An estimated 20 million Americans have some form of thyroid disease. Up to 60 percent of these people are unaware of their condition. One in eight women will develop a thyroid disorder during her lifetime. Levothyroxine, a synthetic form of thyroid hormone, is the 4th highest selling drug in the U.S. 13 of the top 50 selling drugs are either directly or indirectly related to hypothyroidism. The number of people suffering from thyroid disorders continues to rise each year.
Hypothyroidism is one of the most common thyroid disorders. One recent analysis suggested up to 10% of women over 60 have clinical or subclinical hypothyroidism. It is characterized by mental slowing, depression, dementia, weight gain, constipation, dry skin, hair loss, cold intolerance, hoarse voice, irregular menstruation, infertility, muscle stiffness and pain, and a wide range of other not-so-fun symptoms.
Every cell in the body has receptors for thyroid hormone. These hormones are responsible for the most basic aspects of body function, impacting all major systems of the body.
Thyroid hormone directly acts on the brain, the G.I. tract, the cardiovascular system, bone metabolism, red blood cell metabolism, gall bladder and liver function, steroid hormone production, glucose metabolism, lipid and cholesterol metabolism, protein metabolism and body temperature regulation. For starters.
You can think of the thyroid as the central gear in a sophisticated engine. If that gear breaks, the entire engine goes down with it.
That’s why people with hypothyroidism experience everything from weight gain and depression to infertility, bone fractures and hair loss.
One of the biggest challenges facing those with hypothyroidism is that the standard of care for thyroid disorders in both conventional and alternative medicine is hopelessly inadequate.
The dream of patients with thyroid disorders and the practitioners who treat them is to find that single substance that will magically reverse the course of the disease. For doctors, this is either synthetic or bio-identical thyroid hormone. For the alternative types, this is iodine.
Unfortunately, in the vast majority of cases neither approach is effective. Patients may get relief for a short period of time, but inevitably symptoms return or the disease progresses.
So what’s the problem? Why have replacement hormones and supplemental iodine been such dismal failures?
Because hypothyroidism is caused by an autoimmune disease.
Studies show that 90% of people with hypothyroidism are producing antibodies to thyroid tissue. This causes the immune system to attack and destroy the thyroid, which over time causes a decline in thyroid hormone levels.
This autoimmune form of hypothyroidism is called Hashimoto’s disease. Hashimoto’s is the most common autoimmune disorder in the U.S., affecting between 7-8% of the population. While not all people with Hashimoto’s have hypothyroid symptoms, thyroid antibodies have been found to be a marker for future thyroid disease.
Most doctors know hypothyroidism is an autoimmune disease. But most patients don’t. The reason doctors don’t tell their patients is simple: it doesn’t affect their treatment plan.
Conventional medicine doesn’t have effective treatments for autoimmune disease. They use steroids and other medications to suppress the immune system in certain conditions with more potentially damaging effects, such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn’s disease.
But in the case of Hashimoto’s, the consequences – i.e. side effects and complications – of using immunosuppressive drugs are believed to outweigh the potential benefits. (Thanks to conventional medicine for a relative moment of sanity here.)
So the standard of care for a Hashimoto’s patient is to simply wait until the immune system has destroyed enough thyroid tissue to classify them as hypothyroid, and then give them thyroid hormone replacement. If they start to exhibit other symptoms commonly associated with their condition, like depression or insulin resistance, they’ll get additional drugs for those problems.
The obvious shortcoming of this approach is that it doesn’t address the underlying cause of the problem, which is the immune system attacking the thyroid gland. And if the underlying cause isn’t addressed, the treatment isn’t going to work very well – or for very long.
If you’re in a leaky rowboat, bailing water will only get you so far. If you want to stop the boat from sinking, you’ve got to plug the leaks.
Extending this metaphor to Hashimoto’s disease, thyroid hormones are like bailing water. They may be a necessary part of the treatment. But unless the immune dysregulation is addressed (plugging the leaks), whoever is in that boat will be fighting a losing battle to keep it from sinking.
What the vast majority of hypothyroidism patients need to understand is that they don’t have a problem with their thyroid, they have a problem with their immune system attacking the thyroid. This is crucial to understand, because when the immune system is out of control, it’s not only the thyroid that will be affected.
Hashimoto’s often manifests as a “polyendocrine autoimmune pattern”. This means that in addition to having antibodies to thyroid tissue, it’s not uncommon for Hashimoto’s patients to have antibodies to other tissues or enzymes as well. The most common are transglutaminase (Celiac disease), the cerebellum (neurological disorders), intrinsic factor (pernicious anemia), glutamic acid decarboxylase (anxiety/panic attacks and late onset type 1 diabetes).
In the next post we’ll look more closely at why Hashimoto’s can’t be treated successfully without addressing the autoimmune component, and why both the conventional and alternative approaches to treating hypothyroidism are destined to fail from the start.
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{ 127 comments… read them below or add one }
I have been looking forward to your info on hypothyroid and autoimmunity. Great post.
I am particularly interested in what you have to say on follow-up pertaining to the dessicated porcine replacement therapies (Armour and NatureThroid in the US and THYROID in Canada.)
I am also interested in having you speak about diet and hypothyroidism. SO much confusing info out there on this. I have read in various places that soy and certain vegetables in their raw form are “goitrogenic” suppressing thyroid function, such as bok choy, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, garden kress, kale, kohlrabi, mustard, mustard greens, radishes, rutabagas, soy, soy milk, soybean oil, soy lecithin, soy anything, tempeh, tofu and turnips. And mildly so, bamboo shoots, millet, peaches, peanuts, pears, pine nuts, radishes, spinach, strawberries and sweet potatoes.
Thanks Chris!
Rosemary,
I will indeed cover those topics. It may take a while to get to them, with my licensing exam coming up, but I will at some point.
I can tell you this briefly: the effects of dietary goitrogens are negligible. I don’t advise hypothyroid patients to stop eating the foods you listed for that reason.
Most goitrogens are reduced quite a lot by cooking. Eating a ton of raw goitrogenic veggies isn’t a good idea, but having some cooked is not so bad, IMHO.
I agree. See my reply to Rosemary below.
Thanks Chris!
Looking forward to more info and good luck on your exams.
This is all well and good for people who have Hashi & antibodies…But you glossed right over those of us who are plain-old, straight-out hypothyroid. No Hashi, no antibodies.
The focus of the article is Hashimoto’s and the 9 out of 10 hypothyroid patients that have it. Have you had multiple antibody tests? A single negative result isn’t sufficient. The immune system can be so depressed that antibodies aren’t being produced. Patients with hypothyroid need to be tested at least twice for antibodies to rule out Hashimoto’s.
That said, I will be covering some hypothyroid patterns such as under-conversion of T4 to T3 and decreases/increases in thyroid binding proteins that are relevant to people without Hashimoto’s.
Hello,
I have been reading your posts and I haven’t found any dealing with someone who has had their thyroid removed because of Graves and now has a problem with their levithyroxine leveled and staying leveled. The first two years my medicine seemed to stay level then it crashed as if I wasn’t taking my medicine. Then we upped the dose and I was good for about 6months. Then another crash we repeated and again it lasted for about six months then when my thyriod levels crashed so did my B12. My B12 was so low I had to get shots twice a month. This time my thyroid crashed again in 4 months (again like I wasn’t even taking my meds, my doctor asked if I was miss a lot of them. I take them like clock work because if I miss one that same day at about 2pm I am no good. I just want to sleep. Also I take my pill on an empty stomach and I don’t eat till about 2hrs later) and we increased the dose. That increase only lasted about a month. I just got the call that my tests came back low not as low as before but we took the tests faster this time then before. We are going up to 200 now. I’m so tired of this. I’m asking to go to a specialist but I don’t know if it will be approved. Your help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Well, I can’t say if my thyroid was removed for the reason you spoke of, but I did have mine remove. My doctor, Dr. Hunter, whom I’m sure has passed on, said the youngest person he had ever did surgery on for removal was 12 yrs. old. I was only 4 yrs. old. I do have the hypothyroid and because of no medical ins. and no $ I have not been able to take my medicine. I have actually lost weight, which was needed, sleep lousy, but tired a lot. I know I should be taking it but until I can afford to get them what are the long term effects (if any) of not. Otherwise, I feel fairly good. I am now 52 yrs. old.
Yes, I have been tested multiple times with no indication of antibodies.
Further. I have been on 4.5 mg LDN (low dose naltrexone) since May, 09. If you are not aware, LDN modulates the immune system and has positive effects on Hashi for the obvious reason that it is autoimmune. In my case, during this time my Armour 60 was increased to Armour 75 (compounded). In my opinion, I should move up to Armour 90 as I have almost no eyebrows, eyelashes, body hair, etc. My doctor disagrees as he thinks my numbers for TSH, T3 & T4 are perfect. So far, he’s winning.
Apparently I’m in a small and lonely group but will look forward to your article re non-Hashi hypothyroidism.
Apparently in the good old days before all these fancy Thyroid tests you mention above were developed, thyroid specialists used to prescribe Thyroid medication in accordance with the symptoms (fatigue, reflexes etc.). A lot of the facebook groups I peruse e.g. Stop the Thyroid Madness and Thyroid Association of New Zealand think that’s a good idea and it’s a shame that it’s no longer being done. I think those groups recommend your FT3 and FT4 be in the upper third of the normal range.
What a fantastic post!!
Thyroid is so complex. Adrenal issues, omega-3, omega-6, vitamin D, estrogen, etc appear to all play in as well. I look foward to your thoughts!! I agree that none of the testing for auto-antibodies nail the problem. We can have auto-antibodies to ANY of the deiodinases, lack a mineral or vitamin B for conversion T4 to T3, or thyroid receptors are can be blocked. Also, I’ve been very curious about the role of rT3. So many things are appear to put humans into ‘hibernation’ where rT3 is formed and all metabolism slows…
I have a question. I was diagnosed with Hypothyroidism in 1997 and have been on Synthroid since then. My doses started at 75mcg then escalated to 100, 125, and here in the last 6 months I have gone from a steady 200mcg to 212 mcg and just recently 250mcg. I am concerned as to why the sudden increase in my dosage. I know that the levels must require this, but why? Just wondered if you could advise. Thanks,
Sherry,
I’m sorry, I can’t answer specific questions about individual cases. Thyroid physiology is complex. I would have to do a thorough intake and evaluation to know why you are needing that kind of increase. One possibility, as I discussed in this article, is that you have Hashimoto’s and your immune system is increasingly attacking your thyroid. This would cause a worsening of your disease in spite of increased doses of thyroid hormone. I’ll be covering this in the next article.
