I rarely get sick, but last year my blood work suggested that I have a thyroid disorder secondary to a pituitary dysfunction. This means that my thyroid gland is hyperactive, but falsely. You see, the thyroid gland gets its instructions from the pituitary gland and it is responsible for keeping it in balance. However, with this disorder, something is lost in translation! The pituitary gland is telling the thyroid to chill out and stop making thyroid hormones but for some reason, it keeps pumping them out!
This is ongoing for me and the symptoms are usually mild and barely noticeable. But earlier this week I caught a cold. As I mentioned, I rarely get colds or ill at all. I have been eating a plant-based diet over the last two years but as of late I was slipping up. It was working well for me during the warmer months, but as winter has set in, my income has also slowed as I am self-employed and much of what I do depends on the weather. As a result, I found myself unable to afford all of the awesome superfoods I was used to eating like hemp seeds, spirulina, high-quality pea protein powder, and I really did not have any viable alternatives. I found myself eating a lot more bread and pasta. Then I started having serious sugar and bread cravings. Now I should note that sugar has always been my vice, but when I am feeling healthy, I tend to ignore all of my vices. But the sugar caused a candida overgrowth which manifested itself as a burning sensation on my tongue - thrush. I immediately cut back the bread and sugars - I still have a sandwich with bread here and there, but I was eating a lot of junk food and had to knock that out. I didn't realize until then how many calories I was getting per day from sugar! I was hungry! So, I made a decision to incorporate eggs back into my diet, which I get from a local farm down the road.
Normally when I get a cold, I throw all kinds of immune system stimulating herbs at it like echinacea, apple cider vinegar, and dandelion tea. It worked! The very next day I was feeling a lot better - nose was clear and I thought I was on my way back to 100% again. I took the day easy anyway - no hard physical work outside, but in the afternoon, I decided to work on a Chevy truck throttle body I am rebuilding for a job. I am usually quite liberal with spray cans of carb cleaner for these types of jobs. I was wearing gloves, but the carb cleaner ate through them and twice I was sprayed in the face with backsplash - thank God for safety glasses! Almost immediately after that, I could feel my neck tightening up below my Adam's apple. I was somewhat familiar with this sensation, but it was much stronger this time. I thought I was still sick with the cold and this was the onset of the next phase, a sore throat. Only it was not sore, and my nose was still pretty clear with no signs of active infection in my mucus. And bam! Just like that my thyroid swelled and could feel its presence around my esophgus.
It was clear to me that carb cleaner absorbed through my skin and went straight to the thyroid, whatever was in it... it was that non-chlorinated kind that's supposed to be better for the ozone layer. My goiter is still in my neck now, annoying and uncomfortable as ever. So there are several other factors at play here. I am still recovering from candida overgrowth, a few minor lingering cold symptoms, and now my thyroid is all whacked out! WHY? I hypothesize that it is all due to the same two things that are responsible for all illness and ailments: toxicity and deficiency. It was obvious I was loaded with toxic volatile mineral spirits in the carb cleaner, but what is less obvious is the toxins from the sugar I was eating. I have other vices too - drink too much coffee and eat some processed foods like chips still. I also like to drink beer and smoke pot. And I haven't been taking B and D supplements as I should in the winter, and I got lazy and stopped taking my L-carnitine supplements too. I don't like to supplement; I'd much rather try to get it all through food. Nonetheless, I found myself in that state of toxicity and deficiency.
Reflecting over the last few months, the goiter has been there before certain mornings, although mild and would usually subside a few hours after waking. My metabolism is pretty high, I sweat profusely at times, appetite and sleep patterns are all over the place and I have a few other symptoms that would suggest I have hyperthyroidism. Yet my bloodwork shows low TSH levels suggesting hypothyroidism. That is Grave's disease basically. So what is the false flag that causes this condition? I went and saw my doctor about it today because I will have to make some lifestyle changes to manage the thyroid and heal the pituitary gland. I believe all illness is curable and can be done naturally if you allow the body to do it. I learned at my visit that indeed the hydrocarbon chemicals did absorb rapidly into my skin and trigger this goiter condition. I am also experiencing a glutamate deficiency, as well as tryptophan and manganese deficiencies. I am now taking some herbal supplements to balance it out and it should subside in the next few days. He also said I was right about the eggs and that his sickest patients are vegans and vegetarians. I admit I fell into the sugar trap as a vegan myself and now I must eat some flesh foods again to regain my health.
Hope you all learned something from my story. Take care of yourselves and live well!