#50: Understanding Hashimoto’s Disease with Chelsea Gold

Chelsea:
It's okay. If you followed what your doctor said as a society, that's kind of what we're taught. Like your doctor's word is the end all be all. But we have to remember that that's not always the case while there's nothing wrong with needing medication at all, I'm on it. We need what we need. There's always other ways to feel better. And usually the medication won't necessarily help you feel better. It will just help your lab work. And that's the, that's what most women come to me is after, you know, I did what my doctor told me.

Michelle:
It's time to stop being the victim of your over-scheduled life and become the most powerful version of yourself. Welcome to she's got power.

Michelle:
Completely shocked me. When I learned that medical students get no more than a couple minutes of nutrition training in their entire education, like literally 15 minutes in many cases. And in today's interview, you're going to hear how even registered dieticians do not get the education that you might expect. My guest, Chelsea gold explains how she didn't really learn anything in school to understand auto-immune disease or her Hashimoto's diagnosis. So if you're someone who's been to doctors, been to nutritionists, not receive the help that you were really looking for, this is why. And that luckily there are practitioners out there who better understand autoimmunity, thyroid

Michelle:
Problems. And as we'll talk about today, Hashimoto's disease.

Michelle:
Hey Chelsea, thank you for being on the show today. Thank you so much for

Chelsea:
Having me. I'm so excited today. We're going to talk a lot about how she motos, but before we even get there, I wanted to ask you if you are like most of the women that I talked to in my private practice and also on this podcast, did you have a strong case of chronic stress and burnout that led to your Hashimoto's diagnosis? Oh yeah. I was in school at the time and I had gained 60 pounds in a month. I was so stressed. I was so tired. I would take like naps in my car and it's just so not like me. I'm a very go, go, go like passionate kind of person and being in school in a competitive program, going through all this took a lot out of me. And I went to like seven doctors who were like, you're normal, you're just stressed.

Chelsea:
Relax. And I was like, um, no, that's not how this works. I'm not just stressed clearly. But yeah, I mean, that was what led to my diagnosis of Hashimoto's disease and stress is something I've been working on for a really long time. I used to say I thrive off of stress, but clearly that's not necessarily a good thing anymore, but I feel you. I had, I had my rock bottom and stress was the main reason. I think all of my symptoms exacerbated and what eventually led me to actually go into a doctor and finding a doctor that works for me. And that actually diagnosed me. Got it. So yes. Taking naps in your car. I think that's, I actually hear things like that a lot. Was there any like single moment or one day where you were just like, okay, this is it. I need to figure this out.

Chelsea:
I don't no. If it was a single day, but I just felt like crap. I don't know if I'm allowed to say that on here, but I just saw felt horrible for so long and I was going to school to become a registered dietician and I just felt so lost. And like I, no matter what I was trying or doing nothing was working and that's when I was like, all right, I'm gaining weight so quick. And I'm eating like nothing. I feel horrible all the time I joined her. I was like 20 at the time. I'm like, I shouldn't, I should be able to open a jar of almond butter. You know, I can do that and headaches and just all these issues. And everyone just kept saying, oh, you're gaining weight because of stress. And it was just so frustrating. I bet. And I love that term.

Michelle:
It's just stress. And I think that whether we're told that someone like your doctor said to you, you're just stressed or we say it to ourselves, oh, I'm just stressed. Or all of this is just normal. Um, it's very easy to just write off all of these symptoms, but when something is going on, as in your case that, you know, really you can't just keep ignoring that it's not going to resolve itself by itself. And so I'm curious, you were already in school to become a registered dietician. And when you realized that there was something going on with your health, did your training as an RD help you understand how to heal from Hashimoto's and I'm curious, you know, how it did help and then also if anything was missing. Yeah. I mean, I definitely think unfortunately a lot is missing, you know, we learned about the thyroid, but we don't learn about auto-immune diseases.

Chelsea:
For the most part we learned about, you know, diabetes and things, you know, the very, very common ones. But when I learned I had Hashimoto's, I was really shocked that I didn't learn about it. So a lot of my learning was, you know, in addition to my degree and personal learning and just a lot of trial and error, but I do think that having my being a registered dietician and going through the program really helped me discover that I meant to help people. And that it really helped you with other facets of helping women with Hashimoto's disease, like intuitive eating, like fibroid health in general, getting your nutrients and you know, like just learning about food in general and how it can work for our bodies, I think is a really key thing. And also that there's no one size fits all diet out there for anyone with anything going on.

