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Hey Y'all,
I'm on Twitter!  Tricky Thyroid @thyroid_tricky
Happy thyroids!

Hey Y'all,

It has been 1 month since I competed with the WBFF in Las Vegas in their yearly Worlds show.  I wanted to thank everyone, from my family and friends to those who came by my kids, "Support our mom" lemonade stand. Thank you all so much for all of your prayers and support.  I did not place (there were over 100 girls in my category alone, and over 500 competitors in all). I however, had such an amazing experience and learned so much during the process.

So get ready, here comes the Oscar thank you speech!  HAHAHAHA

I first, of course want to thank God, for getting me through this process, from the very beginning.  He held my hand the whole way and gave me strength spiritually, mentally and physically. I want to thank my sister Chelcea (WBFF Pro) for training and coaching me.  I literally could not have done this without her. She is an amazing coach!  Which leads me to my next thank you, which is to Big Frank.  Thank you so much for writing such an amazing story about me and putting it on the WBFF'S website, and for your prayers, He listened and your prayers worked!   I truly hope the story reached and encouraged others out there that have Hashimoto's like me, or gave inspiration to others who are simply just stuck in a rut.  Thank you to Paul and Allison Dillett, for starting the WBFF and having such an amazing show.  I had a blast!!! Thanks to my friends at Tan - n - Tone. Thanks to Harlan Chiropractic for keeping my spine in check and for all of your encouragement! Thanks to my insurance agency who posted my story (from Big Frank) on their facebook page.  Thanks to all of my friends and family, who supported me through facebook, even though I don't have a facebook page.  All of your loving and supportive comments were received through my beautiful mother in law, sister in law , sisters, and mom.  Thanks everyone who text me on the day of the competition.  Your encouragement helped me get through that day!!!  Thanks to my parents for sprinting with me and pushing me. Thank you to my kids for pushing me hard, for yelling, " GO MOM GO"! when I was on the treadmill and wanted so badly to quit, for doing a lemonade and cookie stand, and for all of your hugs and kisses and for yelling as loud as you possibly could with Aunt Charlie when I was on stage.  Thank you soooo much to my sister Charlie for coming, your support warmed my heart and your words of encouragement right before stagetime gave me a little extra sass to my step.  And on that note, a BIG thank you goes to last, but certainly not least, my wonderful, supportive, loving husband (who also went sprinting with me and worked out with me and pushed and motivated me when I didn't want to be pushed),  I love you, you are my rock! 

I still can' believe I did it!  But honestly I could not have done it without all of you!  For real, the saying, “It takes a village to raise a child”…. It also takes a village to train a fitness competitor for a show.

Thanks again,

Megan

Hey Kids,

Just a quick little note!
I got my first sponsorship today!  Thank you Tan N Tone!!!!  Can't wait to get my tan on!

Also wanted to put in a link to the last two sermons at church!  They are both on SUPERHEROS!!!!
Loved these sermons!!! 

http://crossroadsabc.com/media/sermons/?enmse=1&enmse_sid=8&enmse_mid=30

http://crossroadsabc.com/media/sermons/?enmse=1&enmse_sid=8&enmse_mid=29

Happy Thyroids Y'all

BIG NEWS

Hey Guys n Gals,

I have some BIG NEWS!!! NO NO NO, I'M NOT PREGNANT! HAHAHAHA!
I'M GOING TO DO A FITNESS COMPETITON!  AND NOT JUST ANY COMPETITION!  I'M COMPETING IN THE WBFF'S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS IN LAS VEGAS!!!  HOLY HANNAH Y'ALL!!!

Ok lets all calm down for a minute!  Take a deep breath.  Ok enough yelling!  I'M JUST SOOOOO EXCITED!!!!

So in my last post I said I had been busy with kids.  I didn't, however, tell you, that I have also been busy training for over a year now to try to accomplish this very goal of competing. And with the Lord's help, here I am getting ready to compete in 7 weeks!

So it's kind of a big deal and I wanted to share with you just how cool this is for me. Frank Budelewski
wrote such an awesome and kind story on me and it's on the the WBFF's website.  It also includes my own story of how I got to this point.  I hope you like it! And I hope it helps you in your goals to get healthy and take control of your thyroid!

http://wbffshows.com/frank-budelewski/2013/07/04/blogs/be-inspired-by-megan-post-and-her-incredible-battle-to-the-stage/

Happy Thyroids Y'all

Balance

Hey Kids,

Holy Hannah!!!  Man it's been a long time since I've posted anything!  So sorry for that!  I feel like a bit of a slacker in the blogging department.  But if I'm being really honest, I should tell you that this was the first school year with all of my kids in school, and man is it busy in our house!!!  So with all the busyness, I figured I should tell you all about what I have discovered in the last several months!  So here it goes. 

