Extremely sick and inflamed in a 3 week Hashimoto's flare-up, 'cleansed' by a quick stint of vegan kitchari??

[thornhollow]

Hi all,

I have Hashimoto's disease and felt really off for the last two weeks. Normally I am someone who thinks 'Haha am I REALLY sick?' but this week I was really reminded that I do, in fact, have an autoimmune disease!

I normally eat quite 'clean' other than a daily little chocolate and wine a couple times a week, and have the energy to walk 5+ miles daily. But the last 20 days I have felt ATROCIOUS. The first week I was just plain exhausted and felt like I was out of my body. I had several days where I just could not bare to eat any food, it all seemed so unappetizing, and I was constipated for 5 days until I, ahem, 'cleared out' and could finally eat later that day. I am usually NEVER constipated, and this was all during a holiday which I was visiting my family and not eating anything crazy out of the norm, and getting a lot of rest from my usual stresses.

Then I started this new warehouse job at Amazon (lots of walking, some light lifting) and was eating sugary cereal, coffee, and an ice cream the second week. I also had a couple of homemade fried doughnuts. Normally I'd eat something 'bad' once or twice a week as a treat, but instead I ate something less-than-ideal probably every other day last week. However, I could not eat more than once or twice a day because I just felt completely awful, and often had to force myself to eat. I was also getting about 6-7 hours of sleep, when normally I'd get closer to 7. I felt like a TRAIN had hit me. All week I felt like a 'floating head', had tunnel and blurry vision, I was freezing cold, had no feeling in my right toes after being on my feet all one day. I was in my kitchen on Saturday making jam and had to hold on to the wall to stand up, and felt like a drunkard walking to the shop because I was so off-kilter and had no sense of balance that I was swerving along the sidewalk. My partner was telling me to lie down as she said it looked like I was going to faint. It had also been nearly a week since I had pooed normally, and for the last two weeks I have looked like I am 8 months pregnant despite usually looking pretty toned. I could hit my stomach like a drum and it just looked SO bloated and full of fluid, it was so uncomfortable that I could only wear extremely loose clothing. I would eat and then it would just feel like it was coming back up my throat because I was so, so backed up.

I felt so horrible that I went and drank a bottle of laxative in an attempt to clear out, which is supposed to work in a max of 6 hours. I had NO luck for 2 days, and so I decided to do one of those 'kitchari cleanses'. Ironically, I had felt awful trying to do one of these before, but I was so desperate for anything to work. Basically I ate oats with coconut milk and prunes in the morning, then lentils, rice, coconut oil, and well-cooked veg for lunch and dinner. No snacking between meals, no dairy, sugar, wheat, soy, animal products, etc. I was also eating fresh ginger with every meal and having a bit of kombucha before, hoping that the probiotics would help me digest. After the first day, I finally 'went' and after two days (and a much needed off-day from the warehouse!) I felt myself!! I couldn't believe it, I could garden, go shopping, and go for a walk and had a normal amount of energy! I only had one brief dizzy spell, too.

With the cleanse I have been hungry at normal intervals, 3x a day - this hasn't happened in months!! And get this: I went from 122 lbs to 116 lbs in 4 days and didn't feel deprived- it looks and feels like my body is FINALLY normal again after MONTHS of looking so so horrible and bloated. I thought I had gained loads of unexplained weight because my body felt so massive and squishy. But now my legs and arms and stomach look suddenly 'toned' and I feel like my body looks normal, and I look like myself for the first time in forever. I have to wonder, was it just inflammation the whole time?!!

I plan on continuing this almost 'mono' kitchari diet the rest of the week to help me heal and relax. It has honestly made me consider going straight vegan again, but I had low vitamin and energy levels doing that in the past.

In the meantime, I would love any of your input on my situation. Any idea about what could cause this flare-up, and how I can prevent them/heal myself in the future? Any similar experiences?

Also YES I have contacted my endo, just waiting to hear back from him on his input. I was diagnosed in December and started medicating in February with 50 g levo. I now take 75 levothyroxine every day, and my tests were finally stablizing toward normal the last time I went to get tested. I also supplement with 50,000 IU vitamin D and take a daily multi with iron and B12.

[greygoose]

Sounds to me like you have/had low stomach acid, which often happens to hypos. You had all the signs, there: bloating, constipation, etc.

A multi-vit really isn't a good idea for all sorts of reasons:

* If your multi contains iron, it will block the absorption of all the vitamins - you won't absorb a single one! Iron should be taken at least two hours away from any other supplement except vit C, which is necessary to aid absorption of iron, and protect the stomach.

* If your multi also contains calcium, the iron and calcium will bind together and you won't be able to absorb either of them.