Chris,
While I would agree that iodine is not a alone solution, it’s far from inefective. Here, in Brazil, all water have chlorine and fluor. Greenpeace have analyzed the dust on houses here and, like USA, there is too much contaminants, bromine among others. A high iodine dose have been proved to help us to excrete this endocrine disruptors.
But, it’s not a solution per si. I, for one, have been eating a lacto-paleo diet, extracted all my mercury filled amalgams, take 50mg of Lugols, 100ug of selenium, 4000 UI of vitamin D3 when I can’t get it from sun and take 4.5mg of this FANTASTIC medicine: LDN (www.lowdosenaltrexone.org).
My antibodies are getting lower and lower every time I measure it. The only time it rised was right after I extracted my amalgams. Rised for 3 months and then started again to lower.
Mario,
Iodine may be a solution for people who have hypothyroidism caused by iodine deficiency, but it will make things worse for Hashimoto’s patients. Why? Because iodine upregulates TPO, which is the enzyme that Hashimoto’s patients are producing antibodies to. This means that iodine will increase the autoimmune attack of the thyroid in these people.
Population-based studies demonstrate that as iodine intake increases, the incidence of autoimmune thyroid disease increases commensurately. This is a little known fact in the alternative medicine community.
So good to see you have written this, Chris and explained why. You’re absolutely right that so many of the alternative medicine community haven’t “gotten” this. I’ve copied your explanation and will put a link to this page on the sites I have as Facebook friends.
Chris,
Iodine will not make things worse for Hashimoto’s pacients. Dr. Abraham has debunked this myth (http://www.optimox.com/pics/Iodine/IOD-22/IOD_22.htm).
I have Hashimoto’s (diagnosed subclinical last year), take high doses of iodine and my TPO antibodies are getting lower day after day.
It’s not a myth. If you understand the physiology of autoimmune thyroiditis, it’s clear why iodine would cause problems. I will be writing an article on this soon.
The weight of evidence supports this, Mario. It’s all over the scientific literature. I’ll be providing references to these studies in the article.
Antibody levels are not indicative of the progress of the disease. For example, low antibody levels may indicate that the immune system is so compromised that it can no longer produce antibodies. Conversely, there are cases where a patient’s symptoms improve while their antibodies increase (as their immune system gets stronger).
Basic immunology also tells us that antibodies are not an indicator of tissue destruction. They simply tell the immune system which antigens or tissues to attack. They don’t do the attacking. That’s the job of the T-cells. So high antibody levels don’t necessarily mean more tissue destruction, and low antibody levels don’t necessarily mean less tissue destruction.
There are so many myths out there about autoimmune thyroid disease. These are just two of them.
Chris,
I do not agree that there is much evidence of this. Lugol was used in large doses in the past and Hashimotos were not higher prevalent than it is nowadays.
I do not have a compromised immune system. Other than Hashimoto, I never get sick. I do not even remenber the year I got my last flu.
And my T-cells are normal. They rised right after I extracted my amalgams, but now are lower than they were when I was diagnosed with subclinical Hashimoto and started with Lugol.
And, also, I don’t have any Hashi symptoms.
Regardless of whether you agree or not, there is a large amount of evidence supporting the connection between increasing iodine intake and autoimmune thyroid disease. I will present it in a future article.
We cannot draw conclusions based on the experience of one person. Human physiology is far too complex for that.
Hi Chris! I love reading your blog. I am hoping that in this series you will also address Graves’ Disease. Good luck on your exam.
Some of what I write will be relevant to GD, because it is also an autoimmune thyroid condition. But I’m not planning to address it specifically. Just not enough hours in the day. Check out Elaine Moore’s book and website on Graves.
Can’t wait until the next post. What is going to be the answer? Maybe thyroid hormone replacement agents such as levothyroxine or desicated thyroid extract? No, surely not. Does it have something to do with soy or grains? Give us the answer soon. VBR Hans
Thanks, Chris!
As someone with Hashi’s and excess reverse T3, I’m looking forward to your next article. Good luck with your exams!
Interesting article. There is so much about the body that we do not fully understand. However, I do know, that iodine HAS and DOES continue to help people who are hypothyroid, and even hyperthyroid. I do not believe it is THE only and final answer. I believe that one form of supplement containing iodine is not one-size-fits-all. For instance, my body does best with a liquid Dulse supplement, and others with Kelp, and others benefit from Black Walnut, or something like Atomidine or Lugol’s solution. My thyroid was hyperactive, and taking liquid iodine along with magnesium brought it back to normal. I know a woman who cured her hypothyroid, that she had for more than decade, with iodine. One cannot simply say “Iodine makes autoimmune thyroid patients worse” because maybe for a few, it would cure them. Probably for some people with thyroid issues, iodine will not help them at all, but removing whatever is in their environment that could be toxic to their thyroid will. Every person is different. Of course, treating the thyroid must involve treating the whole body and lifestyle because everything in the body is connected. I also believe strongly in the Blood Type Diet now, although I was a skeptic of that at first. Type O blood type are more disposed to having autoimmune thyroid disorders and for being hypothyroid. Things are NOT ONE-SIZE-FITS-ALL.
Iodine will help patients with iodine deficiency, but will generally harm those with autoimmune thyroid disease (AITD). I will explain this in further detail in future articles.
I can’t agree with you on the blood type diet. There’s absolutely no research to support it, and the explanation he offers is based on completely inaccurate information. The most glaring example is that d’Adamo claims type O was the first human blood type, but phylogenetic networks of human and non-human ABO alleles show that the A gene was the first to evolve. You can read more criticism of the blood-type diet all over the Internet.
Yes, yes there a lot of d’Adamo haters. I did not believe in it AT ALL at first. However have you actually read his book? Such as “Eat Right For Your Type Complete Blood Type Enclyopedia” ? Have you tried the blood type diet yourself? Do I believe that the blood type diet is the right thing for everyone on the planet? No. But I do believe it would help most people. It is not true that there is ”absolutely no research to support it.” You can read more about how the blood type diet has helped people all over the Internet.
I have read the books and tried it myself. It was one of the first “special diets” I tried. The fact that it has helped some people doesn’t mean anything on its own. If they’re switching to his diet from the SAD, for example, we can’t know whether it was his blood-type diet that helped or whether it was simply eliminating junk foods.
Please show me the research that supports it. There is only research that supports his classification of foods into different categories, but nothing that supports the idea that people with different blood types actually require a different diet.
From an evolutionary perspective, it makes far more sense that humans evolved to eat a particular diet. This diet is the one humans ate for hundreds of thousands of years prior to the advent of agriculture and modern food processing.
How long did you try eating for your blood type? Have you really read the specific book I mentioned?
I am not Peter D’Adamo. I do not pretend to know everything there is about this diet and how or why it works, nor do I agree with absolutely everything he says. But I believe there IS something to his theories. I myself was astounded by the research in this book. The parallels between blood type, food and disease were impossible for me to ignore.
http://www.dadamo.com/science_critic.htm
Thank you very much for your responses and for this wonderful blog.
I was diagnosed with an underperforming thyroid when I was 12 and was never treated. I have now a thyroid that is the size of a 7 year old child. I complained about digestive issues, weak immune system and depression and lethargy. I am taking levothyroxine and have never felt better. Now if this shortens my life so be it but I fell alive .
I would like to add that I had a grandmother that suffered from hypothyroidism, she had a goiter, she was menopaused before the age of 40 and lived unmedicated a couple month short of 100 years old. She didn’t suffer from dementia and was physically able. I don’t care to live as long and she actually didn’t either.
So I deducted from that that hypothyroidism doesn’t kill you but makes your life miserable.
I am skeptical about the thyroxine but I know it made a difference for me.
No reason to be skeptical about thyroxine. It can be an essential part of successfully treating hypothyroidism. However, if the underlying immune imbalance isn’t addressed, thyroxine won’t be enough for most people. Or it will be for a short time, but it will stop working and the dose will need to be raised. See the other comments for examples of what I mean.
I’m 80 years old. Unfortunately, I’ve had hypothyroidism since early twenties, so I’ve taken the artificial hormone, Synthroid, for so long that it’s the only thing I can count on. I can’t fight the disease by better health alone, which is where the author of this series is going to take it. But, it is a good thing to know for young people, so they don’t ruin their health with an autoimmune disease. This is especially true if it runs in families, such as mine. It can take different forms.
My great grandmother was hyperthyroid with a large goiter. I wish I had her energy without the other hyperthyroid symptoms.
I wish I had read through the other comments here because blood type was discussed. I’m type B, so no correlation there.
I would also like to know how Acetyl L-Carnitine effects the thyroid hormones, if you know, Chris. I read something about it. I was taking that and started feeling fatigued, so stopped, and not fatigued now. I was using it to improve my aging mental abilities.
If I remember correctly, for the blood type diet, types O, A, and B (which is almost everybody), wheat should be cut out of the diet. If a lot of people cut out wheat, it would not surprise me if a lot of them felt better. Most people do better without wheat, regardless of blood type.
As a type A blood type, I am supposed to avoid meat and tomatoes because my supposed ‘weak stomach’ can’t handle them, but in reality, I feel weak and suffer from anemia if I don’t eat lots of meat. In fact, I can eat tons of meat with zero digestion probs. I can also eat hoards of tomatoes all at once with zero ill effects. The only thing I can’t digest is corn, although it does not make me sick, just simply does not digest at all (comes out in the EXACT same form as came in which is kinda creepy!) The blood type diet totally does not apply to me. Ironically, my physiology works well with what they say type Os should eat. I would not be surprised if many of the type Os who ate the type O diet did well on the diet by avoiding all those grains. But I suspect that other blood types would also do much better if they ate like a type O.
That’s exactly my experience with the blood type diet (both personally and with my patients). It works for Type O’s, but not for the other types. That makes sense, because the Type O plan is closest to our evolutionary diet.
This is great, now hurry up with the follow-up articles, ‘k? ;-) No, really, I am dying to hear what you have to say. I recently went off synthroid b/c I didn’t want to be on meds. My TSH went back up but T3 and T4 held steady (I hope i have the right hormone terms there) and my doc said it means my body is fighting hard. I have been having trouble losing weight, even though I’m exercising regularly and writing down everything I eat and trying to stay away from carbs and sugar. It’s very frustrating. I have energy though, so I hate to go back on the meds. I hope you will have a better solution for me.
Given the discussion in the comments on the efficacy of the blood type diet, I thought this recent commentary by Prof Loren Cordain.
