Hashimotos Autoimmune and Gluten free

blackkitty73

If anyone has Hashimotos Thyroiditis and is following a gluten free diet can you tell me how well it is working for you?

ElizabethKalmbach

Ah, here's the correct post. I have hashimotos and did a gluten free diet for 45 days. It was expensive. I am not sensitive to gluten. Being as I count calories for weight loss, the gluten free diet did not have any effect on my weight loss, nor did it make me feel any better/worse, as I am not sensitive to gluten. There are a couple different antibodies they can test for in your blood for faster results than an elimination diet will produce.

blackkitty73

I’m already diagnosed as Hashimotos Thyroiditis. I have had the autoimmune condition for 20 years but it’s gone haywire this year. Could be female hormone changes causing it. I’m getting a lot of secondary issues related to my Hashimotos. Weight gain; lethargy and head fog; depression; anaemia; VIT D deficiency and high blood pressure. All the fun stuff. I’ve researched scientific journal publications (I have a Science background) as I don’t like Dr Google much. There has been more evidence building for gluten sensitivity for Hashimotos sufferers as it’s now been linked to celiacs in the last few years. So far there is anecdotal evidence there is a benefit for a gluten-free diet for Hashimotos sufferers but I was looking for anyone with first-hand experience in following a strict gluten-free diet with Hashimotos.

ElizabethKalmbach

Honestly, the anemia can TOTALLY be responsible for the depression, lethargy, and head fog. Is it iron deficiency anemia or B12 deficiency anemia? How are you treating that? I'd get the anemia symptoms eliminated and the vitamin deficiencies resolved as much as possible before undertaking an elimination diet.

Honest and for true, having had BOTH B12 deficiency anemia, and being under treatment currently for iron anemia, I can tell you that they KIND of feel like thyroid symptoms, but correcting them with appropriate supplementation made ALL THE DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD.

shaumom

I have celiac disease, not hashimoto’s. but hashimoto’s runs in my baby daddy’s family, so I know a little about it, for my kids’s sake.

So for what it is worth...

- if you have one of these autoimmune disorders: celiac disease( must be gluten free), thyroid issues (like hashimoto’s), or diabetes? Then You are at a higher risk of getting one of the others.

-They are likely to make each other worse if you have more than one, and one is untreated.

- the symptoms for one can completely mask the presence of the others for quite some time, because many of the symptoms are similar. For example, brain fog, weight gain (or loss), anemia, etc... are all symptoms for celiac disease, too. Celiac disease even has ‘silent’ celiac disease where there are no symptoms at all, for years.

-So, if you are having a sudden worsening of symptoms, it may be helpful to get tested for the other two diseases, to see if one has triggered, you know? (Ok, not really diabetes- type 1 is the one at higher risk, and you would know that early on in life, so it is more likely to BE the disease one has and develops one of the other two.).


A few other relevant facts.
- research into celiac disease testing is still kind of crap. So to get tested, you have to have an accumulated level of biomarkers of a reaction TO gluten before you test positive. Which means if you stop eating gluten, the test will give a false negative. So you should always get tested before going gluten free if it is a possibility, because some celiacs will get sicker on gluten AFTER they went gluten free, so they are unable to eat gluten for a few months in order to get tested.

- from results of random testing, about 95-97% of celiacs remain undiagnosed.

- as you have heard, there is anecdotal evidence that going gluten free has helped with symptoms for hashimoto’s and hypothyroid folks.


I know a few personally who it did help- symptoms seemed less severe, basically. BUT some it didn’t help at all. And most I know were never tested for celiac disease

So I honestly wonder if the folks that are helped by going gluten free were undiagnosed celiacs, since diagnoses rates are so low, you know?

But also, most I know who found help had 2-3 months of eating gluten free before it really kicked in, so it took a while to tell if it helped or not.


Don’t know if that helps but that’s what I got. :-)

youngmomtaz

I have finally convinced my primary to test me for antibodies... at my next regular draw, in 6 months. I have had hypo symptoms for 15+ years, finally diagnosed 3-4yrs ago, levels are stabilizing finally due to getting iron and ferritin balanced. I also get migraines and have found over the years with tons of charting that gluten can be a huge trigger. Especially if I have more than one serving in the course of 2-3 days. So 90% of the time I am gluten free. When I slip my throat actually swells(even my oblivious husband has noticed once or twice), my joints are sore, and even if I happen to be migraine free I am brain fogged and super slow with word finding and conversation. So it seems to be a factor for me.

I am getting better at avoiding, but sometimes I get lax about it. Like this past week on our way home from a family vacay. We were all starved and the closest restaurant near the interstate that the kids could agree on was a Chinese buffet. There would have been only two dishes I could consume that may have been safe so I said never mind and just ate it all. I have baked up an Arsenal of gf goodies for Christmas snacking so I can continue to heal. My knees killed so badly on a flat walk with the pup yesterday but I know I am working it out again.

ALPACA710

I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s 25 years ago (I’m 55) and 3 1/2 years ago (after 5 years of doctors investigating) I was diagnosed with Celiac. The diagnosing doctor figures I likely was celiac since childhood (based on history of celiac crisis, etc.), and I know I had an enlarged thyroid in photos in my early 20s. A gluten-free diet has definitely improved things (less swelling, no more anemia). I take Synthroid and more recently, Cytomel, which is the thing that has finally made me feel human.
However, I am still struggling with what to eat. I have seen two naturopaths. I have tried the Auto Immune Protocol which definitely works. It seems I have so many food sensitivities it’s difficult to figure out what to eat. Following the protocol is difficult. I’d like to find some AIP cooking classes/books. Essentially, Paleo is the way to go.
I’m interested to know if anyone has similar experiences/advice.