Chelsea:
So, you know, there's pros and cons everything, but definitely a lot of my learning about fibroid health was that is fascinating. So I didn't know that you go through a whole RD program and at no point did they talk about auto-immune conditions like Hashimoto's wow. Yeah. I was, um, pretty shocked as well and not to bash, you know, the program or anything, but I think, you know, a lot of the research out there is really old for any thyroid condition, but for most autoimmune diseases and no one's gonna pay to have all this new research done to really figure it out. So a lot of what we know is not new. So I think that there's a big discrepancy and it's just what trickled down into the education system. It's kind of my opinion on it. That's really, that's really interesting. Okay. Yeah. It reminds me of like, when I talked to a medical doctor and they say, well, we received four minutes of nutrition training in all the years of medical school or, or none at all.

Chelsea:
And I'm like, what? Yeah. It's not a requirement. Isn't that insane, but they're the only ones who can like prescribe it. Yeah. Right, right. It's that's, it's, it's fascinating. Okay. So anyway, you went on and you got your degree and, and, and so that's great. Were you working as a registered dietician in a more traditional setting or did you go directly into helping women with yes. So I worked, um, traditionally for about a year and a half and it was a great job. It just didn't fill my cup up at all. And then I quit and I started my own business and it's been about a year and a few months. And it's been amazing. What I wanted to ask you about today specifically is this sort of quote that I get a lot from women that I speak to and they'll say, yeah, you know, I have these symptoms and that symptoms I'm taking this medication and oh yeah.

Chelsea:
I have a thyroid thing. And I'm like, okay, do you know any information about your thyroid thing? And they'll say, no, my doctor didn't really say anything, but I take, leave with Roxane or I take Synthroid or, you know, I take something sometimes they don't know what they're taking, but I take something. Okay. So, you know, we, we start to kind of gather information. Now there are different thyroid things out there. So do you find this as well that women often don't know anything about their thyroid? Yeah. It's, you know, we leave, I'll never forget when I left the doctor's office. And I was like, Hashimoto's like, what, what, it was even the word that came out of your mouth, you know, like he didn't even explain it to me. It was very frustrating and overwhelming. And you know, one thing I like to teach in my programs is that it's okay if you followed what your doctor said, right?

Chelsea:
Like as a society, that's kind of what we're taught. Like your doctor's word is the end all be all. But we have to remember that that's not always the case. And while there's nothing wrong with needing medication at all, I'm on it. You know, like we need what we, there's always other ways to feel better. And usually the medication won't necessarily help you feel better. It will just help your lab work. And that's the, that's what most women come to me is after, you know, I did what my doctor told me. I took my medication and my labs are fine, but I still feel horrible. I still have this symptom, that symptom like nothing's working. And this is where I come in. Or, you know, practitioners in general come in who teach you to be empowered and teach you like what's actually happening in your body.

Chelsea:
Cause with your thyroid. I think we forget that like the thyroid helps you do pretty much anything and everything in your body. And it's so important. So if you're making too little thyroid hormone known as hypothyroidism, which is common with Hashimoto's or you're making too much thyroid hormone known as hyperthyroidism, which is common with graves' disease, if your thyroid is not optimal, that means your body's not functioning optimally. So we want to just take care of our thyroid, even if we don't have a thyroid issue in, in any way, shape or form that we can. So thanks for clarifying that, you know, that your thyroid thing could either be hypo or hyper depending on if you're making too little or too much thyroid hormone. And that in many, many cases, the reason that that's happening is auto-immunity right. So it's not actually, I usually describe it like this.

Chelsea:
It's not really a problem with the thyroid. It's a problem with your immune system. Yeah. Right. So that's like, oh, whoa, what are you talking about? You know, it's a whole lot of thing. Do you want to say anything about other reasons that somebody might be hypothyroid? Like what if it's not how she motos? How often is that the case? Actually, I mean, it's common. There are plenty of women who have just hypothyroidism. There are plenty of women who have just Hashimoto's and aren't hypothyroid. I was like that for a very long time until recently. So, you know, my, it took my body time to destroy itself, I guess you would say. Um, but what's really happening is there could be so many factors that affect your thyroid. And so many, I don't know if I like the term root causes because I don't think we'll ever truly know what our root cause is.

