While I was searching for the root cause of my Hashimoto’s, I began to take on excellent self-care methods. I realized that I was a powerful woman and that I could figure out how to overcome Hashimoto’s given the right amount of commitment. I made an effort to reduce the stress in my life and put myself in a positive healing mind frame. I frequently told myself “Every day and every way, I am getting better and better,” until eventually, it became true!
Here are some of my strategies that I hope you can use in your life.
Embrace the Diet and Ask for Support
I stopped feeling bad for being on a “weird diet” and asked my husband and family (who was initially skeptical of gluten sensitivity) to support me during my diet. For the first time, my husband understood how important this was to me, and supported me during my elemental diet, soup fast, Gaps diet, SCD Diet, Body Ecology Diet and he even did a 30 day Paleo challenge with me.
The results were amazing!
Not only did I start to feel better (with muscles I never knew I had appeared in all kinds of new places), but my athletic runner husband, who never had any major health issues, found that he actually felt even better eating this type of diet and eating this way has brought us much closer.
We have fun planning our meals and cooking together. (If you’re looking for a great article to share with your significant other, check out the following article from Alexandra Jamieson, co-creator of Super-Size Me “How to Be The Best Partner When Your Love is on a Cleanse or Diet“)
Involve Your Friends and Family in Your New Lifestyle
I’d always cherished spending time with loved ones, but the Hashimoto’s diagnosis made me retreat into myself and I stopped reaching out and connecting with others. When I decided to heal, I started inviting friends and family over for dinners and made all of the meals Paleo. To my delight, they loved the new food! Soon enough, we were having Paleo Potlucks every weekend! As of now, my husband, mom, brother, and future sister-in-law are now following a mostly Paleo diet and feeling great (still working on my dad, though). 🙂
Be Honest about Your Needs
I stopped feeling bad for putting my own needs before the needs of other people and began to dive into research, journal and started doing yoga five days per week. I felt strong, muscular and balanced. I mastered the crow pose and even had six pack abs for the first time in my life!
Let Go of Stress
I stopped stressing myself out at work and being an overachiever, and established firm boundaries and took advantage of lunches, breaks, days off, flex time, working from home, and the company’s policy that allowed to schedule sick days. I left work on time. When I became overwhelmed with projects at work, I said “no” for the first time when people asked me to take on more. It felt good, and for the first time in my adult life, I felt like I was in that mystical zone of “work-life balance.”
Invest in Yourself
I stopped feeling bad for spending money on myself and fully invested in my health. My husband and I treated ourselves to monthly massages to help us relax. I ordered functional medicine tests, high-quality supplements, and paid out of pocket for practitioners that didn’t take my insurance. I’d spent months, sometimes years, researching many of these, but something inside of me prevented me from taking action.
Get a Great Routine
I had a really good routine in place. I had family support, Trader Joe’s, my yoga studio practically next door, and friends I could meet for a laugh. Eating a Paleo diet, exercising, and spending time with nourishing relationships was easy!
Take Action
I dove into more innovative research and implemented it. My body was ever so grateful for taking care of it, and my Hashimoto’s went into remission.
Share Your Story; Maybe it Will Help Someone Else
Happily, I summarized all of my research into a Hashimoto’s Patient Guide (if you read my book, you know my story 🙂 ). The original idea about writing a book came from my mom. You see, Hashimoto’s runs in my family, and I have a young cousin in Poland with the condition.
My mom saw the progress I was making and encouraged me to write a book so she could translate it into Polish for my cousin and aunt to read. So really, I wrote the book for my little cousin with Hashimoto’s. I knew that it would also help other people in their journeys, but I didn’t expect that the book would become an Amazon best seller, and I never imagined that it would lead to so many remission stories and help so many people! I get tears in my eyes every time I see a review from someone who has reduced or eliminated their thyroid antibodies.
After the Hashimoto’s book had come out in June 2013, I left my job as a medication safety pharmacist to focus my full-time efforts on helping others with Hashimoto’s through my book, Hashimoto’s: The Root Cause, website, Facebook page and doing lots of free interviews for summits, radio shows, podcasts, and the like.