* Multi's often contain things you shouldn't take or don't need : calcium, iodine, copper. These things should be tested before supplementing.

* Multi's often contain the cheapest, least absorbable form of the supplement : magnesium oxide, instead of magnesium citrate or one of the other good forms; cyanocobalamin instead of methylcobalamin; folic acid instead of methylfolate; etc. etc. etc. This is especially true of supermarket multis.

* Multi's do not contain enough of anything to help a true deficiency, even if you could absorb them.

* When taking several supplements, you should start them individually at two weekly intervals, not all at once as you would with a multi. Because, if you start them all at once, and something doesn't agree with you, you won't know which one it is and you'll be back to square one.

* Most supplements should be taken at least two hours away from thyroid hormone, but some - iron, vit D, magnesium and calcium (should you really need to take it) should be taken at least four hours away from thyroid hormone.

* The magnesium you take - and just about everybody need to take it - should be chosen according to what you want it to do:

Magnesium citrate: mild laxative, best for constipation.

Magnesium taurate: best for cardiovascular health.

Magnesium malate: best for fatigue – helps make ATP energy.

Magnesium glycinate: most bioavailable and absorbable form, non-laxative.

Magnesium chloride: for detoxing the cells and tissues, aids kidney function and can boost a sluggish metabolism.

Magnesium carbonate: good for people suffering with indigestion and acid reflux as it contains antacid properties.

Worst forms of magnesium: oxide, sulphate, glutamate and aspartate.

With a multivitamin, you are just throwing your money down the drain, at best, and doing actual harm at worst. Far better to get tested for vit D, vit B12, folate and ferritin, and build up your supplementation program based on the results. A vitamin or a mineral is only going to help you if you need it, anyway. More of something you don’t need is not better, it's either pointless or even dangerous, as with iodine, calcium, iron or vit D.

[Hidden]

Can you post your most recent test results on here, with reference ranges. This will give a better idea of what is going on. In the UK we are entitled to printed copies of results. Ask the receptionist. Or in some places you can apply to get results online

[Mohammed94]

I’ve got hashimoto and I’ve had majority of your symptoms and what helped me a lot was stopping coffee, after stopping coffee I felt much better. I felt that if I wanted to drink coffee I would need to drink a lot of water and to also have some food in my system otherwise I get really bad symptoms. Everyone’s body is different. Stress plays a big part and can make you inflamed too. I hope you get better soon

[TiggyN]

I have Hashimotos/hypothyroid, and the inflammation/constipation and laundry list of horrible symptoms are debilitating. I cut out gluten, dairy and sugar two years ago and that’s made the biggest difference to how I am physically. I don’t frisk about like a spring lamb, but I don’t feel half-dead, which is a bonus.

If I cave in and eat any gluten, or dairy or *particularly* sugar, I become a bloated zombie almost instantly. Good for you finding an endo who doesn’t spout drivel.

[thornhollow]

Jnetti, My test results from last month were:

T4, Free || 1.00 ng/dL

|| Standard: 0.82 - 1.77 ng/dL

TSH || 1.420 uIU/mL

|| Standard: 0.450 - 4.500 uIU/mL

VITAMIN D, 25-HYDROXY || 25.7 ng/mL || Standard: 30.0 - 100.0 ng/mL

Greygoose, thank you for all the insight about vitamins. Interesting that a multivitamin would even contain Iron when that is such an issue!

[thornhollow]

Also thank you everyone for the dietary insight - I am strongly considering cutting gluten and dairy from my diet, though it is hard as my mum and partner are concerned about any sort of dietary restrictions as I used to be malnourished from being vegan and prone to restriction. However I feel like I would try anything just to feel better from this health problem!

While I felt chipper on Sunday and gardened all day long, I went back to work on Monday and worked 10 hours (then only slept about 4 or 5 that night after). That night I had also eaten a bit of tuna and some tahini, and was incredibly bloated, looking 8 months pregnant all day long. I spent all of Tuesday in a complete daze. The most that I could do was lay down for hours, do some stretching yoga and take a 20 minute walk to the shop. It was miserable!

After my day off I've decided not to work the rest of the week other than my online job. I got almost 8 hours of sleep last night and feel a LOT better today, though I've gotten a bit dizzy again after doing some house cleaning,. Perhaps all I need is rest and recooperation! Though I will be continuing my 'mush' diet until the end of the week, as I know I digest it well.

I am thinking right now most importantly that I stop my long shifts at the warehouse and stick to 5 hour shifts, and try to get at least 7 hours of sleep a night. The physical nature of the job + a lack of sleep from working late seems to be really knocking me off my feet. However it's difficult to say no to more shifts when you've got a landlord to pay!