I have discovered my most favorite word!  Balance!  Those of us with Hashimoto's need to make sure we incorporate BALANCE into everything we do.  And, I guess those out there that don't have Hashi's could benefit from balance too. 

Having Hashimotos, for me means that if my thyroid is off balance everything, and I mean everything, is slightly off.  My sleeping is off, my patience is lower, my appetite is off, my body in general, just all together is OFF BALANCE.  This can also include my girlie parts (ovaries and those lovely hormones).  The thyroid controls that too!  I can't believe just how much it controls. So I try my hardest to do whatever I can to stay BALANCED! For me it looks like this:  
I have an ongoing prayer/conversation with God all day. 
I try to take one day out of the week where I don't do anything but relax at home with my family.
I make sure that my nightly routine is the same every night.  I'm like a baby that way!
And for Thyroid's Sake, I make sure that I eat right and workout.  

We live in such a crazy world of extremes where it's hard to find a happy medium.  I know to some, I might even seem extreme because of my vegan and gluten free eating habits, and my workout schedule.  But you do need to know, that there is even balance in being vegan and gluten free and working out.  I eat this way  for obvious health reasons and because I started to feel so much better.  Seriously going Vegan and gluten free was truly the answer to finding my energy again.  To my body getting rid of all the inflammation, and to me just being able to even think better!  And then adding in the workout routine just topped it all off.  Like icing on my Gluten free Dairy free Cake! Hahahahaha!

Here is the balance in being vegan. It's kind of a give and take system here with the diet.  You give up meat, but you get, less inflammation.  You give up dairy, but you get, less inflammation.  You give up CHEESE (I know that's dairy, but that was a WHOLE category by itself for me,  I'm a big Mac-N-Cheese fan), but you get, you guessed it, LESS INFLAMMATION!!!!  Are you getting my point?! And as far as working out goes, well there is balance in that too.  It may look like I spend a lot of time working out, but for those of us with slow thyroids, we have to work twice as hard to keep from gaining weight.  I know for me, if I don't do cardio for a week I will end up gaining 5lbs easily, and then it takes me a week or so to get it back off. But I definitely listen to my body, and if something is hurting or I'm extremely tired or have a cold, I rest instead.  


 For me there was no question about it.  From the moment I found out I had Hashi's I wanted to know what I could do to not get any worse than I already felt.  And to make a long story short, this is what God put in front of me to do.  So I did it! And here I am hoping that you too will give it a shot and try it out for a month and see how you feel!  

Here are some simple Gluten free Vegan recipes that I make 

Green Smoothie or "Green Goo"Smoothie for kids
1 hand full dark green lettuce (spinach, kale, chard, etc)
1 banana
1/4-1/2 cup blueberries or strawberries (frozen or fresh)
1 cup water
1 TBSP MCT oil or Organic coconut oil
Put in high powered blender for 1 min on high 

Vegan Smashed Potatoes - For holidays or a cheat meal for me
1 bag of russet potatoes peeled chunked and boiled.
2 cans of garbanzo beans
Flax Milk ( any unflavored dairy free milk works) - to a texture of your liking
1/4 -1/2 cup Earth Balance Soy Free Vegan Butter
1-2 bags of frozen Broccoli or peas
While potatoes are boiling and getting ready to be smashed, open the cans of garbanzo beans,rinse and pour them into a pan with a little water and cook them on medium heat for about 15 minutes. Then put them in a food processor or blender on high to make smooth. You may need to add a little water to them to make them into a creamy texture.  While the beans are cooking, steam the bag of broccoli or peas (don't over cook).
Once your potatoes are soft and ready to be smashed, drain them and put them back into the pan and smash away, or you can you a mixer, that works too.  Add the blended  garbanzo beans and stir in. Now mix in the flax milk and vegan butter to you liking.    Now strain  the broccoli or peas.  Put smashed potatoes in bowl and add some peas or broccoli on top, mix and enjoy! 

Gluten free Dairy free Mac-n-Cheese - For holidays or a cheat meal for me
1 package gluten free elbow noodles
1 package Daiya (dairy free cheese) cheddar cheese and 1 package Daiya Mozzarella
Earth Balance Soy Free vegan butter
Unsweetened almond or flax milk
Prepare pasta according to the package
After the pasta has been strained add 1 tablespoon of vegan butter and  1/4 cup ea. of the cheese and then add as much almond or flax milk as you need for the consistency you like, and VIOLA you have Mac-n Cheese!!!  Tricky Thyroid style!!!  

If you are thinking of going gluten free and vegan, just know that it's only as hard as you make it.  I hope some of this helps!

Happy Thyroids Y'all!