Get Involved in Advocacy for Thyroid Patients
I joined the board of a not-for-profit: Thyroid Change. Having the ability to help people with Hashimoto’s on a full-time basis has been a dream come true.
The first part of this post talked about the self-care strategies I used to get into remission. I thought that I didn’t have to worry about my health anymore, but then, of course, life threw me a curveball. My husband got an amazing job promotion… in the Netherlands. I was so excited to live in Europe… but then we moved to the Netherlands, and everything got out of control.
My self-care habits weren’t deep enough to handle such a big change, and I have to admit something. I wasn’t being very nice to myself.
I got back into my old habits of overworking that led me to get sick in the first place. I didn’t scale back on my advocacy efforts—despite being in the middle of an international move that required me to sell my house, car, get rid of half of my stuff and spend hours upon hours on paperwork to get established.
I was hard on myself and told myself to keep going instead of resting and adjusting to my new life.
I continued to do multiple interviews—even during the week I was moving. I remember one interviewer saying, “Really, you just moved to Amsterdam two days ago??”
Even with everything that was going on, I got mad at myself for missing self-imposed deadlines and for not replying to requests in a timely fashion. I felt like I needed to be doing more for everyone else and forgot about myself.
I postponed calls with friends and family, so I could use the evenings to be on interviews in the US.
I stopped doing yoga and going to the gym. It seemed like too much effort.
Researching, writing, being innovative, creating, and interacting with others feed my soul, but I had become so busy with day to day tasks that I no longer had the time to do the very things that made me feel fulfilled.
I forgot about the things I wanted to do, and all I thought about were things I needed to do (get a local bank account, cancel car insurance, answer emails, etc.).
And while I can say that I’m healthy enough to work 14-hour days, just because you can, doesn’t mean you should… and everyone needs time for themselves. Because stress breaks us down and makes us susceptible to triggers that can cause a relapse of autoimmunity.
Stress is almost always a precursor to autoimmunity!
Luckily, I still stayed in remission. I know that this is only because I’ve hacked my diet, supplements, and body to a point where I can keep things under control. One particularly stressful day I got terrible food poisoning, but I knew the right supplements to take to prevent triggering a relapse.
But I had started to see the effects of stress beginning to take a toll on my body… all of the diets and supplements in the world won’t make up for your body’s response to constant stress.
While I was still thin, my muscles, six pack abs, and biceps became a distant memory. I have an embarrassing picture of myself hunching over in the bathroom cleaning my engagement ring looking a lot like Gollum from Lord of the Rings (No, I’m not posting it, thank you very much!).
You would think the picture would be enough for many to act, but what made me decide to change was reconnecting with Stacey Robbins. If you’ve been a follower of mine for a long time, you may remember that I wrote the forward for her amazing book: You’re Not Crazy, You’re Not Alone.
Izabella Wentz, PharmD & Stacey Robbins in Playa Del Rey, CA, August 2014
Stacey reminded me about the importance of self-care. It’s different from self-esteem, and while I’ve always felt I had great “self-esteem,” I have often struggled with self-care. Stacey told me: “You have to schedule time for yourself each day and do the things that bring you joy and peace, the things that you want to do. If you take a little time to yourself each day, before you know it, your self-care will become a habit.”
And as a result of our many conversations, I came up with some new self-care strategies…
Here Are My Personal Strategies for Self-Care
- Work on my physical strength every day, alternating arms, legs, abs, yoga, pilates. Even if it’s just doing 10 squats per day
- Be as gentle with myself as I would be with a dear friend or child
- No more late nights and early mornings—sleep as much as possible
- Write every day
- Nourish my brain with reading or learning something every day
- Spend quality time with my husband and plan fun weekend trips instead of working or running errands
- Spend quality time with my best dog-friend, Boomer, by going on hour long walks to the park whenever the weather is sunny in Amsterdam
- Call my favorite (and only) brother at least once a week, even though our time zones don’t always mesh, he always makes me laugh
- Reach out to friends for support to catch up or for a good laugh
- Schedule time for myself
- Get out of my own way and creating more to help others
- Make a daily effort to be more relaxed
Stacey is an expert in teaching others to care for themselves. She has helped me tremendously, and I’m so grateful to have her as a friend and to have her support.
