Hashimoto's: What I'd Do Differently if I Still Had a Thyroid

During our courtship, one of the (less than) romantic observations the Chiro (in training at the time) made about me was a comment about my swollen thyroid. At that point, I was in graduate school with no money and little access to any type of quality healthcare beyond what my boyfriend in chiropractic school could offer. So I filed his comment away, (probably rolled my eyes a little), and went on with life, because I didn't really have other options at the time.

A few years came and went (he floated in and out of my life...long--but good--story) and I became increasingly aware of the need to address potential thyroid disease. Looking back, I'd had thyroid symptoms my entire adult life, but at the time I assumed it was my "normal"--naps every day, hair falling out, sluggish energy, poor metabolism. (In case you're wondering, all that stuff is NOT normal.)

I'm not looking back with regret because there's a journey lined up for every one of us and a big part is learning as we go. But....if I could go back and do it differently, I would.

Getting on the Roller Coaster

Once I was working and had a little bit of income, I found a functional medicine-oriented nurse practitioner to work with. By then I'd had some bit of education about autoimmunity and gut health and knew I had issues, but I needed someone to help me get a focused plan together (and the Chiro was not in the picture at this time).

I worked with her a bit, did the 21 Day SP Purification Program, bought some other supplements, and ran some labs. This was the first time my thyroid antibodies had been tested, and they were sky high, confirming Hashimoto's. I can't remember all the tests and imaging we ran, but my thyroid results were so extreme (including nodules everywhere) that she referred me to an endocrinologist.

our first photo, carving Halloween pumpkins

The endocrinologist did an ultrasound and immediately suggested surgery to remove it due to how diseased and inflamed my thyroid was. I did not want surgery and lifelong meds, so instead I let the original nurse practitioner know I wanted to try and treat it more holistically. She was supportive but also limited in her ability to help. She suggested we run some before and after labs, and see how my body did with some significant dietary changes.

I faithfully followed some pretty rigid protocols, cutting out gluten, sugar, and dairy completely for a solid 3 months. At that point the nurse practitioner suggested running the labs again, and many years later I still remember exactly how this went down. I had the "post-test" labs drawn at LabCorp, then a few days later attended an Easter dinner, where I decided to indulge in some sweets. I figured that by doing the labs earlier in the week we'd have the information we needed on whether the changes had helped.

But here's what happened--the nurse practitioner had actually ordered the wrong labs, and my antibodies weren't included. By the time those results came in though, I'd veered off the wagon long enough to be totally disheartened by that news, convinced that testing again right away would not yield the same results because I'd let my super strict eating slip.

I ended up back in the endocrinologist's office, and she once again strongly recommended surgery. My concern (premonition?) about future fertility was dismissed completely. My hesitance about the process of adjusting meds was met with "it's not rocket science." And clearly, my other efforts weren't yielding helpful results, so in that frustrated and disheartened state, I was talked into making an appointment for the operating room.

My incredibly sweet friends planned some "farewell thyroid" festivities the night before my surgery 😂

Well, the surgery went smoothly, or so I thought, and I was discharged the same day. Luckily I had a nurse friend spend the night with me that first night. I say luckily because some complications developed. By the evening I had terrible pain in my throat and could not swallow, and then my voice was gone completely. I could not produce any sound.

I had to text my friend in the same room about what was happening since I couldn't speak. She took awesome care of me that terrible night (I still remember how I couldn't swallow any pain meds), and got ahold of my endocrinologist/surgeon first thing the next morning.

Next thing I know I'm back at the hospital being prepped for the operating room. I'd had a hematoma develop, and they were going back in to clean it out.

What followed was a week in the hospital while all my levels came back up (calcium and magnesium were problematic, and of course there was a process underway of figuring out the right thyroid medication dose). My surgeon told me my thyroid had been 6 times heavier than what it should have been, and apparently it didn't come out easily. My parathyroid glands had been damaged in the process of it all, and while I was told they'd most likely "come back on line," I have had chronically low blood calcium levels ever since then as a result, even with supplementation.

Was this the night he "flattered" me with words about my swollen neck? Honestly I can't remember...😂

But wait, there's more

With whatever damage was done, I decided to go back to see the nurse practitioner I had originally worked with to try and optimize wherever and whatever I could. For some reason I still don't comprehend, but naively didn't question at the time, she suggested I go off all my thyroid medication for 2 weeks to determine what my baseline functioning was. Two weeks turned into three because of scheduling logistics.

Let me just say this from experience--someone with no thyroid at all needs thyroid medication, even if it's a sub-optimal dose. Those 3 weeks with no thyroid in my system wrecked me. I was an emotional mess and extremely depressed, and not really sure how I functioned at work. I do know (again, from experience) that we can live without thyroid hormone. My doctor had somewhat patronizingly reassured me before surgery that if war broke out and the supply chain was disrupted and I couldn't get my meds, I wouldn't die...I just wouldn't thrive. Well, I definitely wasn't thriving.

I ended up back in the endocrinologist's office, where she gave me a compassionate and sensitive but simultaneously firm directive on the need to not ignore her prescription for what I needed. I felt pretty foolish leaving her office, and also pretty peeved at the nurse practitioner I had trusted.

This is why I totally get it when people are fed up with functional or holistic practitioners that don't help in the end, or even make things worse. You can spend a lot of money doing protocols and treatments, but one thing missed here or there can really throw a wrench in it all.

Long story short(er), it's taken years to get my thyroid dosing in the right place, and when the Addisons came into the picture things got even more complicated. And the big question--did taking my thyroid out contribute to the infertility? It's hard to say for certain, but I'm convinced it has played a role, probably not an insignificant one.

What I Would Do Differently

If I could rewind 15 years and do it over, I would simply have done everything I could to avoid surgery. Low dose naltrexone, red light therapy, hormone protocols, nutrition of course...heck we didn't even try thyroid medication before going whole hog and just taking it all out. But I was on my own at the time, trying to navigate it all as best I could. And when your thyroid isn't working right in the first place, it's that much easier to let the discouragement and overwhelm take over.

Am I still frustrated at the medical advice I was given? Absolutely. Do I fault the providers (both the mainstream endocrinologist eager to cut into my throat and the holistic nurse practitioner who gave bad advice)? Honestly, somewhere deep down I probably do still hold a little bit of resentment. But I know it's not their fault. They were both simply products of the education they'd received, doing their best to help their patients with the tools they had. And both of them certainly did help me in various ways. I made the decisions to pursue what I did, so I cannot fault anyone else.

So, my unsolicited advice to anyone with thyroid issues is this: take the time to learn and understand it all as best you can, and don't be pressured into anything you're not comfortable with. Certainly, before the drastic measure of surgery to remove it, try supplementing with thyroid medication if nothing else. Ask about low dose naltrexone if you've got positive thyroid antibodies or other autoimmune concerns. There is so much that can be done to heal our tissues and organs aside from cutting them out, but it does take some effort and time, and there may be some frustration along the way.

But if a little more time, effort, and frustration on my part would have resulted in an endocrine--and possibly reproductive system--that works properly, it would have been worth whatever the cost. I say that in hindsight, but in the middle of the struggle it can be so hard to find and maintain that perspective. So hang in there if any of this applies to you, and know you're not alone. And we all have a different journey. No regrets, just lessons learned, even if it is the hard way.

Happy 2026. :)

For a unique perspective on autoimmune healing, infertility, and faith, follow The Chiropractor’s Wife on Instagram@chirowifelife