Woman’s health mystery solved with rare iodine deficiency diagnosis

By Emma Dunn via SWNS

A woman left unemployed for two years was diagnosed with an iodine deficiency after being told no one has had it "since the 1800s."

Kristin Dainis, 39, suddenly started having "energy crashes" 15 years ago which became so bad she would be left gasping for air.

But doctors dismissed her symptoms and said she was simply "working too hard".

Kristin continued to struggle with the crashes and brain fog and self diagnosed herself with an iodine deficiency after Googling her symptoms.

She went to her doctor with her self-diagnosis and private test results but was told 'no one has had an iodine deficiency since the 1800s'.

She was finally tested and diagnosed with an iodine deficiency and hyperactive thyroid.

Despite her diagnosis she continued to struggle with her health and ended up unemployed and mostly housebound for two years.

Kristin managed to get back to work but had a relapse a year later. It has now taken several years for her to get back to good health.

She now has an understanding of her body following extreme testing and takes supplements and keeps a healthy diet to stay on top of her health problems.

Kristin, an author and health coach, from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US, said: "I started having really weird energy crashes.

"Doctors said I was working too hard.

"I was able to self diagnose myself.

"I paid to have an iodine test done as I was severely deficient.

"I took it to the doctor to ask if they could confirm it.

"They said 'no one has had an iodine deficiency since the 1800s'."

Kristin first started suddenly crashing in July 2010.

She said: "Out of nowhere all the energy would leave my body.

"I'd be left gasping for air.

"I couldn't sit, I couldn't get up.

"It could take minutes or hours to recover."

The crashes began happening more and more frequently and she went to see a doctor.

Kristin said: "They said 'your work is too intense'."

She was working for a global software company at the time and kept up a "full social calendar".

Kristin said: "I just keep getting worse."

She was allergy tested but nothing came back and Kristin started to lose her trust in doctors and started researching herself.

Kristin came across a blog of a woman with the same symptoms who had been diagnosed with iodine deficiency.

She paid to have her own test done which came back severely deficient and went to see her doctor with the results - but was told it was unlikely she had it has they hadn't since it since the 1800s.

Despite this Kristin still managed to get diagnosed with the deficiency and a hyperthyroid in early 2011.

Kristin said: "I watched my symptoms.

"One day I crashed in front of my co-workers."

She was put on sick leave but her health rapidly declined and she had to quit her job in November 2011.

Kristen said: "I went through a period of being unemployed for two years.

"I really felt on my own."

Kristen finally found a health coach after a year who helped her find treatments to get her health back on track.

She did a lot of mindset work and work on her nervous system as well as taking up yoga and finding supplements that worked for her.

Kristen said: "Before I was a type A - I got good grades, I followed the career path. I did everything society tells you is a good life.

"I realised I wasn't living in a way that aligned with my values."

She was able to go back to work remotely at the end of 2013 and was back to full time work by February 2014.

But in March 2015 Kristen relapsed.

She said: "I thought I had my life back.

"It was devastating.

"But I had real hope and faith in myself."

This time Kristen found a health practitioner who did extreme testing on her to help identify other nutrient deficiencies.

She said: "I have really high levels of lead in my body.

"That was shocking."

Kristen has now found a way to get back to health - and maintain it.

She said: "I have got to a place in my body where I can push it.

"I'm more intentional about when and why and how I do it and I plan for recovery."

She makes sure to get to bed early and uses a tracker to track her sleep.

Kristen also sticks to eating an 80/20 diet - eating clean and locally sourced meat 80 percent of the time and treats for 20 percent.

She has felt back to full health for the last five years.

Kristin said: "It was early 2019 when it really hit me. I feel confident that I have found all the root causes and I'm addressing them all."

Kristen now helps others identify the causes to their health conditions and has written a book which is part memoir and part how to called - When Doctors Say You're Fine: How to Regain Your Life After Years of Dismissed Symptoms.