Brianna M. shares her story about her struggle with Hashimoto’s disease and hormone imbalances. Dr. Tina Marcantel is a naturopathic doctor in Gilbert, Arizona, who also serves the East Valley cities of Mesa, Scottsdale, Tempe, Chandler, Apache Junction, and Queen Creek, and the greater Phoenix area.

BriannaMost people are surprised to learn that Dr. Marcantel has helped me with many of my health issues because I am actually her administrative assistant; people are even more surprised to learn that I was only 19 years old when I first came to Dr. Marcantel. Lots of people think that teenagers/young adults can’t have hormone imbalances or thyroid problems because they are growing and are always hormonal. However, we do treat kids as young as 12 years old at our office, and I can say that I am also a young adult who had no idea I needed help in the first place.

I always used to be exhausted every day; I felt like I was “running on empty,” or like I was stuck in a rut and could not get out of it. I thought all of my symptoms were separate and had nothing to do with each other, so I thought I was always tired because of my heavy school and work schedules. I would wake up tired and I would stay that way all day, and I had to take naps every day or else I could not function.

I also got sick a lot; when the symptoms were really bad, I was getting colds every month or so that would last at least 3-4 weeks. I caught bronchitis often and had strep throat multiple times, and I always had colds; I thought I just had a weak immune system. My cycles were so unpredictable that I would sometimes get two in one month, along with very painful cramps.

I was depressed a lot and I always had a constant feeling of being “down” and sad. I thought that was just my personality and I attributed such sentiments to the multiple losses my family and I had suffered in a short time span; I had been to seven or eight funerals by the time I was 17 years old. My family even thought I just had a melancholic personality, and though I had a very good childhood, I don’t remember ever feeling truly happy because there was always some kind of cloud over my head that never seemed to go away.

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I have always had extremely cold hands and feet; my feet would get so cold that it was painful and it felt like I had frost bite on my toes. It didn’t matter how many pairs of socks I wore or if I had a blanket because my fingers and toes were like ice. I thought that was just a circulation problem. I was also extremely emotional and I would get irritated quickly at little things and I felt uncontrollable emotionally. If something was sad, it was really sad for me, and if I was angry, I would get really angry.

I expressed some of these things I had been going through to Dr. Marcantel one day, and she suggested I get my blood tested for Hashimoto’s disease. It turns out that she was right on with the diagnosis; I do have Hashimoto’s disease. I did a hormone salivary test and those results showed that I was estrogen dominant. Since Dr. Marcantel has been treating me with the bio-identical hormones and Nature-Throid, my hands and feet don’t get cold at all anymore, my cycles are regulated and the cramping isn’t severe anymore, I am not nearly as emotional as I used to be, I wake up easier and feel more rested throughout the day, I have much more energy, and even if I am a little sleepy I still feel energetic.

I have heard many patients say that Dr. Marcantel has helped give them their lives back, or that they feel more like the “old them,” but I cannot say that… only because I have never felt this good, ever. This is a life that I have not experienced before; I have never had this much energy and have never felt this good. I never knew I had these problems until Dr. Marcantel took the time to really look in to what was going on with me. She is my employer, but she is also my doctor and I can truly say, from a patient’s point-of-view, that she is very thorough and caring, she explains everything and always answers questions, she is very dedicated to empowering her patients and helping them to feel good inside and out, and she always has a positive, calming, and understanding attitude. With her help, support, and monitoring of my conditions, I feel 98% better than before. Even people who don’t know me or who never knew I had any problems have commented on how energetic and happy I am and my family has noticed a tremendous difference in me as well.

Dr. Marcantel really did fix me up and I feel so much better; I never thought I could feel like this since I was so used to feeling down and “broken” all the time. I talk to lots of people every day and I often hear all the positive comments patients share with me about how they are improving, and now I can share that experience with them because she is helping me to improve myself; now I really understand the patients when they tell me about their stories because I have gone through it too, and I am truly blessed to have Dr. Marcantel help me fix so many things at such a young age.

– Brianna M

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Read Dr. Marcantel’s article “Hormone Imbalances in Young Women”

Women’s Health Central

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