The last year has been an incredible journey that has tested everyone. There have been so many ups and downs and with this post, I am beginning to write about and share one of my journies in health and wellness. It has been on my mind for a very long time to write about it and since this blog has been a part of me for fifteen years, I will start here and perhaps one day, I will create a for real wellness blog. Note: you don't have to have a current thyroid condition to benefit from these lifestyle changes. Following this protocol can prevent one from getting ill or being tired, depressed, anxious, in chronic pain, and more. If you just want to feel really good, then try these things out.
My first love was health. I grew herbs in high school, studied with Shaman in South America when I was 18, went to University at one of the best natural medicine schools around, studied acupuncture in China, and have always been obsessed with the latest research in alternative medicine. So, when I felt something was off, I KNEW something was off. Friends and doctors told me it was in my head, thought I was a hypochondriac, and dramatic. I must say, receiving a diagnosis for Hashimoto's felt great– I was validated. It wasn't in my head.
I have spent close to a year on this journey of healing. The doctors at Kaiser would not let me take the driver's seat in my own wellness. When I told them the medication they prescribed wasn't working, that patronized me. When I ask for certain tests on my bloodwork, they patronized me. So, I switched to Parsely Health which is a functional medicine program offering online consults throughout the US. Ironically, my Parsley doctor was a former Kaiser doc who was equally displeased with the system.
For years, I have wanted to do the tests but was always unwilling to spend the money. Then, it just got bad enough, that I committed to spending the money. I wanted to feel well again. I am not going to lie, I spent much of my income on my health and I am frustrated that only the well off can get good care. So many people don't stand a chance and it breaks my heart.
I get blood work very regulary to see if the medication (they gave me a new one that works wonders–Nature Throid) is working and my healing protocols.
I have done a very extensive protocol and am excited to say I have dropped my antibodies by 85% in less than a year and am on my way to remission. I'd like to share with you what I have done to get here, with the products I use linked. Many of my friends are the best of the best in natural medicine so when it comes to products, I vet them through my connections to make sure they can get the job done.
Lacey’s Auto Immune Protocol
Sleep: You will never heal until you get proper sleep. It's important to put this as number one. Your body repairs itself during sleep.
Magnesium–this is a game-changer in getting me to fall asleep fast and stay asleep.
Sleep Cycle App– I use the Oura Ring now but this is a free way to track your sleep and see if you are sleeping deep enough, snoring, etc.
Oura Ring–this is also a game-changer. I am obsessed. It tracks my sleep and shows how much REM, deep sleep and light sleep I have gotten. It also monitors my heart rate, HRV, temperature and so much more.
Melatonin– This is a hormone that your body makes to regulate your sleep-wake cycle. I used it regularly the first few months I was trying to optimize my sleep. Now that I am sleeping well, I no longer take it.
Blue light glasses- our environment is filled with too much light and bad quality light. Our bodies haven't evolved to the current influx of bad light we get. Our computers, TVs, and devices are emitting light which tricks our bodies into thinking the sun is up and it's mid-day thus disrupting our sleep-wake cycle. Not all blue light glasses are created equal. I like these because they are good quality and the frames are BPA free. Beware of cheaper versions on Amazon that are most likely inferior products from China.
Sleep shades- these are the best! They are so comfortable and keep it completely dark.
Nighttime glasses–I use these as soon as the sun goes down.
Daytime glasses– I use these while I work on the computer all day but make sure to take breaks to get actual sunlight during the day, so your body gets that needed natural daytime light.
No blue light lightbulb–these were developed by NASA scientists to regulate astronaut's sleep-wake cycle. The bulb eliminates blue light. I only use it at night for reading.
No alcohol– this one kinda sucks as I love wine and am in the wine industry but since tracking my sleep, even just a glass of wine destroys my sleep and raises my heart rate.
Get off devices– they are stimulating from the blue light to the EMFs. My sleep is exceptionally better when I turn off all devices at the end of the day. I also turn off the WiFi router at night, I swear, it completely alters my sleep for the better. I like to say think of EMFs/cellular signals as baby Chernoybl's to your body 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Watch the HBO special "Chernnobly" to get scared shitless on radiation.
Overall daily well-being
Sauna–I have been using the sauna regularly for over 20 years. It has always made me feel extraordinary. It enables you to sweat out toxins. I finally did a heavy metal test to get to the root cause of my issues and my levels of lead and mercury exceed three times the upper expected limit per the reference population which causes tons of symptoms including severe anxiety and autoimmune. I now see why the sauna has been my passion all these years, I am literally sweating out the heavy metals in my body.
Heavy metals- I am about to embark on a heavy metal detox protocol and will write all about it. They say that adults over 40 all have high heavy metals. This could be the cause of my autoimmune issues as well as a host of other issues including impaired cognitive function.
Walks– I walk daily. I still have HPA dysfunction (people used to call it adrenal burnout), so intense workouts make my symptoms worse. Stress-reducing activities are key.
Meditate–I use the Headspace app, it's great for beginners.
Nature–being in nature is a huge reset. Negative ions for the win (google it).
Stress Management: this is huge. Stress is no good for health conditions. I struggle with this one a lot and if I let stress get to me, I trigger my autoimmune.
Notifications, dings, alarms–our bodies are hard-wired to go into a sympathetic, fight or flight, mode when we hear these sounds. For me, notifications on my phone have me living in a constant state of panic. My mood, happiness, sleep are all much improved when I leave the notifications off.
