Hashimoto's Disorder

[Hashimoto]

I have just recently been diagnosed with Hashimoto's Disease, my body produces antibodies that attach thyroid hormones or anything else that resembles thyroid hormones in my body.  I've been told to go on a gluten free diet because your body produces a chemical when processing gluten that closely resembles thyroid hormones so your body will continue to make more and more antibodies.  I have had a host of stomach issues since 19, after the birth of my first child 15 years ago I started with joint pain, overall tiredness, sever anemia, low vit.D and after my 2nd child everything seemed to go haywire.  I started with sever traveling join pain, heavy periods,headaches, dizziness, cold sensitivity, dry mouth, strange tongue and most recently after a surgical procedure I developed neurological problems with lose of control of hand movement, numbness in hands, feet and tingling in lips, Just writing this down makes me feel a bit crazy and I was beginning to think I was, when you have so many Dr's tell you nothing is wrong you start to believe them.  I went to a great Chiropractor when my neurological symptoms started after surgery after a negative MRI and it was this wonderful Dr. who put everything together and ordered the write tests from food intolerance's which I have a list of and the right blood work that showed I have this disease.  If anyone has this disease I'd like to hear your story and any suggestions on managing this disease.  I hate giving up breads and all the gluten free products and most flour mixes to bake my own bread include tapioca flour, which is a sever intolerance, any suggestions with this would be wonderful.  Thanks..

[mom61508]

quite a few that have Hashis on here. Check the thyroid thread too. I have hashis although I'm pregnant with number 2 and have 0 symptoms while pregnant which I LOVE! A gluten free diet is a good idea and for some dairy free too. Have you read this book? http://www.thyroidbook.com/

 I really enjoyed but there's some on here that didn't. I'm not sure what I plan on doing for hashis once baby is born. I'm currently not gluten free but do plan on going gluten free again soon. Once you do it it's really not that hard. I rarley eat gluten now even though I'm not "gluten free".  I'm wondering myself If doing the GAPS diet would help with Hashis

[mamayogibear]

I just found out that my mom and one of her sisters has Hashimotos. Since this seems to be an genetic condition that develops later in life I am wondering if there is anything I can do now to prevent it from developing? Like is there any herbs for boosting thyroid function? Or vitamins or supplements? I take a multivitamin, d3, coq10 and probiotics, I would like to take sodium ascorbate but do not have a credit card to order any on line at the moment. Also is there a test for this condition before it occurs or are test only effective once one is exhibiting symptoms. Lastly would anyone else be urked if their mom had an inherited condition and never told you about it?

[nia82]

My older sister has it. She is on some meds I think, I have to ask her. I know she is avoiding extra iodine, which is why she doesn't take prenatals. I forget why, but apart from that, she lives a very normal life. She's pregnant with her second and has no other dietary restrictions, just gets her blood drawn frequently to check her thyroid levels.

[heatherdeg]

I have a friend who has recovered from Hashimoto's through diet change and among other health coaches that I deal with, my friend's result is not uncommon.  You might want to read some of Andrea Beaman's books.  She healed herself through diet as well.

Our household has been gluten-free for many years.  It's definitely an adjustment, but once you get used to it--it's really not that bad.  There truly IS NO great bread.  Sorry.  There's "tolerable" if you're a bread lover but that's as good as it gets.  Well, actually, we are also soy and corn-free which eliminates many options; but I haven't heard of a GF bread that's awesome that I had to rule out because of corn/soy.  ;) The Gluten Free Gourmet book series has one dedicated to bread, and although I OWN it, I haven't had time to really dig into it.  But it looks promising.  If nothing else, she can go through the different flours, their pros/cons and every replacement you could use and their pros/cons.  Great stuff.

For us, we found that we just didn't bother replacing a lot of it.  There are products we turn to when we have a hankering for pancakes or bread, but for the most, we just don't even bother replacing.  It's led to eating very differently, but in a good way.

Thankfully for you, GF stuff is PROFOUNDLY easier to find now than it was even just 6-7 years ago.  Restaurants are far more aware (although not always so aware that they know about trace cross-contamination happening).  Tamari is a good gluten-free soy sauce and Tinkyada makes the best pasta replacement that doesn't go to mush (even my MIL, fresh off the boat from Rome, will eat it) and doesn't have a "green" taste to it like some of the replacements.

Holler if you need more guidance.  It seems very overwhelming at first.  Any dietary change does.  Most of my clients are in the same boat when they come to me.  The best advice I can give you is NOT to think about all the things gluten is in, but keep a log of what you eat all week and look at what YOU EAT that you can't replace with something else and need to find a gluten-free version of.  I'm thinking that will cut some of your stress level down.

Hugs, mama!