Although I am very passionate about health, I don’t talk about it on the blog too much.

But this year has brought a whole new meaning to health in our house.

For the first time, I was the one who needed help with my health. I was the one with restrictions. I was the one who needed to heal.

I didn’t embrace this at first. I felt like I could muscle through somehow and ignore it.

And while food changes did help tremendously, I couldn’t muscle through. Too much activity or stress sent me into an exhaustion I cannot describe.

If I tried to overdo it, my legs felt like concrete pillars on my evening walks with Kevin. My mind was foggy and my body clumsy.

The first round of doctors told me my thyroid levels were fine. One doctor even suggested I was just tired like everyone else because of COVID. (Thanks Doc).

Then I found a voice singing above all of these opinions….Elle Russ. I have never met her, but she is the reason I didn’t quit.

Her book (The Paleo Thyroid Solution) brought me to sobs as I starred and underlined almost every symptom she described in her book.

She described her years of struggling to get answers from doctors. She described the doubt she got from doctors.

Her book helped me dry my tears and keep searching.

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I found a doctor who looked at my levels, but also listened to my symptoms and tested my antibodies.

And I finally got my answer this week…Hashimoto’s disease.

For a brief moment I felt guilt. What did I do wrong to cause this? Nothing.

Next I felt angry. This is bullsh*t. I am fine. I don’t need medicine. (Actually, I do).

And finally I have landed somewhere between acceptance and calm.

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Autoimmune diseases are tricky, I am learning. They are invisible to others, making the suffering internal and hard to explain.

But this week I started my thyroid medication, and I feel incredible. I find myself smiling for no reason. I am myself again.

For the first time in over a year, I can get through a day without crashing. I can engage with my loved ones.

I no longer need to withhold my energy, fearing it will run out.

And another thing I learned? Sharing your experience can help others.

If Elle Russ hadn’t shared her experience, I would have quit or spent thousands of dollars chasing my tail.

Instead, I was able to use her book as a guiding map to reach my diagnosis.

Thank you to Elle. Thank you to countless others who share their stories to help.

Now, I move forward.

Knowledge is power, and now I have the power to manage my Hashimotos.

-Brittany