So I had officially fallen off the gluten free bandwagon for quite some time. Why? Because gluten is in everything! I can't really eat anywhere but at home unless I know for sure what I'm eating doesn't have any gluten and that's tough to do if you aren't the one cooking it. I felt soooo much better while I was off of it though so it was really just common sense that I needed to avoid it. I got busy and just never got back to it until last week. I had been doing a lot of reading about autoimmune diseases and infertility and gluten. Everywhere I looked for resources to help with my Hashimoto's kept saying avoid gluten (dairy too, but I love cheese, so one thing at a time.) There is very little that I have control over with Hashimoto's and infertility, but the one thing I can control is what I eat. I decided I can't really be upset that I'm not getting better (or pregnant) if I'm not doing everything that I need to do to make it happen. I would love to share my gluten free recipes to help those who are also trying to avoid gluten! Here is my dinner meal plan for this week:
Monday: No Crust Pizza Bites
Tuesday: Crockpot Cilantro Lime Chicken with Roasted Garlic Cauliflower
Wednesday: Ranch Chicken and Potato Casserole
Thursday: Cilantro Lime Shrimp with rice
Friday: Mini Taco Bites with refried beans
We tried the pizza bites tonight, my husband really liked them. I thought they were alright, but not my favorite. I'm hopeful the other recipes will be really good!
I'm trying to focus on changing my diet and a few other things while we are waiting on my endocrinologist appointment. At least it helps me feel like I'm working on something since it will be about 6 months of waiting to see the endocrinologist to find out if there is anything else we need to address with my thyroid. I hadn't taken the LDN for about a month because I wasn't sure it was doing much for me as far as helping me feel better. About 2 or 3 weeks of not taking it and I realized it had been helping more than I thought, so I'm back on it now. Another thing I have been taking is something that was recommended to me by a doctor called Wobenzyme N. It is said to help with infertility and to reduce thyroid antibodies. Here is information on how it helps the thyroid and Here is information on it and infertility.
I was talking with a friend the other day who also hasn't been able to get pregnant and we were both saying how we often "think" we are fine with not having kids, we have worked through it and accepted it and are just deciding to enjoy life. And that's true 90% of the tine, but then something comes up (pregnancy announcements, babies born, whatever it may be) and you realize that you aren't 100% fine with it like you thought. It's hard because it really is a rollercoaster of emotions. Sometimes a pregnancy announcement doesn't bother me one bit, other times it does. I have had a harder time lately mainly because I've talked with people who have the same issues as me and have been trying longer than us and they still aren't pregnant. It was a dose of reality for me. I felt like maybe I just needed to accept it and let the whole thing go. I went to my husband with my pity party speech, "so and so never had kids, we might just need to accept we won't" and so on. Well God picked the perfect man for me, after 4 1/2 years he is still so positive and optimistist about all of this. And the thing is, he means it. I'm so thankful for his positive reassurance during times like that. He of course told me he understood why I was saying that, but he could still choose to believe God will give us kids. Love that man.
He got me to thinking though (like normal) that having kids of our own is something I'm also not ready to give up on either. It's something I'm willing to keep fighting for, so that's what I'll do. I've been doing lots of reading about ways to help my immune system which seems to be the main cause of my infertility. The biggest thing that has been proven to help is diet, and also some supplements (one being Wobenzyme.) I would appreciate your prayers that I will be able to stick with it. I am praying that these changes will help me to have lowered thyroid antibodies at my next labs so please pray with me on this too. I know we serve a God who performs miracles and I am praying He will heal my body, but I also know I have to do my part. I choose to keep believing God will give us children.
Hebrews 11:11
Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised.