The History And Characterization Of Blood Type Diets
Blood type diets were first popularized by Peter D’Adamo, a naturopathic physician, in his best selling 1996 book, Eat Right 4 Your Type1. The inspiration for Dr. D’Adamo’s book came from subjective clinical impressions of his father, James D’Adamo; also a naturopathic physician who first proposed this concept in his book, One Man’s Food is Someone Else’s Poison 16 years earlier in 19802. As a member of Bastyr College’s first graduating class of naturopathic physicians in 1982, Peter became interested in attempting to validate his father’s subjective and personal observations from reviews of the scientific and medical literature – thus the fundamental reason for Peter writing his hugely successful diet book.
The underlying premise for Peter’s dietary ideas is that ABO blood type is the most important issue in determining healthful diets. He advocates separate diets for people with one of the four most common blood types (A, B, O or AB), and has further subdivided his dietary recommendations into three arbitrary ancestral categories: “African, Caucasian and Asian.” Hence 12 subgroups (4 blood types x 3 ancestral categories) exist – each with differing dietary recommendations. Each blood type diet includes 16 food groups which are divided into three categories: 1) highly beneficial, 2) neutral and 3) avoid. For each of the 12 subgroups differing recommendations exist for the three food categories. If these nutritional recommendations sound somewhat complex to you, I had to re-read them about a dozen times to get the drift myself. Although I don’t want to get ahead of the game, for the observant reader, you may be curious to know how Dr. D’Adamo dreamed up this complex dietary system and if a long trail of experimental human clinical trials exist to support Peter’s recommendations? I, too, had to ask myself these same questions.
Before we get into the science or lack thereof of the blood type diet, I’ve got to flesh out a few more of the underlying concepts. Dr. D’Adamo believes that blood group O (“O for Old”) was the earliest human blood type and that all humans at one time maintained this blood group before the subsequent evolutionary appearance of blood types A, B and AB (reference 1, pp. 6-13). Accordingly, Peter believes that people with the O blood type had ancestors who were skillful hunters and whose diets were high in meat and animal proteins. For modern people with the O blood type he advocates a high meat, low carbohydrate “hunter” diet, with virtually no wheat, few grains or legumes and limited dairy products. Do these dietary recommendations ring a bell for you, or sound vaguely familiar? Keep this thought in mind, as it may well explain the lasting popularity of Peter’s first book.
Peter now goes on to explain to us that blood group A (“A is for Agrarian”) “appeared somewhere in Asia or the Middle East between 25,000 and 15,000 B.C.” . . . and “allowed them to better tolerate and absorb cultivated grains and other agricultural products” (reference 1, p. 8). For type A’s, Dr. D’Adamo recommends a mainly vegetarian diet – the diet that he personally follows. However, more importantly he recommends that blood type A’s also avoid wheat and dairy (do these recommendations also sound familiar?) and replace meats with some “highly beneficial” fish and seafood – Hmm, lots of fresh fruits and veggies for type A’s, little wheat or dairy and fish instead of meat? Keep these recommendations in mind.
Peter next tells us that blood type B, “developed sometime between 10,000 and 15,000 B.C. in the area of the Himalayan highlands – now part of present-day Pakistan and India (reference 1, p. 10). Peter suggests that type B’s have evolved the most varied diet and can include both meats and dairy in their daily menu, but again should avoid wheat. Before we move on to the final blood type (AB) it should be noted that Dr. D’Adamo generally eschews highly processed foods (chips, pastries, candy, ice cream, snack food, fast food, etc.) for all blood groups – once again, does this not sound like another familiar dietary suggestion?
From Peter’s diagram on page 6 of his book, he indicates that blood type AB appeared first in humans sometime between 500 B.C. and 900 A.D. He characterizes “AB is for Modern” and states “Until ten or twelve centuries ago, there was no Type AB blood.” (reference 1, p. 13). Peter indicates that AB’s are a conglomeration of type A and type B blood types, and consequently their diets should reflect a mixture of the recommendations he makes for these blood groups. AB’s are therefore advised to eat meats, seafood and dairy, and to once again avoid wheat.
The Reality And The Science Of Blood Type Diets
The reality of Dr. D’Adamo’s book, Eat Right 4 Your Type, is that it has overwhelmingly become one of the sustained, best selling diet books of the past two decades, and continues to sell well on Amazon and other retail outlets – 14 years after its initial release in 1996. Unfortunately, as I will shortly demonstrate, Dr. D’Adamo’s explanations for the health-promoting effects of his diet have little or nothing to do with ABO blood groups. His claims about the origins of human blood types and the dietary selective pressures which elicited the four common blood types are completely incorrect and have no basis in the current scientific literature. By critically examining the faulty concepts and evidence underlying this book, it becomes almost comical how Peter’s series of errors, incorrect assumptions and conclusions actually ended up with dietary recommendations that may have therapeutic value for about 60% or more of the world’s population. The paradoxical nature of this book (bad science, pretty good dietary recommendations) helps to explain its lasting commercial success.
Actual Origins of Human Blood Types
Peter’s suggestion that O is the original human blood type is incorrect. Studies in humans, chimpanzees and bonobos (a specific type of chimpanzee) show that alleles (different versions of genes) coding for the A blood type was actually the most ancient version of the ABO blood group, and was shared prior to the evolutionary split between chimpanzees and hominids five to six million years ago3-5. Hence, Peter’s suggestion that blood type A appeared 15,000 to 25,000 years B.C. in response to dietary changes brought about by the new foods (i.e. grains) of the agricultural revolution is not only incorrect, but off base by about five million years. Now, let’s play a little game of logic and apply the correct data to Peter’s reasoning that “the original ancestral human blood type should be eating a high protein meat based diet.” Since type A is the actual ancestral human blood type (rather than O), if we use Peter’s logic then he – himself a type A – should not be following a vegetarian diet, but rather a high protein meat based diet. These kinds of games of logic – although fun to play – more importantly underscore the fundamental and incorrect assumptions upon which Peter’s book is based.
The next blood type that appeared in the human lineage was B – which split from A – about 3.5 million years ago3-5, not the recent 10,000 to 15,000 years B.C. origin that Peter has proposed. The O blood type split from A about 2.5 million years ago3-5 and consequently does not represent the oldest blood type as claimed by Peter. The only fact that Peter correctly deduced about the origin of human blood types was that AB was the youngest, but once again he completely missed the correct date, as it was actually about 260,000 years ago3 – not the mere 1,500 years ago that he has proposed.
So Peter has got all of his blood group origins messed up, his dates wrong, and the evolutionary splits incorrect. Why does this matter and how does it affect his dietary theories? To begin with, even if we were to believe in Peter’s underlying assumptions that diets should be prescribed upon blood types, he would have to completely revamp his original recommendations. Type A’s should be eating a high protein, meat-based diet rather than the vegetarian fare he suggests. But what about type O’s? With the correct evolutionary information, should they now be eating a vegetarian menu? And what about type B’s and type AB’s – what should they now be eating? Most telling of the logical failings of Peter’s blood type diet is the observation that all four of the major blood types had evolved almost 250,000 years before the coming of the Agricultural Revolution 10,000 years ago. Yet Peter would have us convinced that three of the four major blood groups only came into existence slightly before or after the Agricultural Revolution, and as a direct result from dietary selective pressures wrought by Neolithic food introductions.
So, why has Peter’s book become one of the best selling diet books in the past two decades? Because it works – but only for about 44-62% of the people who adopt it. Remember that for blood type O, Peter advocates a high meat, low carbohydrate “hunter” diet; with virtually no wheat, few grains or legumes and limited dairy products. If we look at the frequencies of the four major blood types for the entire world population, blood type O is by far the most frequently occurring version. It is found in 62% of all the world’s people, followed by A (21%), B (16%) and AB (1-3%)6. In the United States, the four blood type frequencies are O (44%), A (42%), B (10%) and AB (4%)7. So you can see that Peter has essentially advocated a diet similar to the Paleo Diet for between 44 and 62% of his readers. Quite simply, Peter’s diet works for about 44 to 62% of the people who adopt it – not because of their blood type, but because it emulates the same diet that natural selection has designed for us all.
References:
1.D’Adamo, P. with Whitney, C. Eat Right 4 your Type: The Individualized Diet Solution to Staying Healthy, Living Longer & Achieving Your Ideal Weight. Putnam’s Sons, New York, 1996.
2.D’Adamo, J. One man’s food–is someone else’s poison. R. Marek Publisher, 1980.
3.Calafell F, Roubinet F, Ramírez-Soriano A, Saitou N, Bertranpetit J, Blancher A. Evolutionary dynamics of the human ABO gene. Hum Genet. 2008 Sep;124(2):123-35.
4.Saitou N, Yamamoto F. Evolution of primate ABO blood group genes and their homologous genes. Mol Biol Evol. 1997 Apr;14(4):399-411.
5.Lalueza-Fox C, Gigli E, de la Rasilla M, Fortea J, Rosas A, Bertranpetit J, Krause J. Genetic characterization of the ABO blood group in Neandertals. BMC Evol Biol. 2008 Dec 24;8:342.
6.Mourant AE, Kopec AC, Domaniewska-Sobczak K. The Distribution of the Human Blood Groups and other Polymorphisms. Oxford University Press, London, 1976, p. 6.
7.Stanford School of Medicine, Blood Center.
It is true that the endocrine system is a very complex and if I may say, from my frame for reference, very interesting. I also find it astounding (and maybe inaccurate) to say 9 out of 10 people with hypothyroid have the autoimmune Hashimoto’s. This just can’t be!! But then again, autoimmune dis-ease is so rampant in our society.
I am an herbalist and cannot disregard that fact the most of these sufferers are women and women have myriad Throat Chakra issues….this should not be excluded. The emotional variable to any dis-ease should never be left out of the conversation. With that said, there is also the fact that women are most likely to wear make-up and spray perfumes all over there body, and where else…the neck!! All these chemicals (endocrine disruptors) in the system are directly correlated to disfunction. In addition, one cannot ignore the role adrenals play in this situation, with Syndrome X, insulin resistance etc (I know this is another topic altogether). Diet plays such a huge role, Hashimoto’s or not. With no antibodies, one MUST look at diet and emotional issues. And in reading a couple of these posts, it would seem these imbalances are past onto the next generation, which tells me there is not only some learned behavior there, but endocrine system issues from the start. And finally, it’s not only the chemicals we put in and on our bodies that contribute to this, but the deplorable condition of the digestive system and the key role this plays in all our immune functions. I cannot emphasis enough that most every body is deficient in prebiotics AND probiotics and supplementation is crucial. Lastly, mineral deficiencies. Magnesium, potassium….etc etc. The SAD diet provides little if any minerals and even if someone eats well (which is relative) assimilation is inefficient due to the digestive flora issues, coated small intestine, and liver/kidney stress do to toxin load.