Chelsea:
Cause it could be a bajillion things, but auto-immunity can be set off by so many different things like poor gut health, poor adrenal health hormones, like poor hormone health, older, like Epstein-Barr virus, right? Stress. Like there's so many triggers and things that can affect your immune system that cause your body to go into attack mode. And that could look like, I mean, a slew of auto immune diseases. I think when it comes to the thyroid, the most common is hypo thyroid ism, which is very common with women with Hashimoto's. Okay. So I know this starts to get like super confusing for everybody. Cause there's so many like, wait, what? And then which lab tests and all this and how that, so when you're with a woman, are there certain lab tests that you are always looking for? Yes. So as many lab tests as we can get would be ideal, um, which is unfortunately hard to get.

Chelsea:
And you wouldn't think so at least in America, but a full thyroid panel is key. And the difference between what your doctors usually run, which is TSH and probably like one other thyroid lab. And it's so different between every doctor, but TSH is the most common one that we see on regular lab work. That's in like a standard, you go to your physical, your yearly and they put your TSH on there. And they usually, this is why women have really hard time getting diagnosed with any issues is that they, if your TSH is okay, that still is not looking into your whole fibroid because we would want a full thyroid panel that has TSH. Yes. But also has T4 T3, your antibodies and all the other things that the thyroid produces so that we know what's actually going on. So I always say, if your doctor's not going to do it, find a new doctor because it's time that we start letting women actually understand what what's happening in their bodies.

Chelsea:
And instead of waiting years to get diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, because they just won't test the things that we need to see. Right. Because in my experience, sometimes doctors don't know what to do with that information. All they know what to do with is, oh, okay. TSH, is this well, then I'm going to prescribe that. Yeah. Well I think one of the main issues too, is that in a Western medicine, the lab ranges in general are huge. So you're considered normal with your thyroid anywhere from zero to like almost a 4.5 or I don't, I don't know the exact one, but that's like a really big range and it's not necessarily optimal. So a lot of people are within that range, but are still having symptoms. And if we just, majority of the time with the women I work with who come to me and are like, oh, they said I had Hashimoto's, but like my labs look fine.

Chelsea:
The only one that's off is my antibodies, which is how you would get diagnosed with Hashimoto's disease, your TPO antibodies, but their TSH is at a 4.5 that could be considered hypo for different people. So it really is kind of frustrating that we're not, we're almost not allowed to be advocates for ourselves because no one explains what any of it means. Agreed. So I like this idea of if your doctor is not willing to run tests, it's time for a new doctor. I've also even had some folks get labs done direct to consumer because we're really looking for those antibodies and we can't get the stupid tests done. Oh my goodness. It's a very simple thing to do. You know, you're just, you're just looking for a number. Those antibodies are existing. Then we know we're dealing with this auto-immunity

Michelle:
Issue. Hey, so I know this thyroid lab test topic can be super confusing. If you would like to have a list of tests to ask your doctor about and better understand what each of them are really four go to she's got power.com/thyroid to get my free thyroid solution kit. It's going to help you have a much more productive doctor visit and get what you need. So again, that's, she's got power.com/thyroid and it's completely free. Okay.

Chelsea:
So when you were diagnosed, did you say you were diagnosed with Hashimoto's and yet you were not hypothyroid? Yes. Interesting. Yes. I caught my Hashimoto's early. That's what I was told. So I fired my doctor who diagnosed me because basically what happened was I, because I was in the natural holistic world and was getting my RD, you know, like I was in that world. I basically made a big to-do at the doctor's office, yelling, screaming, crying with the office manager because I didn't understand why they want to test me for auto-immune diseases, with all the issues I was having and turns out I had one. So I fired that doctor because remember you pay your doctor. And I went and I worked with a functional practitioner that was within my budget. I searched for a long time. I interviewed a lot of doctors and what we found out was that, you know, stress played a huge role, but my body was producing antibodies without attacking my thyroid yet, which is good.

Chelsea:
Right. Like I caught it early, I guess you would say, but that doesn't, I have hypothyroidism now. So you know what I mean? Like it it's, it's the, they do go hand in hand, but you don't need hypothyroidism to have Hashimoto's. And that's the issue with getting testing is because if you're not hypo, you're not getting a test. So you were feeling rundown and taking naps, not because your thyroid wasn't producing enough hormone at the time. It probably just because there was raging inflammation happening in your body. Exactly. Yep. Lots. I had lots of fun issues happening that I didn't know were issues until, you know, we kind of broke it down and turns out my gut health was so poor. My hormones were crazy, right. Like on and off birth control for years and so much was going on in my life that I, my body was just kind of like, Hey, you're not listening to me and you're not slowing down.

