Medical Disclaimer: I’m not a medical doctor. This post describes my personal experience only. Please take responsibility for your own health and consult any important issues with a qualified practitioner. If you take any medication and attempt to start a natural healing regime it is important to keep your medical professional informed as there might be a need to adjust the dosage of your medication accordingly to your healing progress.
Preface
Even though this post describes my experience with healing Overactive Thyroid, and you may suffer from Underactive Thyroid or Hashimoto’s, please stay on the page as you may find some inspiring information within. Additionally, at the bottom of the page, you will find a list of some helpful links that I discovered during my research.
Diagnosis
I was diagnosed with an Overactive Thyroid in April 2015. I went to the doctor with a completely different problem-suddenly after a traumatic event all the joints of my body swelled up, making it difficult to move, they were hurting and stiff. I suspected it was a psychosomatic reaction of my body to the trauma but just in case decided to do the complete bloodwork. The doctor didn’t know what’s going on. She said my results look fine except for one fact-I had an Overactive Thyroid. She didn’t understand why the joints swelled up. It was unexplained and illogical to her. She gave me a prescription for the medication but… I didn’t take it. I decided to go home and do the research. According to what I’ve found, official medicine had only one solution to my problem – to take drugs possibly till the end of my life, cause in the medical world there is “no known cure” for it. Drugs, of course, would have many potential side effects, so I decided to choose a different path. I took responsibility for my own recovery. After proper research, I customised my own “back to health” plan.
Understanding the underlying causes
I believe that any health problem has its root cause and exists simultaneously on different levels as we are multidimensional beings. Taking a critical look at all the areas of my life helped me to understand what needs to be corrected in order to regain health. After doing some research on how I could restore balance and bring back homeostasis naturally, I took pen and paper and analyzed my case coming up with an action plan. Couple things needed to be changed in order for me to get my health back.
Energetical imbalance
Throat Chakra and Thyroid
The thyroid gland is located in the throat area and is said to be energetically governed by the Throat Chakra. I realised that the energetical cause of my problem could be the Throat Chakra imbalance. What could have caused it? Going back to the recent traumatic event I realised that I screamed at the top of my lungs in my response to what happened ! Could “overusing” the energy of the voice cause energetical throat chakra imbalance leading to the development of “overactive thyroid”? Why not! If the energetical balance is required to maintain perfect health then logically any energetical imbalance may challenge our health.
Emotional component
(Thyroid & Liver connection)
After analyzing my emotions I realised that the emotion that caused me to scream in the above-mentioned incident was anger. Anger according to Traditional Chinese Medicine strongly affects the liver. And, according to modern science, the liver is a very important organ in our body that has many different functions. One of them is converting thyroid hormones. Anything that happens to the liver and depresses its function can potentially affect the thyroid as well if there is any disruption in the conversion of those important hormones. Now I found my link between anger (liver) and thyroid imbalance.
Stress and overworking
( Thyroid & Adrenals connection )
At that particular time of my life, I was self-employed in four different part-time jobs. I was overworking and that was stressing my mind and the body. There was also an element of dealing with extremely difficult people involved. That, of course, brings stress as well. According to TCM stress may negatively affect kidneys and adrenals. But what have Adrenals got to do with the Thyroid? Dr Amy Myers explains that in her article titled The Adrenal-Thyroid Connection. To make a long story short, in a situation of stress, the adrenals produce various stress hormones that in turn cause many different processes in our body including affecting the thyroid hormones conversion. Another piece of my health puzzle found.
Diet
Analysis of my diet was quite an enlightening experience. It was generally healthy but…I realised that I consumed a couple packets of Nori sheets per week ( my favourite snack at the time)! As seaweed is rich in Iodine the amount I consumed could potentially skyrocket Iodine levels to the extent of causing thyroid imbalance. Fooled by my taste buds I didn’t notice that was actually mentioned in a small print on the packet…ups 🙂
Action plan
Now as I understood the potential root causes better it was time to take some action. An important aspect of healing was to bring back the harmonious flow of energy in my throat. Combining some major life changes with various complementary healing methods helped to achieve this.
Addressing Stress
Learning from the above analysis I decided to cut back on work. I focused on which activities were bringing the biggest financial relief and skipped the others. I also decided to reduce my involvement with difficult people. Wherever it was possible I cut back the contact and in unavoidable situations, I managed my emotions as best I could without involving too much.
Acupressure
To improve energy flow in the throat area I dedicated some daily time to stimulate acupressure points on the neck for thyroid balancing. The best resource that I’ve found was the routine described on a page of an amazing therapist Michael Read Gach . I was performing that routine every day for a couple of months exactly as recommended by the author. You can find the description of his method here.
Herbs
Ashwagandha ( Withania Somnifera)
The herb I attribute the biggest success to in the healing of my thyroid is Ashwagandha (Withania Somnifera). Ashwagandha is an amazing adaptogenic herb. It means that it helps us to deal better with stress. It may help to reduce cortisol levels. It’s calming and energizing at the same time.
When I was taking it, I noticed increased tolerance to stressful situations and more energy to perform my daily work while taking it. But it has many other uses too- like improving memory, increasing muscle strength and mass or lowering cholesterol. It can also help to deal with insomnia, depression, inflammation and ..it facilitates the conversion of T4 to T3 thyroid hormones in the liver!
