Has anyone managed to get long-term Hashimotos Hypothyroidism into remission and come off medication?

[LJG84]

Hi

Just wondering if anyone has managed to come off T4 and/or T3 treatment for chronic Hashimotos Hypothyroidism? I have heard of people managing to reverse/control Hashimotos by managing diet etc in the early stages but wondered if it was possible to do it after years of treatment or is the scarring to the thyroid glad not able to regenerate for chronic cases?

Just some background info on my situation, I was diagnosed approx. 18 years ago following a Glandular Fever episode and told my thyroid was damaged beyond repair as T4 treatment was increased over 3yrs or so to 200mcg. Since then I’ve been diagnosed as Vit D deficient and more recently failing to convert T4 to T3 so currently on 125mcg T4 daily and 25mcg T3 daily (split over 3 doses). I also have antibodies developing for rheumatoid arthritis but they are not yet at a level high enough to diagnose me with it.

My plan is to get my diet and health as perfect as I can, with optimal vitamins and thyroid medication, to stop the RA progressing (and reduce thyroid antibodies I still have) but was wondering if it might also be possible to regenerate my thyroid once antibodies are gone and aim to come off or reduce my medication in future. I’m now gluten free and planning to work through Izabella Wentz books to reduce all inflammation etc so possibly might be able to improve the T4 to T3 conversion in future and go back to T4 medication only but curious if anyone has managed to completely come off medication?! I know it would be a risk to try and it will be several years I’m sure before I get to that point but would be lovely if my ‘lifetime medication’ didn’t have to be that way. Might be thinking too far out the box but thought I’d bounce the idea off you wonderful people as you’re all much more open minded and knowledgeable than your average GP!

Many Thanks

[greygoose]

No, the thyroid cannot regenerate enough to make enough thyroid hormone to keep you well. You may reverse the auto-immune condition, although I doubt it, but you cannot reverse the resulting hypothyroidism.

Besides, if you think that reducing TPO/Tg antibodies reverses Hashi's, I'm afraid you're going to be disappoint. You could - although I doubt it - get your antibodies down to zero, but you would still have Hashi's, because the antibodies are not the disease. Some people have Hashi's without ever having raised antibodies.

It's not the TPO/Tg antibodies that attack the thyroid. They just come along to clean up the traces of TPO and Tg that leak into the blood during the attack. So, reducing them would be a rather dubious thing to do, in my opinion - although, I'm no expert, of course. Yes, I know people like Izabella Wentz recommend trying to reduce antibodies, but I don't have a very high opinion of her, anyway. And, I cannot see the logic behind her advice. I am open-minded, but we do have to maintain a sense of logic, all the same.

[LJG84 in reply to greygoose]

My understanding of the antibodies is that once the thyroid is destroyed there shouldn’t really be many antibodies any longer as the offending material has been destroyed. My thyroid was destroyed fairly quickly over a few years as my T4 medication was increased but I still have antibodies now, albeit at a lower level than the original attack, but still high enough to question what my body is attacking. My main aim is to prevent further autoimmune attacks but I’m unsure why an immune reaction is still running against a defunct gland, unless it’s fighting the medication?

[greygoose in reply to LJG84]

As I said above, TPO and Tg antibodies do not attack anything. They are the cleaning ladies that come along to clean up the blood. There will always be some hanging around, just in case. But, if your thyroid is dead, they will be within range.

It is the immune system itself that is attacking your thyroid - although calling it 'the offending material' is a bit strong! lol. It's the lymphocytes produced by your immune system that infiltrate the thyroid and attack it from within. Not the TPO/Tg antibodies.

And, Hashi's is specific to the thyroid. It doesn't not attack anything else. Each autoimmune disease has it's specific antibodies. So, if you want to know if you have any other type of autoimmune disease, you need to test the antibodies specific to that particular disease.

And, no, Hashi's/the immune system does not attack your levo. If you have no thyroid, then you no-longer have Hashi's.

[Cooper27]

My mum did manage to come off medication, but she did ultimately have to go back on it, as she didn't stick to the gluten free diet properly. She held off as long as possible before going back on, but ultimately I think it resulted in a lot of other health issues in the meantime.

If you do wish to give up medication, I think you would need to do it gradually, reducing your dose as your blood tests show you're able to, and not coming off it all in one go and ignoring symptoms.

[greygoose in reply to Cooper27]

I very much doubt her not sticking to a gluten-free diet had anything to do with her needing to go back on medication. Gluten-free is not a fix for anything, and doesn't have any effect on the thyroid itself.

Hashi's can go into remission for long periods, after a 'hyper' swing. But, eventually you can't avoid going hypo again.

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Many of us find (coincidence or not) that gluten and/or dairy free diet, does seem to improve some symptoms. Perhaps because it reduces inflammation

But as greygoose says, it won't regenerate your damaged thyroid, or stop the actual autoimmune disease

Complex explanation here

hashimotoshealing.com/under...

[LJG84 in reply to SlowDragon]

My thoughts about gluten are that reducing it (and any other intolerances) will reduce inflammation, hopefully reduce thyroid antibodies (as some research suggests gluten is a similar molecule if found in the bloodstream) and hopefully improve general health to prevent further auto immune diseases. I may be right or wrong but that is my understanding of improving diet etc to prevent further auto immune problems.

I was curious if the thyroid could be regenerated as I have personally met people who have stopped the Hashi attack by going gluten free and do not require medication or only require it for a brief period to support the thyroid and reduce stress until the attack has been muted. I haven’t heard of anyone who has regenerated thyroid tissue yet but am not willing to rule it out as completely impossible as the body is more impressive at healing than we give it credit for.