APPROACHING THYROID HEALTH AS A KINDERGARTEN TEACHER

BECKY’S THYROID STORY

Becky is a kindergarten teacher from northern California. She has only recently been diagnosed with hypothyroidism and has been brave enough to share the start of her journey with us. I love it when I have normal people, just like you and I on the podcast to share their stories. We all will connect to different people in different ways and I deeply believe that Becky’s story will be an encouragement to many.

I connected with Becky through the podcast and my Facebook group and when she told me about how she enlisted the help of her husband and family (she is one of 9 kids!) to with her decision to go gluten free, I knew I had to ask her to share her story on the podcast.

What I loved from our conversation is the way Becky’s has used her skills as a kindergarten teacher to help her learn about thyroid health and teach others (her Mom mainly as a member of her ‘hypothyroid club’ 😀

We cover:

• Key symptoms that made her realise something wasn’t right (severe period problems, migraines, anxiety, depression, tiredness, weight gain, puffiness)
• The way her doctor told her in a throw-away comment “Oh yeah, and you have hypothyroid” but because her Mom has hypothyroidism too, she knew it wasn’t trivial.
• How she has tried to get information from her doctors but has felt they talk over her and ‘firehose’ her with information.
• Becky’s quest for learning took her to books and podcasts (in-step Let’s Talk Thyroid!!).
• How teaching her Mom what she’s learning has helped them both.
• Involving her husband and her broader family in her journey has been really helpful.
• Going gluten free in a family that loves carbs (generational Italian family with recipes passed down many generations!) and where food = love (see tips below).
• Building a support team.

How to approach thyroid health as a kindergarten teacher:

• Don’t assume anything.
• Be ready to learn.
• Learn in bite sized chunks.
• Find someone else to teach.
• We will learn together.
• It’s ok if you don’t have a question yet – you might now know enough to ask a question, so let’s learn, practise then ask questions.
• Allow room to learn, make mistakes without feeling bad.
• Take an experimental approach.

What Becky has learnt about going gluten free:

• Communicating what she needs to her husband and family has been important.

I said to my husband, I think I need to go gluten free but I don’t think I can do it on my own.

• Her family have surprised her with how much effort they’ve made to help her.

I was afraid my family would love me with carbs and carb me to death. Instead, they are loving me into health.

• Role playing different scenarios and strategising ahead of time has been helpful.

I love you AND I can’t eat this.

• She has ‘Marie Kondo’d’ her kitchen into a gluten free kitchen “I’m sucking up all the love that got baked into these cookies and then I can let them go” (she’s enlisted her husband to help make certain foods ‘vanish’ too!) #teameffort
• She’s lost weight, is not as swollen, everything works better, her anxiety & depression have lessened all since she went gluten free.

I love how I feel more that I love how that bread tastes.

Thank you Becky for sharing your thyroid story with us – that takes courage.

related podcast episodes

If you enjoyed this episode and are looking for similar discussions, check out these episodes:

#4 How do I know if I have a thyroid problem?

#10 Going Gluten Free Part 1

#13 Going Gluten free part 2

IS IT TIME FOR YOU TO TAKE ACTION?

Suspect you have a thyroid issue? PLEASE trust your instincts and get it thoroughly checked out with your health practitioner. This thyroid basics page has an overview of what tests to ask for and an affiliate link to use a private lab if your doctor won't order them.

Disclaimer: This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

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