I thought I ate pretty healthy, I was mostly gluten-free, I didn’t drink a whole lot, and I ate my fruits and veggies every day. I loved my coffee, but wasn’t one to add sugar to it. I never felt I had a problem with dairy and so that was a fairly big part of my everyday diet. I thought I was doing everything right. I first eliminated gluten when I was newly diagnosed, not because it was advised but because I wanted to lose weight. Within 8 months, I had lost nearly 80 pounds, my hair was longer and thicker than ever, my nails were strong, I had loads of energy and for the first time in my li ..read more

On November 21st I discovered that I had put my Hashimoto’s Thyroid disease into remission. In an overwhelming wave of support, many people dealing with the sufferable condition had asked me how I did it. I wish it was possible to fit it all into one page, but in order to be transparent about the last few years of my life, I have decided to split this blog post up into 4 parts. It still will not cover all of the information I have to say, but my goal is that it provides a glimmer of hope for you to continue, or even begin, on your journey to optimal health. Whether you have been dealing with ..read more

Winter is so bittersweet. I love extra hot lattes, cozy lounge-wear (the excuse to dress comfortably anywhere you go) and snowy weather with christmas lights glaring through frosty windows. I like winter but my thyroid does not and my thyroid makes all the decisions in this relationship. My thyroid levels are consistently balanced these days and each time I do lab work my antibodies decrease and I feel better and better, but every October, like clockwork, my TSH jumps and I begin to feel rather symptomatic again. Whether you suffer from diagnosed hypothyroidism or not, thyroid levels tend to ..read more

My Hashimoto’s diagnosis was kind of like a big, fat, not so funny joke. I mean really, "Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis?" A funny and rather forgettable name, for a not so funny and forgettable illness. My doctor didn’t seem worried so I took her laissez-faire attitude and went about my life not knowing a single thing about what would later become one of the toughest things I would ever had to deal with. I won’t bore you with the play by play of the last 8 years living with Hashimoto’s because to be honest, it wasn’t ALL that bad. After beginning thyroid ‘treatment’, I had lost nearly 100 pounds, m ..read more

What do you know about the Adrenal glands? Did you know that they are almond-sized glands that sit atop the kidneys? Or that they are part of the endocrine system and regulate much of the same cellular functions that our thyroids are responsible for? Or that there is a massive connection between stress, the adrenal glands and poor thyroid function? What You Need to Know About the Adrenal Glands There is no doubt that the adrenal glands and stress impact our Thyroid health. This concept is well studied and understood by most. The adrenal glands are part of the endocrine system and much like ..read more

When discussing thyroid health I am typically asked a few questions. “What is a thyroid? or What is the purpose of a thyroid and its function?" Sometimes people say they have never even heard of a thyroid before. The first step to creating an awareness of thyroid disease is having a clear understanding of what the thyroid is, where it is located in the body, and what it is responsible for.The thyroid is the master gland of the human body. It is shaped like a butterfly, and is often referred to as the butterfly gland (hence my blog name). The thyroid is located in your neck, on either side of y ..read more

Quite a while ago, I was sitting in my therapist’s office as she suggested to me that I write a letter to someone that had caused me pain. Whether I gave this letter to the person or just kept it to myself was ultimately up to me.I remember feeling a sense of freedom as I typed. I felt angry, traumatized and confused, but free. Though I ended up giving this letter to the person who had hurt me, I will not be doing that today.The reason that my therapist asked me to do this was because the longer I held on to that anger, the harder it would be for me to heal. The truth is, if you don’t first he ..read more

As I stand at the counter at my naturopathic clinic ready to tap my credit card (or my parents credit card, god bless them), I get a major pit in the centre of my gut. “Is this really worth it?” is a question I had once asked myself. As a student, I don’t exactly have a whole lot of extra cash lying around, and my parents have a mortgage and retirement to think about.I get this question quite often, “are supplements really that necessary?” “why are some so cheap and some so pricey?” “don’t our bodies give us those nutrients anyways?” “am I wasting my money?” So today I’d like to address these ..read more

Anyone with chronic illness will know that healing isn’t linear. This can be a frustrating truth to accept but, once you do, it is also very freeing. Nothing in life is linear. We all experience bumps in the road. Wouldn’t life be boring without this polarity?! Seriously though, I know it can also suck. Personally, I am now starting to appreciate the lessons that these bumps bring (once I’ve had a quick stew in the emotions they stir up!).For people living with chronic illness, these roadblocks can feel particularly frustrating, draining and like a kick in the teeth when you’ve invested so muc ..read more

If you don’t already know, Rachel Hill is the creator and founder of The Invisible Hypothyroidism, a blog and website dedicated to patient-to-patient advice and experiences living with Hypothyroidism. Rachel’s blogs and facebook group, The Thyroid Family, were my first resources in the thyroid-health world. Without them, I don’t know where I would be today. Rachel persuaded me through her writing to be my own thyroid advocate and take control of my health. Rachel continues to upload daily content to her blog and has written an amazing book, Be your own Thyroid Advocate: When You’re Sick and Ti ..read more