March 8th, marks International Women’s Day. This global day celebrates the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women.
ThyForLife has interviewed 5 practitioners who are using Instagram to treat the 400M with a thyroid condition!
Lisha Knicely, RDN, IFNcP
Follow them on Instagram @lisha_thyroid_rd
Tell us a little bit about yourself and your background!
I am originally from Michigan but moved to Virginia back in March 2020 […].
I have been a Registered Dietitian for 8 years with training originally as a Clinical Dietitian, working in the hospital setting. After several years of working in inpatient settings, I moved to an outpatient position at a Wellness Center as the staff Dietitian.
It was with this job that I began to learn more about using Functional Medicine (addressing the root cause) to help manage and reverse chronic health conditions. During this time, I also became certified as an Integrative and Functional Practitioner.
Since 2019 I have had my own fully virtual private practice serving individuals with thyroid conditions, specifically hypothyroid related conditions (Hashimoto’s, post thyroidectomy, subclinical, etc.)
What inspired you to focus on helping people with thyroid conditions?
In 2017, I was diagnosed with both Hashimoto’s and hypothyroidism. Due to my desire to help myself function and feel my best, I researched and studied to learn more about changes I could make with my nutrition and lifestyle to support healing.
I became certified in Functional and Integrative medicine and learned about how to discover and treat the root cause of illnesses. It was also during this time, as a thyroid patient myself, that I discovered the large gap in care for individuals suffering with hypothyroidism.
I learned that the main form of treatment was only medication and routine labs; no support for diet, lifestyle changes, supplements, exercise, etc. People had questions (myself included) and wanted better support and I wanted to do what I could to better serve this community.
How would you describe your treatment methods?
My approach is using natural means to support the body as a whole. Nutrition being the primary form but also educating people on how to make beneficial lifestyle changes to resolve symptoms and improve quality of life.
Behavioral changes and mindset are also important to managing chronic diseases like hypothyroidism and Hashimoto’s, so this is something I also assist my clients with implementing.
What is something you hope to achieve in 2022?
In 2022, I would love to expand my practice and support more Thyroid Warriors. I have hopes to expand my team and grow my impact for thyroid patients worldwide.
I enjoy providing free, educational information on my social media platforms as well as building online communities and have a goal to continue growing in these areas as well.
Dr. Katie Rothwell, ND, HBSc
Follow them on Instagram @your.thyroid.nd
Tell us a little bit about yourself and your background!
I am a Naturopathic Doctor, [educator, and clinic owner from Barrie, Ontario] with a clinical focus in thyroid conditions and Hashimoto’s Disease.
My mission is to break the mold of traditional thyroid care that leaves so many hypothyroid sufferers feeling forgotten and fatigued. I use my signature framework and a practical down to earth approach to help my patients feel like themselves again.
What inspired you to focus on helping people with thyroid conditions?
1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with a thyroid condition in their lifetime. A year into my practice I discovered that I was one of those women, and was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s Disease.
Along with many of my patients, I understand the vital role the thyroid plays and what can happen when it’s not optimal.
Since then, I have invested much of my time into educational courses and research to learn everything I could about the treatment of thyroid disorders beyond “just take this medication”.
I can’t count the number of women who come into my office with a similar story. It goes something like this: they were diagnosed with a thyroid disorder, told it was an easy fix, given medication, and went on their way.
Years later, many of these women continue to struggle with symptoms like fatigue, weight gain, chronic pain, digestive issues, low mood, and more.
They’re told their thyroid levels are “normal” and to simply exercise and eat better, or offered other medications like antidepressants.
There is a BIG problem with how we are approaching thyroid care in the conventional model, and my mission is to bridge the gap.
How would you describe your treatment methods?
Down to earth, practical, [and] evidenced based.
What is something you hope to achieve in 2022?
In 2022, I am launching The Thyroid Academy, a revolutionary educational platform for professionals and the public. It is high quality evidenced based thyroid education to help change the landscape of thyroid management in North America (and maybe worldwide!)
Dr. Rachel Vong, ND
Follow them on Instagram @drvongnd
Tell us a little bit about yourself and your background!
I’m a Naturopathic Doctor based out of Toronto, ON, Canada! I’ve been practicing for almost 7 years now, and I really started focusing on thyroid disorders in the past 3-4 years.
The majority of my practice is now composed of women with hypothyroidism and Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis specifically.
What inspired you to focus on helping people with thyroid conditions?
Interestingly enough, this happened quite organically. I just started seeing more patients with thyroid concerns and started to really resonate with their struggles and experiences.
It was very clear that the conventional medical system had failed them and many of them felt very alone and unheard.
There is a huge gap that exists in the medical approach to treating hypothyroidism and Hashimoto’s. Being able to fill that gap and help these women reclaim their lives has been my biggest inspiration and is really what fuels the passion that I have for treating thyroid disorders.
Do you have any thyroid problems yourself?
While I do not have any thyroid problems myself, I struggled with very similar health issues throughout my 20s.
At the time, I was experiencing debilitating anxiety, fatigue, and frequent panic attacks that severely impacted my quality of life. I often felt like a prisoner in my own body, trapped by my symptoms with absolutely no control over how I felt.
After being dismissed time and time again by my own doctors, I decided to take my health into my own hands. Once I discovered the root cause of my issues and made changes to my diet and lifestyle to finally get my life back, I made it my mission to help others break free from the shackles of their health issues.
How would you describe your treatment methods?
My main goal with any treatment that I recommend is to address the underlying root cause. I use a variety of non-invasive, natural tools to help achieve this goal: nutrition, supplementation with nutrients and herbs, as well as lifestyle counseling which includes stress management, sleep hygiene, exercise and movement, and environmental health.
