Please come share your wisdom on hypothryoidism!

[dontrunwithscissors]

I was diagnosed with an underactive thyroid (Hashimoto's) a few months ago. I've just learned from another thread that fluoride can inhibit absorption of thyroxine - somthing I didn't know.

So....I'm looking for any other pieces of information about hypothyroidism. What food, supplements or drinks should you avoid?
What can help?

I'll start: apparently the herb limeflower is not recommended for those with underactive thyroids. (I'm glad I found that out as it's in a camomile tea that I like to drink).

Any one else?

[dontrunwithscissors]

Bump! Anyone?

[germanlass]

Don't know about lime flowers (I like that herbal tea, too!) and have tried not drinking black tea because apparently it contains flouride but it didn't make any difference. I have Hashimoto's and have been on 150mcg thyroxin for 16 years. The one thing that made a HUGE difference was Soya: started drinking/eating increasing amounts to ward off pre-menopause symptoms. Really messed me up and had to increase dose to 225mcg. Then stopped all soya and thyroxin dose had to come down. GP says nothing to do with soya, just normal fluctuation ..... After a year of medication going up then down I've now been back on my regular dose for 18 months and back to normal (i.e some good days, some slow days). I also avoid fish/seafood/seaweed as much as I can because I'm afraid the high iodine levels might interfere with last bits of remaining thyroid function and also avoid gluten/wheat (doesn't affect thyroid but Hashimoto's can apparently lead to gluten intolerance) and feel much better for it - but I have NO medical evidence for any of these, just personal experience of what works for me and what doesn't. Hashimoto's is an interesting experience (ask my DH!) and my advice would be to take your time, find out more about it, try what does/doesn't work for you and be kind to yourself!

[leapyleo]

Hi, I was diagnosed underactive 12 years ago. The big one to avoid is iodine - often people who aren't in the know will tell you iodine is good for the thyroid - which it is as long as yours isn't underactive. Once you're underactive, any iodine supplement will make things worse and affect your thyroxine dosage. Google the British Thyroid Foundation which has some excellent advice on this sort of thing.