Life Mastery
I’m normally pretty private about my personal goals, but another one of my friends had challenged me to post them publicly. Dr. Pedram Shojai is one of the busiest and most productive people I know, yet he is always super relaxed and happy (and a father)!
Pedram has been doing a practice called a 100 Day Gong for over 20 years. A Gong is a deal you make with yourself that you stick to for a hundred days straight. You can do a gong with all kinds of goals, including fitness, diet, personal growth, and relationships. You can learn more about his work and programs at Urban Monk Academy.
Your Challenge from Me
I encourage you to practice self-care, whether it’s being a little nicer to yourself today or going out and getting a massage every day for the next month! You are worth it. Take time to care for yourself. I challenge you to make your list of self-care items that will allow you to move your healing forward.
PS. You can also download a free Thyroid Diet Guide, 10 Thyroid friendly recipes, and the Nutrient Depletions and Digestion chapter for free by going to www.thyroidpharmacist.com/gift. You will also receive occasional updates about new research, resources, giveaways and helpful information.
Olga- Thank you so much for following this page! Do you have Hashimoto’s or a thyroid condition?
Hashimoto’s is a complicated condition with many layers that need to be unraveled. While conventional medicine only looks at each body system as a separate category and is only concerned with the thyroid’s ability to produce thyroid hormone, Hashimoto’s is more than just hypothyroidism. I wanted to pass along these articles that I wrote. I hope they help 🙂
WHERE DO I START WITH HASHIMOTO’S
https://thyroidpharmacist.com/articles/where-do-i-start-with-hashimotos/
OVERCOMING HASHIMOTO’S
https://thyroidpharmacist.com/articles/overcoming-hashimotos-in-the-new-year/
Lynne- Did you know that reactive foods trigger an inflammatory response in the GI tract, leading to malabsorption of nutrients (gluten sensitivity in particular has been implicated in causing a Selenium deficiency, a well known risk factor for Hashimoto’s), and can also produce intestinal permeability whenever they are eaten?
Most people will see a dramatic reduction in gut symptoms, brain symptoms, skin breakouts and pain by eliminating the foods they are sensitive to. Some will also see a significant reduction in thyroid antibodies! An additional subset of people, will actually be able to get their Hashimoto’s into complete remission just by getting off the foods they react to, normalizing their thyroid antibodies, and some even normalizing their thyroid function! Here are a couple of articles you may find helpful.
FOOD SENSITIVITIES AND HASHIMOTO’S
https://thyroidpharmacist.com/articles/food-sensitivities-and-hashimotos
AUTOIMMUNE PALEO DIET
https://thyroidpharmacist.com/articles/autoimmune-paleo-diet
Catrina- Here is an article you may find helpful! 🙂
TOP 9 THINGS I’D SAY TO A FRIEND NEWLY DIAGNOSED WITH HASHIMOTO’S
https://thyroidpharmacist.com/articles/top-9-things-id-say-to-a-friend-newly-diagnosed-with-hashimotos/
Thank you for this post! I have bookmarked it as it is filled with so many good tips and reminders. I have been on this healing journey for 18 months and am feeling so much better the past 6 months that I sometimes slip back into old bad habits. Keeping self care on my daily and weekly calendar – regardless of how long my to-do list is – is vital to maintaining the progress I have made. Thank you, Izabella, for all that you do to support and educate our Hashimoto community!! 🙂
Suzanne- Thank you so much for your support! I look forward to hearing your progress on this page! I think it is great you are empowering yourself to take your health back! I hope you also check out my book! Here’s the link in case you’re interested. 🙂
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0615825796?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creativeASIN=0615825796&linkCode=xm2&tag=thyroipharma-20
This has helped me alot by understanding thyroid disease it has made me a better person through understanding how to stay focused on my dietary needs and look after myself properly to stay in remission I intend to carry on with my clean food eating program I can only look foward
Jennie – that is amazing and I’m so happy for you. <3 I'm currently collecting success stories and my goal is to collect 10,000 in hopes to submit them to a medical journal. I know it's a lot to ask but would you mind submitting yours?
