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Hypothyroidism and food choices (diet)
Has anyone with clinically diagnosed hypothyroidism tried a gluten free or wheat free diet? If so, did you notice a positive difference? Would you recommend giving it a try?
Has anyone with clinically diagnosed hypothyroidism tried limiting their consumption of goitrogens? If so, did you notice a positive difference?
Has anyone with clinically diagnosed hypothyroidism tried limiting their consumption of goitrogens? If so, did you notice a positive difference?
You wrote, "There is a vitamin A blood test. You may not have to eat a lot of orange foods since beta carotene is building up. My symptoms of vitamin A deficiency include night blindness, keratosis pilaris (also called chicken skin), scaly skin, dry eyes, possibly acne."
Thanks for sharing. I don't know if I just have acne or a mild case of rosacea.
My skin has become increasingly sensitive and problematic over time. I have a strange scalp condition. It isn't like regular dandruff that flakes off on its own. I basically have to comb it out and there is no end to the "snow." I've had a crop hair cut since 2011. My hair is thick and naturally wavy.
Thanks for sharing. I don't know if I just have acne or a mild case of rosacea.
My skin has become increasingly sensitive and problematic over time. I have a strange scalp condition. It isn't like regular dandruff that flakes off on its own. I basically have to comb it out and there is no end to the "snow." I've had a crop hair cut since 2011. My hair is thick and naturally wavy.
Thank you for your post.
The bumps I have are tiny and the redness is patchy.
Please note I am proud of being drug-free since 1993 because I was told I would have to take a prescription for the rest of my life, yet after being on the "medication" from 1989 to 1993 I was able to wean myself off and be OK without it!
The bumps I have are tiny and the redness is patchy.
Please note I am proud of being drug-free since 1993 because I was told I would have to take a prescription for the rest of my life, yet after being on the "medication" from 1989 to 1993 I was able to wean myself off and be OK without it!
There is a vitamin A blood test. You may not have to eat a lot of orange foods since beta carotene is building up. My symptoms of vitamin A deficiency include night blindness, keratosis pilaris (also called chicken skin), scaly skin, dry eyes, possibly acne.
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The bumps I get on my face are, typically, filled only with blood; hardly ever do I have, anymore, filled with pus, like a pimple. They are also more painful than a regular pimple, which, typically, goes away once you pop it.
I don't go outside, without sunscreen anymore, even when I'm wearing a hat. I also found an OTC product called Prosacea that I put on my freshly washed face, at least once/day, often several times. It does help keep the "bumps" away.
If I'd let all my negative experiences prevent me from taking medication, I'd probably be dead by now.
I don't consider being "drug free" a point for pride, unless you're recovering from drug abuse. I've never been able to see the reasoning behind a person being willing to take handfuls of vitamins/minerals, but refusing to take one tiny daily hormone pill, which really isn't a "drug"; it's a hormone that's identical to what your body would make if it could.
Good luck.
I don't go outside, without sunscreen anymore, even when I'm wearing a hat. I also found an OTC product called Prosacea that I put on my freshly washed face, at least once/day, often several times. It does help keep the "bumps" away.
If I'd let all my negative experiences prevent me from taking medication, I'd probably be dead by now.
I don't consider being "drug free" a point for pride, unless you're recovering from drug abuse. I've never been able to see the reasoning behind a person being willing to take handfuls of vitamins/minerals, but refusing to take one tiny daily hormone pill, which really isn't a "drug"; it's a hormone that's identical to what your body would make if it could.
Good luck.
Thank you for sharing.Like I mentioned to Red-Star I do eat orange vegetables, but not excessively. What about orange fruit such as oranges and clementines? Again I enjoy them, but I eat a variety of fruit and vegetables. Thanks for mentioning rosacea. After reading a bit about it is it possible that I have a mild case rather than acne on my face. I do have red bumps that is what I meant by mottled/textured. I wear a hat with a brim and I use sunscreen when necessary.
