HYPER/HYPOTHYROIDISM & MAKING A CHANGE

egg white omelette avocado
Egg white omelette with spring onion and cheddar cheese,
strawberries, avocado and a glass of veggie juice

After I finished my placement and had a sudden surge of free time to spend on the Internet, I decided to take a greater look into healthier eating. Since I started blogging (followed by a late sign up to Instagram...) I have occasionally browsed fitness and healthy eating blogs. One of my absolute favourites is Annie Jaffrey, who is also on YouTube, and I recently watched a video of hers (see below) where she talks about why she had chosen to transition into a 100% raw diet: diagnosis of a medical condition. In her video she says how she hopes to cure herself and reverse the condition she has, and something hit home with me. How could I change my own diet and potentially live healthier and more natural with my own condition?

Blogging about this has perhaps been one of the things that I have been debating with myself for the longest time ever. It is quite a personal issue which I have grown up with but I feel ready now to share it with the Internet. It is going to be pretty long and I thought about separating it into two posts, but I think it would make a lot more sense to just keep it together. Here goes...

Winding the clock back to 2006 when I was 14 years old, my mother had long been frustrated with how little our GP was doing to find out why my breathing at rest/during sleep was so shallow and quick. After a couple of visits and a different doctor later, we went to an otolaryngologist (ear, nose and throat specialist) on the 18 May 2006, who did his regular check up as well as an ultrasound of my throat. He told us that I immediately had to go see an endocrinologist and booked an appointment for me himself.

With this new doctor, I was set up to get blood tests and another ultrasound after which I was finally diagnosed with hyperthyroidism (an over active thyroid gland). The excessive amount of thyroxine hormones being released meant that my metabolism was working at an incredible speed, but it also meant that I was experiencing irregular/elevated heart beat, sweating, shortness of breath among other things. It also explained why I was having nose bleeds almost every night: my body temperature was so warm that it was bursting the capillaries in my nose!

As well as being put on medication to reduce the activity of my thyroid, I was also told that I could no longer participate in sports. At the time I was over the moon because it meant I could sit out during gym class, but it wasn't until about a year ago I finally began to understand the seriousness of it. At rest, my heart rate was around or above 200. It meant that any strenuous exercise could have caused my heart to, well, fail. To stop.

I had a successful round of treatment and my medication was slowly adapted for me to come off of it. It was looking good and my thyroid was less swollen. But after a while my overactive thyroid began to flare up again. I went on another round of medication but towards the end of 2008 (aged 16) my doctor, my parents and I began discussing alternative treatments as the medication wasn't working as well as before.

On 29 January 2009 I had a Radioactive Iodine treatment. The cells in the thyroid gland are the main ones which absorb iodine and so taking in radioactive iodine treatment meant that it would destroy cells of the thyroid gland without the radioactivity affecting much of the rest of my body. It had solved the issue of my overactive gland but now that so much of the tissue had been destroyed, it meant that I would be unable to produce enough thyroxine (i.e. hypothyroidism) - I would be on thyroid hormone replacement medication for the rest of my life.

It has been over 5 years since that treatment and I am now 22. I have noticed various changes in my mood as well as my weight and various other factors. The main thing though, is how I differently I feel about my condition now. I felt somewhat "trapped" with having to take medication for the rest of my life and I wanted to see what choices I could make for the better of my body. Aside from stopping the contraceptive pill I haven't made any great changes, but something sparked in me after seeing Annie's video.

I wanted to see how making better and healthier choices would affect my thyroid condition. I have read a lot about how following a vegan diet can reverse hypothyroidism. Ideally, I would love to live without my thyroid medication but seeing as my thyroid was pretty much obliterated I think it would be difficult to come off of it entirely. I am hoping to reduce the dose of what I have to take.

There is also another side to having gone through this condition and subsequent treatment. As the condition does affect hormone levels, my mind and emotions were a little all over the place. It is a little more of a sensitive area of discussion, I would like to share it with you but a little later in time.

Congratulations if you have made it this far! I actually have a little more for you if you "click to see more photos" about some of the little lifestyle/dietary changes I have been making as well as Annie's video I referred to earlier and the French translation.

If anyone has any questions, I would be happy to answer them the best I can but, if you are worried that anything I mentioned may concern you as well please have a chat with your doctor as I am certainly no expert and I only write from my own experience.