Chelsea:
So I'm going to make you slow down. Yeah. Or thyroid is so smart like that. And it seems like, you know, a lot of my clients are like, so fed up with their body, you know, or their thyroid or whatever. Like, oh, I can't get this body of mine to do the right thing. And what I like to remind them is no, no, no, your body's trying to help you. Yeah. It's really doing its job really, really well. So it's always going to protect you. That's right. Isn't that amazing. And can we be like so grateful for that and start giving our audience what it really needs, which might be an app in the car, right? It might be that. Yeah, totally. So can we talk a little bit about thyroid medication? What it does, what it doesn't do, maybe different kinds of medications out there.

Chelsea:
Sure. I mean, I think that the number one thing that I hear a lot of people say and ask is, can I come off my medication? And while I think that that's a great goal, it's not always a, a goal for everyone. You know, something that's doable. And I think when it comes to fibroid medication, when we often forget that, no matter what we need the thyroid hormone, right? Like we need it to do, help our body maintain its temperature, help our organs do what they need to do, help our hormones, help our brain. Like it's responsible for so much. So whether we nonnegotiable, right? So whether we get it synthetically or our body's producing it, we need it. So there's nothing wrong with being on medication. The cool thing though, is that it is possible to go into remission from many auto-immune diseases, including Hashimoto's and hypothyroidism.

Chelsea:
And some people can do that with, or without medication. And some people can come off their medication, but it's not always guaranteed. And there's nothing wrong with that. And I just want to keep reiterating that like, it's okay to be on medication I'm on medication and I'm okay. Right. Like it happens to a lot of us and there's nothing wrong with it. Cause I know it's what my body needs. It would be like a diabetic, you know, type one diabetic saying, I want to get off my medication. I'm gonna get off insulin. And you're like, well, no, like you actually need that to live. Right. Exactly. And I think we forget, you know, like our body needs it. It, it, it truly does. Your thyroid's a, non-negotiable like without your thyroid, which some people do get their thyroid removed, right. Thyroid cancer, thyroid issues like there's pollups or, you know, there's things that grow on them and you can get your thyroid removed, but you're on medication to synthetically give your body what it needs.

Chelsea:
So there's nothing wrong with medication. I just want to start there. There's tons of different kinds of medication and I'm not really, you know, it's so different for everyone. It really depends on what's specifically going on with you. But the good thing is that it's a lot of trial and error and you can, you can switch between different kinds if your body needs that. So the two most common ones are levothyroxine and Synthroid, which are the same, but a little different, and I'm not going to get into the science or the specifics behind it. That's something you can discuss with your doctor to see if it's what you need depending on your lab work. But there are other more natural ones. Armour is a good one. Tirosint is another one. I mean, there's tons out there on the market. And a lot of them are basically the same thing, but maybe have T3 or only T4 or only help with, you know, certain aspects of your thyroid.

Chelsea:
So it's very interesting, but at the end of the day, it really depends on what you need and what your means. Not just be put on level of pyroxene because that's what everyone with Hashimoto's or, or hypothyroidism. Right. Right. And again, I feel that will, like, what I see most often with my clients is that the doctors looked at one lab test and they prescribed one drug, you know, whatever they're most familiar with and like, that's it. And it's up to you as a, as a patient to advocate for yourself many times and say, Hey, I'm still experiencing these crazy symptoms. Even if I've, you know, maybe you've even worked with other practitioners and you've worked on your diet and your changed your lifestyle, Hey, I'm still having this problem. You know, maybe it is time to try a different medication. So I think that's an important conversation to have.

Chelsea:
And I love what you're saying about how medication is not a bad thing. Like in this case, medication is not like taking a moxa and amoxicillin kills the bacteria, that's causing an illness. Right. But it's different thyroid medication. Isn't like that. And I read medication as a supplement, right. And I think, you know, there's, there's so much that medication can do. And I think this is where the education and the research is missing is diet, lifestyle, and mindset also go into healing. And, you know, for some people just taking the thyroid medication does the trick and for most women, which is why I work with the women I work with and help women with Hashimoto's disease, with nutrition and lifestyle changes is because it's proven that it works. It's proven that eating foods, that your body loves and eliminating the ones that are causing inflammation or causing stress on your body helps you feel better.

