r/Hashimotos

It’s been over 2 years of being gluten free and I’m tired of it, especially now that I figured out dairy is actually causing me GI problems and having to avoid it 😭

Should I just give up and eat gluten again?!

The only symptom I may have gotten from gluten was a superrr mild dermatitis herpetiformis rash on my hands (literally talking like 1-2 itchy tiny bumps on the back of my hand), but it wasn’t consistent enough to really tell if it was gluten related.

How am I supposed to know if it’s even helping my thyroid?!

I exercise 3-5 times per week, running plus lifting, haven't lost much weight but I know I lost fat. My last check up 3 months ago my weight stayed the same and my doc tells me to try harder to lose weight.

Just saw him for another 3 month checkup where I lost 1.5kg. I know it's not much but I'm happy with my progress and can see some muscle definition. Doc just looks at my weight and says "you lost little bit this time, not much, but don't give up". It sounded so condescending. Ugh!

I f%#&$ing hate this disease!!! I hate waking up with more fat in my midsection and bigger boobs daily. I hate the handfuls of hair in the shower and that I’m balding. I hate that I have to wait six weeks to increase my dose. I hate that I’ve gained 50 lbs in 4 months. I hate that I had this managed for 18 years and post pregnancy I became severely hyper then hypo and had to have dose go from 350 to 100. I hate that t3 feels like it stops working after 8 hours. I hate that I can only increase 12.5-25mcg every 6 weeks. I hate knowing I’m about 175mcg shy of levo til I’m at the correct dose and that I’m about 30 weeks out from being normal. I hate this rapid weight gain. I hate that everything else has been checked and that yep tsh 10, free t4 .8 free t3 2… I’m under medicated. I hate that it looks like I’m eating a dozen donuts a day. I hate that I miss my old energy and body so much.

I hate this f%#&ing disease!!!!!! Feel free to vent if you need to…

So my levels are finally in range, my T3 is slightly elevated, but my PCP says that shouldn’t be causing the anxiety. It used to be just social anxiety where I would clam up and not be able to talk, but now I’m getting panic attacks from socializing. Starting Trintellix 5mg for anxiety when my prescription gets here, because I am debilitated with anxiety right now. I went on vacation with extended family recently and was a nervous mess, could barely talk to people let alone hold eye contact.

I’ve been on levo since February of this year. Is this still in the ride it out period? I’m just really discouraged and hopeless right now. My mental health is shit.

To make this simple I have been on this sub for a while for research and personal reasons, but the constant repetition I see is people talking upon the disease as it effects too many aspects of their life and then more. Does it control your life?

If there is many success stories and people presenting it to manageable, why are others on this sub mentioning long term issues or no light at
the end of this tunnel? If you had a successful story what advice or guidance would you give to the others that constant seem to struggle?

Or if you are apart of that demographic that it appears to control your life, why?
Have you been medicated or pursuing other medical issues that may mix between symptoms you experience? (Often sleep apnea with hashimotos co existing as an example)

Looking for insight from any one of representation on this particular reassurance or people who can chime in any sort of way, thank you!

I saw my endo on August 3rd and told him that the fatigue and tiredness is coming back. He said that we would probably have to adjust the medication depending on my next test results.

My test results showed that my T3 and T4 were in normal range, but my TSH is 6.37. It was 5.53 in January and I felt fine, but lately I've been feeling really tired and run down again.

I waited and waited for him to send a message. Nothing. So yesterday I sent him a message and asked if the increase in my TSH meant I need an increase in medication (I take NP Thyroid because I can't take levo or Synthroid). He finally looked at my test results today and said that my TSH is almost in range -- initially he wanted it to be less than 2, but now >6 is close enough??

He said in his message that if I'm not having symptoms, then my current dose is fine. Not having symptoms??? I guess he wasn't present for the August 3rd appointment. He also said that if I am having symptoms to take two pills three days a week, but unless he adjusts my prescription (which needs a renewal, so I guess that will be another message), I won't have enough pills to increase.

This is the day after a neurosurgeon dismissed me, saying that my nerves are fine when I haven't been able to properly walk for 9 years because of nerve compression in my lumbar spine after Lyme disease.

I'm just so angry and fed up with these doctors who just do not care. I finally have a good PCP (who linked my leg issues to my back issues and ordered an MRI), but every specialist has become such an uncaring jerk that I just can't get anywhere.

Is this true? I was diagnosed last November with Hashimoto’s & hypothyroidism. Within a year prior due to taking antidepressants and hashis without knowing my weight went from 150lbs to 200lbs.
My thyroid antibodies were over 800, they’re now much lower. My TSH was a 49, now a 9. Still not normal yet and I still physically feel awful, so I’m taking my synthroid daily as recommended and TSH is declining. Sometimes my doctor feels dismissive and so idk if I’m overthinking it, but would it be true that weight loss drugs wouldn’t work at all if my labs aren’t optimal? I’m just suffering so much from feeling like a zombie all the time. No energy, losing hair (I’m only 28) with my weight being the highest it’s ever been… all of these things are really weighing on me. I now weigh 217lbs and it seems every doctors appt I’ve gained at least 5 more lbs.
Will I always weigh this much? I feel so down.

Hey guys! Just seeking some advice on how to manage hashimotos and understand the triggers/cycle of the illness.
I recently got diagnosed with hashimotos at 20 years old, and have apparently had the antibodies present in blood tests since I was 16, but no doctor told me!!!!
I was already on levothyroxine without knowing I had hashimotos!
I’ve been on levothyroxine for around a year; and during that time I lost a tremendous amount of hair, and have felt fatigued and unmotivated pretty much every day. It’s also caused accompanying eczema/dermatitis on my hands that I have not been able to cure for over a year now, as well as a recurring staph infection. A dermatologist I went to said it is all connected to my thyroid, whilst I was already managing my thyroid and on levothyroxine? Confusing. Now I got dumped to pretty much just “wait” for it to cure itself?

I have suffered from a major depressive disorder and bi polar my whole life, so I am quite used to the fatigue and symptoms alike to hashimotos, and am on treatment for both. But since my diagnosis, maybe I’ve been treating the wrong cause? What are some things that are triggering to the symptoms of hashimotos? I personally can’t really identify any; as I’m always feeling quite drained and sleeping for hours on end. I know stress is a big symptom, but I’m a Law student so I can’t really eliminate that at the moment.

I also want advice from people who have been treating it longer than me. The internet is full of theories and diets. Is it actually worth going gluten free? I tested myself for coeliac disease and it was negative, and it’s not like I feel any worse after eating gluten? Though I couldn’t even tell you what a good day is meant to feel like at this point 🤣

I’m waiting to see an endocrinologist, what are some of the first things I should be looking into/brining up to get my treatment on track?

Thanks!
I hope everyone is feeling okay!
Welcoming myself to the hashimotos gang lol🥲

I was diagnosed with Hashimoto recently, my TPO and TSH are high, FT4 on the lowerrr limit.
I’m showing so many symptoms, the most one that’s making my life hell and what got me to the doctor is the brain fog.
I have huge problems concentrating recently and it feels so weird in my head, kind of like a headache/ pressure/ numbness, idk how to describe it. I work in software and recently it’s too hard to do my job it takes me 3 times as much as it did before all the symptoms started appearing.
I start my medication tomorrow and I’m wondering should I wait to see if symptoms improve or isn’t it supposed to be THIS BAD?

Tl;dv: Did hashimoto cause you big trouble thinking?

My Dr told me I have to wait 4 hours after taking levothyroxine before I can have coffee with creamer or eat. However, I’m reading I only need wait 60 minutes. I am wondering what others have Ben. Told?

Gut test, normal
TSH is 1.8
On 50mg Synthroid + Cytomel
Starting LDN tonight
Ferritin of 20, sat 16% (doc said this is not the problem)

I feel dead, so fatigued I cry everyday and in a fog I don’t feel alive.

I'm diagnosed with Hashimoto's and have a number of confirmed food allergies (peanut/soy/legumes/walnut/pecan/sesame).

I was incredibly reluctant to trial going gluten free since I tested negative for celiac disease last year, but I did so in April and I have to say, it's helped a lot, but at a price. I'm super sensitive to cross-contamination now, and every accidental exposure I have to gluten seems worse. I seem to have also sensitived to a number of other foods (dairy/oats/corn/rice/potatoes), and have had to stop eating them.

I'm going to get more allergy testing, and am going to talk to my GI about getting retested for celiac. In the meantime, I'm just curious how others react.

For me it's:

Within 30 minutes of eating, I usually first notice my ears ringing and vision changes (light refracts so the room looks smoky). Then I get itchy and break out in a blistery, scaly rash on my forearms, chest, abdomen, and knees. The rash is surprisingly fast growing-- and it's not hives, it's little fluid-filled vesicles. My throat starts to feel tacky and hurts, I get head pressure/a headache, and finally gas/steatorrhea.

Usually the next day the skin on my hands peels off spontaneously (but painlessly), and I feel like I have the flu.

Constipation, the rash, and feeling like I have the flu now last 3-7 days after eating accidental quantities of gluten. The immediate neurological symptoms resolve the day of.

I have Hashimoto's, I am supplementing with levothyroxin since 2016.

My pre pregnancy dose was 112 mcg, increased to 125 mcg during pregnancy.

At 6 weeks pp, my TSH was low so my PCP reduced my levothyroxin dose to 112 mcg (pre pregnancy dose)

Now at 12 weeks pp, my TSH was <0.005! My PCP wants me to stop the levothyroxin completely. This is very scary to me. I have needed medication for 10 years now and I fear stopping it would crash me into hypo. Hypo symptoms are horrible and it could tank my milk supply.

Right now I don't have much in terms of symptoms beyond just being tired. My family noticed some swelling on my neck.

Does anyone have experience with that? How long did it take to get back to stable levels?

I’m looking for experiences from people with Hashimoto’s/hypothyroidism who became significantly worse after starting levothyroxine.
My timeline:

10 January 2026: TSH 1.98; ferritin 51; B12 358; vitamin D 71.

19 June 2026: TSH had risen to 7.45, with FT4 13.2. I was experiencing significant fatigue and other symptoms.
9 July 2026: thyroid antibodies came back strongly positive — TPO >400 and TgAb 155, consistent with autoimmune thyroid disease.

July 2026: I started levothyroxine.

Since starting levothyroxine, instead of gradually feeling better, my fatigue has become much worse. I’m now so exhausted that I can be bedridden and sleeping excessively.

9 July: TSH 2.59, FT4 17.6, FT3 4.6.

28 July: TSH 1.63, FT4 16.0, FT3 4.5 — the laboratory reported normal thyroid function.

28 July: reverse T3 400 pmol/L (within the laboratory range).

Despite my thyroid numbers normalising, I feel significantly worse rather than better.
I’m also experiencing extreme skin dryness/dehydration, dull/matte skin and worsening skin symptoms, despite using moisturisers such as QV Intensive Ceramides, hydration, and supplementation of omega 3, 5, 7, krill oil , primrose etc.

I’ve had quite a lot of other testing. My ANA was 1:640, which led to a rheumatology referral, but anti-dsDNA was negative, ENA was negative, C3/C4 were normal, ESR 7 and CRP <3.

I’m trying to understand whether this could be related to levothyroxine, the dose, Hashimoto’s itself, or something else entirely.

Has anyone experienced severe fatigue getting worse after starting levothyroxine even though TSH/FT4/FT3 subsequently became normal?

I am interested in people who became so exhausted they were spending most of their time in bed. Did things eventually improve, or did changing the dose/medication make a difference?

I purchased the Glucose goddess books and I generally eat healthy, but is the only way I’m going to lose weight by doing the god damn glucose goddess method? It feels like a rigid way of living and I’m starting to feel hopeless. I’m 5’4 and weigh about 158 lbs. I hold fat in my belly as well as under my chin. I even had chin lipo last year and it didn’t really do much at all, which was disappointing as it was a very expensive NY doctor 🤮

I do strength training 3x weekly and it’s made me feel amazing, however no weight loss because it’s all weights, but I feel stronger and feel great. I walk a lot too and have grown to love it (it’s easy to get in your steps living in NY).

Trying to introduce cardio but it’s really hard to make the time. Did GLP for a year and lost less than 10 lbs. I know people who dropped 30 lbs easy. It’s wild to me. I’m going to see an endocrinologist soon (any recs in NY?) but at least being diagnosed with these two things gives me some sort of clarity and direction.

Anyone out there have a similar story and successfully lost weight? Thanks so much <3

Before I start taking these I want to see how common they are. My endo never really says much honestly.

Two years on levothyroxine and my numbers are where my endo wants them, but the thinning has not turned around and I am now told that means it is not the thyroid any more. That is not a satisfying answer when it started with the diagnosis. I am also wary of adding anything that interferes with absorbing my medication. For those further along, what made a difference once the labs looked fine?

Hi all!

I have been having 2 periods per month for the past 3-4 months. I have always been extremely irregular, but never this frequent. I’m having around 15-20 day cycles and bleeding for 5 days. I usually have 1-2 heavy days with clotting and all.

I’m super active (4-5 days of exercise per week). 23 years old. I eat relatively healthy. I do have Type 1 diabetes and hashimotos. I got off birth control September 2025.

Has anyone else experience this? Trying to determine the cause.

had hashimotos for like 8 years now and the weight thing has been such a battle. im on levo and my levels are normal but the scale just doesnt budge no matter what i do calorie counting, lifting weights, walking 10k steps a day - nothing moves the needle. reading about tirzepatide and saw some stuff about it potentially helping with inflammation and even thyroid antibodies in some cases. there was a case report where a woman with hashimotos had her TPO antibodies drop like 18 after starting it . obviously thats just one person but it got me curious.

anyone else with hashimoto's try this? how did it affect your thyroid labs?