I'm very nervous of trying thryoid meds because of what happened with the ND as well as a negative experience years ago with a different drug for something else (toxicity and lasting side effects). And it is possible that a drug that I took for a few years could have contributed to the hypothyroidism. Believe me I may end up on it yet. I just need to do everything else possible to support my thryoid before I take that huge step because there's no turning back. I have prided myself on being drug-free since 1993. I mean I don't even take over the counter things for a headache, cold, or flu.
I'm very nervous of trying thryoid meds because of what happened with the ND as well as a negative experience years ago with a different drug for something else (toxicity and lasting side effects). And it is possible that a drug that I took for a few years could have contributed to the hypothyroidism. Believe me I may end up on it yet. I just need to do everything else possible to support my thryoid before I take that huge step because there's no turning back. I have prided myself on being drug-free since 1993. I mean I don't even take over the counter things for a headache, cold, or flu.
Thanks for your post.And is their a blood test for Vitamin A deficiency? What are the other common symptoms? I include fresh orange foods in my diet, but I don't think to excess (carrots, peppers, squash ...)
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I have a friend who used to juice carrots every day; she had to stop because her skin turned orange!!
If your face is reddish and mottled/textured, you might want to do some research on rosacea. I have (not officially diagnosed) rosacea and I found an ointment that really helps. I also find that slathering on sunscreen when I'm going to be outside makes a huge difference.
Rosacea often accompanies hypothyroidism.
I learned from my own situation that even longstanding and significant stress doesn't necessarily cause adrenal insufficiency, nor is it always a reason not to take thyroid hormones, since the adrenals do kick in to take up the slack when the thyroid starts failing. Continuing to decline the thyroid meds puts even more stress on your adrenals, when it's possible that taking the med might actually relieve some adrenal symptoms, because they will no longer have to work for the thyroid. Always start at low levels with thyroid hormones.
If your face is reddish and mottled/textured, you might want to do some research on rosacea. I have (not officially diagnosed) rosacea and I found an ointment that really helps. I also find that slathering on sunscreen when I'm going to be outside makes a huge difference.
Rosacea often accompanies hypothyroidism.
I learned from my own situation that even longstanding and significant stress doesn't necessarily cause adrenal insufficiency, nor is it always a reason not to take thyroid hormones, since the adrenals do kick in to take up the slack when the thyroid starts failing. Continuing to decline the thyroid meds puts even more stress on your adrenals, when it's possible that taking the med might actually relieve some adrenal symptoms, because they will no longer have to work for the thyroid. Always start at low levels with thyroid hormones.
Hypothyroidism causes vitamin A deficiency as thyroid hormone is needed to convert beta-carotene to vitamin A. I've had plenty of vitamin A deficiency symptoms! Some hypothyroid suffers can look orange if they eat large amount of orange vegetables because the excess beta carotene remains unconverted and builds up.
Thanks for your reply.
I'm sorry I wasn't suggesting that you were probing. The stress is longstanding and significant due to my past as well as present life experiences/circumstances. I believe this to be a major contributing factor to my overall health and well-being.
Camera and lighting It doesn't matter my face still looks orange when I'm photographed. My skin issues have been the worse since the medication from the naturopathic doctor in 2011 (not 2012 as noted in an earlier post). I had acne as a teen and young adult but after that it was just the occasional blemish around my period. Now my complexion is reddish and mottled/textured.
I need to find out the thyroid results and I still wish to have my ferretin tested.
I'm sorry I wasn't suggesting that you were probing. The stress is longstanding and significant due to my past as well as present life experiences/circumstances. I believe this to be a major contributing factor to my overall health and well-being.
Camera and lighting It doesn't matter my face still looks orange when I'm photographed. My skin issues have been the worse since the medication from the naturopathic doctor in 2011 (not 2012 as noted in an earlier post). I had acne as a teen and young adult but after that it was just the occasional blemish around my period. Now my complexion is reddish and mottled/textured.
I need to find out the thyroid results and I still wish to have my ferretin tested.
