompanied for 3 months as I weaned off the medication. I am happy to report that I had no side effects or symptoms.
3) I decreased my intake of cruciferous vegetables. Let me be clear about this because this is often misunderstood and there is a lack of research about what cruciferous vegetables do. Basically, cruciferous vegetables, like brussel sprouts, broccoli, kale, collard greens, etc. contain small amounts of goitrogens, which can affect how the thyroid takes up iodine and produces thyroid hormones. In many cases, you would have to consume a lot of cruciferous vegetables for them to negatively impact your thyroid. In my case, I believe I was eating too many of them. I still eat them but in smaller amounts and I’ve started eating more carbs that work for my body and that has also been a real game changer. I’ve said this before and I will say it again. Experimenting with your body is the best piece of advice I can give you. Your body changes from day to day and it is different than anyone else’s body. Experimenting regularly should be done with curiosity.
4) I started taking organic selenium and continued my supplementation of ashwaganda (an adaptogen) and a very good multivitamin. These supplements help support the thyroid gland naturally.
5) I started using LMNT electrolytes, which I honestly cannot say enough good things about! Sodium and potassium are the main minerals responsible for cell membrane potential. To put it simply, your cells will not function optimally without adequate amounts of sodium and potassium (most people do not have adequate amounts). So when I was going off of thyroid meds I knew I wanted to support cellular health as much as possible and these electrolyte packets did the trick!
6) I increased my exercise with a Peloton (#codyrigsbyforlife) but I wasn’t crazy. On the days when I could feel my body readjusting (because while there weren’t symptoms, there were days I could feel the recalibration), I gave it time to rest. Listening to your body involves pushing and moving energy when it needs it AND also giving it time to rest. Your relationship with your body is a relationship and should be treated like all other relationships. Listen first.
7) I did not obsess about my thyroid or focus on what could go wrong. I’ve said it before and I will say it again: Your body knows how to heal itself. Your body knows how to reach homeostasis. Our own limiting beliefs are the only things that hold our bodies back from reaching their fullest potential.
I believe that everyone’s body is different. Sometimes people need medication for a lifetime. And there is nothing wrong with that.
I’m simply suggesting another route (if you have that option) to reaching your healthiest you.
My philosophy is that you know what is best for your body. If only you tune in, listen and act in accordance with what it is telling you.
Following your intuition when it comes to your health is the truest way to reach optimal wellbeing.
Xoxo,
Em