Hypothyroidism Improvement

[AllisonD128]

I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's a few years ago and have had worsening symptoms ever since. I have been gluten free only a few weeks and have been noticing a significant change in my symptoms. Less stomachaches, swallowing has improved, thyroid inflammation has visibly improved, no constipation, and fewer headaches. I am not on medication currently and my last TSH test was at 4.2 I think. I plan on getting another TSH test in May to check my levels and see if they have improved from my gluten free diet.

I'm wondering if there are any other hypothyroid patients out there who are gluten free and not on medication who have had positive results on the diet. I'm really just looking for more information about anything related to the subject and especially personal experiences of improvement of thyroid function. I am wondering if this can be cured or reversed purely through diet.

[cyberprof]

I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's a few years ago and have had worsening symptoms ever since. I have been gluten free only a few weeks and have been noticing a significant change in my symptoms. Less stomachaches, swallowing has improved, thyroid inflammation has visibly improved, no constipation, and fewer headaches. I am not on medication currently and my last TSH test was at 4.2 I think. I plan on getting another TSH test in May to check my levels and see if they have improved from my gluten free diet.

I'm wondering if there are any other hypothyroid patients out there who are gluten free and not on medication who have had positive results on the diet. I'm really just looking for more information about anything related to the subject and especially personal experiences of improvement of thyroid function. I am wondering if this can be cured or reversed purely through diet.

I have read (I think it was a PubMed article) that for SOME celiacs, being gluten-free resolved some or most of their thyroid problems. Do a google search with the terms hashimoto's and/or hypothyroid plus PubMed. Here's one study:

Open Original Shared Link

And this: Open Original Shared Link

Good luck!

~Laura

[georgie]

I was able to reduce my Thyroid meds a little. I still need them - but not such a high dose as before.

[Gemini]

I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's a few years ago and have had worsening symptoms ever since. I have been gluten free only a few weeks and have been noticing a significant change in my symptoms. Less stomachaches, swallowing has improved, thyroid inflammation has visibly improved, no constipation, and fewer headaches. I am not on medication currently and my last TSH test was at 4.2 I think. I plan on getting another TSH test in May to check my levels and see if they have improved from my gluten free diet.

I'm wondering if there are any other hypothyroid patients out there who are gluten free and not on medication who have had positive results on the diet. I'm really just looking for more information about anything related to the subject and especially personal experiences of improvement of thyroid function. I am wondering if this can be cured or reversed purely through diet.

You cannot cure an autoimmune disease by diet alone but you can manage them and often, become asymptomatic. However, I am concerned that you are not on any replacement hormone, especially with a TSH of 4.2! Why did your doctor not do this? That is out of range and damaging to your body. Just because you have noticed some improvement, does not mean the improvement is from the thyroid. Going gluten-free after a diagnosis of celiac disease will markedly improve your health but I wouldn't mess around with your thyroid.

I had one of the highest thyroid antibody levels my doctor had ever seen. Not the TSH but the antibody, which shows autoimmune reaction in the thyroid. By switching hormone brands and going gluten-free, I have dramatically reduced it but I will always have Hashimoto's.....you cannot turn off the reaction once triggered. Remember also, that replacement thyroid hormone is not medication...it's the same stuff that anyone with a normal working thyroid has in their body. You just have to replace it in pill form. It's not anything that alters the body or suppresses symptoms....it just gives you what you are naturally lacking. I am not in favor of taking meds myself and that is the only one I take, besides eyedrops. However, I don't mess around with my thyroid because it's too important.

You might want to re-visit going on replacement hormone until your levels stabilize, as they will over time.

[Janeti]

I also have hashimotos. I was diagnosed 2/07 with celiacs. By May of 2007, I was completely off my synthroid. The dr has been monitering my levels, and they have been perfect. My last test was 3 weeks ago...Not only has my TSH been in range, but all the other T's are perfectly in range too.

I was diagnosed with Hashimotos in 1999, four years later, my blood pressure was out of control. Now, a year later, I don't take any medicine, just probiotics.

Its true, you will always have the antibodies for hashimotos, but my endocrinolgist told me that taking medicine while your levels are stable is dangerous, especially for a woman. It is a hormone replacement, and can lead to cancers.

