Need help please - Vegan dealing with thyroid and Hashimotos

[speedypickup]

Hello, thank you all for the opportunity to post. My question is this:

My mother has been dealing with hypothyroidism for many many years and has been taking Synthroid for her issue for at least the last 30 years. She is also vegan, and has been for over 20 years, but recently was diagnosed with Hashimotos Disease. She also recently began having hives with severe itching, with no obvious cause that we can find. Her diet has not changed, she has had blood work done, and her blood work is excellent in all areas except her Thyroid numbers are a little off, showing that she has been taking a little too much synthroid. My question is this - doing online research, we are finding SO many varying opinions about what a vegan can eat with Hashimotos, and what you're not supposed to eat, such as many grains, even potatoes, and some are even saying broccoli, cauliflower are not allowed under a Hashimotos condition. Does anybody have experience with this area, and know what she possibly CAN eat? She is going crazy trying to come up with good healthy meals as a vegan that still allow her to get all the proper nutrients that she needs. She is not a diabetic, and has no other health issues except for a hiatal hernia (no heart, lung, kidney issues, etc.). Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

[Lyndzie]

Eat a healthy diet. Hashimoto’s does not require anything specifically different than McDougall’s regular recommendations. The rash may be a separate issue, and not related to food at all.

Quit any additional supplements (aside from b12). The vast majority of them are unregulated and not proven to be helpful.

Search thyroid in this website if you’d like additional information. Some people have been able to reduce/eliminate medication, but not everyone, and that’s ok. Be kind to your body, and grateful for meds when you need them.

Again, I will repeat: there is a ton of noise on the internet. There are no studies showing that thyroid issues require a special diet aside from eating healthy. Best wishes, and enjoy your food!

[Susan5]

Hello, thank you all for the opportunity to post. My question is this:

My mother has been dealing with hypothyroidism for many many years and has been taking Synthroid for her issue for at least the last 30 years. She is also vegan, and has been for over 20 years, but recently was diagnosed with Hashimotos Disease. She also recently began having hives with severe itching, with no obvious cause that we can find. Her diet has not changed, she has had blood work done, and her blood work is excellent in all areas except her Thyroid numbers are a little off, showing that she has been taking a little too much synthroid. My question is this - doing online research, we are finding SO many varying opinions about what a vegan can eat with Hashimotos, and what you're not supposed to eat, such as many grains, even potatoes, and some are even saying broccoli, cauliflower are not allowed under a Hashimotos condition. Does anybody have experience with this area, and know what she possibly CAN eat? She is going crazy trying to come up with good healthy meals as a vegan that still allow her to get all the proper nutrients that she needs. She is not a diabetic, and has no other health issues except for a hiatal hernia (no heart, lung, kidney issues, etc.). Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

The same thing happened to me! My body reacted the strongest to anything fermented. None of my doctors could figure out why my immune system was suddenly overreacting in this way, and had no idea if it was related in any way to my hashimotos. My doctor put me on low dose naltrexone (LDN), which, when used in this way, helps to stabilize the immune system. On the drug safety scale, it's rated safer than aspirin; there are virtually no known side effects. It worked amazingly well for me. I can now eat anything without any reaction. It was life changing...back to normal. Please read up on it as much as you can. It's recommended that anyone with hashimotos increase their dose up more slowly than the typical recommendation. One very important consideration is that pain medication won't work while on this medication because LDN takes up the same receptors in the body as pain medication. So, if she decides to take it, she needs to make sure she gets herself a medic alert bracelet, so that, in an emergency, the doctors/nurses will know that the pain medication they would normally use won't work, and they will need to do a nerve block, instead, to manage pain. Also, with any selective surgery, where pain medication will be needed, she needs to remember to stop taking the LDN at least one week before surgery so that the LDN is clear of her system, so that the pain medication will work. When re-introducing the LDN back, she would need to slowly increase her dose again, not jump back up to pre-surgery dose. I hope that is helpful to your mother.

[Ejeff]

I have also been on Synthroid for 30 years. I don’t have Hashimotos as far as I know although I don’t really understand the difference between an under active thyroid and Hashimotos. I would agree with Lindsey don’t go looking on the internet. Just eat plants of all kinds. Trying to devise a special complicated diet is likely going to cause your Mom unnecessary stress which could be worse for her health.

Erin

[Susan5]

Erin, hashimotos is an autoimmune condition where the body attacks and destroys its own thyroid, which results in hypothyroidism. Non autoimmune hypothyroidism is low thyroid levels from other causes that are not immune related.

[speedypickup]

Thank you all for the responses! I am kind of leaning that direction as well - just eat a WFPB diet, which we all have been for years, though more processed pre-made "vegan" foods that probably we should have. Our local nutritionist thought maybe she had Candida but bloodwork specifically on this showed no Candida. She also thought maybe my mother had "leaky gut syndrome". The problem with this diagnosis, in my opinion, is that it seems to be a very broad, general diagnosis for something underlying that is currently unknown, and the symptoms of which apply to any number of other disease processes. As stated, she does have a hiatal hernia that causes her some occasional heart burn issues and such, but generally does not have specific symptoms indicating, in my opinion, any leaky gut issue. Fatigue, skin issues - that can be from thyroid as well, not a leaky gut issue.

Again, I appreciate the feedback - I know she is desperate because of the itching and rash. She is doing her best to handle it with witch hazel and is currently doing a cleanse to try to clean out her system good of any possible toxins that might be in her system.

Thank you all again for the help, it is always appreciated!

[Atheria]

Please get your mom checked for Celiac Disease, if she hasn't been tested for it already. A lot of people who have the autoimmune disease Hashimoto's also have Celiac and don't know it. This has happened in my own family. Of course, that would mean she needs to avoid gluten if she has it. Thankfully, there are a lot of non-gluten grains for vegans...and, of course, potatoes.

Best wishes,
Atheria

[viv]

I was diagnosed with Hashimotos over 30 years ago as well. I've been on the McDougall Diet for 8 years ago and it has changed my life in many ways, one of the most important is it has stabilized the Hashimotos and I have reduced the meds. I eat a starch based no oil plant based diet as recommended.

I avoid soy because I don't like it and I get stomach ache when I eat regular bread so the only bread I eat is Ezekial sprouted grain bread which I am fine with. As far as the rash, it could be a celiac rash, (dermatitis herpetiformis) or an allergy of some kind. It may be worth going off wheat for a week or so and see if there is any change.

Viv