YOU GO GLEN COCO

you go glen coco tshirt
I was asked by Missguided to style up an all-white look and when I was browsing through their Whites  category, I spotted this T-shirt (here) and I knew I had to get it. I saw some images of this tee weeks or even months ago and I have been waiting for it to be made available ever since. I still cannot get over how old the Mean Girls film is now.

To complete the look I picked out these white shorts (here) which happen to be called Karina - I was obviously drawn to them immediately! They have a small mesh insert and because the shorts are lined inside I didn't feel as self-conscious as I usually do when I wear white bottoms. I am forever worrying about white pieces being too see-through. I also picked out these white strappy heels (here) because I have been wanting a pair but I have to admit, after living in trainers and flats for so much of this year because of commuting for my work placement, I did find these a little difficult to walk in.

I then picked out this bag (here) to complete the look. Now, if you have been following me on Instagram then you will know that this bag has become my absolute favourite this summer. It has already been to a music festival in the rain in Luxembourg, coffee and email day in Golden Bean, Cologne and Zurich! It is the perfect size and it has so many pockets! Inside, aside from the usual mobile pocket and zip pocket opposite it, there is a second zip pocket creating an open pocket in between. Hooray for double the zipped compartments! I realise that this explanation was a bit waffle so maybe this photo makes it a littler clearer. I will definitely be taking this bag to Tunisia with me in two weeks time!

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Missguided m’avait demandé de proposer un look tout blanc et en parcourant son catalogue je suis tombée sur ce tee-shirt (ici) et j’ai su tout de suite que je devais me le procurer. J’ai vu des images de ce tee-shirt il y a quelques semaines, peut-être même des mois, et j’attends depuis lors qu’il soit disponible. Je n’arrive toujours pas à croire que Mean Girls est sorti il y a si longtemps.

Pour achiever le look j’ai choisi ce short blanc (ici) avec le nom "Karina" - bien sûr, le nom a attiré toute mon attention! Il s’agit d’un short à empiècement en maille avec doublure intérieure, ce qui m’évite l’embarras que j’éprouve d’habitude quand je me mets un short ou un pantalon blanc. Je m’inquiète toujours qu’il soit trop transparent. J’ai choisi aussi ces escarpins blancs (ici), que je rêvais d’acheter depuis un certain temps, mais je dois avouer qu’il m’était difficile de marcher car j’étais tellement habituée aux baskets et aux chaussures plates que je portais pour les déplacements quotidiens pendant mon stage à Bruxelles.

Enfin, j’achevé mon look avec ce sac (ici). Ceux qui me suivent sur Instagram savent déjà que ce sac est devenu mon préféré de l’été. Il m’a accompagnée à un festival rock sous la pluie au Luxembourg et lors de cafés-rencontres au Golden Bean à Luxembourg-Ville ou de voyages à Cologne et à Zurich. Les dimensions du sac sont parfaites, et il a une multitude de poches. A l’intérieur il y a comme d’habitude une poche pour portable et en face une poche à fermeture éclair, et entre les deux il y a encore une poche zippée. J’aime bien les sacs avec plus d’un compartiment zippé. Okay, cette explication est devenue un peu vague, et cette photo (ici) vous en donnera une idée plus claire. Une chose c’est certaine: ce sac m’acompagnera quand j’irai en Tunisie dans deux semaines.

CASUAL OOTD

new look long blazer
The Sunday after I finished work for the summer I flew out to Edinburgh to see my older brother graduate and to spend a much needed couple of days with my family at our favourite cottage in Scotland. We took a trip out to Carlisle, which is just over the border in England, for a little bit of shopping and I picked up this beautiful long light-weight blazer from New Look and a pair of acid wash jeggings from River Island. I had been itching to find a new pair since I have had a love/hate relationship with the Dr Denim Kissy and the Topshop Leigh ones. I do love them but they discoloured so quickly that the money was not quite worth it.

I love how these River Island ones fit and they are so incredibly comfortable to travel in! Trust me, the multiple 3h journeys between Brussels and Luxembourg have provided me with enough proof of that fact. I usually stick to leggings for long journeys but these are most definitely a winner.