http://www.thyroidpharmacist.com/testimonial
Hi Izabella,
I watched every episode of the Thyroid Secret and learned a lot. I know now that I’ve had Hashimoto’s for a very long time and while changing my diet to a gluten/grain/dairy and sugar free diet helped a lot 6 years ago, I’m suffering again with rashes, psoriasis flare ups, inexplicable weight gain, hair loss and many more.
I know from your documentary that Hashimoto’s has many root causes and that I have to figure it out.
One question: is it possible to remain vegan and heal the thyroid?
Thanks!
Claire- Recovering from adrenal fatigue and hypothyroidism when following a vegetarian diet is very challenging, as vegetarian diets are often carbohydrate heavy.
Vegetarian sources of protein such as legumes (beans), dairy, grains, soy and some seeds may be incompatible with trying to heal a leaky gut, which is almost always present with Hashimoto’s. Pea protein is an alternative that may be easier to digest and is less likely to cause food sensitivities (I use NOW Foods brand).
Eggs, some seeds, and nuts would be the preferred sources of protein for vegetarians, however, some people with Hashimoto’s may be intolerant to those as well, especially in the early stages of starting a healing diet.
Being a vegan is even more challenging, and nuts and seeds would be the go-to source of protein, which are usually too difficult to digest for many in the beginning of their thyroid healing journeys.
While vegan and vegetarian diets have been reported to be extremely helpful with autoimmune and chronic conditions, I have not been able to find reports of people recovering from Hashimoto’s by following a vegan diet. Even devout vegans who are nutritionally conscious still struggle with low body temperatures, hypothyroidism and Hashimoto’s.
Additionally, many former vegans have reported improved symptoms of Hashimoto’s following transitioning to a Paleo diet. Based on this, I believe that animal proteins must play an important role in building back the health of people with Hashimoto’s.
That said, while meats and fats are important for healing, eating them exclusively will produce an acidic environment in the body; hindering healing, and thus the diet should be balanced with plenty of nutrient rich vegetables (suggested ratio may be 20% meat/80% veggie).
Additionally, vegan and raw vegan diets can be extremely helpful for cleansing and detoxifying, especially for those with persistent protein digestion issues. A vegan diet can be followed for a few days to a few weeks and may help the body detoxify. B12 and iron or ferritin supplements should be utilized at this time to prevent deficiency.
AUTOIMMUNE PALEO DIET
https://thyroidpharmacist.com/articles/autoimmune-paleo-diet
Dear Dr. Wentz,
Is it correct that you reside in Amsterdam?
As I am in Limmen, (20 mins A’dam) could I contact you, and preferable ask a consult?
I have hashimoto, and recently diabetes, 1.5 now and since on, 2 months horrible reaction to Metformine, and crazy peaks in glucose-levels, from 4 to 33 (maybe in 24 hrs) independent of what I eat, vegetarian (some fish 2x month) and since half year vegan…low carbs, organic foods mostly, half raw veg, 2x fruit a day…hemp-proteine, selenium from nuts, cia/raw choc-nibs, coconut-yoghert and blueberrie breakfast, oats cooked with ginger…and cinnamon. 2 slices spelt dried fruit with peanutbutter, crazy gravings for food….
feel very sick now, please help?
kindest regards,
Anusha-Yvonne
Anusha – thank you very much for your inquiry.