COMMUNITY LEADER
No one has to give any information here, that they don't feel comfortable giving; I wasn't asking why you're stressed, I was simply pointing out that I spent years under stress that I thought no one would be able to withstand, yet I did. While *I* think I had an adrenal issue, I really didn't have anything that didn't right itself; partially with adequate hormone levels.
Acne can be a symptom of hypo or in it can be an side effect of some drugs, too much sun, etc. Can't comment on the orange face in photos - that could be anything from the camera settings to the lighting; the better question would be whether it looks orange in person. Red hands could be related to dry skin, which is a hypo symptom.
I know you eat a lot of fruits, veggies and other healthy foods, so loose and hard bowels could be a result of your diet. My bowel habits are very dependent on my diet.
What I see in your posts are typical hypo symptoms. I don't really see anything that points to a major adrenal issue (including your AM cortisol) that should prevent your starting on thyroid hormone replacement at a very low dosage and moving up slowly to insure that your body adjusts to every increase, before you move on to the next, keeping in mind that when starting on a thyroid replacement hormone symptoms can worsen or new ones appear, as the body adjusts.
Acne can be a symptom of hypo or in it can be an side effect of some drugs, too much sun, etc. Can't comment on the orange face in photos - that could be anything from the camera settings to the lighting; the better question would be whether it looks orange in person. Red hands could be related to dry skin, which is a hypo symptom.
I know you eat a lot of fruits, veggies and other healthy foods, so loose and hard bowels could be a result of your diet. My bowel habits are very dependent on my diet.
What I see in your posts are typical hypo symptoms. I don't really see anything that points to a major adrenal issue (including your AM cortisol) that should prevent your starting on thyroid hormone replacement at a very low dosage and moving up slowly to insure that your body adjusts to every increase, before you move on to the next, keeping in mind that when starting on a thyroid replacement hormone symptoms can worsen or new ones appear, as the body adjusts.
I am grateful for all of the info. I don't wish to go into why I have had chronic stress on this forum (partly personal) I have some symptoms I have not mentioned before such as acne, my face looks orange in photos, red hands, strong cravings for salty and sweet foods, strange scalp condition, and I alternate between loose and hard bowel movements. The office said the doctor received the lab results today (May 6), but hadn't had a chance to review them yet. The receptionist said he'd call if I needed to come in. I told her I wish to talk with the doctor in person.
COMMUNITY LEADER
There aren't a lot of adrenal tests that can be done, other than cortisol. The problem with an AM cortisol blood test is that it only tells you what's going on right then. Cortisol should be high in the morning, preparing you for the day, then as the day goes on, it should drop, preparing you for sleep. To adequately test cortisol levels you need. The best test for cortisol testing is a 24 hr saliva test. Most doctors don't even recognize this as valid and won't order it. There are web sites from which you can order the test (pay out of pocket) and when you get the results you can take it to your doctor.
The most common issues with adrenals would be either Addison's or Cushings and it doesn't sound like you have symptoms of those.
The thing is, that when thyroid function decreases, the adrenals kick in to try to take up the slack. Unless the adrenals have been stressed beyond return, once thyroid medication is introduced, the body readjusts and the adrenals "settle".
You don't know my background and I won't bore you with the details, but I spend quite a few years both prior to and after being diagnosed hypo, on what I'd call an "adrenaline high"... I had to handle a situation that I really had no control over and I waited every day, every minute, every second, for the proverbial "other shoe to fall"... and it always did at the most inopportune times.
I was wound so tight that I knew that if my chain broke, I'd spin off into never never land... alas, my chain broke many times and I never did spin off... My point is that the adrenals are stronger than a lot of people give them credit for AND there's the fact that once on thyroid medication, the body functions are readjusted and adrenals will, often, settle back down. It's only extreme adrenal malfunction that will cause issues when taking a thyroid hormone.
No matter how rare true adrenal function may be, Synthroid has to put that warning on their medication. Just like any other med that lists "possible" side effects... might have only been one person who reported a specific side effect, but they still have to list it.
Yes, high iodine is contraindicated with Hashimoto's.... that only means that symptoms might get worse. Once you have Hashimoto's you have it for life and the result is hypothyroidism -- those symptoms are the ones that may get worse with iodine supplementation.
