Keto with Hashimoto's

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Theeerica
Theeerica Posts: 45 Member
Hi, I'm Erica I've been suffering with Hashimoto's for a number of years, and am finally starting to lose weight on the keto diet. I'm hoping to connect with others who suffer from the disease, and have been successful with Keto. :)

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  • T1DCarnivoreRunner
    T1DCarnivoreRunner Posts: 11,502 Member
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    I have Hashimoto's, and also type 1 diabetes. I'm not sure I'm successful as I'm not where I want to be yet, but have made a lot more progress with low carb than with basic calorie restriction.
  • Theeerica
    Theeerica Posts: 45 Member
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    How do you feel over all, has your fatigue improved?
  • T1DCarnivoreRunner
    T1DCarnivoreRunner Posts: 11,502 Member
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    As I've lost weight and BG's have improved, so has energy.
  • Theeerica
    Theeerica Posts: 45 Member
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    That is great to hear :smile:
  • damorere
    damorere Posts: 22 Member
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    Hashimoto's (about 30 years) and polycystic ovarian syndrome here. Even with massive amounts of exercise low carb is the only way I can lose weight - 85 pounds back in2003-2004 and over 30 more recently. Most symptoms have improved, including energy, but in my experience it's an ongoing process. I have found that very low carb works best for me. Even if you don't go full keto, low carb is more effective than simple calorie restriction. I find that if I start upping my carbs things go downhill and I regain weight pretty quickly. Hang in there. At least for me low carb is a great approach with these conditions and I suspect it will be good for you as well.
  • Theeerica
    Theeerica Posts: 45 Member
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    Thank you damorere, I've been following full keto for nearly a week now, and so far so good. I had already given up sugar, processed foods, and gluten, and my levels have been normal, but I was still falling asleep mid-afternoon, and no matter how much I tried I couldn't get the scale to budge, so I decided to take it a step further and cut out all the starchy carbs I've been eating. i'm down 8lbs since joining MFP, and besides having to replenish my electrolytes the transition to Keto has been pretty smooth.
  • debodom1962
    debodom1962 Posts: 310 Member
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    I also have Hashi's and don't believe everything you read about keto being wrong for people with Hashi's. I experimented with keto last month and in addition to losing a resounding 7.4 lbs, I saw an marked improvement in my energy levels, gut performance and my skin and hair were not as dry. During that month, if I found myself flagging during the day (getting tired), I mixed 1/4 tsp of no salt (potassium) with Mio or Kool Aid drops, threw in some ice and used my Nutribullet to make a slushie out of it. Instant pick up.

    On September 1, I went off keto because I missed fruit and yogurt. Also, I had surgery on both feet on September 6, so I knew I wouldn't be able to eat "keto" because I had to rely on convenience meals to feed myself since my hubby is gone most of the day. I kept my calories to under 1300, but the higher carb diet played havoc on my gut again. Even though I didn't see any weight gain, I did see a lot of bloating. So now that I am able to cook again and get around, I restarted keto this morning. Fruit and yogurt weren't worth feeling bad and definitely rice and pasta were not my friends. So now I'll see how long it takes me to get back into ketosis and my goal is to stay keto until I see 140 (8.6) lbs to go and then probably maintain low carb from there on out.

    @Theeerica are you on levothyroxine or any thyroid meds?
  • canadjineh
    canadjineh Posts: 5,396 Member
    edited September 2017
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    Hi gals: pre-Hashi's here if you want to call it that... my FT4 & FT3 levels are in the normal range, but we all know that that means nothing. I had very high thyroid antibody levels showing that autoimmune Hashi's was soon to be in my future. I dropped it from 1108 U/ml to 328 U/ml in 1.25 yrs while still low carb (not keto) the whole time. I am on no meds but improved things with selenium (200 mcg) and L-Tyrosine 1000 mg daily. I'm continuing with this regimen and my next thyroid and blood markers panel is at the end of Oct. My PCP is on board with this as he concurs with my choice to use supplementation rather than medication for any health issues I have. Studies have shown iodine supplementation w/o selenium negatively affects Hashi's. Here's the studies on selenium and an interesting one on Anatabine supplementation:
    https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17696828 Here's a meta-study on selenium improvement if you are taking LT4 already as compared to no meds. https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5272877/
    I do know it's working for me. All but 2 of the studies done were 6 months or less. My dramatic improvements came by continuing past 1 yr. I have had no ill effects from the supplementation (it's actually supposed to improve mood as well.)
    re: Anatabine: https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24178792
  • fanbrits
    fanbrits Posts: 8 Member
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    Dry skin is not that big of a problem. I had those annoying blackhead. My blackhead remover pen got broken and I had a special event coming up. Oh well...
  • T1DCarnivoreRunner
    T1DCarnivoreRunner Posts: 11,502 Member
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    I have dry skin, but I also have ichthyosis and dry skin pre-dates Hashimoto's. In fact, dry skin has improved as I have gotten older and the worst dry skin was before I had Hashimoto's.

    When I was a child, if I didn't suffocate my feet, they would dry out to the extent of cracking open and bleeding within minutes of exposure to air. Back then, I needed shoes that were unable to breathe and would still end up with bloody feet when sleeping without shoes. Socks actually dried my feet even worse than having nothing on them at all. However, there were times when I would wrap my feet in plastic bags while sleeping, and it was tough to get them tight enough at the ankles to prevent air flow.
  • Theeerica
    Theeerica Posts: 45 Member
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    @Theeerica are you on levothyroxine or any thyroid meds?
    I'm on 75mg of synthroid, my next app is this Thur, I'm really looking forward to seeing what my levels are since starting Keto.
  • debodom1962
    debodom1962 Posts: 310 Member
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    @Theeerica I'm on a baby dose of 25 levothyroxine. It's just enough to stave off all the nasty effects I was having. Oh the joys of autoimmune disorders.
  • bluets2011
    bluets2011 Posts: 241 Member
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    I started getting better when my doctor added T3 to my levothyroxine. And even better now on T3 alone. But the weight wouldn't change. So I started keto and saw a good reduction in a short period of time. Also my energy levels were up