Diet:
Organic everything. Grass-fed meats, make sure it's grass-finished too. I order my meats from Butcher Box.
Plastics- They leach into food and act as endocrine disruptors, interfering with the hormones in our bodies. I make sure to not store any food in plastic. I love these Bee's Wraps, made of cotton and beeswax to cover dishes and food.
No alcohol– I did this for three months and then added in wines that were low intervention. There is a debate in the wine world. The sommeliers and others don't like natural wine and I agree at times, it can be awful. La goût de souris? Not for me. At the same time just like I don't want chemicals and pesticides in my food, I don't want them in wine. My autoimmune and gut can't handle it.
No caffeine–I love caffeine. I went for three months without it and missed it every single morning. I never adjusted to being without it. That being said, I feel amazing without it. My blood sugar gets stabilized, my anxiety goes away, and I believe it was key to reducing my symptoms. I don't think it improved my sleep much, but cutting out caffeine improves sleep quality for a lot of people. You have to live and can't cut out everything but the benefit of me doing bloodwork up every regularly is I can see when I need to pull back.
No sugar– always and forever.
No Gluten–always and forever.
No diary- I was Vegan for five years (the return to eating meat changed my well-being 100%) and never really cared for dairy but then I lived in France....but it's a big trigger for autoimmune so it has to go.
No nightshades
No nuts and seeds
No grains
No corn
No eggs- I am back on eggs, a common allergen. I introduced them after five months and looked for a reaction and to my surprise, had none.
No soy- always and forever. This is a horrible product for your health, IMHO.
No legumes (beans)
No additives
No fake foods
Add:
Tumeric powder added to smoothies.
Bone broth- all the rage for gut health but if you have histamine issues, it can be a problem.
Collagen
Reishi powder in something
Chaga mushroom tea as a coffee substitute.
Broccoli sprouts
There's a ton more but for a future post.
Heal your gut: it's such a buzz phrase but it's true, big pharma is now developing a drug for it and you will see your MD talk about it in the future but you don't need a drug. My diet protocol and supplements have healed my gut.
I did a stool test to analyze where I was at and planned my diet and supplement protocol off of which pathogenic bacteria I had to take care of.
Supplements: I will do a separate post on why I use these but will list here what I take. There's so much that goes into supplementing, so I suggest finding a practioner that can work with you. Supplements cost a lot of money and you want to make sure you are using them correctly.
Mega Mucosa- gut repair
Glutashield- gut repair
NAC and/or liposomal glutathione- I attribute reducing my antibodies drastically to this glutathione product (glutathione is also depleted with heavy metal toxicity, so I think that's why I felt such a difference).
CandiBactin-AR - to kill off pathogenic bacteria in the gut
Candibactin-Br - same as above
Benfomax (thiamin)- makes a huge difference in energy
Ashwagandha- I have most likely had thyroid issues for years, from Graves Disease to Hashimoto's and without treating it, Ashwagandha, an adaptogen, always gives me the ability to handle stress. Turns out, studies have shown it lowers your TSH.
Calcium D-glucarate- for me, this one is another no brainer. Read this blog to find out more about it.
Water from the tap is full of chemicals, heavy metals, chlorine, and more. Even bottled water is, read this. I never drink either. My cat doesn't either. The only water I can drink is natural spring water and it is literally the only water she will drink. She won't even touch filtered water. I feel like our pets are in tune and glad that she validates my spring water obsession. I find natural springs wherever I go using this site. I finally just upgraded to glass jugs as to not have chemicals from plastics leach into my water. Even BPA free plastic is bad for your health.
Avoid chemicals:
Chemicals are everywhere from beauty products to cleaning products. There are 84,000 chemicals on the market and less than 1% of them have been tested.
The EU has banned or restricted more than 1,300 chemicals in beauty products while the US has outlawed or curbed just 11.
I will write a post separately on this but for cleaning products go to the Environmental Working Group site to check how toxic your products are. I prefer the app, you can scan any product and see how good or bad it is for you.
For beauty products I use:
Lemongrass Spa- my best friend sells this stuff. It's the most affordable, made in small batches, made fresh as many beauty products have been sitting on shelves for months.
Beauty Counter- my sister-in-law sell this stuff. It's also non-toxic and the product packaging makes you feel like you just bought something from Dior Beauty.
Credo- I used to go to the storefronts in SF and NY. You can trust all their products and if you bring in all your used product containers, you get points towards rewards.
Environment: This is another one for another post but two things, getting an air filter is really important. I have yet to get one as I have moved six times in 2020 but it is on my list. Check out Molekule's website to see this list of air pollutants. Also, I lived in mold for five years in Point Reyes, it is so toxic and could be one of the causes of my autoimmune. I regret now, sticking around for the cheap rent and not putting my health first. Now before I settle, I will hire an inspector to make sure the home is mold-free.
Lastly, for now, I consume a ton of information but my favorite form is podcasts. I have created a playlist for podcasts on health that are full of information. Click here to check it out.
This post took me over 8 hours to write, so I am going to stop here. The goal is to keep writing but perhaps, one topic at a time. I really, really hope that what I have found to help me, helps you. I have been trying out alternative therapies for over 20 years and have found a lot of beneficial things. Good luck, friends. Feel free to DM me with questions.