My Hashimoto’s Remission and Learnings

In this post, I am telling you about my Hashimoto’s (autoimmunity) remission journey and sharing my learnings with you that can inspire you to take action.

My personal success story will explain why I am such a tireless advocate of conscious eating, taking supplements, and resolving psychological root causes of chronic diseases.

A Bolt from the Blue Sky

From my childhood, I had good health. From the age of about ten till my late twenties, I didn’t go to doctors and didn’t take any medicines. Moreover, I was and am a person avoiding any drugs when possible.

In 2007, in my early thirties, I went for a medical check-up after I had my first daughter.

The doctor was very thorough and did an extensive blood check. After that, she announced that I had an autoimmune disease, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. Also, she explained that I have to take thyroid hormone meds for the rest of my life.

Just imagine how shocked I was! I never went to that doctor again, being angry about her verdict.

What is Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis

But as I learned later, this doctor actually did a brilliant job. This is because Hashimoto’s is difficult to diagnose. Often, doctors do not perform a specific test.

Hashimoto’s is an autoimmune disease of the thyroid gland. Meaning that my immune system was attacking and destroying my thyroid, causing a lack of thyroid hormones, i.e., hypothyroidism.

The proof of Hashimoto thyroiditis is the presence of specific thyroid antibodies in blood above the norm of 34 IU/ml. I had about 640 IU/ml when I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s.

Symptoms of Hashimoto’s Disease

Hashimoto’s thyroiditis does not have any symptoms in the thyroid gland itself.

Instead, it can show up as multiple non-specific symptoms because the thyroid hormone Thyroxin regulates the metabolism rate in our body.

Hashimoto hypothyroidism has developed over the years. As it progresses, one or more of the following symptoms can manifest:

• Poor appetite, gut mobility, and uptake of nutrients from food
• a slowed heart rate
• fatigue
• weight gain
• intolerance for cold
• dry skin; dry, thinning hair
• heavy or irregular menstrual periods and problems becoming pregnant
• brain fog and memory problems
• depression
• joint and muscle pain
• constipation

Conventional medicine claims that Hashimoto’s thyroiditis is incurable. The only way to deal with it is to replace the missing thyroid hormones with medication.

Over 10 years of trials

I decided not to believe this claim and started searching for solutions.

The first solution I found pretty soon. It was selenium – an element that is used by our immune system. Read more about Selenium supplementation below.

Food Sensitivities

Later, I discovered food sensitivities and the ways to test them. I purchased an IgG antibodies test, FoodDetective^tm, and did it at home.

Meanwhile, more tests are available on the market, and labs performing IgG antibody tests. You can consult your doctor about different possibilities.

This test showed me that I must exclude grains (wheat and rye) and milk products from my diet.

Consuming products you are sensitive to affects your digestion and health in general.

Gluten sensitivity (wheat, rye) is also known to be closely related to autoimmune diseases.

Every day we live and every meal we eat we influence the great microbial organ inside us – for better or for worse.

Giulia Enders, author of Gut

“Gut” is Giulia’s Enders bestselling book that taught me much about the central role of the gut for the whole body and mind.

“Gut” was described by The Guardian as a book celebrating the digestive tract. It can teach you a science-based story of your gut in a charming way with a good portion of humor.

Eliminating grains and milk products helped me to restore my gut health. I didn’t even realize back then that the symptoms accompanying me for years were typical manifestations of irritable bowel syndrome. But they disappeared soon after adjusting my nutrition.

Read more about different food sensitivity testing methods here.

Experts

Later, I discovered the book by Izabella Wentz called Thyroid Pharmacist.

Izabella Wentz suffered from several severe symptoms for years before being diagnosed with Hashimoto’s. She has been researching profound scientific literature about the thyroid and its autoimmunity.

Izabella Wentz is the author of several bestselling books and programs that helped thousands of people deal with Hashimoto’s disease and even go into remission.

I learned and applied much from Izalebella’s books, for example, about the role of iodine and soy products in triggering thyroid autoimmunity and supplements helpful for remission.

Uncontrolled Consumption of Iodine

Iodine is an essential component of thyroid hormones. However, excessive iodine is toxic to cells, especially, the thyroid gland.

As you know, Iodine is a scarce element in soils and, therefore, is added to foods.

Iodine is added to salt and, therefore, can be found in many of our products – bread, pasta, cheese, etc. Unfortunately, this led to uncontrolled excessive consumption of iodine.

Many products naturally contain iodine. Seaweeds like kelp contain large amounts of iodine.

A free Iodine Inventory app can help you to keep track of the amount of iodine in your everyday diet that you are consuming.

The Iodine Inventory lets you check if you are still in the safe zone.

