In September 2020, six months after giving birth to my first child, I received the news that my Hashimoto’s was no longer in remission.
Was I surprised? No.
Was I upset? Also no.
Let me tell you why…
Living with a health condition is rarely a smooth journey in the way that there will be times that it is under better control and times when it flares up again. This is especially true with a hormonal health condition, as there are so many factors that can affect it.
My antibodies have only risen slightly, just over the normal range, but they’ve still risen. And this signals that my Hashimoto’s (autoimmune hypothyroidism) is no longer in remission.
But that is OK.Life is forever changing. Everything about us is forever changing. My Hashimoto’s was never going to be in remission forever and I have said this soooo many times.
There are so many reasons why Hashimoto’s can flare back up again and antibodies rise. I expected pregnancy to do it, but it didn’t. I expected it to flare up after giving birth, yet it surprised me by staying in remission until, here I am, six months postpartum. And after speaking to my functional medicine practitioner, this is not unusual at all.
Getting my antibodies low and in remission was never the endgame. Trying to keep them low is obviously the goal but life means that they will inevitably change. Multiple times. At many points in my life.
Sudden illness.
Pregnancy.
Giving birth.
Stress.
Grief.
Infection.
It’s just another bump, another turn, another junction on my thyroid journey. Will they be in remission again at some point? Yes, I expect so.
They will then likely rise again at another point too!
And what’s more: we need to be honest about this. It’s fine. It’s frustrating but it’s what it means to have a chronic illness. It’s not static, it’s fluid.
I am currently working on putting my Hashimoto’s in to remission again, but I am not stressing about it. It will happen when my body is in the right place, with the support and guidance from my doctor and functional medicine practitioner.
Update: My Hashimoto’s was in remission again six months later. Read about this here.
Have you experienced this? Feel free to share in the comments section below.Related Posts:
How I Got My Hashimoto’s into Remission
What is Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis?
9 Ways I Supported My Thyroid Health Postpartum
See also:
The book Be Your Own Thyroid Advocate: When You’re Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired, which builds on this article in detail and equips you with what you need in order to reclaim your life from hypothyroid symptoms.
