Hashimotos Thyroiditis

dgmiller1959

Hi to you all, I'm trying to lose 100 pounds! I gained it within 2 years after the birth of my daughter and after discovering that I have Hashimoto's which more than likely was brought on by the pregnancy. I love Fitness Pal. Any suggestions from you all is greatly appreciated. I also suffer from chronic pain and osteoarthritis. Any ideas about Nightshade vegetables. Share your success stories PLeaZZZZZ. I need to hear them. Thank you.

deannalfisher

are you on a thyroid medication? synthroid/levothyroixine or similar? if your levels are medically in range, then you should have no issues with losing weight - however, getting levels squared away can often take time

dgmiller1959

Yes, I have been on the medication for over 10 years, however, I don't see any improvement with my condition. Now that I'm getting older I'm developing other problems. I've been reading about gluten and nightshade vegetables but when I ask endo doctors they do not believe diet will improve my pain. I'm doing a 90 day challenge currently to see if I can prove them wrong. No nightshades!

dgmiller1959

Oh sorry, btw, I do take Armour Thyroid. Do you have thyroid issues as well?

deannalfisher

there is no scientific evidence to support a special diet for treatment of thyroid...

when was the last time your blood levels were checked? it could be that while you might be in the normal range that it isn't the optimal level for your body (for example - normal is .5 to 3.5 - however, if my levels get to be above about 1.0 I feel like crap, so we purposefully keep mine low - last blood work it was .45)

yeah - I have no thyroid - cancer, but was dx with hashimoto's just before it was removed

jahnsmary44

You can do it! Keep your eye's on the goal! I also have arthritis... And yoga has been a wonderful way to get and stay inspired for me. I go to a studio, but there are many online sites. Just keep setting side time for yourself! And don't forget to be loving and forgiving of yourself!

Jeneba

I am so sorry you are going through this!

For better or worse, we thyroid people have to be our own advocates. You may already know about this, but there is a wonderful website called Stop the Thyroid Madness. There are also other individual writers like Stacey Robbins who is a Hashi expert. Just google her - she has a LOT of info.

I have been diagnosed with hypo and low cortisol for 4 years and I am still not "back" to myself. Until we are optimized, all kinds of crappy things can happen, including fibromyalgia and migraines. I got rid of mine by getting deep massage therapy every single week for over a year. I also did acupuncture, which was very helpful for the most acute pain. I am now free from it. YAY!

I am allergic to wheat, so I keep to a gf diet, but I honestly am not convinced that this will do all that much to alleviate symptoms. As for the so-called Forbidden Vegetables, I have read that you can eat them as long as they are cooked and I have no idea if that is true or not. As a vegetarian, I can't afford to be without broccoli, so I eat it but not to excess.

I still suffer from terrible fatigue and exercise intolerance, so losing weight is just a dream right now. I have a recumbent at home and use it for half an hour in the mornings when my cortisol levels are ALMOST "normal." I have also been doing a lot of yoga at home with the gaia yoga website. I have to admit, I am not really in the mood to go to classes - I used to be a real "pretzel" at yoga, but now that I have all kinds of flab around my once-toned abs, I am just not ready to take this out in public. Yes - I know that yoga is not a competitive sport, but forcing myself to go places where I know I will feel bad about how I look is just not life-affirming. Gaia is really extensive and it keeps me really motivated and calm.

Finally, you might want to take a look at books written by Toni Bernhard who writes about how to keep your self sane when dealing with a chronic health condition.

Hope you feel much better! Take care.

dgmiller1959

Oh gosh! I'm sorry you had to go thru that. My sister had Graves and they removed her thyroid and she had cancer. I just had my levels checked and the strange thing is that my T3 and T4 has always been normal but my TSH is extremely high. It can run as much as 600 without meds.

Fuzzipeg

so sorry to read of your situation. Hashimoto's can be triggered by pregnancy because of the pressure the body is under to support two people. the hypothyroid digestive tract transit is slowed which compromised the digestive biome required to ensure our food is refined into the most minute particles. When the tract is not in good condition larger particles of food pass through which by a process called molecule mimicry get mistaken for our own cells and our immune system eliminates these too. If possible can you have allergy and intolerance testing. This should reveal the cause of your antibodies, eliminating the primary culprits and if you can work on restoring the integrity of your digestive tract as well as establishing your vitamin levels will help a great deal. This should all happen along side the right thyroid support for you, it could be t4 but not everyone responds well to this. t3 is provided less often, this is the active form occasionally it is prescribed in combination with t4. There is also the desiccated thyroid products. The NDT product manufacturers work to two different specifications so changing between brands is done only with care. There are also other glandular supplements available outside general medicine.

There are a couple of websites I recommend. Stop the thyroid madness, Some say it is pro NDT but it has up to date information. Hypothyroidmom is another good one, she too provides good information. Hypomom and sttm have list of medics who have been referred by other satisfied thyroid patients. There are also national support sites too which keep up as well.