I do provide a limited number of consultations, however, my consultative schedule is all full at the moment. I have a 12-week online program called Hacking Hashimoto’s that covers all of the strategies that I go through with my one-on-one clients, in a self-paced format, so that participants have access to all of the things I’ve learned about Hashimoto’s without having to schedule costly consults with me or another practitioner. There are a few requirements that you should pay attention to, such as my book is a required read.
HACKING HASHIMOTOS
http://hackinghashimotos.com/
In addition, any person that goes through the program will have the opportunity for a follow-up consultation with one of my thyroid pharmacist consulting members.
Lastly, here’s the link to the book in case you have not read it already.
Love, love, love! Talking about the root cause of these conditions and how to address them. But we can’t ignore everything! Self care is just so important to every aspect of our lives.
Tessa – thank you so much for sharing! I agree, self care is very important. <3
I have been chugging along..ex of Hashimoto’s since about August last year..I had to ask my doc for testing as now, I had to tell mydoc I felt the thyroid med was too high and it was..now down to 88 and I chose a Paleo Autoimmune and supplemented based on all the wonderful things I have read including your things…So I am to the point that supposedly my blood work is normal..I asked for a Celiac Test and that is negativ3 but I have sensitivities, not as grand as before, but they present themselves and Stress, well, my brain injuries do not help, especially the Limbic System as one of the major 8 day bleeds..so I know I have to be on this forever with occasional play, but supplements I think I need to wean..though the doc just says my blood work is fine, I think I am feeling overloaded and because I am in a routine of healthy eating, I should be getting the nutrients from food and bone broth..Being low income, on disability, I do not have the luxury of a good doctor willing to just do the tests I ask..it is pulling teeth, so I learned to listen to my body..Even the digestive enzymes I find I can start tapering back..but WHEN DO YOU TRULY KNOW YOU CAN CONSIDERING STRESS IS ALL OVER?
Barbara – thank you for sharing your journey! My heart goes out to you! <3 I am so proud of you for advocating for yourself and taking charge of your health. Thyroid tissue can regenerate, but the rate at which it does is not always predictable. Thus, some are able to stop the autoimmune attack on their thyroid and regain normal thyroid function. Others can reduce the dose of medications, and others will need to stay on the medications indefinitely. I'm currently working on some protocols to help with tissue regeneration. Reversing Hashimoto's means different things to different people. For some, it means a reduction in symptoms, and for others, it means a reduction in your antibodies. I had both. Here a few articles that might be helpful for you:
IS IT POSSIBLE TO RECOVER THYROID FUNCTION IN HASHIMOTO'S
https://thyroidpharmacist.com/articles/is-it-possible-to-recover-thyroid-function-in-hashimotos
REVERSING AUTOIMMUNITY? AND THE PERFECT STORM
https://thyroidpharmacist.com/articles/reversing-autoimmunity-and-the-perfect-storm/
HASHIMOTO’S SELF CARE, GETTING AND STAYING IN REMISSION
https://thyroidpharmacist.com/articles/hashimotos-self-care
In case you want to learn more, here are the links to my books:
Hashimoto’s Protocol
http://amzn.to/2B5J1mq
Hashimoto’s Root Cause
http://amzn.to/2DoeC80
Dr Wentz
After many years of being borderline, I am finally diagnosed as hyperthyroid with large multinodular benign goitre. I want to work on, and heal, this myself as far as i possibly can.
Will your books and protocols work for me? I am a vegetarian of 12 months, but recently my body seems to be asking for meat! I sucumbed and had some organic pork.
Any guidance would be very much appreciated.
Blessings, Lindka
Lindka – thank you for reaching out. Graves and Hashimoto’s are both autoimmune conditions that affect the thyroid. They are thought to be closely related. Sometimes one turns into the other. The difference is the site of the antibody attack. In Hashimoto’s, the antibodies are found to thyroglobulin (in 80%) and thyroid peroxidase (TPO) enzyme (in 95% of people) Hashimoto’s results in hypothyroidism and is usually treated with Synthroid and replacement hormone. The same antibodies may be present in a smaller percentage of people who have Graves, but the main antibody is to the TSH Receptor (TSHR-Ab). Usually, people with Graves have hyperthyroidism, and they are treated conventionally with thyroid suppressing drugs (methimazole) or radioactive iodine to destroy the thyroid. At that point, the thyroid will no longer produce hormones on its own, and these people end up on Synthroid as well. Most thyroid conditions result from the immune system attacking the thyroid because the immune system is out of balance. Even when the thyroid is taken out surgically or treated with radioactive iodine the autoimmunity still persists in most cases. Many people will have their thyroids removed, and will develop new autoimmune disorders such as Lupus, Rheumatoid arthritis, etc. The immune system just finds a different target. We need to rebalance the immune system to prevent this. Sometimes the autoimmunity can be reversed as well! The gut determines your immune system. With the exception of discussing proper thyroid medication dosing, the majority of my website and my book focuses on balancing the immune system. The info I present is based on my own research and journey for overcoming my autoimmune thyroid condition. Here are the links to my books, I hope you check them out:
Hashimoto’s Root Cause
http://amzn.to/2DoeC80
Hashimoto’s Protocol
http://amzn.to/2B5J1mq
Thanks for this in depth article about self care. I’m committed to working on new habits to deal with stress this month, intending to make some long term changes. This gives me so many starting points. Really appreciate it.
Kay – you are very welcome! <3 I understand how hard it is to deal with stress. <3 I‘ve found that an inability to manage stress is often at the core of the condition. Most people can trace back the development of Hashimoto’s and autoimmune conditions to a particularly stressful time period. Stress is inherent, and it’s how we handle our stress that matters. I recommend self-management stress-reducing habits like mindfulness, yoga, and meditation.
Meditation has specifically been found to be helpful in building resilience to stress. If you have a history of childhood trauma like I do, your stress response could be severely impacted, leading you to overreact and get into a ‘fight or flight’ state at the easiest provocations. I recommend therapies like the self-guided tapping, self-help books, neurofeedback or therapist guided EMDR to reset your stress response.
ARE YOUR ADRENALS SABOTAGING YOUR HEALTH?
https://thyroidpharmacist.com/articles/are-your-adrenals-sabotaging-your-health
I have healed my hashimotos by following your advice. I came back to reread over your website and it brings tears to my eyes to read it from the perspective of someone who has hashimotos in remission instead of the fearful newly diagnosed me. Thank you for everything.
Have you found any connection with TSH still being slightly elevated after remission? My TPO is in normal range, much to my Drs disbelief, and entire thyroid panel is normal. I was wondering if during the healing process that the thyroid undergoes, if the stimulating hormone can still be a bit in over drive even though all blood work and symptoms are nearly 100% better.
Chelsea – thank you so much for reaching out. <3 I like to think of remission as a journey, not necessarily a final destination. Your first goal should be to improve your symptoms, and get to a point where you are no longer symptomatic. The second goal would be to reduce your thyroid antibodies; any reduction is a great start, antibodies under 100 is considered a low risk of progression. If you can get them under 35, then you are no longer considered to “have Hashimoto’s on a blood test.” Your third and final goal should be to reverse the damage. This last part happens at a different rate in everyone. Thyroid tissue can regenerate, but the rate at which it does is not always predictable. Thus, some are able to stop the autoimmune attack on their thyroid and regain normal thyroid function. Others can reduce the dose of medications, and others will need to stay on the medications indefinitely. Reversing Hashimoto's means different things to different people. For some, it means a reduction in symptoms, and for others, it means a reduction in your antibodies. I had both. Here a few articles that might be helpful for you:
IS IT POSSIBLE TO RECOVER THYROID FUNCTION IN HASHIMOTO'S
https://thyroidpharmacist.com/articles/is-it-possible-to-recover-thyroid-function-in-hashimotos
REVERSING AUTOIMMUNITY? AND THE PERFECT STORM
https://thyroidpharmacist.com/articles/reversing-autoimmunity-and-the-perfect-storm/