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New Vegan.....just diagnosed with Hashimoto's Thyroiditis
Started
by Sue McMaster
on July 26, 2012
Hi everyone. Great to be part of the online 'kind life' community. I became vegan about 5 months ago. I'm loving it and I have never been more deeply happy about a life choice than this one. I was recently diagnosed with Hashimoto's disease and was wondering if anyone out there has any experience with this while being vegan? Any dietary suggestions or restrictions that may help with symptoms. I'm in the hyper phase right now and I've lost about 14 pounds. Not looking forward to swinging over to the hypo side, if you know what I mean. I was put on Levothyroxine about a week ago. I heard soy can block the absorption of the medication. I eat a very healthy vegan diet. I'm kind of following the 'eat to live' diet by Dr. Joel Fuhrman. It's a very high nutrition based diet. I'm hoping this will help improve my symptoms while my body transitions to a non-functioning thyroid, which my doctors tells me will take about a year for it to burn out. Any help or suggestions would be much appreciated. I'm so very grateful for this forum and all the support. Much love and peace.
Welcome, Sue!! I am on the opposite side of the thyroid spectrum-- hypo. I've been on synthroid (same thing as the levothyroxine) for about 20 years. I am also mixing the Eat to LIve and Kind Diet! The best thing to do is stay away from soy... as you already mentioned. Also, if you are a coffee drinker, make sure to take your pill at least one hour before you have your morning cup. Just like food. Lastly, with your new diet you probably won't need vitamin supplements. But if you are going to take them, it is suggested you take those at least 4-5 hours after your thyroid dose in the morning.
Having been hypo-thyroid for more than half my life, I understand how out of balance a thyroid malfunction can make one feel. Most people don't realize the drastic effects an imbalanced thyroid can have. For most of my life I have been leveled out on the same dose. Recently, however, my levels have changed and it has taken 8+ months to get them back in range. I now fear, just like you, that I am going to swing over to the opposite side. I would suggest maintaining contact with your doc and keeping a good eye on your levels. Are you seeing an endocrinologist? How long have you been on the meds? Good luck!
Also, there are some good books out there about thyroid disease that helped me figure out what foods to favor and avoid for purposes of thyroid. For example, it is suggested that those of us with hypothyroid (not sure about hyper) should avoid cruciferous vegetables! This has helped me in my vegan decisions during my transition to a healthier lifestyle! It is a tricky balancing act, but your body will let you know what is best. Just keep listening!
Thanks Emily. I agree with everything you're saying. I'm sure soon I will be on the opposite side. Just hoping to head off any unnecessary weight gain with a healthy diet. I know the body will probably respond more to the lack of hormones than to good eating unfortunately. I have almost stopped the soy. I do drink coffee first thing in the morning, but I will try to hold off on that (that will be a hard one for me). I did hear about the cruciferous veggies. I thought it was the raw cruciferous? I've been cooking all mine. I do take Dr. Fuhrman's multivitamins, but I wait 1/2 hr to an hour before eating. I'm not seeing an endo yet, but I was just diagnosed 2 weeks ago. Last fall my blood work showed that I was a little hypo, but it wasn't moving much, then as soon as I began my vegan diet I started to switch over to hyper. Don't really know if it had anything to do with it, my doc says no. It just swings back and forth that way. I know it's going to be important to stay positive. This disease can make you crazy from what I've read (and I'm trying not to read too much in the way of blogs). I started meditating again and I practice yoga, walk, ride bike. I think it helps to stay active when you have the energy anyway. Thanks so much for the support and advice Emily. It's nice to know there are others out there going through the same thing and that at vegan! I love your advice about listening to your body. I think that is so important. I just hope my doctor will support me and listen to me when I feel change happening. Thanks again. Love and Peace to you.
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