Ulcerative Colitis, Psoriatic Arthritis, Hashimoto's- What Do I Eat?

[healthseeker]

I need some serious advice. I have been diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis, Psoriatic Arthritis, and Hashimoto's Thyroiditis and am trying to eat in a way that will improve my quality of life. I'm a very active 24-year-old female. I've had Hashimoto's and Psoriatic Arthritis for 2 years and was recently diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis this past December.

After doing some research on my own online, I decided to try eating gluten-free to see what would happen with my arthritis in my middle finger. It was so swollen and stiff I could not bend it AT ALL. I had been prescribed and had taken Methotrexate for about two months prior to deciding to eat gluten-free and had noticed a little improvement. However, once I began eating gluten-free, my finger slowly got better and better and now feels almost completely normal. I have full use of it once again with only a slight clicking in the joint when I bend it.

In the meantime, during the month of December (before I had decided to switch to gluten-free), I was having a lot of pain, cramping, and bloating in my stomach along with diarhea. I had cramps so bad one night I was screaming so much I almost drove myself to a hospital. I ended up getting a endoscopy, colonoscopy, and CT scan done by a GI doctor. He said the endoscopy and colonoscopy looked okay but the CT scan showed an inflamed intestine. He then diagnosed me with Ulcerative Colitis and gave me a prescription for Asacol.

I took my Asacol and was told it might help with the inflammation in my finger. My finger DID improve, but I believe it was due to the gluten-free diet. I stopped taking the horrid methotrexate and had major withdrawl symptoms as my doctor did not inform me to do it SLOWLY. It caused a major flare up in my stomach for over a week.

In the past couple of months, I've remained gluten-free and have felt better than I have in a long time. I don't know if it's all associated with being gluten sensitive, but I no longer have daily headaches, stomach cramping/pain, canker sores in my mouth, or arthritis in my finger. I've also slowly reduced my Asacol and am no longer taking it at all. So far so good!

However, I have a side issue. My thyroid seems to have stopped responding to the Synthroid medication I've been on. I'm on 225mcg and my TSH is an 8.0. Not sure if it's related but I just want to list all of the facts. I'm thinking my doctor is going to switch me to a natural thyroid medicine and see how I respond to that. Natural sounds better to me anyways.

MY QUESTION IS: In addition to gluten, is there anything else you all would reccommed avoiding? I don't want my colitis to return and am nervous I'm at risk for a flare up if gluten wasn't the main cause of it all. I'm willing to eat any kind of diet as long as it means I don't have to be on so many medications!!!

[mushroom]

One suggestion would be to avoid the nightshade family (potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant).

Of the three diseases, I have only psoriatic arthritis which did not respond to gluten-free In addition to gluten free, I recently eliminated nightshades as the consensus on the forum and other places is that these aggravate inflammation. I am currently on Humira for the PsA so can't tell if lack of nightshades has made a difference or not; however, since my last flare I have been pretty much pain-free on Humira and have only swelling in my left index finger now.

I am glad that gluten free is helping you. It made such a difference to my digestive system.

[Ms Jan]

MY QUESTION IS: In addition to gluten, is there anything else you all would reccommed avoiding? I don't want my colitis to return and am nervous I'm at risk for a flare up if gluten wasn't the main cause of it all. I'm willing to eat any kind of diet as long as it means I don't have to be on so many medications!!!

You might want to consider all foods that easily clogg the system and/or build up toxins, like dairy, grain products, including rice, soy, corn etc., any kind of sugar or sugarcontaining foods, alcohol, caffeine, red meats etc. Not saying that you need to avoid all of those, only that you should observe your reactions to them and see if you might benefit from eliminating some. And then of course, eat lots of vegetables and fruits - unless you react adversely to those.

You could also go all the way and do an elimination diet, starting with a few safe foods and slowly add others to see how you react. If you have specific intolerances to certain foods, as many here do, it will show up this way.

