The “Hardest Thing” About Having Hashimoto’s Disease Revealed by Heather Rae El Moussa

Heather Rae El Moussa discusses the “hardest” part of discovering she had an autoimmune condition.

According to the National Institutes of Health, Hashimoto’s disease is an autoimmune illness in which the immune system assaults the thyroid gland. It causes weariness, weight gain, joint and muscle discomfort, slower heart rate, dry skin, thinning hair, and other symptoms.

“When I found out that it was an autoimmune disease, I was definitely shocked because I’ve always been a very healthy person,” El Moussa says in an interview. “So it has not been easy to get my levels right and to feel good again.”

“Just doing the blood work, that was the hardest thing for me,” she said. “I hate giving blood, and I had to do blood work every 10 days.” But I knew I had supportive individuals around me who could help me get better.”

El Moussa was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis four months after giving birth to her 9-month-old son Tristan with husband Tarek.

“After I had Tristan, I just felt really tired, really run down, barely any energy, just hard to get up in the mornings and just exhausted throughout the day,” she said. “But I just thought it was being a new mom and being up all the time with a baby and just nonstop with a newborn.”

El Moussa claims she has been taken Synthroid as part of her treatment strategy since then. The Flipping El Moussas star has also made significant lifestyle modifications to assist.

“I cut out gluten and I cut out soy, which is not easy for a vegan,” she said. I exercise a lot, eat extremely clean, drink a lot of water, and take electrolytes, so my overall lifestyle is really healthy.”

“You need to be more careful about what I eat.” “At home, I eat a lot,” she continues. “I really try to cut it out as much as possible.”

Those improvements appear to be working now, according to El Moussa.

“I’m finally starting to feel better, and my levels appear to be doing well.” “I’m going to have blood work done next week to see where I’m at,” the reality star tells PEOPLE.

El Moussa is one of numerous celebrities who have spoken out with Hashimoto’s illness, including Gigi Hadid, Zoe Saldana, Gina Rodriguez, and Victoria Justice.