Case Histories

Eva Boyle – Hashimoto’s Disease / Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis / Auto Immune Thyroid Disease

CASE HISTORY

NAME: Eva Boyle – born 1984, Belfast, Northern Ireland, aged 36 at diagnosis.

DIAGNOSIS: Hashimoto’s Disease, 2021

TREATMENT: Unfortunately, the advice I got from the local General Practitioners was very mixed. The first doctor was very happy for me to trial diet and lifestyle changes. Any others after that wanted me on Levothyroxine, a daily hormone replacement drug used to treat an underactive thryoid gland (hypothyroidism), which I refused.

HISTORY: I had suffered from poor health as a teen with recurring glandular fever. Intermittent fatigue and concentration levels were always an issue, mostly noticed at school. Physically, I always knew I wasn’t as strong as the rest and never felt I got any stronger, quicker or more agile. I was always at my best in the water, swimming. I most definitely found my parents’ divorce a challenge at the age of 8. Overall, I felt I lived a healthy life growing up, always active, a home-cooked vegetarian diet with limited sugar and artificial foods. I did my best to carry this on into my adult life but can’t say I was that strict, often eating whatever I wanted.

As an adult I suffered fatigue, muscle weakness, joint pain and depression, treated for this with numerous meds that caused bad side effects over an eight-year period. CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) helped a lot and an applied Kinesiologist helped wean me off the medication.

In my early 30’s an MRI scan to investigate joint and back pain showed nothing abnormal. Specialist physiotherapists couldn’t understand my gait pattern and why I had so much pain, putting it down to my having some degree of hypermobility in a few joints.

ESSIAC HISTORY: I started taking Essiac (100% root and bark Classic Four-herb formula) in April 2021, 30mls once daily diluted in water. In three months my TSH levels dropped from 22 (high) to 3.1 (normal range). I suffered no side effects from taking the herbal therapy and I am continuing to take it as I believe it supports my body through the dietary/supplements change protocols I now follow to manage the Hashimoto’s Disease. 

VITAMINS & SUPPLEMENTS: Selenium, Magnesium glycinate, Vitamin D3, Vitamin B complex, Vitamin C, Zinc

DIETARY CHANGES: Before diagnosis – basic vegetarian diet often incorporated with processed meat alternative, ready meals, a weekly takeaway, occasional alcohol; After diagnosis – gluten and dairy free, auto immune paleo-style diet to include free range chicken and wild fish to help with my energy levels. No red meat or pork. No alcohol and caffeine. 

COMPLEMENTARY THERAPIES: Applied Kinesiology, Core Therapy, acupuncture

DAILY ROUTINE SINCE DIAGNOSIS: Intense, prolonged exercise is a no go now. I used to try to do HIIT (High-intensity Interval Training), spinning, running, even power walking but always felt exhausted afterwards. Now I do yoga, Pilates, gentle walking, and exercises that make me feel good and energised afterwards. I take regular hot baths to detoxify, allow myself sufficient rest time and have reduced my hours at work.  6am starts everyday were taxing my adrenal system and I have stopped staying on late, pacing myself with tasks and not trying to do everything at once. I made a few changes to my horse-riding routine, making schooling sessions shorter and hacking out longer, which has benefitted both me and my horse. Stress reduction – finding the time to do things that make me feel better and doing more of them, like taking an afternoon once a week to drop all responsibility and do something for me, a massage, beauty treatment or simply doing nothing. Setting boundaries – I dropped the extra horse I cared for at the yard. 

OBSERVATIONS: Just two weeks into changing my diet gave me more energy, I slept better and felt happier. Three months after introducing Essiac my TSH levels had normalised, which astounded my doctor. In four months, I had lost ten kilos and felt a lot better.