Moreover, if you live near the coast, you absorb iodine literally from the air. Seaweeds accumulate and excrete iodine into the air. The amount of iodine in the air is proportional to the amount of seaweed in the area.

Izabella Wentz brings attention to the scientific evidence that uncontrolled intake of iodine is one of the main triggers of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis and led to an epidemic of Hashimoto’s disease.

I banned iodine salt from my kitchen several years ago and started using sea salt instead.

Supplements for Hashimoto’s

Firstly, our food must be rich and provide all the macro and micronutrients our bodies need.

At the beginning of my healing journey, I was convinced that I eat healthily and that my food contains everything my body needs.

But later, I have been changing and adjusting my diet. And I changed my opinion about supplements radically. I am convinced that we need supplements for optimal health, well-being, and longevity.

From Wentz’s books, I learned and tried out different supplements. Some supplements were especially beneficial: selenium, vitamin D, curcumin (turmeric extract), and Potentilla alba.

Check this post about the source of scientifically-based information about supplements.

Selenium

Selenium was the first supplement that I started taking.

It was observed that Hashimoto’s patients often have Selenium deficiency. That is selenium deficiency in combination with the iodine excess that can trigger the autoimmune reaction against the thyroid.

Selenium taken along with the L-thyroxine medication was able to lower the thyroid antibodies’ levels from 640 IU (international units) to the stable 200 IU (the norm is <35 IU/ml).

The therapeutic dose of selenium is not related to the recommended daily intake but is higher. I took 200 mcg (364% of the recommended daily dose).

The form of selenium is important – selenium methionine, an organic compound, is the active and helpful form of selenium.

To achieve a decrease in antibodies, selenium needs to be taken for several months. I had been taking Selenium daily for several years.

Vitamin D

Vitamin D is an essential vitamin to supplement in winter times. Its deficiency directly correlates with the incidents of autoimmune diseases and certain cancers.

Hashimoto’s patients typically have low blood levels of vitamin D. It was only when I started taking high doses of vitamin D that the blood levels finally reached the norm.

Curcumin

Curcumin has several beneficial properties that help Hashimoto’s (autoimmune disease) patients. It is a powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent that also reduces symptoms of depression.

Turmeric has weaker therapeutic properties compared to curcumin extract.

Though the substance is very potent, it is poorly retained in the body, being excreted very fast.

It is important to take a formulation that is retained in the body longer. I’ve been using a liposomal formulation offering significantly higher efficiency.

Interest in supplements grows constantly. They have been researched continuously. The latest proven information can help you make the right choices of supplements.

Potentilla аlba

Even if autoimmune inflammation is reduced, the thyroid function is not restored by default.
The thyroid gets damaged by the autoimmune attack. This is recognizable as typical for Hashimoto’s grainy structure on ultrasound pictures.
Potentilla Alba has been successfully used in Russia to balance thyroid function. It is used both in hyper- and hypothyroidism.

I took Potentilla Alba supplements several times for two months. This allowed me to restore thyroid function and reduce the L-Tyroksin dose from 100 to 75 micrograms even before achieving remission.

Here, you can find a research summary on Potentilla Alba usage to improve thyroid function.
I’ve used both Endocrinol from the Russian company Evalar and Endonorm. The first is unavailable, but the second is available for shipping abroad. You can read more about the importance of this supplement for my remission in a newer post.

Allies

When I started trying out different interventions from the Wentz protocol, I needed to evaluate if they worked for me. For that, I needed to measure the thyroid antibodies in the blood.

I asked my family doctor to perform blood tests. At that time, I was already living in the Netherlands. The doctor was convinced that Hashimoto’s is an incurable disease. Moreover, the Dutch medical system is known as economical. The answer to my requests to measure antibodies repeatedly was a plain “No.”

I found a different specialist open to collaborating and responding to my needs and requests. Such doctors are still rather an exception, but it is worth finding one.

Where to find such an ally

The website of Izabella Wentz runs a database with a list of medical practitioners recommended by patients. Those doctors:

• listen carefully to the patients and pay attention to their symptoms
• order a comprehensive thyroid tests panel (free T3, free T4, reverse T3, thyroid antibodies, and TSH) and thyroid-related tests (like vitamin D and iron tests for deficiencies)
• are willing to prescribe different types of thyroid hormone medications
• apply the integrative approach, for example, treat nutritional imbalances, leaky gut, and other related conditions

You can even add your doctor to this database if he or she treats you according to the above requirements.

Hashimoto’s Mistakes

In the past, I made some mistakes that I would not repeat again if I got a chance to repeat the journey.