This is a great article thank you. I am hypothyroid and have Rheumatoid Arthritis. I take LDN (low dose naltrexone) to help with my RA autoimmune disease and am so glad to hear others say it helps with Hashi’s. Chris I look forward to your future articles on thyroid disease.
Karen,
I don’t know whether this is your case or not – but I would like to tell you what helped me. My father had hypothyroidism – and was diagnosed with RA. He was put on steroids and they didn’t help at all. I too am hypothyroid – and about ten years ago my joints started to swell and ache. I could barely stand up straight. I was trying to lose weight and tried the Atkins diet – what surprised me was that the pain in my joints (hips, back, legs, hands…) hurt less. Long story short I finally figured out that I am intolerent to all grains – wheat, rice, corn etc. When I omit them the inflammation in my joints disappears completely. I am pain free. Occasionally, I cheat – and it takes about 3 days and the symptoms return in full force – and it takes about 3 days after stopping for the symptoms to disappear. I am firmly convinced I would be diagnosed with RA if I didn’t know… (Warning – when trying to quit – the cravings – especially to bread – are wicked). Hope this helps…
“Studies show that 90% of people with hypothyroidism are producing antibodies to thyroid tissue.”
So that is why in my clinic I treat all thryoid and thyroid like patients with sophisticaltd techniqui of Immunology from the Ling Shu, revealed by Dr Nguyen Van Nghi. (search <satas.be>)
Just received diagnosis of thyroid auto-immune disease. Longterm stress? Adrenals can no longer react properly? Throat chakra-energy centre-Yes Sara! I am not so into chakra thing but the basic background, premises I find to be good starting points: at some point, some time the person who is dis-eased has had to keep their mouth shut, their spirit shut down.
The doctor started me on 25 mcg of thyroid. Been taking it for one month. I have found that even that little bit helped me get my energy back and stop thinking that I was losing my mind. But I know this is only a bandage. I have got to work with the stress. Diet. Coffee still tastes good but it doesn’t feel good. Habit makes me want to drink it. So now I just am going to leave it out. Even now I notice that liquorice is a no-no. Going to try it again this weekend to double check reaction.
Everyone is so different but I think one thing we are all the same on and that is a requirement, a need to have some sort of spiritual life…whatever it is. Diet: elimination diet? I don’t think I am going to get much help from the doctors except for thyroid medicine checks so I go to diet. Leave different foods out of diet for a couple of weeks and reintroduce to see what happens. Any one with experience? advice?
Anybody have any experience with acupuncture?
I am glad to find this site. I want to understand better what is going on inside this body that feels like it was falling apart at the seams.
I’ll be addressing nutritional strategies for regulating the immune system and reducing inflammation in a future post.
I had my thyroid removed in 1968 because of thyroid cancer. for years they had me on armor thyroid, 4 mgs, or something. about twenty five years ago they changed me to synthroid. I have never felt great since the change, the doc’s do not seem to want to change me back to armor, they say synthroid is just as good or better. any thoughts about this.
The statement “synthroid is as good or better” than Armour reveals a shallow understanding of thyroid physiology and metabolism. For someone who has problems converting T4 to T3, Synthroid is a terrible choice because it only contains T4. For someone without any conversion problems, Armour may cause hyperthyroid symptoms because it has pre-formed T3. There is no single drug that’s right for everyone.
There are several considerations when choosing a thyroid medication. I will cover these in detail in a future post. Please stay tuned.
Many years ago, I was diagnosed as hypothroid and prescribed Synthroid. I seemed to have an opposite reaction to the expected one. I gained weight, my hair started to fall out etc. I found a doctor who prescribed something called “thytrophin” .That seemed to work better, so I’ve been taking both for many years. (One to satisfy the doctors and one to feel better.)
I also had a growth in my thyroid gland and 1/2 of it was removed. The growth was benign and at that point the doctor said that i had Hashimoto’s disease. Now, reading your article I’m wondering how to find out more.
Are there treatments for autoimmune disease? Are there studies that might clarify some of these things?
Stay tuned. I’ll be addressing your questions in the coming articles. Have you read the second one in the series yet?
Mario,
I read the full-text of the China follow-up study Dr. Abraham linked to. Their conclusion is that excess iodine doesn’t increase the incidence of Graves’ disease. They didn’t say anything about whether rates of Hashimoto’s increased.
In any event, there are several other population-based studies that demonstrate this effect, as I’ll share in my next article.
Chris,
I know that most recent population-based studies demonstrate that iodinization increased Hashimoto incidence, including here, in Brazil. That’s a fact. But the level of iodine in these populations are very low, compared to what it used to be, and not very long ago. And Hashimoto incidence is higher than it was when iodine level in those populations was higher.
If iodine was that problematic, Japan would have a much higher incidence of Hashimoto and much worse outcome than they have. Japanese have had allways a very high level of iodine, because of high consumption of algaes, as probably many populations that consumed a diet high in sea food.
The fact is that bromine, fluorine and chlorine compete with iodine. And we ALL are full of this halides these days. The fact that a little iodine increase in some populations is increasing Hashimoto incidence probably is reflecting this fact with iodine displacing these halides and increasing autoimmune flare.
Other possibility is that those populations are low in selenium. As you probably know, there are studies that show that populations low in both selenium and iodine, that supplement either one show a high incidence of hypothyroidism.
Another possibility is that these populations are low in salt. Salt along with iodine is know to increase halide excretion. But, nowadays many people are restricting salt.
Anyway, what I really know is that Dr. Abraham has been researching this for a long time, Dr. Brownstein has sucessfully treated more than 4.000 people (including him and his father), there are many sucessfully anecdotal testemonies on iodine yahoo group and all these facts made me try iodine, with great success.
One last thing, if you know a better way of get rid of halides wihout iodine and without moving to live outside of modern civilization, please let me know!
Fascinating! I am hoping you can help with a question I have that I can’t seem to find an answer too. It seems easy enough for someone with thyroid knowledge though. I am pretty sure I haven’t had an enlarged goiter, and I have high TSH, with low T4 and T3. All of the writings I have read on Hashimoto’s say goiter and low T4, with no mention of T3, nor stating that you can have Hashimoto’s without an enlarged goiter. Would Hashimoto’s be something I may have (I know you aren’t a physician, but I am just curious if an enlarged goiter and only T4 issues are a must for this autoimmune disorder), or is there another type of thyroid disorder that I may be overlooking.
It just seems like I will have a better chance to naturally treat this issue and get off of medication if I know the cause. I am otherwise of good health and fitness aside from allergies. Thanks!
I’ve had hypothyroidism for fifty five years, treated with Synthroid. I’ve never been diagnosed with Hashimotos. I don’t think I’ve ever been tested for antibodies. My lab results over the past three years have been 0.01 TSH, free T4 1.39, free T3 2.1. The T4 and T3 have varied a little, but normal. So my endocrinologist is letting me stay on the Synthroid 137 mcg, until I show signs of hyperthyroidism. I went through four doctors trying to find one that wouldn’t lower my Synthroid dosage. I can’t tolerate a lower dosage, I tried about four years ago. Unfortunately, I haven’t found a doctor in this area who will try natural thyroid.
One doctor told me I’ve been on synthetic hormones for so long, that I no longer produce any thyroid hormones at all. About six years ago, I was on 150 mcg, and I felt best on that dosage. Before that, my dosage at one time was as high as 250 mcg. I guess the synthetic dampened down my ability to produce my own hormones. I wish I understood my own situation better.
One thing about natural thyroid, according to the doctors, is that the dose is unreliable. Then an odd thing happened. The local pharmacy used to give me enough synthroid for three months, but then they discovered that it was degrading on the shelf. That is, the old stuff wasn’t as powerful as the new. All of which leads me to think that the synthroid dose is also unreliable. I really like that thrytrophin. It comes from a company called Standard Process. My dentist gets it for me,
The idea that bio-identical thyroid products like Armour have unreliable doses is a myth. Armour has a standardized dose of 4.22:1 T4:T3. It has been tested and confirmed over and over again.
In fact, as you may be aware, Synthroid was pulled from the market because of unreliable doses and was only re-approved in 2004 I believe.
I would be curious to know if autoimmune thyroid issues could be a secondary result of other autoimmune conditions. I have had severe rheumatoid arthritis since I was 16 (28 years) and in the last couple of years have had rapid weight gain, extreme menstrual irregularities, and hair loss. According to my doctors, my thyroid is normal. Yet, nothing else seems to account for all of these symptoms.
I get the brush off when I try to press for more in-depth diagnosis. The GYN blames my medication, the rheumatologist blames my diet (low-carb and < 1000 calories per day), the thyroid specialist found a nodule on the thyroid, but says everything else is normal and since the node has shrunk over the past year, everything is fine.
Why is it so hard to get anyone to pay attention? I’m hardly a hypochondriac. Having a chronic condition has left me very in tune with my body, so I know when things are minor and can be ignored and also when they’re just not right. It seems like the doctors’ eyes start to glaze over the minute I mention hair loss and weight gain. So frustrating…
The short answer is yes. Hashimoto’s is often part of a polyendocrine immune disorder involving multiple tissues. The same is true for other autoimmune conditions. The way to figure it out would be to find a health care practitioner willing to test for antibodies to other tissues commonly attacked by antibodies. Also, as I’ll explain in a future article, many people with autoimmune diseases are gluten intolerant. If you’re not already gluten free, I would highly recommend it.
From what I’ve read on some sites, sometimes a low-carb diet mimics starvation and then the body goes into hibernation mode to slow down metabolism. It does that by converting some T4 into Reverse T3 intead of T3. It is possible to have Reverse T3 measured in some laboratories. I think for us here in New Zealand, we have to send our blood samples to Australia. We can do this via the internet, thank goodness.
As someone who was diag. about 2 years ago with hpothyroidism, I take synthroid daily. Would I do better on the Armour? I am a nurse, but never see it ordered, always the synthroid.
There are several factors that determine which thyroid hormone is best for each person. I’ll be writing about them in a future article.
I had a total thyroidectomy and was diagnosed with Hashimotos in june 2010. Since the thyroid was totally removed how does this affect the hashimotos? My doctors seem very content ordering Synthroid and testing TSH and T4. Doctor says will take about a year to get on right dose of Synthroid and thinks all symptoms will subside. Should I be on a gluten free diet? I am very bloated and cannot lose weight also have bad joint pain and pain in bottoms of feet. My blood sugar is also high but doctor feels it will go down once meds regulate. I am extremely tired all the time and have temperature fluctations with profuse sweating.
