Episode 19. Kirstie Howard: Hashimoto’s, endometriosis, infertility and IVF.

Kirstie noticed the very first signs of autoimmune disease when she was at University where her anxiety began to turn into panic attacks. Later, when working in the fashion industry in a job that she loved and was good at but was inherently intense and stressful, her Hashimoto’s really began to surface.

When the workload doubled, Kirstie found herself unable to handle all of the additional stress. Brain fog began to creep in, she suffered the inability to remember important things or feel able to make the important decisions that her job entailed which meant the end of her 10 year career in fashion than began in London and ended in Sydney, Australia.

In 2010 she experienced a major health breakdown that led to the dual diagnosis of Hashimoto’s and Endometriosis and Kirstie began the search that so many of us go through to reverse her symptoms and restore her health and energy.

The endometriosis gave her agonising pain that kept her awake at night, feeling nauseous and exhausted. This experience was improved with surgery to remove as much of the endometriosis as possible but even after surgery and getting her Hashimoto’s well managed, Kirstie was still left with years of unexplained infertility.

With her biological clock ticking at 37 years old, Kirstie felt that rightly or wrongly, IVF seemed like a more “guaranteed” path to achieving pregnancy.

The process of IVF felt really  hard and was difficult and very emotional for both her and her partner and she was amazed and excited to finally become pregnant after 4 attempts when she was 38.

In this podcast, we chat about Kirstie’s experiences of Hashimoto’s, Endometriosis, IVF, pregnancy and Motherhood. Kirstie shares openly and honestly how she prepared emotionally, how she does what it takes for her to feel like a present and resilient Mother to her now 3 year old son and why she didn’t discuss her pregnancy publicly until she passed the 7th month mark.

Have a listen on the blog here or search for the Emotional Autoimmunity Podcast on your favorite podcast players including Spotify, subscribe and if you enjoy the podcast, please leave us a review!

As an accredited clinical nutritionist, Kirstie loves working with clients to get to the root cause of their symptoms. With a special interest in autoimmune conditions, women’s health and gut health, she creates personalised plans encompassing diet, lifestyle and supplements where required.  

Kirstie discovered AIP after being diagnosed with Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis in 2013 and was able to reverse her own symptoms of the disease within a few months. An endometriosis diagnosis and removal took place in 2014 and Kirstie credits the protocol for the symptoms not returning. She now follows a modified AIP diet with enough wriggle room to allow her to follow this plan for life.    

Kirstie works with clients both locally (Sydney, Australia) and via Skype. You can connect with Kirstie through her website at www.kirstiehowardlivingwell.com.au

Facebook: Kirstie Howard Living Well Nutrition.