Gluten Free?

helenleeeeee

I just got diagnosed hypo (about a week ago), mostly based on symptoms & tsh 4.7. Have started levothyroxine 25mcg. Seeing that a lot of you have gone gluten free. I'm considering it, what are everyone's thoughts about it?

opiechick

I am moving towards a gluten free diet in part because i seem to have an allergy to wheat. I was tested for CD and that was negative but i'm having allergic reactions to wheat products. Not all wheat products and reaction severity and symptoms vary so much it's hard to know what I will react to or not.. so the best thing I can do is eliminate it all together. I do feel I have more energy on the days I eat gluten free and my moods are improved as well.

editorgrrl

My endocrinologist said to eat whatever I want. So you don't neccessarily have to go gluten free. But it can't hurt to try it.

lindsey1979

Do you know what the origin of your hypothyroidism is?

If it's autoimmune based (like Hashi's), then it may help as many have found that their Hashi's reacts to certain foods -- and gluten seems to be a common culprit. If your hypothyroidism isn't autoimmune based, it may not be as helpful. But, you could always try it -- some find that they feel better giving up gluten because they realize that they had a low level intolerance to it, but didn't realize it until they gave it up for a while.

helenleeeeee

I don't know the origin...how do you find that out? My next appointment is in another month.

editorgrrl

Your endocrinologist would have diagnosed Hashimoto's (autoimmune thyroid disease) by testing your blood for antibodies & sending you for a neck ultrasound.

I have Hashi's, and as I said above I haven't changed what I eat at all. I just eat less than I did when I was gaining.

lindsey1979

helenleeeeee wrote: »

I don't know the origin...how do you find that out? My next appointment is in another month.

Antibody testing is not the common route for most doctors, unless they're thyroid specialists. Many docs, even some endos, will rely solely on TSH which can miss many Hashi's cases. Docs who are more well versed in thyroid (and these, in my experience, tend to be few and far between) will also test for Free T3, Free T4 and the thyroid antibodies (Tg and TPO). But, many will not and many will actually resist patients who request it -- you'll see that story from tons of people. Also, keep in mind, that it's possible to have Hashi's and not see the antibodies -- it's a much rarer manifestation as most do have antibodies, but it's not 100% definitive in itself.

Fuzzipeg

Thyroid issues can cause all manner of dietary problems. I knew I was not celiac but had problems with bread for many year. It turned out to be yeast causing the problem. There are more things in cereals than gluten. It could simply be you/we eat too much bread, pasta and pizza for our systems these days. We may all be lumped together with this hypo title as an end result but there are so many influences on all our bodies systems one has to read and read and keep reading. One site says there are some 300 symptoms for thyroid problems. We all know our body's work perfectly or did but thing we take as normal of ourselves may actually be indicators of problems. Our bodies are not composed of a series of independent systems they all interrelate, one can push other parts off balance resulting in one set of symptoms which are the same or nearly as if another part was off balance and the treatment should be different. Even the endocrinologist I consulted within the NHS did not understand this.

It has helped me greatly to know what other have tried so I can consider, adopt or reject, because of my self knowledge. This is all about what is right for you. Your experiences are not mine nor exactly the same as anyone else's. Ultimately we all want to align our stars and have perfect health some of us have the stars alignment more achievable than others. Some medics are prepared to prescribe T3 or natural thyroid preparations than others. The UK and Europe had the one size fits all synthetic T4 medication determined by the simplistic Tsh levels once the original diagnosis is given, which with the best of intentions does not give enough background information about that person.

I suggest you read the Stop the thyroid Madness site, just put this in your search engine, it will come up. This is based in the US. The national support sites are also very good. You owe it to yourself to educate yourself. You will probably need to be your own advocate this is not necessarily a walk in the park.

All the very best for your progress as you try to align your personal stars.

FabulousFifty

Stopthethyroidmadness.com is the website referred to above - You could eliminate gluten for a few days and see how you feel, That is what I did, and many symptoms I was having disappeared. That was enough for me - Eating clean and getting on the optimal dose of thyroid medication (I am on Armour) has improved my health 80%. My next step is to test my adrenals - I still have exhaustion and sleeping issues.

FoxyMoxi

As others have said, if it's Hashimotos then it might help. I have Hashimotos and totally grain free helps me. If you have symptoms like joint pain, water retention or other symptoms I say try it. Going a month gluten or preferably grain free will let you know if you need to or not.

Sandra_Curtis

A couple of comments regarding the above posts.

The cause of 95% of hypothyroidism in the US is due to Hashimoto's. The other 5% is iodine deficiency, which is hard to do on an American diet.

The recent dietary research for autoimmune disorders are not common knowledge to doctors. Even specialists. Most degrees in medicine only include one general nutrition course (this drove my mother, who was a dietitian with 6yrs of nutrition courses, absolutely mad. Specialists, like Endocrinologists, focus on the damage already done to the thyroid. Yes, drugs like Synthroid and Armour are key to regaining health. However, drugs don't deal with the cause (the autoimmune disease) or some of the worst symptoms (extreme fatigue, brain fog, cognitive impairment, digestive problems, memory issues are just a small list of symptoms).

Going gluten-free reduced my inflammation that caused all of the above symptoms. The prescriptions helped some, but eliminating 100% gluten changed my life! Many take the recommendations further, and have great success with also eliminating dairy and soy, minimizing processed foods, taking sweeteners out of the diet, and the ever popular Paleo diet.

helenleeeeee

Thank you all for your input. I've been trying it for a week now bit not doing it 100%. Going to keep it up at least for the rest of the month & see how it goes.

shadesofidaho

I have been doing Atkins since November. I think I am feeling better along with thyroid meds. Still not inflammation free yet.