Removing the thyroid gland is somewhat akin to removing chewing gum from a shoe. It’s nearly impossible to remove the whole gland, because it is so close to the trachea / voice box and other important anatomical structures. What this means is that, if you have Hashimoto’s, autoimmune attacks on the thyroid can persist even after thyroidectomy. Therefore all of the information in these articles still applies to you.
I’ve found your series on the thyroid very interesting. My question is that I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism 7 yrs. ago, but have never tested positive for the antibodies that would indicate it is caused by hashimoto’s. I’ve researched, but I can’t find a cause for the hypothyroidism. BTW, I was on Synthroid for a few years, then took myself off of it – never felt any different on or off. I just had bloodwork done – TSH was high at 8.9, Free T4 on the low end of normal at .98 (range of .82-1.77). New doctor recommends restarting synthroid, although they aren’t pushing it. But they did recommend an ultrasound of my thyroid, although she (nor any other past doc.) feels anything unusual upon exam. Do you have any insight for me as to what could be causing the hypothyroidism? I hate to treat without a real understanding of the cause. My symptoms are not severe – some fatigue,but not unusual, don’t like the cold.
Thank you!
I had hashimotos thyroditis AND papillary thyroid cancer. I ahs a total thyroidectomy. My question is this: Since hashimotos attacks the thyroid cells and gland, is it not possible that even after a thyroidectomy, that the hashimotos could continue to attack thyroid cells in the wholw body since thyroid cells are found in the entire body? I worry about this because it makes logical sense that hashiotos would attacj thryroid cells where ever they are which is the entire body. Has anyone done a study of this? Is this even medically conceivable? Can you answer my question so that I can understand this better and not have anxiety over what else is happening in my body? Thank you for any help or guidance that you can probvide.
Thyroid “cells” aren’t located throughout the body. All cells do have receptor sites for thyroid hormone, though. That’s not the same thing.
However, a thyroidectomy is a bit like scraping chewing gum off the bottom of a shoe. They rarely remove the entire thyroid gland. It’s very close to other important structures in the throat so they have to be very careful.
This means that, yes, if you have Hashimoto’s, it’s entirely possible that your immune system will continue to attack what’s left of your thyroid gland. That’s why it’s so important to address the autoimmune component.
but thryoid cells are what allows all cell metaboloism. which means to me that thryoid cells are located throught the body in order for cell metabolism to take place. Am I wrong about thryoid cells and cell metabolism?
Yes. Thyroid cells are in the thyroid gland. Thyroid hormone is present throughout the body. Most cells have receptors for thyroid hormone. That’s how thyroid hormone regulates metabolism.
ok so the RECEptors and thyroid hormone are what is throughout the body but not thryoid cells. Am I correct? In that case hashi’s would stay within the thryoid gland. Correct?
The immune attack in Hashimoto’s is focused on the thyroid gland, but many Hashi’s patients also have antibodies to other tissues. And of course the effects of Hashimoto’s are systemic – the entire body is affected.
Could someone please help me by answering one question. I was diagnosed with Hashimotos over 7 years ago and have been taking synthroid since then. The usual thyroid blood test (T3 ) has been performed intermittently since that time (during physicals, or when I had symptoms that I thought might be related to Hashimotos) and it always comes back “normal” according to my PCP. I suffer from depression – am being treated with medication – but have been through an especially difficult 2 years. I have many symptoms right now that are present in both depression and hypothyroid disorders and it’s become necessary for me to figure out what exactly is wrong because I seem to be getting worse rather than better. It’s ression or thyroid related, since so many are identical. My hair is falling out and I’m gaining weight despite not eating. My question is this: is their another blood test that will give an accurate picture of what is going on with the Hashimotos and if it is the cause of my worsening condition? I keep reading that the standard blood tests (T3, T4) do not give the complete picture and that if symptoms are present more examination is needed. My doctor doesn’t seem to give this view any credence and I always feel like a hypochondriac when I bring it up. Should I forget the PCP and see an endocronologist? Is that the only way to get to answers that I need? Any advice that makes sense would be greatly appreciated.
an endocrinologist may not be any more enlightened than the jerk you’re currently seeing…. i wish you good luck in finding a better doctor — they’re few, but they’re out there.
Patricia,
The problem isn’t necessarily the tests you’re getting. It’s how they are interpreted. Watch this video to learn more about what I mean.
Also, remember that Hashimoto’s is an autoimmune disease affecting the thyroid. To treat it properly, the immune system must be addresses since it – not the thyroid gland – is the underlying cause of the problem. Unfortunately, the conventional model doesn’t recognize this even though it’s abundantly clear in the scientific literature that this is what’s happening.
You’re best bet is to find a functional medicine practitioner that understands these issues.
I just found this article while researching Hashimoto’s. Have you continued on this subject? I am in desperate need of more answers. Thank you.
The entire series can be found in the Special Reports section.
Here’s the link.
I have to tell you that finding The Healthy Skeptic put me on the right path in finding the cause of my Hashimoto’s! By what you post here, I am sure that you are familiar w/ Dr Datis Kharrazian? You and he have put me on a road to recovery! Once I was diagnosed w/ Hashimoto’s I began my research finding you, then, Dr Kharrazians book. My doctor had no intention of testing me any further once he diagnosed me w/ the immune disease. He simply put me on Synthroid and sent me on my way. As I researched, I discovered that my symptoms [and I had just about every one] subsided during the summer. Mainly my hair loss! In reading Dr Kharrazians book I had the doctor test my vitamin D levels. Well, as I suspected, I AM deficient in the vitamin and now on 50,000 units 1 day a wk for 8 wks, then 1000 units a day after that. Now, the next step is to find out WHAT is causing my deficiency.
Thank you so much for your website and blog! And a quick note to your readers: TAKE CHARGE OF YOU OWN HEALTH! Listen to your gut! You know your body!! If you suspect something is wrong MAKE your doctor do the tests! Don’t settle for what your doctor “thinks” the problem is! And if your insurance won’t pay for it the testing, YOU PAY FOR IT! Your family and loved ones love you and need you healthy!!
TO HEALTH!!
Again, THANK YOU!!
Renee,
Thanks for sharing your story. I’m so glad this information has helped you to recover your health. That’s my purpose in doing this, so it’s wonderful to hear from folks like you.
In our province of Canterbury in New Zealand at a latitude of 43 degrees south, all of the population are deficient in Vitamin D at some time of the year and 50% of the population are deficient all of the time, including me. I’m on the same weekly dose as you but expect that I will need a maintenance dose of a similar level i.e. 50,000 i.u. a week or 7,000 i.u. a day. I’ve discussed with my menopause specialist when we should get my Vitamin D level retested and she and I have agreed that after 6 months on this dose, it will be a realistic time to find out what it has done to my abysmally low Vitamin D level which was around 13ng/ml or whatever unit is used in the USA. It started out at 30mmol/L in our units and I would like it to end up at around 80mmol/L as a minimum and 120mmol/L as an optimum.
Anyway, my main point is that beyond a certain latitude, Vitamin D deficiency is endemic in a population. Our cousins, the chimps get around their problem by nibbling on skin cells when they’re grooming their buddies/rellies in the troop!
I am curious about your article stating that all Hashimoto’s is due to autoimmune disease. I was diagnosed about a year ago after much encouragement from my trainer who saw me doing all the workouts but getting zero results. She too has thyroid issues and she encouraged me to get my results from my general doctor as well as my gyno…both of whom told me “your test results came back normal”.
On a hunch and and based on my TSH running around a 4 and my symptoms, I made an appointment with an endocrinologist. She did the tsh test as well as tpo…and the tpo antibodies came high… i think 132 out of 0-30 scale. On synthroid I went and a year later… I am starting to feel like a pin cushion experiment, constant retesting of my blood to find the right dose! I went from 25 to 50 to 75 to a combination of 75/50 mg and now I have been switched to armour (1gr). Of course since the switch, some of the terrible symptoms I was having before being on synthroid have returned including my arms falling asleep at night, very itchy skin, edema and headaches.
A few months ago I suspected the autoimmune relationship, so off to my NEW doctor I went and got the anti-dna, complement C3 and ana blood tests, which all came back normal. So frustrating! My new doctor even checked my pth levels and ordered a scan for my thyroid…which was also “normal”.
So my question is… If there’s an obvious autoimmune relationship, why isn’t it showing up in my results?
Candy: Hashimoto’s is an autoimmune disease, by definition. If you have Hashimoto’s, you have an autoimmune disease. It’s that simple.
The TPO antibodies that were measured by your doctor indicate that your body is producing antibodies to an enzyme in your thyroid gland. This is autoimmunity, i.e. the body is attacking itself.
So, shouldn’t my tests for autoimmune disease come back positive?
They did. Your TPO antibodies were positive. That’s autoimmune disease.
The other markers are not specific to Hashimoto’s and may or may not be elevated in people with that condition. For example, I have Crohn’s disease which is an autoimmune disease, but I never test positive for any of the serum autoimmune markers.
OK Now I am confused. If I had a total Thyroidectomy and they found Hashi’s, Can I still have Hashi’s and can it be reaking havoc in my body?
Yes. A thyroidectomy is like removing gum from your shoe. It’s very difficult to get all of it out without damaging the surrounding structures, so inevitably some of the thyroid gland is left behind – and it can be attacked by the immune system.
I am glad to see this blog post is still active. I was diagnosed with hashi’s 10 years ago and went undiagnosed for about 4 years. And only in the last 2 years do I feel like I am on the right track towards better health.
I have heard all the excuses I can handle from doctors. Things like “This is a lifestyle issue” and “You’re a complicated case” (I have 2 other rare auto-immune diseases, Sarcoidosis and Takayasu’s Arteritis, diagnosed 1.5 years after the hashi’s was diagnosed.) I have a new doctor and during one of my recent visits I told him I don’t want to hear about lifestyle changes and that if I had a nickle for every time I’d be a rich woman. I think he might be working up to a “You are complicated” because of the battery of tests he ordered, the other diseases have resolved themselves, I’m not worried.
The information that has put me on the right track I’ve been able to find at the following websites:
http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com
http://thyroid-rt3.com
http://nthadrenalsweb.org
The people in some of the posts above are still struggling with inadequate doctors, testing, the interpretation of those tests, and medication.
The thyroid and all of its complications are a tangled web, but one that I believe can be untangled with the help of posts such as this and the websites mentioned above. This is a great series of articles on the thyroid and I can’t wait to dig into the rest of the blog.
Thank you!