Not taking Medicine

One of them was stopping taking Tyroksin meds just because I disliked very much the idea of being dependent on meds for the rest of my life.

A study has shown that about 50% of hypothyroidism patients fail to take thyroid medicine regularly. The main reason is the requirement to fast for at least half an hour after taking the medicine and before having breakfast.

This is a significant mistake as all the symptoms of the lacking hormone described above are getting more severe, and all organs and tissues, like muscles, get weaker.

Taking Medicine with Iron Supplement

One of the typical symptoms of Hashimoto’s and hypothyroidism is low values of blood iron (anemia). This was one of the most resistant symptoms that I had. And it had the most effect on me during pregnancy time.

I went regularly to the gynecologist for check-ups during my pregnancies. It was during the second pregnancy that I had Hashimoto’s diagnosis, took Levothyroksin, and then low levels of iron were found.

Levothyroxine medicine is taken in low dosages, at microgram levels and its absorption gets easily influenced by ingesting foods or specific substances. Therefore, one has to take the medicine first thing in the morning and then fast for at least half an hour before having breakfast.

Iron is one of the substances that interfere with the absorption of levothyroxine in the digestive tract. Unfortunately, the gynecologist who prescribed the iron supplement didn’t know this and even reassured me that I could take both together.

This caused an abrupt decrease in levothyroxine levels and, in my case, extreme mood swings and tiredness during pregnancy. I found the correct information and stopped taking the medicines together immediately.

Psychological Root Causes

I learned that every chronic or autoimmune disease has a psychological root cause besides genetics and environmental causes like toxicity.

It is known that Hashimoto thyroiditis affects women more often than men. And there are different studies indicating that Hashimoto’s disease can serve as an adjustment and protection mechanism for the body.

The psychological factors causing such protection mechanisms can be an unfavorable environment in childhood, like violence, verbal, physical, or sexual abuse between parents or towards the child, parents with addictions, loss of a family member, etc.

I used hypnotherapy to deal with my insecurities. Hypnotherapy offers powerful tools to resolve a load of emotional hurt from the past.

Impossible Becomes Possible

In 2017, I went for another blood test that showed that thyroid antibodies were in the norm (<34 IU/ml). The comment of the responsible immunologist was saying that the diagnosis of Hashimoto’s is not confirmed.

The test was repeated. Two months, two years, and even three years later, it was still negative.

The antibody count dropped within ten years from about 640 to 200, to 100, and finally to below 30 IU/ml.

The Journey Continues

I believe my immune system would flare up and start its fight against my thyroid if I go back to consuming wheat and milk products, iodine salt, and stop using supplements.

Also, the function of the thyroid was restored through the interventions only to some extent. And I still need to take daily thyroid hormones at a lower dose than at the beginning.

So, I will continue my search for solutions to be fit and vital.

Many would say that those are too many lifestyle restrictions and sacrifices.

But for me, these restrictions are only the means to live better and enjoy my life more, be a better mother for my daughters, and be there for my clients.

I choose long-term, sustainable life pleasure over short-term pleasure.

If changing your lifestyle seems to be impossible, using therapy or coaching can be an option. Hypnotherapy works with the root causes of your resistance and is exceptionally effective in changing your mindset and setting you up for success.

It is known that perimenopausal and menopausal hormonal changes can trigger Hashimoto’s in healthy women. Since this phase of life is approaching me, I might need to deal with additional challenges. I will keep you updated about my interventions and their results.

Read an update to my remission story here.

Conclusions

These are the learnings from my Hashimoto’s journey that I wanted to share with you:

• Let the quality of your life be the priority over instant pleasures.
• Take full accountability, not relying just on the treating doctor or prescribed medicines.
• Look for knowledge and experts that can help.
• Resolve the psychological root cause of your condition.
• Adopt the lifestyle and nutrition that helps with your condition.
  • Test and exclude foods that you are sensitive to.
  • Take supplements that help your condition.
  • Control your Iodine intake.

Have you or someone in your family had symptoms that could not be explained by your doctor?

Disclaimer

Please consult your doctor before taking any interventions mentioned in this post.

Olga Willemsen, Ph.D. > Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist & Transformational Coach

Olga is the founder of New Empowered You, specializing in helping professionals break through complex weight-loss plateaus. With a Ph.D. in Natural Sciences, she blends a pragmatic, evidence-based mindset with advanced hypnotherapy.

A certified member of the International Association of Counselors and Therapists (IACT), Olga is also trained in RTT, Neo-Ericksonian Hypnosis, and the Simpson Protocol. She helps clients worldwide update the mental “software” that governs their physical health.

Ready to stop the struggle?

Book a Free Discovery Call with Olga

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