Combatting the Holiday Season

Excuse our lack of posting for a bit. Dealing with grad school, other charity blogging and brain fog... It gets so easy to put things on the back burner... Do things at you're own pace this holiday season and ensure that it all gets done by the end of the year. Don't drag anything into the new year. Fresh slate. 

So here are some of the "rules" and tips to combat this holiday season-

1) Do NOT overindulge. Remember with the thyroidisms it is difficult to lose weight. There are so many beautiful tempting foods that should be sampled but not in excess. With thyroidism you can sometimes overestimate your food intake not really knowing when you're full. Even if you're a bit peckish, keep hydrating.

2) Take a warm bath. Let the bubbles consume your body. White Wolf uses aromatherapy- eucalyptus tea body wash and bath foam by Bath and Body Works. It eases the joints from winter stress especially in the Northern Hemisphere where we both reside. If you're in the Southern Hemisphere, heat is not necessarily your friend (in moderation, it is to ease the joints) but maybe take a dip in the pool or maybe a cold bath... 

3) Take a walk. Get out of bed if even for five minutes. Plug in your ear buds and put on some good tunes. Take the dog (Or cat? Or rabbit?) for some fresh air and rejuvenation. Explore a new trail, complacency or stagnation is insanity. 

Here are some tunes to rev up the dopamine:

• Silverchair- Straight Lines
• Vance Joy- Riptide
• Cold Chisel- Forever Now
• The Rolling Stones- Paint It Black
• Danny Elfman- The Little Things
• New Politics- Harlem
• Mumford and Sons- Little Lion Man
• The Clash- Bankrobber
• La Vida Boheme- Buen Salvaje
•  Young The Giant- Cough Syrup
• Sixto Rodriguez- Cold Hard Facts (Album)
• Arctic Monkeys-Crawling Back To You
• This Mortal Coil- Blood (Album)
• Powderfinger- Odyssey No.5 (Album)

4) Drink tea . First thing when you wake up drink some ginseng or green tea. Energy boosting and detoxing. Chamomile tea before a set bed time so that way the circadian rhythm gets into balance. Throughout the day just drink water and maybe juice, no dairy. 

5) Read a good book or watch a great TV show. After all the household priorities are done, escape for a little while. As of late been watching Game of Thrones, American Horror Story and Californication. Reading 29 by Mary Sojourner, Alex and Me by Irene Pepperberg and Chaser: Unlocking the Genius of the Dog Who Knows a Thousand Words by Dr. John Pilley. 

6) Try to surround yourself with positive and loving energy. Either from friends, family and/or pets. This is vital because there is a significant amount of evidence that points to the connection between hormones, produced by the thyroid gland and depression. In addition, some symptoms of depression are associated with thyroid conditions. And as we in the Northern Hemisphere are in Winter mode the lack of sunshine is a known mood downer and us thyroid challenged need to be mindful of the effect this will also have on our day to day moods. As always, prevention is much better than the cure.

7) Try aromatherapy to boost your mood and energy level. As briefly mentioned in #2 with the warm bath, but try this remedy to your right! ->

About Us

Hi there and welcome to #hypo/eractivebutterfly

The purpose of this blog is to provide you with a method to deal with your thyroid challenges. If you have found your way here you have either lived with this disease for a while and have grown to despair the frustration that is this disease and/or have just found out recently just what it is that has been going on in your body for X amount of time.

Either way, we welcome you with open Thyroid arms.



There are two writers for this blog  #hypo/er-active butterfly

Both of us will give you our trial and error methods on how to make it through certain symptoms. It's convenient because you can simply read it on a tablet, phone or computer even when you can't get out of bed.

Also, if you have pets who suffer from this insidious disorder, we will post tips that can alleviate their symptoms.

So about us-

I'm calling on my totem- White Tiger

I've been dealing with both sides of the spectrum for about 11 years. I was first diagnosed with hyperactive thyroidism at the age of 14 after feeling bumps on the back of my neck. After a few months of being on Tapizole, I was in remission. "Yay no more medicine!" 

Wrong... 

Then after an eye-opening trip in mid-2005 to various European countries, I was told that my thyroid levels were through the roof. For a normal 125 max level, It was double that for hormone levels. In early 2006, my endocrinologist [mis]informed my parents and myself that would have to have my thyroid radioactively ablated. About a month after the procedure, I was not on any medication because of the surplus of thyroid hormone. 

Then crash...

Hair felt dry like a boar's brush and fell out in small clumps. Skin was dry and joints were stiff. Constantly felt fatigued and cold; would nap in microfleece pajamas in class. Teachers were worried because of grades failing, just due to brain fog. Nevertheless, we went back to the endocrinologist and got on a small dose of synthroid. A multitude of blood tests and various doses later, still don't feel fantastic... Sometimes balanced, sometimes not.. 

Felt as though needed to share my story and share the tips on how to conquer this disorder. Music playlists for the day, particular hygiene routines, nutrition and other amenities will be posted to help you in achieving your full potential. 

Im Wolf

I live a thyroid life.

I live my life on half a thyroid gland. That may not sound like a big deal to those not familiar with what the Thyroid gland's function in the body is. But trust me ...it is a VERY big deal.

A few years ago I had half of my thyroid gland surgically removed due to a suspected malignancy.

Surgery was advised as the ultra sound and needle biopsy proved in conclusive.

At the time many of my symptoms were pretty text book Thyroid...with also a huge smattering of
'non' text book symptoms. (ie: digestion issues, allergies, )

As the Thyroid symptoms presented themselves as allergies and digestion problems the mainstream medical approach was let's treat it from a Gastro-Intestinal approach.

13 months later...

I had dropped a staggering 24 kgs in weight...my food intollences were sooo huge and acute I couldnt even stomach black tea...green tea...any tea...only water. Sometimes black coffee...survived food wise on chicken breast baked in the oven...with tiny drops of Olive oil...no seasoning..and steamed brocolli and pumpkin...again no seasonings, flavours nothing. Breakfast was 2 Rice Cakes...some ham and some days Vegemite.

Then there was the total hyper behaviour..no sleep...but full on energy.

Hair was falling out...skin was dry...eyes bulging...no focus mentally...forgetfulness..huge emotional swings...

Yes I was classic Hyper T

Fast forward post surgery...

I hit Hypo T...oh yes now the fun times really began.

Where am I now?

Somewhere in the middle...and no it's not the best or perfect scenario...but I have learnt that to even be in the middle is GREAT. This does not mean I am 'back to normal'...that planet is never to be visited.

This is because there is NO cure for 'this'...there is no magic solution...there is only day by day and some days are better than others...some arent...but I have also learnt that that is also "ok"...

Together with Tiger I have spoken soo much and therefore learnt so much about this disease.


And that's one of the reason I want to write this blog because not everything with such a dis-ease
is 'text book.

It's the onion of diseases, it's insidious and once you realise that...then you are on the path to claiming your life back!