Things You'll Need:
- Determination
- Positive attitude
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Step 1
Eliminate stimulants and chemicals from your diet.
Thyroiditis can be positively influenced by a healthy diet. Consider what you are currently eating. Keep a journal for a week and spot the culprits that might be there. Some of the more obvious ones are caffeine, sugar and preservatives. I react strongly to all three of these. It took me many years to realize what a significant burden those “foods” were to my health. The first two abuse the adrenal glands and cause all types of imbalance. Preservatives can cause further stress to the brain (especially Aspartame!). Greatly reduce or eliminate your intake of these substances. This is what I found to be the best “first step” in helping the symptoms of this disease. -
Step 2
Choose the treatment options that are best for you.
Please fully research all your options before you start any long term thyroid treatment! Consider first and foremost what your regular diet should be. Then, begin to choose the right treatment for your body. There are combinations of herbal supplements, synthetic drugs (I would strongly recommend against this choice unless you just can’t get to other solutions), and natural desiccated thyroid preparations like Nature-Throid and Armour. There are other natural paths including detoxification methods. This is such an important step. I can’t stress enough how bad I felt that I had missed this step 14 years ago! I just did what the doctor told me. To know more about this critical step, please see my website home page which is listed below this article. -
Step 3
Watch out for Over-the-counter medications.
Find and take the right medications and don’t take the wrong ones! This is important. Just like food, ALL medications have side effects. It is very important to know what the side effects are and if they might be influencing your symptoms. For example, I used to suffer from excruciating migraine headaches. My HMO doctor (who was not interested in natural causes or treatments) suggested I take an over-the-counter medication. He said it was likely sinus related. This led me to Advil Cold and Sinus. Well, was I aware that my headaches got better because there is caffeine in them? Case and point: I found out that caffeine works to relieve caffeine headaches! Why? Because our body begins to depend on the “fix” each day when we have caffeine on a regular basis. After a few days off of caffeine, a very serious withdrawal symptom can result in the form of a headache (in addition to other symptoms that are known as “die off” symptoms). Many times it can be relieved by eating or drinking caffeine. I believe that’s why I have spurts of being addicted to chocolate. The only “cure” for this cycle is to get off of these roller coasters; whether from drugs or caffeine in food. I can’t go into all the chemical reactions your body can have over different drugs here, but it is important for you to be aware of each and every drug you are putting into your body. This goes a long way toward healing. Find the root problem and then work to overcome it without drugs – therefore bypassing their side effects. -
Step 4
Exercise does more than we think.
Yes, it is important but I believe the importance comes in many forms. It is a great stress reliever! Something about exercise just cleans out the negative thoughts in the brain. It has been so exciting to see the difference after I exercise. It just feels like someone just took a weight off of me. Oh, of course I must bring up the “weight” thing. Here’s one big problem with this disease. Our metabolism is seriously compromised when there is a sluggish thyroid. If you combine exercise with the right diet and right treatment, well, you’ve got a chance. But that combination is still not fully researched. What we do know is that a whole body approach has the most benefit. So find a fun exercise. Please don’t make yourself do something you hate to do. Choose a variety to alternate during the week to combat repetition injuries and to keep you from becoming bored. -
Step 5
Finally, take control of your health.
Educate yourself about Hashimotos Thyroiditis. It is an autoimmune disease. It has cycles. It fluctuates depending on things like life crisis, stress, seasons (especially the cold seasons when your body temperature naturally goes down), diet, attitude, etc. What I find the most confusing about this disease is the large amount of triggers it has. Consider a yearly calendar specifically noting times during the year that your symptoms flare up. This might go a long way in trouble-shooting triggers that you may be able to avoid in the future. A forum dedicated to thyroid disease is an excellent place to get support. Consider joining one, or better yet, visit my website forum linked below so we can walk through this disease together.
Comments
nicolecs said
on 7/28/2009 one of the symptoms of hypothyroidism is the inability to convert carotene into vitamin A. one of the symptoms of vitamin A deficiency is very dry flakey skin. i also have hashimotos and experienced bad eczema and also tiny bumps on my body that seemed like pimples but are actually dry skin, to clear everything up i cut out wheat and dairy and make sure i get enough omega 3 fats by eating fatty fish like salmon or taking fish oil supplements. i also take a B complex vitamin as it is very beneficial in all skin problems.
echudzicki said
on 1/20/2009 Thank you so much for the advice. I am 27 and have had Hashimoto's for 3 years. I am on a compounded T3 and T4 medication that has seemed to do the trick.
I get these signs when my levels are off. Before I was on medication I had these small little bumps all over my face and later on my back. At times they were like pen dot sized blisters. As soon as I was medicated they went away. So when I get these bumps that usually means that my dosage needs increased.
I recently started getting these bumps and what I am wondering is if anyone has had a similar problem with their skin. I also get the severe dry skin and eczema, which does not help the problem. Any thoughts?