As many you might be aware I was recently diagnosed with Graves disease. The diagnosis was shock and it took a while to wrap my mind around it. While I struggled with this I decided to take a break from writing. It wasn't an easy decision as there is nothing that I love more.
It has been a few rough months with a lot of ups and downs. I had a very bad reaction to the medication I was prescribed and had to go on the lowest dose. The only other option I was given was to take the permanent decision to go for radiated iodine treatment which effectively kills off the thyroid. I would then need to take lifelong medication to give me the hormones my thyroid can no longer produce.
At my first appointment after being diagnosed despite being on the medication my thyroid function hadn't changed at all and was at the original reading which was extremely overactive.
It was then I decided to try alternatives on top of the medication. I went to see a naturopath and started taking vitamins and supplements.
On top of that I was told by someone who also suffers from thyroid problems she managed hers with the Keto diet. I'd heard some negative things about it so I was hesitant. It was only after watching a documentary called 'FAT' I decided to give it a try.
Yesterday I went to my third specialist appointment and expected it to go the same as the others. But it didn't. This time my blood work came back normal and I was told my thyroid is functioning as normal. I'm in remission.
I remember when I went for my first appointment my doctor told me 20% of Graves patients go into remission and I remembering thinking I probably had a better chance of winning the lottery but somehow it has happened.
I was finally able to exhale the breath I'd been holding since I first received my diagnosis.
I'm not completely in the clear as there is a chance it might return and I will have to go back on the medication but I'm trying to stay positive.
There is no way to know what caused the remission. It could have been my diet, the supplements or the medication but at this stage I'm relieved that for the moment I'm okay.