Chelsea:
Right? It's, it's the reason why, when you feel empowered and you feel like your mind and your body are finally on the same page, in the same library, in the same book where you start making and seeing positive changes. And it's also a reason why we need community, because you're not alone it with any auto-immune disease, you know, especially Hashimoto's, you are not alone. It's one of the most common out there. And I think that, you know, doctors, or really just Western medicine makes it feel lonely. Like, it's, you, you're never going to feel better, even though you've listened to all, like you took the medication and you're like, you're out of luck. And I'm working really hard to stop that and help women realize that that's not the case. What are some other, I mean, yes. Diet and yes. Lifestyle. I'm curious, what are some maybe supplements or alternative treatments?

Chelsea:
I think you've talked about CBD oil in the past. What are some things that you see working? Oh yeah. I mean, I think that supplements are great. Obviously I always say get, get a lot of your nutrients through food first, because you can write and we eat a variety of different foods, get a ton of foods in your diet that the thyroid loves like Brazil eggs. If you could tolerate eggs, your green leafy vegetables, you know, have all the selenium zinc, right? Like all those really great nutrients that the thyroid loves, but when it comes to supplementing, sometimes we need just a little more help. So a few of my favorites to supplement with are really ones that help us distress because at the end of the day, stress is what plays a huge role in how we're feeling, but also how your thyroid is doing.

Chelsea:
And stress can exacerbate a ton of your symptoms, which can then exacerbate your thyroid to essentially go into a flare or attack motor things like that. So I love CBD. I think it's a great tool. And I, you know, it took me a while to find a brand and a company that I actually felt comfortable with and trusted, and it's really changed my nighttime routine. And it just helped me sleep, which really helps with stress, but also helps me just feel calmer. I know, especially in this, I mean this world, right. COVID and all this stuff, it's stressful. There's a lot that's out of our control. And just knowing that I have tools in my tool belt like CBD, um, or even magnesium, I'm trying to think what else CBD magnesium electrolytes. I mean, there's a ton of really great things. Oh, Vasa tol omega threes, which help with inflammation.

Chelsea:
My main goal when it comes to supplements and recommending things to women with Hashimoto's is how can we decrease inflammation and stress, right. And how does that work in your body and learning how that works in your body and learning how to form new habits with these supplements and with these foods and with this mindset work that fits into your life. Instead of like, I mean, I'm sure a bunch of you're going to raise your hand or like nod when you hear this. But like how many of you have gone on all these diets and bought all these things and like wiped out your kitchen and spent like $800 on all this new stuff and then never did it, or did it for two weeks. Like, that's not the goal here. This isn't a temporary thing. We're not throwing noodles at the wall anymore. This is your life and you deserve to feel good.

Chelsea:
And if that means working with CBD or taking Avesta tol or figuring out the best supplements for you and your body and your gut health and your hormones, right. Then that means investing in yourself and finding someone that can help you find those things. Magnesium is one of my favorites too, for sure. I love it. That's amazing. Well, thank you so much for sharing your expertise around Hashimoto's with us today. And we're going to put a link in the show notes to your program called the Hashimoto's methods. So any listeners who are curious about what Chelsea's doing, please head over to, she's got power.com/podcast, but the show notes for this episode, we will link you over there. Chelsea, is there any one very important or last bit of advice that you want to give women who have a thyroid thing going on and are just feeling really frustrated yes. That you can feel, and that you are worthy of feeling better. It just takes pudding self first for the first time in your life. And you're worthy

Michelle:
Of that. Thank you so very much.

Michelle:
Thank you. Yay. This was awesome. I hope this was helpful if you've been diagnosed

Michelle:
With Hashimoto's, like Chelsea said, or if you suspect that you might have it, but you don't have a diagnosis. Remember you pay your doctor and your health is your responsibility. If you need some guidance to figure out this whole thyroid situation, the perfect place to start is with the kit that I put together for you at she's got power.com/thyroid,

Michelle:
Download that for free forward it to anyone, you know, that needs this kind of help as too many women get into their forties, fifties, and still, I don't have a proper diagnosis and we can change that. I'll see you next week.