Originally appeared on E! Online
Heather Rae El Moussa is getting candid about her health.
The "Selling Sunset" star revealed she has been diagnosed with Hashimoto's disease, eight months after welcoming son Tristan with husband Tarek El Moussa.
"I remember saying to my assistant, ‘I feel like I'm dead,'" Heather told Today in an interview published Oct. 26. "My brain was so tired. My body was so tired. I was exhausted all the time and no amount of sleep could make it better."
The autoimmune disease occurs when antibodies are created that attack cells in the thyroid, with possible symptoms including tiredness, weight gain and muscle weakness, per Johns Hopkins University.
The reality star said she started feeling some symptoms when she was four months postpartum and dreaded having to be on camera for her Netflix show and the HGTV show "The Flipping El Moussas with Tarek."
"Filming was absolutely brutal," Heather continued, "because I could barely get out of bed."
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At first, she chalked up her feelings to being a new mother, recalling, "I was like, ‘I'm probably just foggy because of mom brain.'"
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However, when Heather's milk supply started varying daily, she decided to visit a lactation consultant and get blood work done. The 36-year-old was then told that her pregnancy triggered the autoimmune disorder.
"When she told me what I had, I was in total shock," Heather recounted, but added that since being prescribed medication, she is "feeling much better."
As it turns out, Tarek's ex-wife Christina Hall—with whom he shares daughter Taylor, 13, and son Brayden, 8—was also diagnosed with Hashimoto's in 2020.
The "Flip or Flop" alum shared that she suffered from brain fog and didn't feel well until she learned how to manage her health.
"Now I'm more in tune with my body," Hall told People at the time. "I know how to cope with stress and my Hashimoto's disease."
And Heather, too, is managing the disease and staying focused on motherhood. Back in September, she took a moment to gush over her newborn and stepchildren.
"Happy #Nationalsonsday my sweet Tristan bear," Heather wrote on Instagram beneath snaps of Tristan and Brayden. "I am so honored to be your mom. You have made me a better person. There's nothing I love more than being a mama & bonus mama. These boys have made me more fulfilled than I could have ever imagined."