I found this interesting. I had never heard of Hashimoto’s before. I have had my thyroid tested for years, suffering with fagtigue, dry skin, brittle nails, hair loss, allergies, intestinal issues, the list goes on. I have had a goiter since I was 18. My thyroid tests always come back on the ‘low side of normal” so my PCP refuses to treat me for low thyroid because it is technically normal. I have always asked what if normal for me should be higher! About 15 years ago they did a scan which also came back normal. Now, as I learn more I am glad they didn’t medicate me but am looking for nautural remedies to help. Any suggestions?
The more I read about hypothyroidism, and people’s experiences, plus my own, the more I think there is a huge disconnect between the reality of what people are experiencing and the medical establishment–specifically Endocrinology. It would seem hypothyroidism isn’t an isolated disease, but involves more of the endocrine glands. And doctors practice according to what they are taught to, which is just not helpful enough for far too many sufferers of this disease.
My subscription for Synthroid is causing my test to show I’m getting too much TSH. My endocrinologist has let me stay on this dosage because it has cleared up so many of my problems, but he is leaving it up to me, largely, to let him know if I start getting heart symptoms such as palpitations. This is a terrible quandry for me, partly because of my age, 80.
After I got EBV, my thyroid just dive bombed. I believe now that I had HYPER thyroid… for years before that… but.. after the EBV.. everything just got worse. my last antibody test was 578… range is 0-5. I do my best to just be thankful..but .. i have to admit.. with stress… all these symptoms of hashis and hypo.. along with a SLEW of other autoimmune disorders..( UC, psoriasis,shingles, PC) as well as Low iron sats, migraines.. off and on pvc’s.. and being EXTREMELY sensitive to whatever i take for it.. i think i am starting to lose hope. I just had my blood drawn today again.. due to the Westhroid that i take being upped.. well.. somethings just not right now.. the company also started putting a coating on it.. (they stated that people were complaining about the smell and taste)… well. since i started taking the westhroid WITH this new coating.. its not working like it was before.. plus.. i was taking 1/2 grain twice daily.. now.. they put me on 1 whole grain daily. uggh.
I had a total thyroidectomy 3 years ago. Felt terrible on Synthoid, now on Armour and starting to feel some results. I have terrible gerd, low iron and very low vitamin D. No improvements with supplements. I had the radiation pill which the doctor says kills all remaining thyroid tissue. Could there be any remaining active thyroid tissue? My funds are limited so I feel overwhelmed with the do list for more labs and more supplements that I read about in Dr. K’s book. Not getting any help from endo or family doctor. Advice is to continue Tagamet and deal with the gerd…. take the iron and get some sun. So confused on what to focus on first. Doctors say I have had the test for gluten and I’m not sensitive. As in one of your posts….should I first focus on removing this completely from my diet?
@christine try looking for a practitioner in your area who has studied under Dr. K. try this link:
http://thyroidbook.com/contact-and-clinic-info.html. in the comment box tell them what state you are in and they will send you prac. info in and around your area. you may have to travel.
i have taken myself off gluten and white sugar as much as possible and i have gone mostly organic. i have a grinder/press coming so that i can start juicing. my next step is emulsified vit. D [better absorbed]. just a few ideas for you. i haven’t found the cause of my hashi’s yet but i am saving pennies to see a doc in my area who studied w/ Dr. K. good luck
Thank you Renee for the input. I will get serious about the gluten and sugar. I haven’t heard of emulsified vit. D. Will try this also. I did find a doctor in my area that lectures for Dr. K. Hopefully will have enough money soon to be able to afford her. Thanks for the boost. It helps to talk to people who understand how you are feeling.:)
Well, I am reading very interestedall issues about Hashimoto. I was diagnosed many years ago… and I just took my L-Tyroxin 75 mg and took it as natural. So until now…. travelling and experimenting other kind of food like sea weed salads and maki sushis more than 2 times a week, I got pain (join / muscle – I even do not know the difference); area surronding my eyes hurt; when I stand up in the morning I fell like “90 years” old and I am 50!!!! Everything hurts! Nail breaking and hair is falling – first I was looking for high blood pressure problems since I started medication 3 months ago and for the first month I had to change medicantion because I got problem on m throat…… today…. thinking about that, it was not the blood pressure medicine but rather my imune system. I will be off gluten – it is a pitty that it takes 6 months to get rid of all side effects of gluten ingestion – I am so curious what my body / imune system will react. Now I am putting all over my place small notes to remind me not to eat bread – cakes and flour stuff and think Gluten free. Thanks for all information. I do hope I am on the write path! Ingrid
I understand how the thyroid effects many components of the body – ie the brain. A few years ago my world turned upside down when I took Chantix to stop smoking. My entire hormonal system went wacko, I entered menopause and my thyroid shutdown. Nothing seems to be helping me to lose the weight I gained. I have been on Armour Thyroid, P-Thyroid and now back on Armour Thyroid. I have often wondered if I began to take the nicotine logenzes if this would reverse some of my symptoms. thoughts?
It is sad, Mary Ann, to gain that weight and not be able to lose it. Until I found my present endocrinologist, I went through doctors who totally judged my thyroid needs by my TSH number. Every time they lowered my Synthroid, I gained ten pounds. Over a period of ten years, I gained forty pounds. Not one doctor will prescribe Armour for me.I finally just said no, I will not lower my Synthroid further. I have no signs of hyperthyroidism, only hypothroidism, so my endocrinologist is letting me stay on my present prescription.
Hi, I came across your website, and I’m very hopeful in your knowledge. I need help. I have been through the ringer, literally. I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s in December of 2010, but I didn’t know about it until July of 2011. When I first went to my doctor in november 2010, my blood tests came back showing I was hyperthyroid, which made complete sense, because that’s all the symptoms I have. Then in December it came back hypo and positive for hashimoto’s. This didn’t make sense to me. The only symptoms I have of Hashimoto’s is I am tired all the time, my hair was falling out until I went gluten free, and I have low blood pressure. But I have all the symptoms of hyper still. I have extreme weight loss, I don’t sleep well, and my biggest issue is I have diarrhea (chronic). I went to my doctor who is new in July complaining that it has gotten worse, she tells me that she is also a natural path so I got excited (finally someone to listen to me) well she put me on some herbs that half don’t work, they make me so sick. I am currently on a probiotic 3 times a day and peppermint oil after dinner. She told me that I should not get treated for my Hashi’s because it would make all my hyper symptoms worse. I really need to know if this is true. She then told me that my thyroid and GI issues are seperate, so she sent me to a GI specialist to rule out Crohns, so I’ve had an endoscopy (ruled out celiac, but I’m still gluten free) and a colonoscopy (he says there is no crohns) and he ordered blood work to check for infections. He is also ordering a small bowel series to see if I have any ulcers. I have had sooo many tests, everything comes back normal except for the Hashimoto’s, that has stayed the same. All my symptoms have gone away each time that I am pregnant and yes I have had 3 successful kids without any issues, which I have been told is a miracle because with Hashi’s your not supposed to be able to. I need this chronic diarrhea to go away, I was tested for sensativities and I am trying to stay away from my trigger foods, but it hasn’t helped one bit. I have been at it for 3 months now. I want to know what med would be best for my situation, or what I should be doing. I’m sooo lost. But from what it sounds like on here that synthroid at a low dose might actually help me, is this true.
Hashimoto’s is when your body thinks that your thyroid is a foreign body and attacks it continously. As it progressess, you will have hypo/hyper thyroid symptoms until the thyroid gland becomes atrophied or shrunken but by that time you have been through hell and back. There is no cure for hashi”s except to remove the thyroid. It is an auto immune disease. I would go to a good Endochrinlolgist (not all are created equal) and talk about removing the thyroid. Thyroid hormones are throught the body in every cell. Your stomach issues are probably do to a thyroid inbalance. I am not a doctor but just a patient who has been through what you have been through. There is no point is suffering when your thyroid must come out at some point or another. As far as your stomach issues (bloating, pain, burping, gas, nausea) I have two suggestions. Thyroid controls the body’s core temp including thatt of the stomach which must be at a certain temp to do its job. here are two quick fixes that WORK. Have someone get a small towel and wet it in ice cold water and place it on your stomach. You will feel the cold and react to it which is excellent and what is needed. The cold towel will absorb the heat of your stomach and lower it’s temp. Repeat this several times but IT IS IMPORTANT that you do not touch the cold towel because your brain will brace itself and you won’t have that physical reaction of the change in temp that the towel brings to your hot stomach. The second thing is to put 1 tablespoon of vinegar in half a glass and drink it before each meal. It is not that the stomach has too much acid but the opposite, it does not have enough so the vinegar will provide that. You will never have to spend $ on an antacid again. Try this and let me know how it works for you.
Oh no no no!!!!! HASHIMOTO’S CAN BE PUT INTO REMISSION!! Once you find out WHAT IS CAUSING IT!!! DO NOT RUN OUT TO THE DOC TO HAVE YOUR THYROID REMOVED – PLEEEEEEEAZE!!!
I will not diagnose (Christina) but I will say that it sounds like you may have Leaky Gut Syndrome (LGS). I was just recently diagnosed w/ it and told that LGS is the cause if my Hashimoto’s, I was put on a strict healing diet and have lost 15 lbs in 2 months!!
As stated, I am not diagnosing anyone, just talking out of experience. There is an underlying cause to your Hashimoto’s! Your body doesn’t just attack itself for no reason!
I more than highly recommend getting the book Why Do I Have Thyroid Symptoms When My Lab Tests Are Normal by Dr. Datis Kharrazian. I found mine on Amazon. And it put me on the road to what conventional doctors won’t take – HEALING!!
Renee – can you give more information about the LG diet you stuck to to help heal your gut?
I’m sorry to disagree with you renee but hashimoto is an AUTO-IMMUNE DISEASE like diabetes, lupus etc. and IT CANNOT BE CURED. Whoever told you that hashi’s can be cured is lying or misinformed. It will in fact destroy the thyroid gland progressively. No one knows the cause of Hashimoto’s because it is in and of itself an immune conflict with your body. It will continue to destroy your gland and you will feel the symptoms of your thyroid not working and it will progressively get worse. FIND A GOOD ENDOCHRINOLOGIST not a regular doctor since they don’t know anything about the thyroid gland. Once you have 1 auto immune disease it is reasonable to suspect that there maybe another. For me it was Vitiligo but it could be any number of autoimmune disease.