Hey Y'All,

So sorry for being a turd and not posting anything in a month or so, but this post is going to make up for that!
A couple weeks ago one of our pastors gave a sermon on Ephesians 6:10-20. It talks about putting on the full armor of God.  Our pastor explained that when the passage uses the word "you", it's the plural "you" or better said, "Y'all".  Meaning that, we as Christians need to go through life TOGETHER!  Help, encourage, and love each other!  You shouldn't go through life ALONE!  It occurred to me that this applies to Hashimotos as well.  Or any disease for that matter.  It is much easier to get through if you have a support system.

Here's how I started gathering my support system.

First of all, I knew my support started with Christ.  I asked Him to give me the strength to deal with the very overwhelming news of having Hashimotos.  I asked for strength because at the moment I felt very weak, physically, mentally, and even spiritually.  So that was a pretty good start, because He quickly gave me that strength, and like I said in my very first post, I dove right in to figuring how to control it!

Next, I knew that I needed to educate my family on what Hashimotos was, and what my specific symptoms were.  That way, they were able to help me out when necessary.  My husband has always been a fantastic supporter.  He is very understanding when I tell him, "I really can't do the laundry or the dishes this week, I'm anticipating my thyroid not working very well." HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!  I'm kidding!  For real though, there have been times when I really do fall behind because I don't feel well and he has always just jumped in and helped.  

My parents also became very involved.  My mom would do research and send me links to websites and email me articles that she found.  My dad would call and make sure I was okay, and let me know that he totally understood me not feeling "normal".  He would talk me through it, and just reassure me that, I of course was not normal, I was extra special and his favorite daughter, (he tells all of his daughters this, I have two beautiful sisters too),  which ALWAYS made me feel better,  and gave me a confidence boost, which I desperately needed!  My mom immediately started making me gluten free food anytime we went to their house for dinner or a family get together.  She even started adjusting her holiday recipes for me. And at the time, I was the only one eating that way. My in-laws have also been very supportive. My wonderful, loving, Italian, mother in-law, is  making my daughter (who also has Hashimotos), gluten free, dairy free lasagna,right now, as I write this.  Now that's what I call support!   I feel very blessed to have such a supportive family.

And sometimes, even though I have a lot of support, I feel like I'm alone, call me crazy, but it happens every once in a while, I go on to, stopthethyroidmadness.com, and read stories of others with Hashimotos, just as a reminder that I'm not the only one going through this.  There are a lot of other people out there with this disease.  It puts things into perspective for me. 

I know not everyone has this kind of support, so I hope, that in some small way my blog helps you out. 

So please feel free to email me with questions.
As always
Happy Thyroids

PS - If you have some time, I encourage you to watch the sermon I referred to at the beginning of this post.
It's the August 26,2012 sermon
http://crossroadsabc.com/sermons/sermons/

Cancer Doesn't Care Who You Are

In honor of the Olympics and just simply because I got an email from someone who asked me to post this article, and of course because my very own mom was affected by this, I have decided to write this post on Ovarian Cancer.  First you will get my mom's story and then at the end is an interview with Olympic Gold Medalist Shannon Miller.

My B-E-A-UTIFUL, mom was diagnosed about 21 years ago with Ovarian Cancer.  It was the scariest moment of my life.  When she sat down and told me that she was going to have surgery and that she had cancer, I was 11 years old, and super scared that I might not get my mom back.  I remember thoughts going through my head, "Is cancer contagious?, What if she dies?  If she makes it through surgery, will she loose her hair?  I don't want to be here without my mom!  She has to be ok! "  
I'm sure my mom saw the fear on my face, because she started telling me that she was going to be just fine and that this cancer wasn't going to get her down! She then answered all of my questions and at the very end of our conversation when she was explaining what chemo therapy was, she told me that she WOULD NOT loose her hair!   She sounded so confident that it was calming and I totally believed her.  From that moment on, the way I saw my mom was forever changed.  I not only saw my mom as my mother who loves me unconditionally, I saw her as this strong fighter, who wasn't going to take this cancer B.S.!  And I still see her as that fighter, and she is the reason I refuse to let this Hashimotos diagnosis get me down!  

After my mom had gone through a total hysterectomy, and five months of chemo treatments, my mom was doing well, and didn't go bald from chemo, just like she said!  Her hair got a little thinner, but if you would have seen her then, you would have never known that she had cancer and was going through chemo treatments.  As you can tell, I am so very proud of my mom for refusing to just take it! For fighting back!   She fought a tough fight and won!  

One very important thing she taught me was to pay attention to my body!  She said get familiar with how I feel.  If something doesn't feel right, say something, have it checked out.  It turns out, that, that advise has helped me be a fighter myself.  I may not have cancer, but I do have Hashimotos, and I am VERY familiar with how my body works. I have become familiar with my symptoms and know when my medication needs to be adjusted.   I have even gotten fired as a patient by my doctor because I KNOW how I want to feel, and I'm not going to let ANY of these symptoms take me down, not for a second, just because, "It's the nature of Hashimotos."   Do I sound like a hard a$#?  Well I hope I do!  

