I have been diagnosed recently with Hashimotos after 15 years with hypo. Recently my energy levels have crashed, I just want to sleep all the time, I have a permanent headache, huge stress and anxiety levels (I am a teacher) and constant brain fog. I have looked into supplementing my diet with vitamins and a gluten free diet. My GP thinks I might have post viral syndrome as I am constantly ill with colds or sore throats etc.
I feel completely at my wits end, has anyone got any advice? I have my bloods checked every 3 months, my T4 and TSH are never normal, one goes up, I adjust my thyroxine and the other one goes out of sync! I take 125/100mg Levo on alternate days!
Help!!! I'm about to start a new term, I feel very worried how I am going to cope. I am a 44 year old single parent to two teenagers so I know I am going to have a stressful lifestyle but it's got out of control! Can't work out if my Hashimotos is controlling my life which is making me feel so low or if it's my lifestyle that's affecting it?
Any advice gratefully received!
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Ellie14
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It will help members advise if you post your recent thyroid results and ranges (figures in brackets after results). It's not important that TSH is within range but it is important that FT4 is in the upper quadrant of range to ensure good T4 to T3 conversion. Read Treatment Options in thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/about_...
Hashimoto's destroys thyroid cells which then dump hormone into the bloodstream which can make it difficult to stabilise thyroid levels. 100% gluten-free diet can help manage Hashi's, reducing flares and antibodies.
Hashimoto's and hypothyroid patients are often low/deficient in ferritin, vitamin D, B12 and folate which can cause musculoskeletal pain, fatigue and low mood similar to hypothyroid symptoms. Ask your GP to test and post the results and ranges in a new question for advice.
Members have advised Mindfulness and relaxation therapy can be helpful in managing stress and anxiety.
I am not a medical professional and this information is not intended to be a substitute for medical guidance from your own doctor. Please check with your personal physician before applying any of these suggestions.
I agree your vitamin D level is almost certain to be too low which is very common in our climate.
I've also come to believe that people who have been on levo long term may have stressed their adrenals. No scientific proof on that but so many have benefited by switching to an NDT.
I know it's difficult to get a prescription for an NDT but it's possible.
Ditch dairy and refined sugars. Gluten removal is a great help, that said the only carbs I eat are sweet pots and Genius bread. I ticlked along with greek yogurt until recently. I repeatedly kept having a cyclic 8 day horror show, sore throats, trouble swalowing food, shakes, insomnia etc. I have ditched the dairy fully now and touch wood the throat (thyroid gland) isn't seemingly getting hammered. I avoid Tea and Coffee too. I have very compromised adrenal glands and I have started using Nutri Adrenal Extra (NAX) which has helped me. I think you have to be cautious when using T4 not to take too much NAX but a tablet a day may probably help. Good luck
I had pretty much the same symptoms as you... horrible fatigue, anxiety, brain fog etc. (plus horrible aches and more).
I've been diagnosed with Hashimotos and the thyroxine wasn't alleviating symptoms (no matter what dosage I was taking). I suffered this for a year (and three GPs). The symptoms I was experiencing were crippling (to the point I was wasn't able to work). I'm almost the same age as you. Finally, I was tested for my female hormones (FSH test) too. The first FSH test said that everything was ok (the doctor had no idea...) because it was taken at the wrong time of my cycle (take it day 21 of your cycle to get proper results). Finally, I found out that my symptoms were a combination of my Hashimotos and peri-menopausal symptoms i.e. complicated overlapping symptoms and conditions that effect each other.
Then I when through a whole trial and error process of finding the right hormone mix that suited me. I had immediate relief from the fatigue and brain fog as soon as I started taking estrogen (via patches) but because of the Hashimoto's I had huge problems finding the right progesterone part of the mix (I had terrible side effects - major acne, horrendous water retention/bloating plus more) and found out that natural progesterone (Utrogesten) has bad inflammatory effects for those that have Hashimotos and are better off (strangely) taking a progestin (synthetic progesterone) and my problems were solved with using Femseven Sequi patches. After that, the thyroxine actually seems to do its job and I am feeling soo much better!
I suggest you "bully" your GP into getting not just your thyroid blood tests (TSH, T3 and T4), but you also get tested for vitamin D3, B vitamins, Iron and FSH (female hormones). That way you can know for certain what you need to supplement with. Hashimoto's people are almost always low on vit D3. (I also, got a cortisol test, just so I could eliminate adrenal problems from the equation). Cutting out gluten in my diet did help me and healing my gut (i.e. my immune system) through supplementing with good probotics and digestive enzymes supplements also helped. Also, don't take iodine, (a lot of people get that wrong and complicate matters through taking it).
The other thing that has helped me and what doctors fail to tell you (and when you have balanced the major problem) and you're recovering - is that if your thyroid isn't working properly you also suffer low serotonin and dopamine, which, in a nutshell will make you feel depressed, anxious and unfocused (brain fog). I take these supplements: l-tyrosine (500mg) in the morning and 5htp (50mg) at night - that's a 10:1 ratio (that's really important you take both as otherwise you get depleted in which ever one you're not taking). The l-tyrosine really helps alertness and brain fog and the 5htp alleviates the anxiety (with the good side effect of helping you sleep, if you take to much you'll get very vivid dreams lol). Also, a good B Vitamin complex in the morning really helps me with concentration and focus.
This is just what worked for me. I hope that my experience offers up some options for you, even though it may not be the solution that's necessarily right for you, it may help you undercover (and eliminate) what may be at the root of your suffering.
I really do hope you find a solution that helps you, as I know how crippling these kinds of symptoms can be.
Wishing you all the best and I really do hope you start feeling better.
Have you read Hashimotos the Root Cause by Izabella Wetz? If not I would advice you to do so. The bok is a mist for all with Hashimotos. Among her advices is to cut gluten out of your diet because of the problems IT causes with all autoimmun diseases, like Hashimotos. thyroidpharmacist.com/#!aut...
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and I really do hope you start feeling better. 
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