Many of us who do not heal properly on the gluten free diet have benefitted from the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) - check out the official website of the book 'Breaking the Vicious Cycle' by Elaine Gottschall. There is a long thread on the SCD in this forum. It seems tough initially, since you have to cut out so many foods, but really it's quite simple once you get into it - it's all about gong back to basics of healthy non-processed foods and eliminating additives and anything else that might be toxic for the body.

Good luck.

[Mother of Jibril]

However, I have a side issue. My thyroid seems to have stopped responding to the Synthroid medication I've been on. I'm on 225mcg and my TSH is an 8.0. Not sure if it's related but I just want to list all of the facts. I'm thinking my doctor is going to switch me to a natural thyroid medicine and see how I respond to that. Natural sounds better to me anyways.

Just wanted to chime in about this part...

Synthroid doesn't do anything to your thyroid, it just replaces the T4 your body is supposed to be making on its own (like a type 1 diabetic using insulin). How long have you been diagnosed with hypothyroidism? Is it Hashimoto's? Sometimes it takes a while to find the right dose and/or medication. Most importantly, how do you feel? If you still have symptoms then you definitely need to change something.

I'm taking 150mcg of Synthroid and several doctors have told me that's a "moderate" dose. Some people apparently do respond better to Armour... have you seen the website www.stopthethyroidmadness.com? I'm reluctant to take it because it comes from pigs, but the good thing is that it replaces all the thyroid hormones (T4, T3, T2, T1) not just T4, so your body doesn't have to work so hard converting to T3.

[Aroostook]

I have a too have a medly of ailments, all auto-immune. First found, Hashimotos thyroiditis, next discoid lupus, Raynaud Phenonmenon, mixed connective tissue disease, sjogrens, and in January found out I have Celiacs. For over 30 years my tsh use to bounce from .03 to 96 (Yes 96, almost coma stage!) 5 different specialists told me I was not taking my medicine or was not taking it correctly. I knew I was, and planned on it since my father passed away due to complications of thyroid. When I found out I had Celiacs it was the answer to all my ailments. Days after starting the gluten-free diet I started to feel better. With the diagnosis my allergist suggested we check all my meds for hidden allergens. We found out that the synthroid I had been complaining was not helping me for the past 30 years was indeed a problem. It contains a tree gum acacia which in people with tree and grass allergies will agrivate them. I was changed to Levoxyl (same as synthroid but different inactive ingredients.) Now am holding steady numbers. Lost my chronic sinus issues too! And best of all am feeling so much better. It has been a long journey for me but I think I may spend the second half century able to live a somewhat normal life! Good luck to you, and hope you find the answers to your mystery. Never give up, keep pushing until you find the right docs that will help you. I did and it only took me 54 years!

[healthseeker]

I need some serious advice. I have been diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis, Psoriatic Arthritis, and Hashimoto's Thyroiditis and am trying to eat in a way that will improve my quality of life. I'm a very active 24-year-old female. I've had Hashimoto's and Psoriatic Arthritis for 2 years and was recently diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis this past December.

After doing some research on my own online, I decided to try eating gluten-free to see what would happen with my arthritis in my middle finger. It was so swollen and stiff I could not bend it AT ALL. I had been prescribed and had taken Methotrexate for about two months prior to deciding to eat gluten-free and had noticed a little improvement. However, once I began eating gluten-free, my finger slowly got better and better and now feels almost completely normal. I have full use of it once again with only a slight clicking in the joint when I bend it.

In the meantime, during the month of December (before I had decided to switch to gluten-free), I was having a lot of pain, cramping, and bloating in my stomach along with diarhea. I had cramps so bad one night I was screaming so much I almost drove myself to a hospital. I ended up getting a endoscopy, colonoscopy, and CT scan done by a GI doctor. He said the endoscopy and colonoscopy looked okay but the CT scan showed an inflamed intestine. He then diagnosed me with Ulcerative Colitis and gave me a prescription for Asacol.

I took my Asacol and was told it might help with the inflammation in my finger. My finger DID improve, but I believe it was due to the gluten-free diet. I stopped taking the horrid methotrexate and had major withdrawl symptoms as my doctor did not inform me to do it SLOWLY. It caused a major flare up in my stomach for over a week.