So my advice to all of you out there, PAY  ATTENTION TO YOUR BODIES!!!  
If something doesn't feel right have it checked out.  Don't be scared of the outcome!  And get a BAD ASS attitude.  Be a fighter!  

With that said, we should all be aware that cancer doesn't care who you are.  Some types of  cancer can also be silent with no symptoms at all.  So it is also very important to go to your yearly check ups, and know your family history.   

That said, here is my mom's story in her own words

Ok, you asked about my symptoms before I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer I will try to keep this short.

I had always experienced major cramps before and during my periods.  I saw a doctor once when I was 18 who after a quick exam told me I had cancer. With that scary news  I told my mom what he had said to me she then made an appointment with another doctor who said no I did not have cancer and treated me for a yeast infection (neither doctor ran any tests just a quick exam.) This was 1977.

When I was 21 I gave birth to a healthy baby girl. (I had a normal pregnancy no problems)

About 2 ½ years later the cramps began to get worse, some would stop me in my tracks.  I visited doctors who would just prescribe pain meds and send me on my way. At times I would feel bloated or felt like I was pregnant and with all the trips to the bathroom, I either had to pee often, was constipated or had diarrhea, I was miserable.  More trips to doctors, more prescriptions, some for infections of one type or another, some doctors would again prescribe pain meds and advised curling up with a heating pad until the pain subsided. I missed work often and pissed off bosses, who took cramps as just an excuse to not come in to work. My periods were awful!  I sometimes felt as if I might bleed to death. One doctor suggested I may have endometriosis which might explain why I had difficulty getting pregnant again, but he never confirmed it exactly. Yes I had pap tests over the years all I was told were normal, until I was almost 33 and a single mom at that point.

That spring with my new health insurance I went to my new doctor (a woman) for my annual exam. She took her time and felt something odd on my right side, she asked questions and then she ordered an ultrasound and some blood tests, one very important test, a CA-125 test.  I remember during this time a woman had approached me in a store one day and asked me when my baby was due........not pregnant, just bloated that day.  The blood test came back “slightly elevated”   and the ultrasound showed something on my right ovary. My lovely new doctor sat me down and explained what she thought it was, I can’t tell you exactly what she said because my head was just swimming with this rush of very scary information, she advised that I have surgery soon to have this removed, I said I needed time to think about it and left her office.

All of this new information swam through my head I had a lot to think about and I knew this was way serious; Gilda Radner had died from this disease!!

I decided I needed an outside opinion, so I looked for a doctor outside of my health plan. But while I was waiting for that appointment, my doctor and her nurse were not giving up on me!!

They called me at work, left messages at my home, they were relentless, begging me to “please don’t ignore this! Let’s get the surgery scheduled, your life depends on it!”

I was so scared, here’s me, single mom, and very afraid.  I would be leaving my daughter without a mom, this was a very tough decision. But with the love and support of my parents, sister & very special friends I agreed to the surgery.

When the surgery process was explained to me I was asked if I wanted more children, (depending on where the tumor was would determine weather it not they would perform a hysterectomy) well yes I wanted more kids, but I told her to do what they had to do, I would deal with whatever the outcome. 

Well, surgery happened.  When I was waking up I remember asking “what happened?”.   I was told that they removed my appendix, I remember thinking in my drugged up head “oh that’s on my right side, that’s what was wrong!!” Sadly no, that wasn’t all. Yes they got the tumor, thank God, and everything else. No, not just hysterectomy but an Oophorectomy, they chose this procedure to remove the risk of another tumor developing again as this type of cancer was hormone driven. When the results came back I was told that the tumor was the size of my pinkie (they caught it early) and that the type of cancer was very rare.

The oncologist met with me I was to have chemo every 3 weeks for 5 to 6 months, and with the love and support of my parents, sister, beautiful daughter and really special friends who “had coffee with God every day” we got through those tough 5 months... And years to follow.

If it had not been for my caring doctor and her wonderful nurse never giving up on me to have the surgery, I wouldn’t be here to tell my story, but here it is 20 years later, and I’m still here!!

And, no I couldn’t have more babies, but I was blessed to marry the most loving wonderful man in the world with two beautiful daughters that I had the honor of adopting and raising.

Well that’s it, not as short as I had hoped to keep it, but maybe my story will be of help to someone.
God Bless.

Here is also an interview with Olympian Shannon Miller who was also diagnosed  Ovarian Cancer
http://www.mesothelioma.com/blog/authors/staff/from-olympic-gold-to-ovarian-cancer-our-interview-with-former-us-gymnast-shannon-miller.htm

I hope all of this information reaches someone who needs it.  

As always,
Happy Thyroids (and this time, Happy Ovaries Too)