I know that I didn’t use the word cure
And I disagree w/ you saying that someone should have their thyroid removed. That should be a last resort. I will say again, when someone has an autoimmune issue there is a cause. The thyroid is one of the least studied parts of the human body. There are only a select few who specialize in it. Maybe you should get the book I suggested. There is alot of information that I think you’ll be surprised about 
Thanks for the advice guys. I go in next week. Renee, My doctor who I just found out is more of a natural path than a doctor told me about leaky gut. Ok, here is my take from the research that I did: Do Not play into their hype. Ok, yes changing your diet and getting tested for things you are sensative to is the BEST thing to do for your health, but I actually disagree with you as far as “Autoimmune just don’t happen”, In my case it is hereditary and yes they do develop. They do not start from what you are eating. I have eaten fruits and vegetables my whole life and never had issues until 12 years ago and it has slowly gotten worse. And yes, I did take my natural paths advice, I am off gluten, milk products and everything else that came back as a sensativity including yeast products. I have to live this way for 90 days and then she says we can test them one by one, well here’s the kicker….. I”M STILL SICK. When she told me I would feel better right away. It has been sooo frusterating to have to run to the bathroom every 10 minutes for several hours everyday. I have been on this starvation diet for 2 months now and it’s not working. I am also taking a probiotic and fish oils and peppermint oils. And it’s still not working. I’ve been working with a GI specialist for the last month trying to figure out if it is my intestines or if it’s just related to my thyroid. I’ve done legitimate research and have found that Hashimoto’s when not treated can lead to crohns and other autoimmune diseases because it controls the core of your body. And what an autoimmune disease is… Is where you have normal cells that go haywire and start tagging good cells as bad ones and then starts attacking them, which leads to attacking organs. Now where your food that you eat come into play is that most processed foods are bad for you and feed the bad cells which makes them multiply and spread even farther. So yes, changing your diet will help to make you feel better because it is no longer feeding the bad cells (or malfunctioning cells). But just like what the others are saying though is that once the damage is done, it’s done. Your organs don’t grow back. Just changing your diet doesn’t make the cells go away, I’m proof of that right now! Everything I eat is going straight through me, and I’m eating everything and only the things that this guy talks about in this book your talking about, so there is no link as to the food you eat is creating your illness. Yes it can cause digestive issues if you are allergic to it, but it won’t cause your body to attack itself. If you have a genetic prone or it’s in your blood somewhere then you’re going to get it at some point in your life. You can however put it in remission and have the damage put off for some time and that is probably what your case is, you are just the lucky one that can do it naturally and it worked. But for people like me who need to extra help from medication or doctors, this is what needs to be done. I agree that we do need to take charge and be stern with our doctors to get the right diagnosis and the right treatment though, but I wouldn’t put in too much of myself into this new, “it’s leaky gut syndrome” I think more natural paths are using it as their own way of saying “I don’t know what is wrong with you, but lets try cutting alot out of your diet and see what we can find with that”, it’s the same as the GI’s saying oh it’s just IBS. They don’t know what is wrong. but I have a feeling and a very strong hope that they are connected and that all I need is a beta blocker that will allow me to eat without the urgency to get all foods out of my system right away.
I just wanted to know if anyone out there has ever had the same problem with hashimoto’s? I keep hearing that with hashi’s you’re supposed to be constipated, you’re supposed to be over weight, ect. Well I’m not and I need to know if it’s normal. I’m tired of living this way.
Oh, sisi, I will try those things and let you know. I’ve wondered about vinegar, since it has healing properties in it. I didn’t know about the body temp thing though, thanks. I will definately try these things.
Also, renee, this book, I think it was mainly for people with the symptoms and normal test results. All my tests are coming up not normal for Hashi’s so I don’t fit into that catagory.
Sisi, I would like to know more about your story if you don’t mind, since you said you’ve had similar stuff to me. I’m hoping it will go away if I can get my hashi’s under control or out. I would really like to get it out, since the specialists have such a hard time regulating it for very long and everyone I talk to say it’s easier to regulate it if it’s taken out. My mother in law had hers removed and she felt tons better after, but she had all the classic signs of hypo, not like me who suffers from all hyper but blood comes back hypo.
after my second child was born, I began to gain weight eventhough I watched what I ate and walked 7 miles a day. My friend convinced me to go in for a check up. They found a nodule in my thyroid. they did blood tests and a biopsy and they both came back normal. They gave me the option of surgery. Since I was gaining allthis weight and I had noticed things like forgetting things, stomach problems, my hair falling out, arm and leg cramps and many other wierd things and my children were 3 and 5, I decided that I could not live knowing there was something inside my thyroid that wasn’t supposed to be there. I remember that somedays I was exhausted and other days I was going a mile a minute. In hindsight what was happening was that I was hypo one day and hyper the next. My thyroid was malfunctioning and this is what the thyroid does when it is pooping out. It goes back and forth between hypo and hyper until it stayed hypo. So I decided on a thyroidectomy. It turned out to be cancer and Hashimotos which had atrophied my thyroid gland and it was not functioning. In my case (because my body is very sensitive), they had a very hard time after surgery leveling me out. But most people do fine after the surgery. Before any of this thyroid stuff began, I got Vitiligo (loss of pigment) which is an autoimmune disease. (that is why I said that if you have one autoimmune disease you will probaby have a second one as well. All autoimmune diseases do not have cures. They are managed but never cured.) Like you, I had and have GI problems especially horible and painful gas. I know that before surgery I was exhuasted and had diahrea often. When the thyroid is hypo, then everything in your body slows down but when it is hyper, everything speeds up which is the reason you have diareah. Unfortunately, I did not do well on synthroid and I take the natural form of thyroid hormone (armour thyroid). The problem with thyroid is that most doctors focus only on blood tests even though the patient doesn’t feel well. In some people, like you and me, the bloodtests and even a biopsy will come back normal even though your thyroid is blinking out. Hashimotos doesn’t go away until the gland that it is attacking is removed. The surgery is a breeze but the recovery is a little tough and sometimes a little long but once you are level with thyroid hormone, then everything returns to normal. You need to read a book by Dr. Broda (can’t remember the name). This book will educated you on thyroid down to the nitty gritty. There is a way to know if your thyroid is malfunctioning. Take your temperature every morning before you even blink. you must move as little as possible. Do this for one week. you will see that if hypo your temp is below 98.6 and if hyper it will be above 98.6 on average. They used this method in the 50′s and it is still valid. You must remind the docs that your blood tests cannot be relied upon. Tell them often (they tend to not hear you). Only after surgery and thyroid hormone is given that you can rely on the blood tests. Also, thryoid problems are hereditary so start asking mom or dad if anyone else in the family has had problems. Thyroid hormones are found through out the body and even your brain. It controls the speed at which each cell in your body rotates. If hypo your cells are rotating slowly and if hyper they are rotating fast. Why is this important? because thyroid problems manifest themselves in every section of the body from skin to brain. It controls body temperture and metabolism. It is found in abundance not only in the thyroid but in the brain, spinal cord and stomach. It is the only hormone that gives you symptoms that have nothing to do with your thyroid and will mimic many other disordersfor example GI problems, depression, skin moisture, limb pain, foot pain, eyesight, tendons, muscles well you get the idea. It can show up as so many things and can easily be misdiagnosed ESPECIALLY if your blood tests are coming up normal and you feel like crap. The most important decision is to find a GOOD endo. Mary Shoman (google her name) has a website full of info AND how to find a good endo from patient referral. If you decide not to take out your thyroid, eventually you will be permanently hypo since hashi is destroying the gland and then have no other choice but to take it out but like I said by then you have suffered with 15 symptoms that mimic other disorders. This is why I said it is better to take it out and have your thyroid regulated by taking a hormone pill. If you have specific questions you can ask me but if you read Dr. Broda (just google his name and the book will come up) all your questions will be answered.
Chris – my daughter is currently about 13 weeks pregnant. Her thyroid was irradiated years ago & she has taken daily medication since. Her OB-GYN – whom she visited when she was about 6 weeks pregnant, did not seem too concerned about her thyroid – or much of anything else, either. This caused her to switch to a different OB-GYN, who appears to be much more competent & supportive & who performed a battery of tests. Two weeks ago, her test results started to come back in, & her doctor’s office called my daughter & asked her to come back because her thyroid numbers “were so high, they thought it was probably a lab error.” Upon retesting, the numbers came back the same, & her doctor set her up for an emergency meeting with an endocrinologist. Given all I’ve read about the fetus’ dependency on the mother’s thyroid during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, needless to say I’m concerned – as well as confused. Will this have already had a detrimental impact on her child? What kind of questions should she be asking? What else should she be doing? Thanks so much!
Melanie: That is a concern. Autoimmune thyroid disease frequently gets triggered during or right after pregnancy, because of the profound immune shifts that occur. It sounds like she may be experiencing either Hashimoto’s thyrotoxicosis or Graves’. She should have her antibodies (TPO, TG and TSI) tested immediately and take action to bring the hormone levels back into range. This is what her endocrinologist should be suggesting. Feel free to set up a free 15-minute consult at http://chriskresser.com/appointment to discuss.
Christina, the title of the book is a bit deceiving. I have been diagnosed w/ full blown Hashimoto’s. And as I stated above, Dr Kharrazian’s book set me on the right path. He explains the many causes of Hashimoto’s. For example here are a few: gluten intolerance, insulin resistance, polycystic ovary syndrome, vit. D deficiency, chronic inflammation/infections/viruses of digestive tract, environmental toxins.
I’ll say it again, GET THE BOOK
And whoever here told me to not see a regular doctor, well, I don’t 
I see a person who specializes in Hashimoto’s and Fibromyalgia [sp?]. He has been to most of Dr Kharrazians lectures and follows most of the same principles.
I wish you the best w/ your health!!