[Gemini]

I also have hashimotos. I was diagnosed 2/07 with celiacs. By May of 2007, I was completely off my synthroid. The dr has been monitering my levels, and they have been perfect. My last test was 3 weeks ago...Not only has my TSH been in range, but all the other T's are perfectly in range too.

I was diagnosed with Hashimotos in 1999, four years later, my blood pressure was out of control. Now, a year later, I don't take any medicine, just probiotics.

Its true, you will always have the antibodies for hashimotos, but my endocrinolgist told me that taking medicine while your levels are stable is dangerous, especially for a woman. It is a hormone replacement, and can lead to cancers.

That sounds a little bizarre to me. Hashimoto's is the autoimmune version of low thyroid and taking replacement hormone to stabilize your levels is extremely important. Out of all the specialists I have spoken with, not a one ever referenced taking replacement hormone to keep the thyroid stable as leading to cancer. Maybe you did not have true Hashimoto's? There are many reasons why a thyroid goes low and it is possible to correct a low thyroid that is not autoimmune in nature. But once you trip for autoimmune thyroid, it's almost impossible to "wean" off replacement hormone totally, even with a strict diet.

Not trying to be difficult but proper thyroid control is essential to good health and to make a blanket statement that it's possible to contract cancer by taking hormone replacement is going to confuse those that are new to this. The other possibility is you were not low that long so damage may have been minimal. However, once a portion of your thyroid is gone, it's gone forever, if your autoimmune system is the culprit.

I had been low thyroid for 15 years before my celiac disease was discovered and my case was severe. I consider it a miracle that my antibody levels are close to normal after being in the stratosphere. But my thyroid will never be normal again and that's OK because there is replacement hormone for that. I guess a person can remain hopeful but it's not a good thing to tell someone that they can stop taking a hormone because they go gluten-free. For the majority of people, that doesn't happen.

[Janeti]

Yes, I have true blue hashimotos, like you said its the anitbodies that name the thyroid condition. I have been taking synthroid since 1999. When my heart was racing and my hands were shaking, the dr kept lowering my dose. I have not taken synthroid in a long time. In a letter written from my endocrinologist to my MD, he stated, Synthroid given while the "TSH" in its normal state can create a new set of symptoms, akin to giving estrogen to pre menopausal females is dangerous". A miracle?? Well it just might be, but I'll take it.

My thyroid antibodies as of 3 weeks ago are:Thyroid peroxidase AB: 137 IU/ml (N,<35)

Thyroglobulin AB: 333 IU/ml (N,<20)

Hmmm, seems I still have Hashimotos, but like I said my TSH is perfect, so no medicine for now, and hopefully not for a long time to come.

[loraleena]

I am very concerned for both of you. Just because your TSH is normal does not mean your hashis is better. The TSH is very innacurate. If your antibodies are 137 you are not better. Your antibodies need to be under 20. My antibodies were 799 and my TSH is normal. Also a TSH of 4.2 is not normal it is hypo. The new reference ranges (changed a few years ago) is .3-3. You need to be on meds. I would recomend taking Armour or Cytomel as apposed to Synthroid. Please read more on hypo on dr.lowe.com and stopthethyroidmadness.com. Your doc should not be treating you based just on Tsh and his reference ranges are wrong. You need to be treating based on symptoms as well.

[Janeti]

I am very concerned for both of you. Just because your TSH is normal does not mean your hashis is better. The TSH is very innacurate. If your antibodies are 137 you are not better. Your antibodies need to be under 20. My antibodies were 799 and my TSH is normal. Also a TSH of 4.2 is not normal it is hypo. The new reference ranges (changed a few years ago) is .3-3. You need to be on meds. I would recomend taking Armour or Cytomel as apposed to Synthroid. Please read more on hypo on dr.lowe.com and stopthethyroidmadness.com. Your doc should not be treating you based just on Tsh and his reference ranges are wrong. You need to be treating based on symptoms as well.

Loraleena, I think we had written before about the Armour meds. I did ask my Dr about it and he claims that it was an out dated medicine and prefers not to use it. He has been sending me for thyroid scan, and just recently a thyroid ultrasound. Right now I have no symptoms, just some GI issues. I truly believe that if the Drs would have listened to me for the past 20 years about my symptoms, I never would have developed Hashimotos. The Dr runs a tsh panel every 3 months to keep a check on it. I also work in a hospital, and can run down to employee health at any time, and they'll run a panel also. The NP's there agree about the endo's decision as far as no synthroid for now. I don't know, my health is in their hands and I try to remind the of that.