What is something you hope to achieve in 2022?
Something I hope to achieve in 2022 is to be able to empower and support hundreds of women with hypothyroidism and Hashimoto’s to reclaim their energy and feel like themselves again. I strongly believe knowledge is power, so I hope to create a variety of resources that are going to help educate and empower these women to make the best choices for their health.
Dr. Robin Urekar, ND
Follow them on Instagram @thyroidnaturopath
Tell us a little bit about yourself and your background!
I’m a Naturopathic Doctor practicing virtually Ontario-wide. I work in women’s health, supporting women of all ages with thyroid conditions. Most commonly, I am treating Hashimoto’s, hypothyroidism, and fertility affected by a thyroid diagnosis. Many patients seek out care to access Natural Desiccated Thyroid (NDT) prescription medication, which they are often unable to obtain from their endocrinologist or family doctor.
What inspired you to focus on helping people with thyroid conditions?
I have a thyroid condition myself, this led to my passion and clinical focus.
I know firsthand what it’s like to suffer from symptoms, how frustrating and long it took to reach a diagnosis, and when a medication-only approach only got me so far with my health and symptom resolution.
A thyroid diagnosis is an opportunity to take control of our health, with a little guidance, this can be simple and easily achieved. I say this because this was my exact experience, in a way my thyroid condition propelled me to take better care of myself and get clear on what aspects of my health are important to focus on.
Now, I support other women in treating their root causes, improving their health, and taking ownership over their thyroid condition.
How would you describe your treatment methods?
As a Naturopathic Doctor, I use a patient-centered holistic approach. I get to know the patient’s current health, health history, diet, lifestyle, and symptoms of concern. We establish a baseline of their health through labs and symptom tracking. Then we work in a step-wise manner to establish the foundations of health, improve nutrition to allow the thyroid to thrive, reduce known triggers and contributing factors while working at improving their symptoms of concern and reducing their risk of chronic disease.
What is something you hope to achieve in 2022?
My group program, The Thyroid Resolution Method, is launching in 2022. With this program, I can support women outside the borders of where I can practice one-on-one with patients.
I hope to be able to help more women understand the root causes of their thyroid condition and guide them to a higher state of health so they can live their lives to the fullest and be more able to excel in their relationships and roles. My goal every year is to share information and help more women.
Priscilla Blevins, RDN
Follow them on Instagram @keto.girl.nutritionist
Tell us a little bit about yourself and your background!
I have my Masters of Science in Nutritional Sciences and am a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist. I specialize in thyroid imbalance and weight loss for women with Hypothyroidism and Hashimoto’s.
My clients are unable to lose weight traditionally by eating less and working out harder. I take a unique anti-inflammatory approach to their diet, which is noted to improve absorption of nutrients and medication.
What inspired you to focus on helping people with thyroid conditions?
I started out in healthcare working in hospitals where I specialized in thyroid health and nutrition. I was tired of seeing patients come in, get on medication, provide the diet, and never see them again.
I wanted to make a difference as I knew the right diet can be life-changing when coupled with support and accountability. This led me to open my virtual private practice, Keto Girl Nutritionist.
Do you have any thyroid problems yourself?
I do not. My passion for keto stems from my own health journey – from being diagnosed with a heart murmur at birth as well as Shone’s Complex, a very rare congenital heart defect consisting of multiple left heart obstructive defects. At age 12, I was 30 pounds overweight and my “well-meaning” heart doctor told me “you can never get fat or you’ll die.”
I was left struggling with my self-confidence and insecure in my body. Although I was only 12, I felt so uncomfortable in my skin and motivated to make a change.
Determined to lose the weight, I began cutting down on my portions and following low calorie diets. This led me to cutting out fat, starving all the time, and developing unhealthy eating behaviors.
It wasn’t until I began studying nutrition when I realized my entire approach to “dieting” was ALL WRONG!
After navigating low calorie diets that left my social life in shambles and food guilt at an all-time high, I got accepted to pursue my Master’s degree in Nutrition, and my entire mindset towards nutrition and weight loss changed forever!
This was when I began to realize an anti-inflammatory approach to keto for weight loss is essential for women with Hypothyroidism & Hashimoto’s.
I noticed that when I applied the same keto method for my clients with Hypothyroidism and Hashimoto’s, they started to finally break that barrier and lose consistent weight, improve their mood, energy and even get off medication!
It’s about understanding the underlying factors that are contributing to your weight gain and addressing those so that you can lose weight! My approach to keto weight loss is simple, anti-inflammatory, and sustainable!
As a Registered Dietitian, I took my own struggles with poor body image and disordered eating to create a successful online private practice where I get to show women how to lose weight consistently, reverse their PCOS, Hypothyroidism and Hashimoto’s, get off thyroid medication and create sustainable eating habits so they can be the best version of themselves, empowered to finally live their BEST LIFE!
How would you describe your treatment methods?
Ladies with Hypothyroidism and Hashimoto’s are misinformed that they will need to be on thyroid medication for life.
What sets me apart, is that women are finally able to lose consistent weight for the first time while reversing their thyroid imbalance symptoms (i.e. Improved energy, sleep, decreased sugar cravings, and decreased joint pain, etc.).
I collaborate with Functional Medicine Doctors who refer their clients to me, and during the process, the Doctors redraw the thyroid panel, noting improvement, and are able to decrease and even take clients off of their medication within three months of working together.
What is something you hope to achieve in 2022?
[To] reach more women with Hypothyroidism and Hashimoto’s and help them lose consistent weight, get off thyroid medication and feel empowered to live their best life!
