The First Signs of Hashimoto I Missed for Years (And Why I Ignored Them)

Looking back, I believe my Hashimoto symptoms started at least seven years before I was diagnosed.

The scary part?
I missed almost every single one of them.

Anything but my thyroid.

Looking back now, I can see the clues everywhere. At the time, I thought they were all separate problems and I had no idea they were all connected.

Looking Back, Histamine Intolerance Was Probably My First Clue

For years, I struggled with histamine intolerance. Whenever it flared up, I would take medication and move on with my day. I even stopped drinking alcohol for almost two years because my body simply did not seem to tolerate it anymore. At the time, I never connected it to Hashimoto.

I thought it was just another annoying thing my body did.

Now I often wonder if my immune system had already been struggling long before anyone looked at my thyroid.

I Was Tired All The Time

One of the biggest symptoms was fatigue. Not the kind of tiredness you feel after a busy day but a deeper kind of exhaustion. I could sleep for eight hours and still wake up tired. Some mornings, getting out of bed felt harder than it should.

The problem was that I was, and still am, working a lot as a DJ and travelling regularly so being tired seemed logical and so I never questioned it.

I just kept pushing through.

When My Dog Died, Everything Got Worse

Losing my dog was one of the hardest things I have ever experienced.

He was my world.

Not long after, I started losing more hair than usual. At first, I blamed the grief because that seemed like the obvious explanation but the hair loss never really stopped.

Hair loss was yet another symptom added to my growing list of unexplained complaints.

Looking back now, I believe the stress of losing him may have exposed a problem that had already been developing for years.

My Face Started Changing

Another symptom that confused me was my face.

It would become puffy for periods of time. Then improve again, then come back and so on… Nothing extreme, just enough to notice. I blamed hormones, water retention and even travelling.

Anything except my thyroid.

Now I know that facial puffiness is extremely common in people with hypothyroidism. At the time, I had no idea.

The Weight Gain Happened Fast

I also gained weight surprisingly quickly.

Not over several years.

Within a matter of weeks.

That was frustrating because I had not dramatically changed my lifestyle. I felt like my body was no longer responding the way it used to. Again, I found ways to explain it away. But deep down, I knew something felt different.

I Was Not Myself Anymore

This is probably one of the symptoms that bothers me most when I look back. I have always been an optimistic person. I always joke that I have unicorns and rainbows in my head because I naturally see the good in people and situations.

But during the year before my diagnosis, something changed. I became negative, pessimistic and heavy. Situations that normally would not have affected me suddenly felt overwhelming. I did not recognise myself anymore, neither could I stop it.

At the time, I thought I was stressed.

Looking back, I think my body was simply exhausted.

I Was Cold To The Bone

People often mention feeling cold with hypothyroidism. What they do not always explain is how intense it can be. I was not just cold. I was cold to the bone, the kind of cold that feels painful. The kind of cold that no blanket seems to fix.

At one point I remember sitting in temperatures most people would consider hot, wearing layers and still feeling cold. The cold was not uncomfortable. It felt painful.

Looking back, this was one of the biggest signs that something was wrong.

My Digestion Was Never Normal

My digestion was constantly changing. I was either constipated or dealing with diarrhea. There was rarely an in between and at the time, I blamed stress.

Again.

Everything seemed to come back to stress. But digestion and thyroid function are closely connected. Looking back, this was another clue that my body was struggling.

My Skin Started Looking Different

My skin became pale, almost grey at times. My lips were constantly dry and white. I looked tired even when I tried not to be.

When I look back at photos now, I can see it. My body was slowing down. I just did not know why.

Then The Acne Started

This one completely blindsided me.

I had never struggled with acne growing up. Sure, I would get the occasional pimple around my period. Nothing unusual.

Then suddenly my skin changed.

Breakouts started appearing in places they never had before.
My jawline.
My cheeks.
My chin.

At first, I blamed skincare.
Then stress.
Then travelling.
Then hormones.

I kept finding new explanations because I did not want to believe something deeper might be wrong but the acne kept coming back.

What made it even harder was how much it affected my confidence. I was embarrassed. When your face changes, it becomes difficult to ignore.

Looking back, the acne became one of the reasons I could no longer accept the explanation that it was “just stress.” Because occasional breakouts are one thing. But waking up one day and no longer recognising your own face is something else entirely.

My doctor had already ruled out diabetes and stopped searching for answers.

But my body was still changing, my skin was still changing and deep down, I knew there had to be more to the story.

The Moment Everything Changed

Despite all these symptoms, my doctor was not particularly worried. To be fair, my doctor did run several tests.

Diabetes.
Iron.
Vitamins.

But because those results did not immediately explain my symptoms, the search largely stopped there.

My iron was still within the normal range, but on the lower side. I was not diabetic.

So the conclusion was simple: It must be stress.

One evening, I was sitting under three blankets. I was exhausted. Freezing. Frustrated. I started searching my symptoms and became convinced my thyroid might be involved. Eventually, a TSH test was ordered.

The result came back at 73.

I had no idea what that number meant. I only knew it sounded very wrong and so I was prescribed 50 mcg of levothyroxine.

No thyroid ultrasound.
No endocrinologist.
No explanation.

Nothing.

Italy Finally Gave Me Answers

My husband is Italian and encouraged me to push for more testing. Because we were leaving for Italy and Thailand, there was not enough time to organise everything in the Netherlands so during five days in Italy, we arranged a complete thyroid workup.

A thyroid ultrasound.
Anti TPO antibodies.
TSH.
Free T3.
Free T4.
And a consultation with an endocrinologist.

The verdict was clear.

Hashimoto.

My medication was increased to 100 mcg.
For the first time, everything made sense.

Trust Yourself

If there is one thing I wish I could tell my younger self, it would be this. Trust your body. If something feels off, keep asking questions. Keep advocating for yourself. Keep looking for answers. Because sometimes the symptoms you have been told are normal are not normal at all.

Final Thoughts

Hashimoto is not a one size fits all disease.

My symptoms may look completely different from yours. But if you recognise yourself in this story, know that you are not alone. This is exactly why I created Hashi Kitchen. Because I know what it feels like to be told everything is normal when it clearly does not feel normal.

And if nobody has told you this today:
You are not lazy.
You are not weak.
You are not imagining it.
Sometimes your body is simply asking you to listen.
And you deserve answers.