Some people believe that it is possible to calm the immune system and stop Hashimotos’ Thyroiditis.
This blog post provides a starting point for those that want to find out more about reducing the TPO and Tg autoantibodies that are raised in Hashimoto’s thyroiditis.
Strategies believed to calm the immune system in Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis:
For a thyroid gland that is under attack (evidenced by raised TPO and Tg autoantibodies), ensuring that the right thyroid treatment is in place and the patient is not hypothyroid in terms of FT3 and symptoms/signs is a good starting place.
The right thyroid hormone treatment will not be effective if cortisol levels are low. Consequently, it is important to test cortisol with a 24-hour adrenal saliva test and an 8:00 am morning cortisol test and correct low cortisol.
Many of my blog posts and parts of the Recovering with T3 book are concerned with the need for healthy adrenal output of cortisol and the use of the CT3M when necessary, so I will say no more about this subject here.
Vitamin D3 supplementation has been shown to be helpful in reducing the autoimmune attack in Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. Vitamin D levels can be tested with a 25-hydroxy vitamin D test. Supplementation with vitamin D3 is essential if vitamin D is low. Supplementation with 5000 IUs of vitamin D3 may make sense even if vitamin D levels are within range. Some doctors recommend higher doses of vitamin D3, but it is important to take medical advice on vitamin D3 supplementation (especially if a patient has kidney issues as vitamin D can cause further kidney damage).
If iron levels are low this will put stress on the processing of thyroid hormones, so iron should be properly tested and supplemented if it is not at a healthy level.
Vitamin B12 and folate should also be tested as if these are low this will also create stress on the body and impair thyroid hormone action.
Selenium 200 mcg per day is also known to be effective in lowering autoantibodies.
Gluten is known to be a factor in the development of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. This is a massive topic in itself. One of the strategies that many thyroid patients adopt is to go gluten-free. This and many other relevant topics may be found in Datis Kharrazian’s book Why do I still have symptoms when my lab tests are normal?.
Low dose naltexone (LDN) is a drug that is known to modulate the immune system. Many thyroid patients have had good results with LDN and have seen their TPO and Tg autoantibodies reduce significantly (these are the two main Hashimoto’s autoantibodies):
https://paulrobinsonthyroid.com/could-low-dose-naltrexone-ldn-help-in-hashimotos-thyroiditis/
Finally, Izabella Wentz has an excellent book entitled Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis. She appears to be one of the leading advocates for diet and supplementation to deal with Hashimoto’s.
This blog post is just a menu of potential options that thyroid patients may wish to investigate further themselves.
However, I hope the above may provide some readers with a starting point for their own investigations.
I will write again on this important topic.
Best wishes,
Paul
(Updated in February 2019)