Jeggings – River Island
Top & jacket – New Look
Bag – Marc by Marc Jacobs
Shoes - Converse

Le dimanche après la fin de mon stage j’ai pris l’avion pour Edimbourg afin de voir mon frère recevoir son diplôme de maîtrise et de passer quelques jours précieux avec mes proches dans notre chalet préféré en Ecosse. Un jour nous avons fait une échappée à Carlisle, juste audelà de la frontière anglaise, où en parcourant les magasins j’ai retrouvé chez New Look ce très beau blazer long léger et chez River Island un jegging délavé à l’acide. Je cherchais d’une façon désespérée un nouveau jegging depuis que j’ai un rapport d’amour-haine – je t’aime, moi non plus! – avec mes jeggings Dr Denim Kissy et Topshop Leigh. Je les aime bien, mais ils se sont rapidement décolorés et ils ne valent pas le prix que j’ai payé.

Ce jegging de River Island colle bien au corps et offre un confort incroyable pour les voyages. Croyez-moi, les trajets répétés de trois heures entre Bruxelles et Luxembourg en ont fait la preuve. D’habitude je porte des leggings pour les longs parcours, mais ce jegging de River Island est le meilleur.




GREY FEATHER FEDORA

karinablog grey hat cold shoulder dress
With my hair being so dead straight and heavy, sometimes the easiest thing to do is to pop on a cap or a hat over my head. I own three snapbacks but I also do have a great love for fedoras. I found this one when I was browsing the shelves of Accessorize in Carlisle and I hesitated for a bit before deciding that it would be a reasonable purchase.

I absolutely love wearing it on drizzly rainy days but here the sun decided to make an appearance and luckily enough I was wearing a back cold shoulder dress which I picked up in New Look. I have one in blue from Motel Rocks but this one is a bit longer and so I am not as worried about being too indecent.


Mes cheveux sont si raides et si abondants que, parfois, la solution la plus simple c'est de me mettre un chapeau ou une casquette. J'ai trois casquettes réglables mais j'ai un grand penchant pour les fedoras. J'ai découvert cet exemplaire chez Accessorize à Carlisle (au nord de l'Angleterre), et j'ai réfléchi un peu avant de me convaincre qu'il était opportun de l'acheter. 

J'aime bien le porter par les jours sombres et pluvieux, mais cette fois le soleil a fait son apparition. Heureusement, je portais une robe noire aux épaules découvertes que j'avais achetée chez New Look. J'en ai une autre en bleu, achetée chez Motel Rocks, mais cette robe noire est un peu plus longue - ce qui protège ma modestie!



SUNNY WHITES

kaorianne asian long hair
It seems like the weather has taken a turn for the gloomiest of glooms today. Mama, who used to be a flight attendant back in the day, spotted the Cumulonimbus cloud the other day and said that this crazily hot weather would not be lasting much longer. I do enjoy sunny weather but cross that with heavy humidity, and super long and thick hair... You have one melting Kaori. Tying my hair up in a pony tail doesn't work because it feels like it isn't even up. I swear my hair adds at least 2°C.

I do love, however, how my hair stands out against bright white outfits like this one - especially if I have it is wavy! Here I am wearing a simple white cami from Topshop - a must have for any wardrobe as it can literally be worn with anything. I also have one in black and I recently bought one from Zara which has a beautiful scooped low back.

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A vue d’oeil, le temps devient menaçant aujourd’hui. Maman, qui dans sa vie précédente était hôtesse de l’air, a aperçu il y a quelques jours à peine des nuages cumulonimbus, et elle m’a dit que cette vague de chaleur accablante allait toucher à sa fin. J’aime bien un temps ensoleillé, mais si on ajoute une humidité élevée et ma chevelure longue et abondante: voilà Kaori qui fond sous la chaleur!! Attacher mes cheveux en queue de cheval ne sert à rien, car j’ai l’impression que rien ne change, qu’ils ne sont même pas attachés. Je vous le jure: avec mes cheveux la température monte d’au moins deux degrés.

Quand même, j’apprécie vraiment la manière dont mes cheveux se démarquent quand je porte une tenue d’un blanc éclatant comme celle-ci, et surtout quand mes cheveux sont ondulés. Dans ces images je porte un débardeur blanc simple de Topshop: un must pour n’importe quelle garde-robe, car il s’associe à toutes sortes de vêtements. J’en ai un en noir, et récemment chez Zara j’ai acheté un joli débardeur, arrondi et décolleté au dos.