Sisi, Thanks for the tip, I will definately take my temp everyday now. I have been questioning whether my thyroid was going back and forth everyday, I actually wonder if it does that throughout the day actually, because some days I’ll wake up feeling great but then by lunch or after feel like crap, and then other days it’s the opposite, i’ll wake up feeling like crap and then have a burst of energy for several hours and then feel like crap, but I always feel better everyday at about 9pm at night. It’s the weirdest thing. I did take my blood pressure this morning and it was 98 over 68, That is really low, and I don’t know what I should be doing. But I agree with you about how eventually it needs to just come out. I just hope my doctors listen to me, I get the worst luck with doctors. I have been seeing a natural path and she even has been a pain to deal with at times. So I might be switching general doctors again, we’ll see. Did your stomach issues go away after you had it taken out? I can handle everything else that is wrong with me, it’s my constant stomach issues that I am soooo sick of. Thanks
Yeah the thyroid blinks in and out while in the process of completely not working so that is what you are feeling with the ups and downs. Believe it or not, eating oranges at my lows helped me a lot. Like I said you MUST find a good ENDO and what makes a good endo is one that listens and takes into account your input. Drinking cinnamon or coffee will help with the low blood pressure. Make cinnamon tea (use real cinnamon) 1 cup and see if that doesn’t help with the blood pressure. You need to leave the naturalpathic doc and find an endochrinologidt not just a reg. doc because they know nothing about thyroid. after my thyroid was taken out I had a lot of problems but ONLY because I couldnot tolerate synthroid and had to go to a natural thyroid hormone called Armour. Bother your doctors and don’t let them bully you. THIS IS YOUR LIFE AND YOUR BODY and they are there to help, so be strong even to the point of being obnoxious. ONce your thyroid is taken out and your hormones are level you will no longer have diareah since it is cause by your hyperthyroid state. YOU MUST drink a lot of water until this resolves so that you do not become dehydrated. Also, many of us are lactose intolerant to some degree or another. My GI issues went away somewhat when I started doing the towel thing that I mentioned earlier and they completely went away when I had to have my gallbladder removed aabout 6 yrs after my thyroid was removed. Once you are stable, many of the symptoms will just disappear and you will be healthy again. You need to keep a diary right now of what you are eating and pay attention to how your stomach and blood pressure reacts to them and eliminate them from your diet. I do not consume anything with milk. I do not eat beans. My diet right now is mostly protiens with a little carbs but since you are hyper right now it should be the other way around. More carbs than protien so you don’t lose an enormous amount of weight until you become healthy again. Don’t worry. This does not last forever even though it feels like an eternity for you right now. Everything will fall into place once you have the correct amount of thyroid hormone in your body. Don’t give up and don’t think that this is how you will feel forever because this is not true. You will be OK just pay attention even to the littlest symptom like your legs cramping or feeling like there are spiders crawling on your cheek. All of this, although little symptoms can drive you crazy. Write them down so you don’t forget to tell the doc. When you go see the ENDO, make sure you have a list written down of all your symptoms and when your feel them or what makes it worse or better. Just remember that you have to fight for your well being even if you have to change ENDO’s 3 times till you find one that will listen. Like I said before the best way to find an ENDO is by patient referral so use the website of Mary Shoman to help you in your search. my email is [email protected] and you can email me anytime for support. I will be happy to help in anyway I can.
I had a total thyroidectomy due to hyperthyroidsm and graves disease in August 2010. I take 150mg Eltroxin daily. I am tired 24-7 my arms ache and I generally feel bad. Are there any energy supplements I should be taking?
Hi Chris –
I have Hashimoto’s and have had it most of my life. I was always told that my enlarged red blood cells were due to my thyroid problems and that there was nothing I could do about it. Is that true? Is this a type of anemia? I am curious if this is a common symptom you have seen in your research and if there is anything I can do about it.
Thanks, Pam
PS I also posted this on your podcast questions
Macrocytosis is a common complication of Hashimoto’s. To treat it, you need to treat the Hashimoto’s itself, which means addressing the immune dysregulation. Thyroid medication only replaces the thyroid hormone. It doesn’t address the immune issues.
Hi
Just discovered your forum. Great info! I was diagnosed with celiac 2 yrs ago and have been on a strict gluten free diet. I had adrenal fatigue (low cortisol levels about 7 for 8 am) and fluctuating high TSH levels. My free t3 and free t 4 have always been in upper 1/3 and 1/2 of range respectively. Antibodies have always been negative. Recently again my TSH is 4.53 free t4 1.1 (range .74-1.83) and free t3 3.74 (range 2.28 -4.81). SO since free t3 and free 4 seems to be ok but TSH is high, should I try .5 grain armour to see if I feel better? The thyroid is working hard to keep levels normal but why is this happening?
On a side note my liver enzymes have been in upper limit AST is 41 (range 8-39)ALT 48 (range 9-52).
I have been struggling with low motivation and energy for 3 years now..any feedback would be greatly appreciated!
Hi Chris –
I am getting a prescription for LDN thanks to your informative podcasts. In researching LDN in various user groups, some people talk about LDN not being as effective if you have candida overgrowth. Have you found this to be the case with your patients? Have you seen anything about it in your research?
Thanks! Pam
I’ve heard that, but I haven’t observed it in my practice – and I think candida is often misdiagnosed or overdiagnosed.
Hi Iam 29 yrs old in 2009 had thyroid cancer followed by radioactive iodine and total thyroidectomy . Tsh has been normal last 2 months have felt awful have no energy and excessive sleepiness. Tsh was just checked last week now is 47.60 Have been on same doage for a year. What could be the problem
Jennifer your doctor should be testing more than your TSH level. What meds are you taking? If you are on Synthroid, that is synthetic and is only T4. If you are hypo, you aren’t converting T4 to T3 so you need a med that will provide you w/ T3 as well. I am talking out of experience as Synthroid was NOT the drug for me. I did my research and insisted that my doc write me a script for Nature Throid which has T4 and T3. I feel like my old self again! Also, watch what you eat as you could be insulin resistant. Cut out any refined sugar which is in just about everything, eat low glycemic fruit if you have a sweet tooth and stay away from rice, pasta, bread and potato’s. An organic diet consiting of veggies, lean meat or beans [for protein] is a good way to help you feel better too. Also, have your Vit. D level checked as it is a hormone not a vitamin. I hope that helps. I went thru hell before I started my research. Good luck and if I can help…………
Bejeesus! A TSH of 47.60…I hope the decimal point’s in the wrong place. Everyone seems to be using the same unit of measure (mU/L) so I guess it’s has high as it sounds.
When I was first diagnosis my tsh was over 100.
Meg you sent me a message about the LGS diet. I don’t see your comment here. If you are still interested I can email it to you. There is a PDF file that is too large to post here.
would love it!
[email protected]
thanks!
I have a question. I am currently waiting on another endo visit; but I have a month to wait. I have Hashimotos. I also developed a toxic adenoma (approx 3″ in diameter. I had both the adenoma and total Thyroid removed 1 year ago (I am 38). I actually tested negative for both hashi’s and Graves antibodies the day before my surgery (it was believed I had both? My mother has graves). I recently tested my antibodies and they were 2,300+. I feel horrible, and I feel like there is a new lump in my throat forming. Anyone ever experience a Hashi’s tumor post Thyroidectomy??? It feels very much the same; the weird pain at times in the mass. *sigh* Ideas? Tips? My doc tested many other antibodies and they were all negative. My insulin production is slightly elevated and I’m experiencing bouts of Hypoglycemia (my daughter is Type 1 Diabetic so we have meters everywhere).
**** Also autoimmune disorders are rampant in my family. Besides the diabetes with my child, and Hashi’s for me so far- my mother has Lupus, antiphospholipid syndrome, short bowl syndrome, Graves, and something with her bone marrow as well (not sure what, that’s a new development theory)
Please look into Low Dose Naltrexone and try to find a doctor that works with it in your area. http://ldninfo.org and then join the Yahoo LDN group for referrals.
Hi Chris,
First off, thank you so much for your skeptical health blog. You are a rare voice in a field filled with superstition, miracle cures, and snake oil salesmen looking to make a quick buck on the vulnerable.
About me: I am 24 years old, just got diagnosed with hypothyroid after around 3-4 years of being “borderline.” I’ve had conflicted feelings about this diagnosis because in one way, it ties together all these other health problems that I have been having (and that I feel like I am too young to have
), namely: polycystic ovaries/irregular menstruation, constant low energy and fatigue, serious anxiety/panic disorder, and what I recently found out was mild scoliosis (causing constant pain in the joints on my right side). Honestly, reading all this on your blog has made me feel rather hopeless…autoimmune diseases are so serious and I was unprepared for the thought that I will be dealing with a lifetime of serious problems.
I just wanted to find out from you if there is any hope in handling this disease. I haven’t yet found out if I have Hashimoto’s or not, but of course chances are that I do. I am at the point in my life where I am preparing for graduate school. Do you think that I need to take some time off to address these health problems before I get lost in the world of grad school (high stress, overwhelming responsibilities, little free time, etc)? I know this is a strange question, but this all really worries me. I’d appreciate your perspective on what it takes to begin managing it.
Eva: hypothyroidism (and Hashimoto’s) are treatable, and it’s entirely possible to live a full and happy live with the proper care. Identifying whether you have Hashimoto’s, or iodine deficiency, or both, or perhaps another cause of thyroid hypofunction is the most important step. From there, the next steps become more clear. Best of luck.
Hi. I had some questions and was wondering if you had any insight as to what might be going on or some other things that I should be checking for. A few years ago, I had an enlarged thyroid. The doctors drained the fluid out, tested it, and when it filled back up decided that the best course of action was to send me straight to the surgeon. I didnt know any better so I had half my thyroid removed, and now have hypothroidism as a result. No doctor seemed to think it was important to find out why my thyroid was acting up in the first place. A little over a year later (had a child in that time) i started having a multitude of symptoms: fainting, dizziness/lightheadedness, chest pains, extreme fatigue, hard time loosing weight, tingling/numbing in hands/feet. for about the last 2.5 years now I have had all of these symptoms and have had just about every medical test known to man done, everything comes back normal. I have been a guinea pig for so many medicines because the doctors don’t know what else to do so they just throw medicines at me to try. Because my thryroid was the first thing to go wrong, i’ve begun to look into that more on my own and have really been wondering if that’s where everything went wrong, and because the doctors I had at the time decided to just cut out what was causing a problem instead of trying to fix the problem, it really didnt solve anything. Any help or tips or advice you can offer to me would be greatly appreciated. I am so tired figuratively and literally from doctors trying to tell me everything is fine because the tests come back ‘normal’. Thank you.
Dear Melissa, I really hope you find soon out what is wrong with you and your Tyroid. I can only write about myself and I still do not know if all what I have done was/is the right for me…. but since I am feeling well I do believe I did it right:
- cut off all grains and dairy;
- use only olive oil extra virgen over cooked veggies (I dio not heat oils)
- use ghee (Butterschmalz) as fat for almost everything;
- Eat eggs and meat (chicken, beef, duck, fish) in every meal
- Eat at least 200g veggies….better 300g for each meal (even mornings)
- avoid any industrialized product
- Eat fruits but not too many (2 a day)
One year has passed…. I can walk without problems again…. I could not so tired I was…. Now once in a while I use some butter, heavy cream and eat some rice (very seldom). I lost weight (10 kg) and feel great. I do hope that was the right thing I did…I am still a little afraid that the missing grains / dairy can harm my health…. but up to now…. it only made me feel better and better!
I wish you all the best! (I did not mentioned: I do have Hashi…. but even that is changing for better)