underactive thyroid and change of diet

Hi Terese, please can you tell me the difference between bog standard hypothyroidism and Hashimotos? When I looked up the symptoms of Hashimotos, I have every one except goitre. Thanks.

Hi Debbie,

From what I read Hashimoto's Thyroiditis is caused by an autoimmune condition that causes your body to attack and destroy the thyroid when you put things (gluten is the main culprit from what I read) into your body that your immune system sees as a threat.  So if you stop eating the threat, your thyroid function is not under attack. 

The regular type of hypothyroidism is say you have had radiation therapy and it destroyed some of your thyroid and therefore your thyroid function is low and you have to have replacement.  I'm sure there are many other ways to have hypothyroidism, that's just the first that comes to mind.

 

Thanks Therese. I think my body is in meltdown, so many things going wrong and interconnected, its hard to make any sense of it! Take care.x

Hi terese

my conditition of my thyroid is because I had radiotherapy to my neck some 30 years ago and have low thryoid function. I give up gluten then I crave it terribly after a while, I'm currently just doing wheat free and having Spelt flour and spelt bread. I don't appear to have any body evidence other than the thryoid of being gluten intolerant.

Nice to hear others comments tho.

Sharon,

I understand completely. 

I was at a superbowl party last night and there were two other women who also brought gluten-free dishes.  One had breast cancer and the other was diagnosed with MS, both of their doctors told them to go gluten free.  My husband has UC and enteropathic arthritis and his doc recommended going gluten free, but I think for him it was just for weight loss, I wasn't at the doctor with him for the appt.

I don't know where you live, but here we have a lot of gluten-free alternatives, so I don't miss certain things so much...but I feel your pain..I do miss bread, real bread...but I feel so much better withouth it that I don't risk it. 

Hi TereseV,

Thank you for sharing your experience. I've been taking levothyroxine for about 2 years and my blood tests are now stable. I find I am still quite fatigued and I struggle to stay well, particularly if I exercise. How and why did you switch to bioidentical? Did you get this in the UK?

Also I'm really interested in what you said about taking vit d supplements - how does that help? And eating gluten free. I have an incomplete diagnosis for Hashimoto's (my GP won't do further tests to confirm but it's most likely) and he was sceptical that a gluten free diet would help. It sounds like you have found otherwise?

Many thanks,

Kat

I switched to bioidentical because I was on it years ago and did quite well, then switched doctors and he took me off of it and put me on Synthroid. My health steadily declined over the subsequent 2 years. I went to another endocrinologist and she kept me on Synthroid and I continued to decline for another three years. (I wasted SO MUCH TIME). Then I found a doc who would prescribe bioidentical, but the dose was too low. She felt I was fine, I did not.... i got better, but my TSH was still too high, 7.97. Went to YET ANOTHER doctor who was recommended by a friend and I have stayed with her because she is finally helping me. I had to do a lot of research and learn about my health problems.

I live in the US. I don't know if UK had bioidentical available. So many doctors literally REFUSE to prescribe it, but this doc I have now, she is very homeopathic and she prefers it. Like I said, I did A LOT of research!! Bioidentical was used to treat hypothyroidism before the synthetic version was created.

VIt D helps your thyroid gland function. For Hashimoto's, it is essential to keep it between 60-100. Above 40 is not enough (I am told).

Gluten is being heavily researched and it is linked to autoimmune disorders, cancer, MS, bipolar disorder. I have recently met women whose doctors have them going GF for breast cancer and MS. I quit gluten and my digestion improved, gas and bloating decreased by 90%. (My recovery started with the new doc, so if I haven't told you all of her recommendations and you want to know, send me a private message question and I'll go over everything I modified in my life)

I have also (on my own) quit all soy, artificial sugars and GMO products. Anything processed or synthetic seems to destroy my digestion and cause inflammation. Research about the link between gluten and Hashimoto's

If your doctor refuses to test you further, that concerns me.... my suggestion, find a doctor who will help you. I went through quite a few doctors in my life and most will only give you a pill and look at the blood/lab results and send you on your way, regardless of how you feel and your symptoms that are making living not pleasant. I have learned to do my own due diligence and not solely trust a doctor and do what they tell me because they have a degree. Only you know how you feel

From my research I realized that synthetic gave me lab work that shows i am fine, even though my symptoms remain. Since most doctors only treat lab work, your chances of getting healthy are not so great. Find a doctor who listens to you and cares about how you feel and wants to help you get better

I can't stress it enough...do research. I learned A LOT

Hi Terese, I am in the UK also and I can confirm that our doctors here would not even know about botanical treatments, I'd like to hear if different from anyone else in the UK. i find our doctors here not very knowledgeable about thyroid health but saying that my own doctor does listen to me and is interested in what I do for myself with vitamin supplementation etc. I am being open minded about gluten as a lot of gluten free products contain way too much bad fat and sugar so I avoid high carbs totally and am trying high protein and carbs from occasional fruit and lots of veg. I may have rice or quinoa if I fancy something like that or sweet potatoes. I think its very individual what works for all of us but it is very interesting listening to all your comments. Thanks and have a good day

Thank you for your message. I'm going to go and research the things you've mentioned. I think you're right, I need to take it in hand. I feel like doctors give me conflicting opinions and most of them say I'm fine. I still don't feel confident that I'm well. I will look into it. Thank you for sharing your experiences.

Don't be too annoyed with docs in the UK, most docs in the US are clueless, as well.

Armour thyroid replacement is "bioidentical", (it's from pigs)....not botanical (plant based), just so you know.  Don't hate me for correcting.  It's not meant in a mean-spirited way.

Bioidentical thyroid replacement (Armour for one) has been in use and prescribed or taken without prescription since 1891.  Bioidentical is what was used before scientists created synthetic (Synthroid or Levothyroxine) and continues to be used today.

Synthroid (US version of Levothyroxin) came on the market in 1955.  Synthroid manufacturers rake in approximately $400 million a year.  About 13 million people in the US are on thyroid replacement and 8 million take Synthroid. 

I find it fascinating that doctors are only willing to prescribe the synthetic (more expensive moneymaker) thyroid replacement and will not even consider the natural dessicated thyroid which gives you everything you're not producing on your own, it boggles the mind.......could it have something to do with the $400 million in revenue synthetic thyroid replacement generates a year?  And that's just one drug manufacturer here in the US, there are many more.

And now I find out that bioidentical not even available to patients in Europe...I find that is ridiculous.  One of the patients on this site said she buys the natural dessicated thyroid online from the US.  To me that's scary, trying to figure out the dosage on my own, but I guess where there is a will there's a way.

Have a good one 

thank you for your comments, its all very interesting just how much this little butterfly causes disruptions inn our bodies, i need to shift some pounds and tried the very low carb for just 3 days and I feel like I'm getting depressed and at my wits end now as I really don't know what I'm supposed to eat anymore! The only thing I know is when I eat bread I just want to eat more bread, but what carbs do I eat, oh its all getting a bit too confusinghere in the UK......have a good day everyone