Dr Axe suggests to use it if you want to support your thyroid in healing. The daily suggested dose of this herb for thyroid complaints is 300mg three times daily or 500 mg twice daily. That’s what I followed for around 6 months.
Withania can be used in either underactive or overactive thyroid and Hashimoto’s too. However, care needs to be taken while taking it if you suffer from overactive thyroid cause sometimes it can increase the overactivity. Best consult it with a qualified practitioner if you don’t have experience with herbs. Also, remember that I didn’t take any officially prescribed medication at any time of my treatment so if you take any medication you need to inform your doctor and or/ qualified practitioner as the dose of your medication needs to be adjusted/decreased in the course of treatment. And always, bare in mind, it’s usually not a single herb that will heal you but the overall lifestyle change.
Where to get your Ashwagandha? I got mine on Amazon. The one I used was an organic liquid extract, but I was also taking it in a powder form.
Milk Thistle (Sylibum Marianum)
This herb is an amazing aid in the healing of the liver. According to the research, it is a powerful detoxifier that has the potential to rebuild liver cells. There is a couple of good Milk Thistle supplements on the market. You can choose between taking Milk Thistle tincture, capsules, tea or ground seeds. I mainly chose this tincture (15 drops 3 times daily in a little water) as I believe that herbal tinctures are easily absorbed. I also have experience with taking a teaspoon of ground seeds after each meal ( 3 times daily).
Essential oils
Aromatic compounds of the essential oils are not only pleasurable to the senses but also have many medicinal properties. After coming across information on how to use essential oils in the healing of thyroid, I made a decision to use Lemongrass and Myrrh essential oil blend. I mixed them in the 10 ml roller bottle and was massaging this mix into my thyroid 3-4 times daily for a couple of months. Bare in mind that Lemongrass is a hot oil so you’ll only need a small amount of it diluted in any carrier oil. Try filling your roller bottle with the carrier oil of your choice and add the oil drop by drop adjusting it to your needs and to the tolerance of your skin. More information on which oils to choose for your thyroid complaint you’ll find here.
Diet
Because my Thyroid was Overactive, excluding the Nori sheets from my diet for a couple of months seemed necessary to reduce the amount of Iodine that I exposed myself to by excessive consumption of this tasty seaweed ( excess of Iodine can increase the activity of the Thyroid) At the time I was snacking on couple packets of it each week.
Otherwise, a balanced vegetarian diet with watching sugar, gluten and dairy content of the meals to keep it as low as possible was a part of my healing plan.
If you suffer from let’s say Hashimoto’s you might need to strictly adhere to the anti-inflammatory diet for the time of the treatment or beyond, so please do your own research here 🙂
In my quest, I came across many people that, regardless of what they heard from medical professionals, had a full success in the healing of their thyroid. I include some helpful links below.
Meditation, affirmations and prayer
Regardless of your religious background its important to take care of your soul needs.
I found that the three tools mentioned above were extremely helpful in my journey back to health. I practice Kriya Yoga meditation, though any form of meditation could be helpful to calm your mind and nourish your spirit. How to choose the best meditation for you you can find here.
Multiple times during the day I was repeating affirmations such as ” I’m so grateful that my thyroid is healing”, ” I love my thyroid and it serves me well”, “My thyroid is miraculously healed and I feel great”. Be creative here with inventing your own affirmations. The most important aspect is that you can agree on the statements you choose to affirm. Your inner feeling ( joy, excitement, appreciation) about the process will activate the whole magic of your affirmations.
If you believe in God you can also practice regular prayers. As I do believe in God though do not belong to any religious groups I chose Love prayer method that can be practised regardless of your spiritual background. I also practised freestyle, spontaneous prayers, according to the guidance of my soul.
Results
After being diagnosed in April 2015 I repeated the blood tests in October 2015 ( 6 months later) I didn’t have high expectations as my hair was still falling out. To my astonishment one day I received a phone call from the Doctor. ” Your thyroid results are perfect. All in the norm. You must have been taking your medicine and it helped you”. He was speechless when I told him that I didn’t take any medication and followed my own plan instead :).
I realised that even though my thyroid was already healthy, my hair was still falling out. What stopped the hair fall completely was Weleda Revitalising Hair Tonic that I used daily for one month.
Helpful links:
If you read this post, most likely you or the someone you love/ know is suffering from some sort of thyroid complaint. I wish you and your loved ones all the best on the path to recovery 🙂 For your convenience, I included some links that I found additionally after achieving complete healing. Many of them are testimonials of people healed. Is it possible to heal your thyroid naturally? After reading the presented data you can judge for yourself 🙂
Emotional Freedom Technique:
How An Autoimmune Disease Was Cured Using A DIY Neurology Based Technique
Successful Use of EFT for Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis
The Tapping solutions for Autoimmune Disorders
A successful use of EFT for Hashimoto
Diet
From Exhausted to Energized: I Beat Hypothyroidism with a Plant-Based Diet
How to Take Care of Your Thyroid on a Plant-Based Diet
How to cure Hashimoto’s disease, thyroid issues and autoimmune diseases with a plant-based diet
Reversed My Hypothyroidism With A Vegan Diet! sharing my labs results!
Acupressure
How to get rid of an overactive thyroid gland in 3 easy steps
Learn how to balance your Thyroid using acupressure points!
Essential oils
3 Essential Oils that can help the Thyroid
Other
Natural Remedies for Hypothyroidism and Hashimoto’s Disease
Love,
Kasia
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