Dear Michelle

My story is about Candida ME and Hashimoto’s Autoimmune Thyroiditis.

Christine (The National Candida Society) knows some of my story and I’d now like to share it with you and the Foods Matter readers. I was diagnosed with Goitre in 2001. The Candida in 2003 and Hashimoto’s in 2006. I was getting the Candida nicely under control, in 2006, then I ended up in hospital with my thyroid antibodies off the scale. I was told  I now had bipolar disorder. I had been diagnosed with Hashimoto’s disease back in March. Nobody bothered to tell me, though I was in the surgery for something else in May and when I asked about it, the letter to the GP was  on the Nurse’s screen!

I was still suffering thrush symptoms this year so I took the 'anti candi' again and it made me so tired that I couldn’t function. I now take a Garlic daily with good effect.
I have had Hashimoto’s (autoimmune thyroiditis)  for two years now (that I know of!) So I fancied doing something about it. (I now help with the local ME group).

The organiser, a friend, suggested I try Tyrosine I looked this up in my books and found various references to it. I rang “Nutri” who sent me info on Thyroid Glandular’s, Plant sterols and Tyroid complex (which  includes iodine and tyrosine). All of which seem to be beneficial for people with Hashimoto’s disease and or an auto immune condition which it is. The Nutri Centre also recommended a few things like “glandulars” and Ashwaganda but their response to my query was a lot slower than Nutri’s.
My Bloods are not due to be checked till August. I thought I might have them checked a little early, before I started on some of the above treatment, but my GP was not keen and wouldn’t recommend the use of any of these. She reckons I shouldn’t  waste my money. And if I do need treatment it will be free on the NHS.

Christine knew I had candida, I was struggling with ME as a result of treating the candida at the time, and she suggested various things, but when I told her about my diagnosis of Hashimoto’s disease she said she didn’t know enough about the thyroid to help. I was a member for a number of years and found the regular newsletter very helpful and the helpdesk reassuring not to mention the supplement discounts.

I then discovered Thyroid UK who have an excellent website. I can now put Candida and ME behind me as long as I stick to my diet, but the future of Goitre and Hashimoto’s autoimmune thyroiditis remains a bit of a mystery. I feel I must go with my GP’s advice, because I became a bit independent with my old GP. Which at the time may not have been the brightest thing to be.

I still remain wheat free. I don’t get the bowel symptoms or rhinitis, but when I try the smallest amount of wheat my low mood returns so I have to stay off it. I’m still dairy free too (this came about after yet another lot of antibiotics were needlessly given to me) I tried Brie the other day and was fine. I have no desire to try cheddar (it used to play havoc with the digestion) I don’t tolerate ice cream. I prefer Swedish Glace, the dairy-free alternative. I use rice milk not soya as too much is contraindicated in thyroid disease. I avoid sugar as far as possible and yeast and mushrooms and alcohol to avoid candida 'flare-ups’.I get away with the occasional treat of dark chocolate.  With the general reluctance to do anything with my thyroid I must now look at my  Bipolar again. This year being sufficiently recovered from Candida and ME. I was able to hold down a job doing 16 hrs a week, but I was quite often told that I lacked momentum in what I was doing and need to speed up. I told my GP this and she reckons it is due to the Bipolar medication.

I have been discharged by the psychiatric team now, so next question is do I try to reduce my dose again, but this time just  monitoring it myself. It might just make a difference to my overall lifestyle. I have not really been properly well since before my goitre was diagnosed in 2001. Though this year I feel I am making real progress I may well leave things well alone for the time being.

I now take various supplements including a very good multi-vitamin and mineral which has selenium and iodine in it. Both are essential for both a healthy immune system and a healthy thyroid gland. This is documented in various places. I had my first episode of ME back in 2001 when they were investigating what was wrong with my thyroid and took me off selenium at the time! I was deficient in iodine the year they discovered I has raised thyroid antibodies and thus Hashimoto’s disease. I took Lugol’s iodine to correct the deficiency but still ended up in hospital with raised antibodies, in August, they had been like that since I had my bloods taken in the early spring. The hospital did nothing in particular to bring them down, I think they came right on their own, this year I’m insisting on the antibodies being checked again not just T3, T4 and TSH. 

Further reading and information

Why am I so tired? Is your thyroid making you ill? Martin Budd N.D., D.O. www.thorsons.com ISBN 0-7225-3942-8

Your Thyroid and how to keep it healthy Dr Barry Durrant-Peatfield. Second edition of The Great Thyroid Scandal and How to Survive it obtained from www.thyroiduk.org

How to Cope Successfully with Candida the Drug Free Way Jo Dunbar £6.99 ISBN 1-903784-11-5

Break Free from Chronic Fatigue for Good. Erica White’s Beat Fatigue Handbook, foreword by Patrick Holford. £9.99
ISBN 0-95214-653-3

The Coconut Oil Miracle. Bruce Fife. C.N., N.D. order direct from Coconut Connections 01494 771419 or www.virgincoconutoil.co.uk

National Candida Society 01689 813 039
The Nutri Centre  020 7436 5122
Nutri Freephone 0800 212 742

More articles on thyroid conditions

First Published in 2008

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