I think your doctor has done pretty much what you asked (other than the antibody and cortisol tests) and has offered you the Synthroid to help relieve your symptoms.
Maybe your mom's friend can consume all the iodine s/he wants because their thyroid is basically "dead" - meaning it produces nothing, so iodine isn't going to have adverse effects. IDK about that.. I know that my endo says my thyroid is "gone", meaning he can no longer even feel it... I eat whatever I want and don't pay attention to iodine content.
You can't blame labs; they run the tests that doctors order. Under your National system, if a doctor orders something in a certain way, only some tests will be run. You need to look at the doctors, but even before that, look at your health care system. Doctors are only allowed order tests depending on certain criteria. If you don't meet that criteria you won't get the tests you want. Doctors treat thyroid issues the way they were taught to treat them... we all know that's not always right, so we have to look for the doctors that think outside the box.
The most common issues with adrenals would be either Addison's or Cushings and it doesn't sound like you have symptoms of those.
The thing is, that when thyroid function decreases, the adrenals kick in to try to take up the slack. Unless the adrenals have been stressed beyond return, once thyroid medication is introduced, the body readjusts and the adrenals "settle".
You don't know my background and I won't bore you with the details, but I spend quite a few years both prior to and after being diagnosed hypo, on what I'd call an "adrenaline high"... I had to handle a situation that I really had no control over and I waited every day, every minute, every second, for the proverbial "other shoe to fall"... and it always did at the most inopportune times.
I was wound so tight that I knew that if my chain broke, I'd spin off into never never land... alas, my chain broke many times and I never did spin off... My point is that the adrenals are stronger than a lot of people give them credit for AND there's the fact that once on thyroid medication, the body functions are readjusted and adrenals will, often, settle back down. It's only extreme adrenal malfunction that will cause issues when taking a thyroid hormone.
No matter how rare true adrenal function may be, Synthroid has to put that warning on their medication. Just like any other med that lists "possible" side effects... might have only been one person who reported a specific side effect, but they still have to list it.
Yes, high iodine is contraindicated with Hashimoto's.... that only means that symptoms might get worse. Once you have Hashimoto's you have it for life and the result is hypothyroidism -- those symptoms are the ones that may get worse with iodine supplementation.
I think your doctor has done pretty much what you asked (other than the antibody and cortisol tests) and has offered you the Synthroid to help relieve your symptoms.
Maybe your mom's friend can consume all the iodine s/he wants because their thyroid is basically "dead" - meaning it produces nothing, so iodine isn't going to have adverse effects. IDK about that.. I know that my endo says my thyroid is "gone", meaning he can no longer even feel it... I eat whatever I want and don't pay attention to iodine content.
You can't blame labs; they run the tests that doctors order. Under your National system, if a doctor orders something in a certain way, only some tests will be run. You need to look at the doctors, but even before that, look at your health care system. Doctors are only allowed order tests depending on certain criteria. If you don't meet that criteria you won't get the tests you want. Doctors treat thyroid issues the way they were taught to treat them... we all know that's not always right, so we have to look for the doctors that think outside the box.
Thank you very much for your response. I agree with you about picking battles. I'm just concerned about the fact that I read the following when I requested a printout about Synthyroid, levothyroxine from the local drug store: "Precautions: Before using this medication, tell your doctor or pharmacist your medical history, especially of: decreased adrenal gland function ..." I believe my doctor (GP) has not done enough to rule out the possibility that this is part of my problem. He only did one AM cortisol test and I had walked 1/2 hour to the lab not realizing that may affect the result. What other conventional tests can be used to determine if my adrenal glands are functioning properly? I am also concerned about whether I have Hashimoto's because didn't you state that high iodine intake can make it worse? Well, in 2012 a ND flooded my system with iodine and that did worsen my hypothyroidism both in terms of symptoms and lab results. My mom has a friend who recommended Maine Coast Sea seasonings (granules) to add iodine to my diet easily and she's hypo on meds.I do not know the cause of her condition. I don't know what my iodine level is and there's no easy conventional test to determine it.It took some time to convince my doctor to include Free T4 and Free T3 with the TSH. Why is it that conventional doctors and labs seem so ill equipped to carefully diagnose and treat patients with thyroid disorders?
