Alternative treatments for Graves Disease???

[kitty1991]

Hi I have recently been diagnosed with Graves Disease. Just wondering if anyone has had any luck using alternative medicine to treat the disease especially the autoimmune side of things- if so any advice. Thanks

[Clutter]

Kitty1991,

I'm not aware of any natural alternatives to Carbimazole for treating the hyperthyroidism Graves causes.

You may be able to reduce the Graves antibodies by adopting 100% gluten-free diet but it is very unlikely you will be able to eradicate Graves disease although it is possible to put it into remission for a while.

chriskresser.com/the-gluten...

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/about_...

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/about_...

[Saggyuk in reply to Clutter]

Yes, it's very hard to reverse antibodies, it's kind of like trying to get your body to forget it's previously had chicken pox. However, going gluten free did in fact lower my antibodies, removed inflammation and resolved other health issues I had initially and incorrectly associated with thyroid - such as brain fog, sleepiness, bad sugar levels etc. However, I am convinced that gluten was the initial cause of my thyroid issues and I managed to stop a few other autoimmune diseases that I was about to be diagnosed with just in time - fingers crossed

Only thing I can suggest really other than a healthy diet, low inflammatory diet etc.

[kitty1991 in reply to Saggyuk]

Hey just wondering - gluten free. What if you don't have celiac disease so not allergic to gluten? Still work do you reckon? Thanks

[Cat4health in reply to kitty1991]

No!!! This whole gluten free obsession is a joke. Listen to Your own body. People wanna talk about 'leaky gut' as if everyone definitely has it but if gluten is damaging your gut you'll know yourself!! First and foremost there ARE plenty of natural alternatives, particularly aimed at the autoimmune side I would suggest reading Elaine Moore on the subject. She's a pharmacologist and Graves specialist!!

[Cat4health in reply to Cat4health]

I apologize for saying it's a 'joke' as I realise it is very effective for some. However it's makes me deeply frustrated when people suggest that any treatment is one size fits all - every body is different. So I truly believe you should listen to your own body!!

[Saggyuk in reply to Cat4health]

I didn't mean it will work for everyone but it's worth a shot as it works for enough people with autoimmune issues to give it a shot, nothing to lose really? I said "suggest" as just a suggestion. I will say it to everyone because if it helps even just 5% of people who are autoimmune, it is better to suggest than say nothing at all?

[Cat4health in reply to Saggyuk]

Well actually there is a lot to lose! To go gluten free you either have to adopt a restricted diet or substitute with products that contain a whole variety of gums and other substances which themselves have been called into question. So let's look at grain free - firstly it's restrictions can engage negatively with ideas around food and remove important fibre and nutrients. Secondly let's look to one of the biggest proponents of grain free for autoimmune PaleoMom claims paleo practice will fix all number of ills and she did have success. However after years of eating that way and writing books about eating that way ($$$) she went on to develop hypothyroidism!! By all means if you are having an intolerance to wheat well then it's worth removing anything that disrupts gut health (I myself avoid oats due to Avena intolerance) BUT people should trust their own bodies!! Communication with the body is actually an important step to treating thyroid under certain philosophies!!

[Saggyuk in reply to Cat4health]

ummm, i'm not so sure how eating potatoes, rice, quinoa, corn all meats, all fruit, all veg, all dairy, all nuts and seeds etc is really that restrictive? And I don't see how that removes important nutrients from your diet unless you eat unhealthily anyway and do a straight swap. You have nothing to lose by trying it for a couple of months to see if sorts your issues out. I wish someone had suggested it to me years ago, you can either try it for a little while and see if it improves your situation or you find it does nothing at all and you've hardly lost much and just go back to eating it? If I hadn't have given it a go, I would have been sick in bed all day, lost custody of my child and have diabeties and failed adrenal glands and lord knows what else. So yeah, if it removed all my other issues, yeah it's worth a shot?? So you think I should never have tried like the doctors tried telling me I shouldn't. Well they''ve changed their minds now anyway and diagnosed me anyway because of the reversal of all my health issues so yeah, I'm kinda glad I gave it a shot??

[Cat4health in reply to Saggyuk]

Wow, that's an amazing outcome. I'm glad you tried it too!! I guess I'd wonder what inspired you to go for it? And since you got tested, got a confusing result and decided to try it anyway, well it sounds to me like you were listening to your bodies reaction, don't you think? Which ultimately is all I'm saying. I think we are both speaking from personal experience - you see 6 years ago I had serious stomach issues and couldn't eat many veg, seeds or nuts but I could eat brown bread and I healed my gut with brown bread and stayed in remission from Graves at that time. So when I hear people claiming that bread and gluten are the root of all evil it irritates me cos if I had listened to this instead of my body I might still be in crippling stomach pain every day. All I'm saying is everyone is unique and should trust their bodies, we both listened, heard different messages and benefited as a result!

[Saggyuk in reply to Cat4health]

I still test negative for coeliac, but they have diagnosed me with NCGS but have stated it is the cause of my autoimmunity and genetic as my daughter has the same - they said would have name for it in a couple of years. To be honest, my body was so dead at the time it couldn't communicate anything as nothing was working. It was actually some research i found on rats with diabetes that was my first clue lol, a study looking at thyroid and gluten in a european country somewhere whereby under more intensive testing a very high percentage of hashimotos sufferers were in fact intolerant to gluten , the high correlation between autoimmune diseases and coeliac (strangely the only autoimmune disease with a known direct cause) etc etc that made me give it a go and really wasn't expecting much. I hadn't gone anywhere on line to listen to anything non medical, only credible medical research. There has also been some recent research with possible evidence and diagnostic markers for something similar to coaliac that works in a different way that is possibly more wide spread. I know it won't be the cause for everyone, but from all the research I've seen, gluten is by far the most likely when it comes to autoimmunity (and possibly the only known thing to lower antibodies rather than just feeling better), dairy next and then everything else or a combination of things so I always mention gluten first. However, I do normally stipulate that, if this does not work, try dairy, and if not this, try elimination diet, and work on absolutely everything else like vitamin levels, diet, water etc etc and keep trying everything until you find it but sometimes in a rush, I forget to add these things and your first post was so harsh lol!

[Saggyuk in reply to kitty1991]

I test negative for coeliac, it wont work for everyone but there's enough who do feel the benefits to give it a go

[catrich]

Namaste12 has posted today on the very same.

As regards gluten etc, I was always told I was allergic not to gluten but wheat, barley and sometimes oats. This may be correct but it is very difficult to test for celiac disease as you know. When I am off all grains 100% I feel -and look- much better. I wonder often whether grains/gluten was the cause of all my health issues. I am btw currently off all grains and dairy and feel good. No -or very few- joint pains, no blurry vision, no thick head. Sleep very well.

[Kihisee88]

Hi, wish you get help

GravesDiseaseCure.com

By Svetla Bankova (MBA,MA in counseling Psychology, Graves Disease researcher and former patient)