In the past couple of months, I've remained gluten-free and have felt better than I have in a long time. I don't know if it's all associated with being gluten sensitive, but I no longer have daily headaches, stomach cramping/pain, canker sores in my mouth, or arthritis in my finger. I've also slowly reduced my Asacol and am no longer taking it at all. So far so good!

However, I have a side issue. My thyroid seems to have stopped responding to the Synthroid medication I've been on. I'm on 225mcg and my TSH is an 8.0. Not sure if it's related but I just want to list all of the facts. I'm thinking my doctor is going to switch me to a natural thyroid medicine and see how I respond to that. Natural sounds better to me anyways.

MY QUESTION IS: In addition to gluten, is there anything else you all would reccommed avoiding? I don't want my colitis to return and am nervous I'm at risk for a flare up if gluten wasn't the main cause of it all. I'm willing to eat any kind of diet as long as it means I don't have to be on so many medications!!!

Wow you all are amazing! I can't believe what a fast response I got. This is a great support community! I'm on such a high today from all of the research I found online yesterday. So many people with Colitis are saying again and again that they basically feel normal after switching to gluten-free. I have such a huge weight lifted off of my shoulders knowing that I have hope for a more enjoyable life!

I think I will try some more elimination diet ideas to check for any more possible allergies. I'll be sure to update if I discover anything else.

I did find one more interesting thing regarding my thyroid: I found a doctor's blog that said that he always tests his Hashimoto's patients for gluten-intolerance as they seem to go hand in hand. He also said that patients with gluten issues sometimes have to take an abnormally high amount of thyroid medicine as their bodies are unable to absorb the medicine as well. MAKES SENSE! I'm going to bring this up with my endocrinologist next week.

Thank you all for the excellent feedback. I can't wait to share all of my findings with my family (my dad and grandma who have arthritis, and my aunt with Cystic Fibrosis). I've read that almost all auto-immune related diseases have a chance of improvement after going gluten free. We'll see!

[lonewolf]

I would suggest eliminating soy and dairy. Soy is NOT good for your thyroid and dairy often exacerbates arthritis. Avoiding nightshades can be helpful too, if you don't get relief from gluten-free, soy free and dairy free.

I used to have psoriatic arthritis - very badly. I refused the Methotrexate and Plaquinil that the doc wanted me to take and changed my diet instead, with very good results. I also used to have colitis (not ulcerative though). Today, I don't have problems with either of those things and am healthy and active. I still avoid gluten, soy and dairy.

I am also hypothyroid and take Armour - it works very well for me.

[healthseeker]

I would suggest eliminating soy and dairy. Soy is NOT good for your thyroid and dairy often exacerbates arthritis. Avoiding nightshades can be helpful too, if you don't get relief from gluten-free, soy free and dairy free.

I used to have psoriatic arthritis - very badly. I refused the Methotrexate and Plaquinil that the doc wanted me to take and changed my diet instead, with very good results. I also used to have colitis (not ulcerative though). Today, I don't have problems with either of those things and am healthy and active. I still avoid gluten, soy and dairy.

I am also hypothyroid and take Armour - it works very well for me.

Thank you so much for the comment. You have no idea how encouraging it is to hear how well you are doing with all of the same issues that I have been going through. All of my autoimmune issues were diagnosed just in the past 2 years and I felt like my life was falling apart. I thought I was too young and healthy for any of this to happen to me. I'm also a volunteer living on the mission field and it's been frustrating communicating with my doctors in the States.

I think I'm going to experiment with the foods you listed. Eliminating those things seems to be helping a lot of people. My only question with dairy is, I've heard that the Activia yogurt is supposed to be really good for digestion. But I guess it's not if it ends up being something you're sensitive to. I'm also hoping to switch to Armour. I keep hearing more and more positive stuff about that, too.

Thanks again for the advice and encouragement! Love the verse you quoted .