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It's unfortunate that the doctor didn't order all the tests you wanted. Many doctors refuse to order antibody tests, since Hashimoto's is the number 1 cause of hypothyroidism in the developed world, many just assume that if you're hypo, that's the cause. The final treatment won't change, anyway.
AM cortisol doesn't really tell you anything anyway, so I wouldn't insist on that. I've found out that we have to be very careful in picking the battles we choose to fight with our doctors.
AM cortisol doesn't really tell you anything anyway, so I wouldn't insist on that. I've found out that we have to be very careful in picking the battles we choose to fight with our doctors.
Thanks for your message!
Please note I had the bloodwork done at my local lab yesterday and found out that the the doctor only ordered the following tests when I requested a copy of the requisition for my records: TSH, Free T4, Free T3, Vitamin B12, and CBC. I'm disappointed he did not grant my request for the following tests thyroid antibodies, ferretin (iron), and am cortisol. I was really looking forward to finding out if my ferretin level has improved at all! So, now I have to try to get an appointment with him and my availability is rather limited due to the worker rehabilitation program after work until early June.
Please note I had the bloodwork done at my local lab yesterday and found out that the the doctor only ordered the following tests when I requested a copy of the requisition for my records: TSH, Free T4, Free T3, Vitamin B12, and CBC. I'm disappointed he did not grant my request for the following tests thyroid antibodies, ferretin (iron), and am cortisol. I was really looking forward to finding out if my ferretin level has improved at all! So, now I have to try to get an appointment with him and my availability is rather limited due to the worker rehabilitation program after work until early June.
Thank you for your post. I am waiting to confirm that the lab received the faxed requistion from my doctor's office (GP). The doctor is not in the office this week, but the receptionist contacted him. I hope he granted my requests for a thyroid panel, ferretin, B12, and am cortisol tests. I will post results as soon as I am able to get the bloodwork done.
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Yes, we do approach addressing it differently; however, we ultimately end up in similar situations.... it's just a matter of which thyroid replacement medication we choose to take.
You're right - sometimes doctors don't wish to test certain things, like antibodies. Since Hashimoto's is the number 1 cause of hypothyroidism in the developed world, most doctors simply "assume" that's the cause. Since treatment doesn't change, whether or not one has Hashimoto's, I'm not always sure it makes that much difference.
You're right - sometimes doctors don't wish to test certain things, like antibodies. Since Hashimoto's is the number 1 cause of hypothyroidism in the developed world, most doctors simply "assume" that's the cause. Since treatment doesn't change, whether or not one has Hashimoto's, I'm not always sure it makes that much difference.
Thanks for your post. I prep and eat quinoa and oatmeal. I don't care for the gluten free products lthat are made of rice and corn.
And we all approach addressing it differently too.
Sometimes doctors don't wish to test for things when you don't have the most common symptoms even though you have others that are relatively common.
Sometimes doctors don't wish to test for things when you don't have the most common symptoms even though you have others that are relatively common.
COMMUNITY LEADER
Truthfully, none of us is a textbook case, because we all react differently to hypothyroidism. Many of us have some common symptoms, but not others; having all the symptoms is not required to be hypo.. lol
You wrote, "It's all a matter of what is best for your body.
I agree with you. What works for one person might not work for another.
I am definitely not a textbook case. I have some common symptoms, but not others.
I agree with you. What works for one person might not work for another.
I am definitely not a textbook case. I have some common symptoms, but not others.
I wish to thank everyone so far for participating in this thread.
Please note I don't know what the cause of my hypothyroidism is. Thanks.
My doctor is away this week, but the receptionist said she'd find out if he would order bloodwork without seeing me.
Please note I don't know what the cause of my hypothyroidism is. Thanks.
My doctor is away this week, but the receptionist said she'd find out if he would order bloodwork without seeing me.
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