Would it surprise you to know that most people with thyroid disease do not even realise that they have an autoimmune disease called Hashimoto’s? Most people, if they can even get a correct diagnosis that is, have been told they have hypothyroidism, or an under-active thyroid and that if they just take this pill, a little bit of thyroid hormone, for the rest of their lives, they will be just fine.

Many patients have only had their TSH (a pituitary hormone) tested, as that is the gold standard for checking thyroid levels. This has led to many incorrect diagnoses and incorrect dosages of thyroid hormone.

It is important to rather have a comprehensive thyroid panel done and to check your level of free T3 or free T4  and TPO and TTG antibodies to see if you do in fact have Hashimotos.  If your TSH falls into the ‘normal’ level, many people suffer with symptoms, yet they might not even get a diagnosis at all. Even though it is quite common to have high antibodies and ‘normal’ TSH.

Unfortunately for so many of these people symptoms, one of which is fatigue, that inexplicable tiredness in every single cell of your body, that no amount of sleep can cure,  does not go away with the treatment of that ‘little pill’.

Other symptoms experienced with Hashi’s may be

• sluggishness,
• depression and anxiety,
• brain fog,
• constipation or other gut symptoms,
• hair loss,
• headaches,
• hormonal changes,
• infertility and miscarriage
• and one of the most common symptoms weight gain and inability to lose that weight.

There are many other symptoms, over 300 in fact, as every single cell in the body is supplied with thyroid hormone. Often these symptoms just continue to get worse. Patients are then usually handed a script for an anti depressant or an anti-anxiety medication and told to eat more and exercise less! Which unsurprisingly doesn’t help.

The truth is that most people, who have an underactive thyroid, in fact have an autoimmune condition Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, named after the Japanese doctor who discovered it.

What is Hashimoto’s:

It is an autoimmune disease, where one’s own body attacks the cells of the thyroid mistaking it for foreign invading cells. This ultimately can lead to the complete destruction of the thyroid gland. The thyroid gland controls a multitude of functions in the body as so as it begins not to function properly, there are a huge variety of symptoms. Hypothyroidism can cause over three hundred symptoms.

Despite many conventional doctors disputing the fact, there are in fact way to help stop and reverse this attack and there are ways to help alleviate those symptoms and to even reduce your thyroid antibodies low enough to even achieve remission of your disease.

I was 17 year’s old when I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s Thyroid Disease. The only reason I actually got a diagnosis, was that my father was diagnosed with it, and was told by his doctor that his children should be tested for it, as there a strong genetic connection. Amazingly enough, both my brother and I were diagnosed with the illness. I was told to take Eltroxin (synthetic T4, aka Synthroid) and told that I would have to be on it for the rest of my life, as eventually my body would destroy my own thyroid gland. My symptoms never really improved and I continually struggled with my thyroid levels not stabilising. I go into more detail about this in MY BOOK. 

After I starting following the Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) in January 2014, many of my symptoms improved, especially my gut and my neurological symptoms as I discussed in these other posts.

However I did find my thyroid symptoms and levels took much longer and far more work to improve. One of the things, that did help me hugely, was trying a different medication. I started taking Thyroid S, a Natural Desiccated Thyroid (NDT), which is a small amount of thyroid hormone extracted from a pig’s thyroid gland. That change, is something that definitely made a very big difference for me and I did find that my levels started to stabilise after beginning that. Another noticeable thing about the Eltroxin or synthetic T4, is that most of them contain fillers, such as gluten or lactose, which if you have an intolerance to, can clearly inhibit its absorption.

This small butterfly shaped gland sends out hormones to every single cell in our body, so when something go awry with it, it can have an affect almost everywhere. Did you know there is also a very strong correlation between Celiac Disease and Hashimoto’s? The two diseases are often found together. There has been a lot of research to show that even without a Celiac diagnosis, many patients have responded very well to a gluten free diet and often a gluten free and/ or dairy free diet can be enough to put their Hashimoto’s into remission (the point at which you no lover have antibodies and symptoms).

How do you Reverse Hashimoto’s?

I think that the key to helping reverse your Hashimoto’s involves many layers. It is not just one simple thing. It involves some work, some patience and often trial and error. No two people’s experiences will be the same. I do think dietary interventions are an important starting point as the gut is the vital key to the mystery that is our immune system.

It appears that a multi pronged approach appears to be the best way of handling and treating Hashimoto’s Disease. This will usually involve firstly dietary changes,  secondly supplementation, often selenium, magnesium, folate, B vitamins, and liver support can be helpful. ( Not iodine as this can fuel the autoimmune fire) and finally lifestyle modifications and stress reduction. There is a definite impact on the adrenals with thyroid disease and one of the best ways of helping the adrenals is by reducing stress as well as adrenal supplements.

I do believe we are all individuals and it best to work with a good practitioner to help you treat your thyroid optimally.

I am still working on treating my thyroid. I am not yet in remission. I take NDT daily and other supplements and am working on reducing my stress and trying to bring down my antibodies. They have come down hugely since I was first diagnosed and even for years after, when I never knew there were things I could do to reverse my autoimmune disease.

Some great Thyroid Resources that have been invaluable to me are: