Hello everyone. I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism in August 2012, and just found out today that I have Hashimoto's (my immune system is attacking my thyroid). I was on levothyroxine 75mcg and have felt horrible: no energy, consistent low grade temp, falling asleep in the middle of the day, and a loss of appetite - yet still seem to be gainig weight. I am now going to start taking the Synthroid to see if it makes a difference.

I am beginning to count calories again, staying between 1200-1600, but was wondering if anyone knows of any specific diets that help relieve some of the symptoms of Hashi's? I'm hoping Synthroid will work better, because it is extremely hard to get through the work day at the moment (I'm a teacher), and impossible to find the energy to exercise.

Synthroid has helped me a lot. My mom and I are both on it for Hashi's. I would caution, though, that both my endo and my mom have said the generic synthroid doesn't seem to do the trick quite the same as the name-brand. My insurance makes the name brand only about $8/month, so I'm fine with no generic on that one. I was on 50 mcg synthroid for a while, and it wasn't really doing the trick, so my endo supplemented that with 5 mcg of cytomel which really made a difference for me in drowsiness. My endo also told me that sometimes people's Hashi's appears and gets worse really fast, so you may just not be on the right amount of meds right now.

As for diet issues, eating clean helps a lot. Processed food and junk make me feel lethargic (though I still eat them too much!). And being physically active. It's super hard for me to get motivated to get out there and do it, but even walking around the block or going up a couple flights of stairs to just kind of get the blood flow going helps me immensely when I'm having a really sluggish day, and when I have previously stuck with exercise routines that's been a huge help.

I will also say that recently I flirted with super low-carb/keto dieting. I did it for a few weeks with my husband and saw a loss, but the limitations on the food you can eat was too much for me. I did learn a pretty valuable lesson, though, which is that fat can satiate you and make you feel better than fat-free. Before, when I was just calorie-counting, i would go for pure volume- fat free everything bc it's lowest calorie. I've learned through this though that eating some fat can be so much more satisfying than eating the same number of calories of fat-free (and so much more enjoyable). For example, an ounce of most full-fat cheese is 100 cal, (and an ounce is really a fairly large serving if you pair it with something). An ounce of blue cheese crumbled over some cherry tomatoes with a few capers is heavenly, and is much more filling than eating a butt-load of cherry tomatoes with nasty ff-dressing and just choking them down for volume's sake.

Thank you for the info. I'm hoping the Synthroid will improve the symptoms a little bit. For now they're keeping me at the same dose, but told me to take 2 pills on Sundays to give a little extra as my TSH on 75 mcg levothyroxine is currently 3.8 and he wants it under 3 (it used to be over 9). I go back in 2 months for another blood test and an ultrasound of my thyroid in 2 weeks.

I've always been the same with the fat free when counting calories. Anything I could by fat-free and lower calorie I would. This time around I think I'm going to focus more on portion control, limiting fast food, and cooking more instead of relying on pre-packaged food. My blood pressure is also too high so I really need to limit my sodium intake as well. During the summer, before I was diagnosed and was just feeling bad, I tried Atkins and got to ketosis very quickly. I did feel better, more energy actually, but I am too picky of an eater to stay without carbs. I'm not a big vegetable eater either.

Levothyroxine is the generic for Synthroid. Although it's possible the brand name will work better (sometimes generics are produced in overseas factories where dosage and release agents aren't as carefully monitored) you may actually have a T4 to T3 conversion issue and both Levo and Synthroid are a synthetic T4 only drug. Our bodies don't use T4, it must convert T4 to T3 to use it. Some people don't convert it well. The synthetic for T3 is Cytomel, and some people use that. However, you might look into some of the natural dessicated thyroid replacements like Armour, Naturethroid, Westhroid, Erfa. They have T4, T3, T2, and T1 (The purposes of T2 and T1 are unknown but are naturally present in the thyroid) and many people do quite well on them. I take Naturethroid and it works very well for me. I also have Hashi's, FYI.

As to diet- you need to avoid any food you have even the slightest allergy to. If you haven't done it already, you should do an anti-inflammatory diet where you remove every food that is known to cause allergies (seafood, dairy, nightshades, wheat, corn, sugar, alcohol, processed foods, etc) for 3 weeks and then add a food back in every 3 days. If you're allergic, you'll know it, believe me. I didn't know I was allergic to dairy and did the diet- the day I added dairy back in I broke out in hives, got a migraine, and an upset stomach. There was no doubt. The problem with eating foods you have an allergy to- even a mild one- is the antibodies your body releases in response to the allergen end up attacking your thyroid. This is also the reason why people with one auto-immune condition often develop others- the body starts to just completely attack itself due to over-exposure to allergens.

Wow, thank you for the info. I didn't know that. I do know that every blood test they've done for my thyroid has been only TSH, except for the last one where they checked for antibodies, A1c, and a complete metabolic panel. I think I'm going to call my doctor and ask if they can do a thyroid panel when I go for my test in March instead of just TSH.

The diet actually sounds really hard for me. I'm an extremely picky eater (don't like many vegetables at all). I probably wouldn't be able to try that until next summer when I'm off of work so that I'll actually have time to cook and find recipes to experiment with.

I appreciate the help!

I agree with all the previous posters. However you need to exercise even if you are tired now. Exercise gives you energy and if you lose wieght without exercise you also lose muscle and that is not healthy!

My nutritionist recommends no soy products because they adversely impact the thyroid and limiting the consumption of raw broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and others in that family for the same reason. Cooked is fine.

I've been on Synthroid and the generic and had the same results so I stick with generic because it's free with my insurance and I have a $40 copay for Synthroid.

I second this ^^

I was dx with Hashi's, and so tired. Seriously my husband and I called it bone tired, it wasn't like I needed a nap, it was like I was drained all the time. Forget exercise, I could barly get off the couch to shower. Went on synthroid and it made me normal again. I've heard the same thing about brand vs generic and I take brand for that reason.

Eating clean, absolutely helped. And lower carb, helped too. I've read about people with hypothyroid, which is the eventual result of Hash's having a higher likelihood of insulin resistance, and having better weight loss success with diabetic diets. And diabetics have to watch their carb intake. I'm not saying people with hypothyroidism are diabetics, Im just saying from what I've read and experienced, lower carb helps. Also agree with the fat recommendation.

I have been on Synthroid and feel like it has had no effect on me. I am interested in the natural dessicated thyroid, but have read conflicting things on the net about them. Does anyone here have more info?

EagleRiverDee, do you need a Rx from your Dr. for the Naturethroid?

Yes, Naturethroid (along with Armour, Westhroid, Erfa) require Rx. Frankly I don't understand the bias in the allopathic medical community against natural thyroid. Synthroid works fine for some, but it doesn't work for everyone. And some people, like myself, would just rather go with a natural version instead. It works great for me. My symptoms are under control, and my blood work results show my thyroid labs to be within normal ranges. I honestly think it's about money. Synthroid and Levo are very expensive and produce a profit. Natural thyroid is very cheap. I pay $15 a month for my Naturethroid Rx - that's without insurance. It's cheap.

I'm actually the exact opposite. Levo/synth work for me and natural (porcine) does not. I have hashimoto's and tried natural and felt AWFUL. My practitioner said this is not uncommon in her practice (I insisted on natural as I work for a natural pharmacy) - she says that often in hashi's the body views the natural as....well, natural and it kind of defeats the purpose of the medication (i'm explaining that poorly, but i'm sure you get the gist) and synthetic thyroid will do the trick as the body doesn't recognize it in the same way....

Hi, I was on synthroid,couldn't lose weight & didn't feel as good as I know I could,so I bit the bullet went to a naturopath,spent some $$ on more tests,and took it for a yr. After abit I felt worse,not better and went back to synthroid. What's left is for you to try it,nobody can tell you how you are going to do on it...but you. good luck w/your efforts.

Thanks for that bit of info. I didn't realize that the generic for synthyroid could possibly differ..I'm going to check that out.

I have not been tested for Hashi's, I just know that I have slightly low thyroid. At some point (soon), I need to have the antigen tests run. I am currently on low dose Armour.

Since Hashi's is an autoimmune disease, where the body attacks the thyroid, it is extremely important to discover what is triggering your individual immune reaction, as EagleRiverDee mentioned. For many it is gluten or cassein or both. For others, it is one of the other common allergens.

What you're eating, even while on medication, may impact how you feel. One of my friend's has Hashi's, and if she eats gluten, which she knows that she is sensitive to, she will feel awful for a couple of days.

Hope you start feeling better.

Well, I ended up having my thyroid removed April 2013. We found out my thyroid had quite a few nodules. A biopsy was done and the results came back atypical. Instead of having another biopsy done, we just decided to go ahead a do a total thyroidectomy. I am still taking Synthroid and am now at 125 mcg. I am feeling SOOOO much better and people have been telling me that I look like I'm losing weight. I went for blood work last week and my TSH is at a 1.99 and my T4's are good as well. I go back in 3 months to make sure it's staying where it should and that I'm still feeling better and then it will only be once a year check-ups! I have energy again and have started exercising. I am starting back with low-carb tomorrow and am looking forward to a Disney World trip in 2 weeks!!!

Thanks everyone for all the advice. I will also be going gluten free. It will be tough, but I will feel so much better in the long run!!!!