Finding the very best help is essential. One site records 300 possible symptoms, in no particular order they fall into principal groups which range from the muscular/skeletal, respiratory, circulatory, digestive, cellular, reproductive problem, mental health and the good old fatigue, our bodies choose their own selection

I'm working my way back from being virtually housebound by joint pain, respiratory issues, fatigue, chemical sensitivity, histamine intolerance and salitylate sensitivity the last two are very difficult bedfellows and are among least common reactions.

I wish you all the very best, thyroid problems are the worst.

dgmiller1959

Thank you everyone! This is all great information. No, I didn't know about Stop the Thyroid Madness or the Hashi experts so this is great to know. I'm sorry you are all suffering with this terrible illness as well. I am also having Hypoxia right now along with the pain. I'm sorry Fuzzipeg that you are also having respiratory issues. When I talk to my Endo doctors they tell me I should only take note of 1 website and that is www.thyroid.org and if it isn't on that site then it's not true, however, when I speak with people with Hashi or thyroid issues we all share the same symptoms. I've changed Endo doctors 3 times now and 2 of them are Duke doctors. I'm feel like I'm not getting anywhere but continuing to get worse. I'm going to stay on MyFitnessPal and monitor my diet for a while and see what happens. Thank you all for the insight, info and inspiration. I hope to talk to you all again so please stay in touch.

Jeneba

Hi again - As you learn more and more from other patient advocates, you will see that your experience with endo's is extremely common! You should be very proud of yourself for sticking up for yourself and not being satisfied with less than the best care.

Hang in there!

lauhil

I too have Hashimotos and also an enlarged thyroid diagnosed by my doctor. My doctor recommended me eating more lean protein,seafood,fruits and vegetables,and it makes my mood better. I'm sorry you are going through this. If you want to add me,please feel free to do so.

Fuzzipeg

Unfortunately doctors in general try to make out that thyroid function is incredibly simple when it is deeply complex for many. I would be suspicious of anyone who says this is the only true information. Everyone else can't be wrong, they can have a different take possibly appropriate to you, possibly not. (look for the qualifications of the persons you are reading) The best anyone can do for themselves is to read as much as they can, see where there are repetitions of information, this then is probably true, especially if you are in open access medical papers. If one can find a practitioner who looks at the body from a functional perspective, the, the body works in this way so this or that happens because, so this intervention will rectify things, rather than this one pill for all situations approach, is probably better for many. The best people to listen to are those who are similarly afflicted. I can't remember the title she goes by, there is a qualified pharmacist who had her share of thyroid problems and she writes on the subject.

I think I read dgmiller has a very high tsh. The tsh goes high when one of the endocrine glands says please make more t4 or probably t3 and that request is not met effectively. (Please double check how this works, its an off day for facts.) Doctors are supposed to assess the interactions between the glands particularly the pituitary and adrenals too often this does not happen like they do not test for antibodies which indicate Hashi or Graves.

Here in the UK doctors are positively discouraged from testing t3 the assumption is everyone will have all that is necessary to make this conversion. Unfortunately some of us have a genetic problem which reduces their effective conversion. Here people who have been on t3 supplementation are at risk of loosing their scripts. For many years it has been impossible for us to have an NHS prescription for NDT. One of the doctors I consulted over the years was adamant that diet would make no difference to my condition. One thing I am sure of is that there will never be a one size fits all answer to any of our problems but diet will make a difference to some extent for many.

The initial advice given to lauhill has some very good points to it. The seafood could be the most pertinent, fish like salmon, and cod have iodine in them, it is said by nutritional organisations, we need 150 micron of it per day, salmon also contains selenium needed for conversion, both have omega 3 which is also beneficial. Eggs also contain iodine and other essential things. Dark green veg are also places to find iodine with only 4mg per 100 g. fruit, veg and nuts are all beneficial for the overall nutritional quality of what we eat. Protein is essential for life as is fat, I forget the most beneficial ones. (Hashi day) Fat is essential for making all hormones. T3 is often referred to as the brain hormone, with good t3 levels the brain is happier. The way this is achieved can be very different from person to person.

There is a hypo and hyper group on here but I fear many members have moved on. I've been told there are very active thyroid sites on facebook, I'm not on fb.

btw, I have overcome the respiratory problems and am no longer housebound.

edit to add

Nutrition is important because being hypo reduces our digestive transit which is unhelpful for the uptake of nutrition, in more advanced situation it will restrict the digestive enzymes we are able to make.

Also looking into yeast overgrowth may help some because this links into digestive transit because the least helpful microbes dominate the more beneficial ones.

dgmiller1959

Thank you so much! Great insight. I'm still learning how to use this app on my phone. I apologize for just getting back to you. I'll add you as a friend. I appreciate your response. I agree 100%.