[loraleena]

Loraleena, I think we had written before about the Armour meds. I did ask my Dr about it and he claims that it was an out dated medicine and prefers not to use it. He has been sending me for thyroid scan, and just recently a thyroid ultrasound. Right now I have no symptoms, just some GI issues. I truly believe that if the Drs would have listened to me for the past 20 years about my symptoms, I never would have developed Hashimotos. The Dr runs a tsh panel every 3 months to keep a check on it. I also work in a hospital, and can run down to employee health at any time, and they'll run a panel also. The NP's there agree about the endo's decision as far as no synthroid for now. I don't know, my health is in their hands and I try to remind the of that.

Armour is not outdated and a lot of people on this site are on it. I used it, but do better with cytomel. Synthroid only works for a small amount of people. Unfortuneately endos tend to know the least about all this. They only believe in the TSH and synthroid. I would read the other thyroid threads on here. I am not the only one saying these things. Please read the sites that I listed and learn more. Knowledge is power. dr.lowe.com has lots of info on armour and cytomel. He is my doc as well and works with my general practitioner. This is not an endorsement for him, just want you all to know about the great info. on his site.

[dionnek]

I agree - you definitely need to monitor more than just TSH - you need to check free T3 and T4 (I think that's what they are called) also. I have Hashis (developed in 2004 with my first pregnancy) and have been on various levels of Levoxyl/Synthroid since then. Went gluten free in May 2006 with celiac dx and my celiac levels are now in the normal range, but my thryoid is still changing all the time, and hency my meds are always being adjusted (I also just had another baby, so that's probably why my thyroid levels are still changing). But, I have been to 4 different endos and they all said I will be on meds for the rest of my life to replace the thyroid hormone. My mom is too.

[Janeti]

It wouldn't surprise me if I had an endo that wasn't steering me in the right direction, or any MD for that matter. If that weren't the case, I would be in better health now. So I now made an appoinment with a new endo. Of course being a new patient, I will have to wait 2 months to see her. But thanks to all who made me rethink my Hashimotos. Hopefully this endo will be more knowledgeable.

[loraleena]

It wouldn't surprise me if I had an endo that wasn't steering me in the right direction, or any MD for that matter. If that weren't the case, I would be in better health now. So I now made an appoinment with a new endo. Of course being a new patient, I will have to wait 2 months to see her. But thanks to all who made me rethink my Hashimotos. Hopefully this endo will be more knowledgeable.

Please go armed with lots of info. Again I hope you check out dr.lowe.com. He is published and respected in this field. He works with my doc to help explain what needs to be done regarding my thyroid.

[AllisonD128]

I do not tolerate Synthroid (or Levoxyl) well at all, my doctor told me for now I can stay off them...I guess it doesn't matter until it gets worse. I want to check my levels again in May to see how they have changed since being gluten free. But I will ask for Armour if no improvement has occurred. I was wondering about the damage that has already been done to my thyroid and if my thyroid could ever fix itself. Thanks everyone for the posts.

[loraleena]

Thyroid medicine is usually for life. Going off is not a good idea. I can't believe your doc wouldn't offer or look into other meds. People usually have more success with Armour or Cytomel anyway. Please talk to your doc asap.

[Lizz7711]

. The NP's there agree about the endo's decision as far as no synthroid for now. I don't know, my health is in their hands and I try to remind the of that.

No, your health is in YOUR hands. Don't ever trust doctors/NPs whatever with your own health, no one cares about your health anywhere near as much as YOU do, why should they? You need to do tons of research and be knowledgable and not too gullible or trusting of the medical world, even though you work in it. How many medical errors do you see every day at work? I'm not saying doctors are all bad or don't sometimes hit the nail on the head...but they are just too busy, have to know too much, so they can't invest the time to learn about YOU and your own body and particular issues.

I agree with what others said about taking Armour, and seeing a doctor a little more open to more holistic treatment.

And for the person with 4.2 TSH, that is hypothyroid and needs to be dealt with!

Good luck,

Liz