I was given a diagnosis of Hypothyroidism by my MD about 4 years ago because I had been experiencing odd heart palpitations. I’d go in for my appointments explaining my weird heart flops feeling like a hypochondriac meanwhile the labs and heart monitors showed “very little to be concerned about.” My MD ran the typical tests for reviewing the function of the thyroid, said that my levels were “a little off” and made her recommendations based on only three markers. The MD visits were never on time, the MD was rushed and wasn’t able to do a very thorough assessment and each time I went to see her, I felt that I was made to believe I didn’t really know what was going on chemically in my body and I simply needed to trust the text book assessment, diagnosis and prognosis I was given. “You’ll likely be on medication your entire life, but most people do just fine with that and don’t have any issues.” And that was about it. Continue doing everything the same. But still experience symptoms.
I knew that I was not content being on medication my entire life. I had done enough research to know that there was some other root issue behind a “broken” thyroid gland and weird heart flops and that there was some reason why I wasn’t functioning properly. I just couldn’t settle with what my MD told me. And, I wasn’t feeling any better. My heart flops were getting worse.
I had heard about Katrina through a mutual friend and was fascinated by the person she sounded to be. When my friend shared with me that Katrina was offering a nutrition class, I jumped on the opportunity to attend in hopes that I may gain some greater knowledge to start healing my thyroid and help my heart. I was totally impressed by Katrina’s knowledge base, her ability to quickly respond to questions live, her personal testimony of healing, her current lifestyle choices, the openness of her faith and her desire to share her knowledge with others. I jumped on the opportunity to work with Katrina.
I am so glad I did. My first meeting with her was several hours long, so unlike what I explained earlier about my other healthcare visits. It wasn’t rushed, it was thorough! I didn’t feel like I couldn’t say something about my health to her for fear of feeling like a hypochondriac or someone who doesn’t know what they’re talking about. My husband chose to work with Katrina as well for different issues and it was a blessing to get to work with her together with him there. There weren’t any weird confidentiality issues or double booking, etc. Katrina listened well. She took good notes. She admitted to not knowing certain things and was willing to talk with other clinicians and dig around for answers – and get back to us.
Something super cool to me was that she mentioned running tests that my doctor had NEVER suggested running before. She listened to my symptoms and pondered a different view, not just hypothyroidism. I decided that I should have the tests completed.
I was shocked to see what my lab readings were. My thyroid antibodies were literally off the charts. They couldn’t read any higher. Why had my MD never thought to run this lab before? This was a totally different ballpark than simply hypothyroidism. At this point, I decided I needed to possibly change medical doctors. I did and my new MD was willing to listen to my story of working with Katrina. She suggested running an ultrasound on my thyroid after she reviewed my crazy labs that Katrina had ordered. After the ultrasound, my new MD gave me the diagnosis of Hashimoto’s. Katrina had nailed it. Based on the assessment she completed and the labs she chose to run because she thought I may have this, Katrina was right. She was the one who found out that I had Hashimoto’s.
For several years now, I was actually taking iodine to support my thyroid health and my previous medical doctor knew this. Iodine + Hashimotos = Significant damage. Not good. Not good at all. My doctor would explain to me several times how she knew how the thyroid worked and what it needed, while I was in fact still, significantly damaging my thyroid tissue and masking a greater damaging diagnosis! In addition to the iodine I was taking, I was eating gluten. Gluten is a huge agitator to the thyroid gland when one has Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. If I had known years prior that I actually had an autoimmune disease and was damaging my thyroid by taking iodine and eating gluten, I would have stopped!
Katrina made a gut healing protocol that I went through. She then recommended supplements for me to take and different lifestyle (mostly food based) choices that I have chosen to still implement. There was proof in her recommendations. My labs improved. My thyroid antibodies weren’t off the charts anymore (>6500), still high, but only in the 300s. She recommended that I eliminate gluten. I reluctantly did (yes, it was hard) …my heart palpitations went away, COMPLETELY. Gone. Then, it wasn’t hard anymore. I think that’s important to note too, that while things have been difficult, Katrina has been steady in her knowledge base and convictions. Even when I told her that I wanted to eat gluten eventually someday, she told me the hard stuff - that it probably wasn’t in my best interest due to my condition. I applaud that boldness in her and appreciate her consistency. She’s trustworthy. And, super gracious, too 😊.
I have seen the fruits of these recommendations over time. Just the other day, I let myself have a small special treat at a potluck that included some gluten. Oh man, it wasn’t long afterwards that I noticed…heart palpitations that had been gone for months!
I can’t say enough about how grateful my husband and I are for Katrina’s influence in our lives. She helped me catch a significant disease early on. I trust her interest in our lives and so appreciate the knowledge that she has shared. She’s been a godsend. I am so grateful to God for her!