About Me

Published in 2017.  Updated version coming soon.

Hello, and welcome to my website.  There is a good chance you ended up here while searching for information on autoimmune disease, Hashimoto's, the Highly Sensitive Person (HSP), or INFJs.  Or, perhaps you too have a pet (or miniature schnauzer) with a chronic illness.  You might be here because you know me, closely or distantly, and are curious about my life and medical woes.  For whatever reason you are here, and however you stumbled upon this space, welcome!  I'm so happy you've arrived.

For the past eight years, and really for most of my life, I've been battling with autoimmune disease--and the daily symptoms, incompetent doctors, prescription and supplement trials that come with that battle.  In 2010, I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's Thyroiditis and PCOS, and for the first time all of the depression and mood swings and fatigue and brain fog and weight fluctuations and certainty that there was something wrong with me was finally validated.  I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's by a naturopathic doctor, and PCOS by an endocrinologist.

I spent most of my teenage years battling with depression, mood swings, hyper-sensitivity, and a general feeling that there was something about me that was different.  Because I grew up in the Church, I attributed all of my issues to some kind of spiritual struggle.  I didn't realize that there was science behind what was going on.  It didn't faze me that I would come home from school so exhausted that I would sleep before and after dinner, only forcing me to wake up at 10PM and do homework until 3AM.  I didn't give any thought to my teacher's concern when she asked why I was wearing a turtleneck, ski jacket, jeans, and Ugg boots when it was nearing 80 degrees outside.

My first two years of college, I suffered from brief bouts of depression and random crying spells.  There were several times that I was convinced I had PMDD.  I began gaining weight during my freshman year, but I blamed it all on the bad cafeteria food I was consuming (read: pizza, French fries, grilled cheeses, cinnamon twists).  In my second year, I began to have trouble waking up for class, experienced insomnia, and had an extremely difficult time making decisions.

With a longtime goal of working in international ministry, I moved to China in the summer of 2006 to work on staff with a nonprofit Christian organization.  My feelings of depression began to surface unlike ever before, and I once again assumed it was an issue of faith.  About halfway through the year, I was fed up by the weight I was gradually gaining, and annoyed by my own tendency to binge on sweets and carbohydrates at night, so I went on a diet.  I began to exercise every day and count the calories I was consuming, and the weight slowly began to melt away.

However, though the weight disappeared, some troubling symptoms appeared in their stead.  I was eating a diet filled with wheat products and low-fat dairy, and I began having to use the restroom multiple times a day, usually with a sense of urgency.  My skin, always prone to acne, began to break out in multiple cysts, and I became so irritable that I was rude to and impatient with the Chinese students I worked with.  For the first time in my life, my period stopped coming.

I was so happy that I was losing weight that I didn't give a lot of thought to my symptoms; I assumed the gastrointestinal distress resulted from a high-fiber diet.  When I moved back to the U.S. in 2007, I continued to eat whole grains, non-fat dairy, tofu, and oft-toted "health" foods.  My period still didn't come and I suffered from my first-ever migraines, both of which my doctor attributed to stress.  I was concerned about my general state of health after spending a year overseas, so I requested a full blood panel.  The results indicated low thyroid levels and high liver enzymes.  My doctor told me not to worry because my results were still normal (they actually weren't), and that we would keep an eye on things.  She didn't test my thyroid antibodies. In 2008, my fatigue grew worse than ever before, and I discovered that I gained ten pounds in two weeks--without having changed my diet or exercise regime.

In 2009, I graduated from college and began to work full-time at a gluten-free market.  Though I still continued to consume gluten, my sister had recently begun to see a nutritionist regarding some of her own chronic health conditions, and found a lot of relief in following a gluten-free diet.  Between the influence of working in the market and my sister's admonishing me to try cutting out gluten, I did it--and the results were immediate.  It was on the third day after I stopped eating gluten that the stomach "pooch" I had always had disappeared, and many of my gastrointestinal symptoms improved.  Over the next few weeks, I became more and more in tune with the effects of food on my body, and I cut out soy and dairy as well.  I then ordered a food sensitivity test through EnteroLab, which confirmed my genetic gluten intolerance and intolerances to dairy and soy.

After hearing about my battles with depression, mood swings, brain fog, and fatigue, a co-worker at the market where I worked recommended me to a naturopathic doctor.  He ran dozens of blood and stool tests for me, and it was early in 2010 that I discovered my elevated thyroid antibodies (Hashimoto's), array of food allergies and sensitivities, and H. pylori (unfortunately, because of my gluten-free diet, it was too late to test me for Celiac disease).  He started me on herbal remedies to aid my thyroid and eradicate my stomach bacteria.  When my thyroid symptoms became worse (joint pain, swelling, increased depression and fatigue), he started me on a low dose of Armour Thyroid, and I felt like a new person.

Despite all of the positive results that came with my diet changes and prescription/supplement additions, my period still did not come.  My mood swings, irritability, and poor decision-making abilities continued.  I moved to the East Coast, but had to return home after only a few weeks because I felt like I was losing my mind (this was the second attempt at a move, after having tried once before a year earlier).  Frustrated that my symptoms weren't improving quickly enough and that the naturopathic doctor seemed to have exhausted all of his resources, I sought treatment from an endocrinologist.

The first endocrinologist I saw diagnosed me with PCOS.  Many of the mood swings I had been experiencing were not the result of my thyroid, but actually the blood sugar swings related to my insulin resistance.  However, although this doctor successfully diagnosed me with a new condition, he wanted to put me on Synthroid and temporarily put me on anti-depressants to mask some of the effects of my struggling thyroid, so I continued to shop for a doctor.  Several months later, at the recommendation of a friend, I found the endocrinologist that I continue to see today, and she switched me back to Armour, increased my dosage of Metformin (a blood-sugar-management medication the first endocrinologist started me on), and prescribed an array of herbal supplements to assist with my mood problems.

Life hasn't been perfect since I found my endocrinologist.  In the summer of 2012, after finding a dosage protocol of Armour that seems to work for my system, my period finally returned with full regularity.  With that also came new symptoms, like premenstrual depression, mid-cycle joint pain, hormone imbalances, compulsive overeating, and weight gain.  Since my very first diagnosis in 2010, researching autoimmunity has been like my full-time job.  After much studying and consideration, I finally committed myself to a Paleo diet early in 2013, and to the Autoimmune Protocol shortly thereafter.  Although I haven't been continuously committed to the autoimmune version of the diet (usually because of hormonal food cravings), when I do follow it, I have stable moods, no joint pain, consistent weight, and beyond.

I have found that, in some cases, my own lifestyle choices have been more powerful than the treatment plans of doctors.  I still harbor a deep distrust of nearly all medical professionals, but I also have a new confidence in my own body and its ability to communicate to me very clearly when there are issues.  I am more in tune with my system than ever before.  I am still trying to figure out what my chronic illness means for my life, and in what ways I can use my own experiences to benefit and bless other people.  I thought that, at the very least, reading about my journey may help someone else out there to not feel so alone, as I know the autoimmune battle can be a very isolating one.

I created this blog to share my story with you.  You are not alone.

Danielle