Dr. Izabella Wentz, PharmD

Thyroid Pharmacist

Leanne’s Hashimoto’s Success Story

Leanne’s Hashimoto’s Success Story

Medically reviewed and written by Izabella Wentz, PharmD, FASCP on February 3, 2015

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In my recent travels, I had the pleasure of meeting fellow Hashimoto’s warrior and fellow Hashimoto’s 411 Alum Leanne Ely. She told me how she was able to reduce her thyroid antibodies from the 3000 range to below 100, lose weight and start feeling better after many years of struggling with Hashimoto’s!

I am so excited that she agreed to share her story with my readers! I’m a firm believer of focusing on success stories to create more success stories!

I hope Leanne’s will inspire you!!

Leanne’s Hashimoto’s journey

Leanne was diagnosed with hypothyroidism in 2003 after gaining 30 pounds in 3 months following a traumatic event that resulted in panic attacks and insomnia. Like many of us, her doctor only tested her TSH, nothing else! He wanted to put her on Synthroid, but she asked for Armour instead (she got lots of push back from the doctor of course, but eventually got her way).

At first, a low carb diet, working out hard and eating every 3-4 hours worked, and she lost the 30 pounds, plus an additional 22!

Another autoimmune condition!

She thought she was doing everything she was supposed to be doing until in 2009; it happened again…weight gain, round face, feeling sluggish, brain fog, plus she had a raging case of rosacea (another autoimmune condition)!

Most cases of hypothyroidism are due to an autoimmune attack on the thyroid, and eventually, the thyroid gland is not able to make enough thyroid hormone. Most conventional doctors will only give patients thyroid medications sending them on their way. The patient will think they are doing everything they need to be doing, but unfortunately, many people will continue to get worse or go on to develop a new autoimmune disorder such as Lupus, Rheumatoid arthritis, or Rosacea, if they don’t address the autoimmune attack.

The right diagnosis…

Leanne finally decided to take charge of her own health when she finally saw a great doctor–Alan Christianson, NMD (an amazing doctor and one of my co-hosts of the Hashimoto’s Institute). Dr. Christianson diagnosed her with Hashimoto’s in 2009. Leanne was shocked. He recommended going gluten free, dairy free, changed up her medications and saved her from her downward health spiral.

Lifestyle changes for autoimmunity…

Following Dr. C’s Recommendations, plus taking it a step further and going Paleo–made all the difference in the world for Leanne! She also started hanging out with Dr. Terry Wahls (who reversed her multiple sclerosis through nutrition and functional medicine) and really up leveled her vegetable consumption (yes, a juicer was involved), learned to manage stress (a little better anyway!) and her TPO levels fell from over 3000 to just under 100 (95 to be exact–30 is “normal”, the lower the levels, the less aggressive the autoimmune attack) within a year of implementing the Paleo diet!

Today, Leanne feels great! She radiates warmth, beauty, and energy. Although she’s not 100% where she wants to be (reversing Hashimoto’s is a marathon, not a sprint!), she feels that she is well on her way!

Leanne’s advice for other Hashimoto’s patients

“If your doctor says there’s no difference between Hashimoto’s and hypothyroidism so why test, RUN for your life! You don’t get your life back by treating only the hypothyroidism; you have to face the fact that you have an autoimmune disease that just happened to target your thyroid. That’s a big differentiator and needs to be respected and treated as such. :-)” -Leanne Ely

Paying it forward…

Eating a Paleo-like nutrient dense diet can make a tremendous difference in one’s health. I’ve seen this happen in myself and many of my clients. But changing to this type of diet can be so intimidating. For me, it took almost 6 months to go Paleo, even though I had heard of the many benefits of this type of diet. Six months of lost time. When I eventually went “Paleo,” the diet really turned my health around.

Leanne was so inspired by the impact of the Paleo diet on her own health, that she authored a book called Part-Time Paleo: How to Go Paleo Without Going Crazy because she wanted other people with autoimmune conditions to have the opportunity to incorporate this healing diet into their own lives!

I love Leanne’s book because it makes the transition to the Paleo diet really easy. If you are thinking about going Paleo (it’s so worth it!) this book will be an excellent tool for you. No need to go to Cross-Fit or get obsessive about it. Leanne breaks down the diet If you’re already a Paleo veteran, you won’t be disappointed either. The book is filled with tasty, original recipes you’ll enjoy making and eating!

The book has 125 mouth-watering recipes, as well as meal plans, shopping lists, and my favorite… make-ahead Paleo freezer meals (so you can do all of the prep work in one sitting and stock your freezer with nutritious meals when you don’t have the time to cook). She has mastered the “assembly line concept” for getting the most meals for your time.

Yes, no more slaving away in the kitchen! Hubby and I have tried some of Leanne’s make-ahead meal plans and were able to make Paleo meals for the whole week in two hours. It was awesome. A side bonus was that we only had to clean our kitchen once!

Best of all, you’ll find most ingredients in the cookbook at your local grocery store or Trader Joe’s!

Leanne Ely is a Certified Nutrition Consultant, New York Times Bestseller and author of 7 best-selling cookbooks, so you know that all of her recipes are going to be amazing! My favorite recipes: Paleo Cioppino, Creamy Sweet Potato Soup (perfect comfort soup for colder days).

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.

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Comments

  1. I have been researching and trying to learn what is the best treatment and changes to make to help with my Hashimoto’s, Fibromyalgia, hypothyroid, severe headaches, leaky gut, etc. I know I changes to my diet will definitely help but finding foods that are both good for you and something you like to eat can be challenging. I appreciate all the helpful advice and encouraging motivation. Thank you for all you guys do to help others. Dianne
    Reply

    • Ronni- Thank you so much for letting me know. It should be working now. You may also be interested in checking out the Root Cause Recipe Portal. It is full of autoimmune paleo and paleo recipes. You’re able to organize weekly shopping lists, meal planning, etc. Hope you check it out.

      http://rootcauserecipes.com/

      Reply

  3. I have recently terminated a relationship with a Chiropractor charging me $5300 to “cure” my Hashimoto’s. But, I found your website and information. Today I sent a letter to my endocrinologist to ask if she would consider treating me with armour thyroid instead of synthroid. What I am looking for though is a network or chat group for resources for treatment. I read above about someone having a leaky gut…Help! Do I have that too? What is it?
    Reply

    • Mary- Here is an article you may find interesting!
      WHAT’S CAUSING YOUR LEAKY GUT
      https://thyroidpharmacist.com/articles/whats-causing-your-leaky-gut

      When I was first diagnosed with Hashimoto’s, I felt so alone. My doctor didn’t think it was a big deal, and none of my friends or co-workers had it. It wasn’t until I started to research online that I found others who were going through the same thing.

      A couple of years after my diagnosis, I found Hashimoto’s 411, a closed Facebook group run by Alice Berry McDonnell. This group is amazing! It is comprised of an army of highly motivated, smart, supportive women and men (now 45,000+ strong), and each of them sharing ideas of what worked for them, things they were planning to try, and offering support to one another. The comfort I received from knowing that there were others going through the same challenges as I, was enormous.

      https://www.facebook.com/groups/hashimotos411/

      Ask questions. Post your thoughts. Scan the files. It is an absolutely amazing resource. Best of all it’s kept private from spammers.

      Reply

    • Wendy- When I was first diagnosed with Hashimoto’s, I felt so alone. My doctor didn’t think it was a big deal, and none of my friends or co-workers had it. It wasn’t until I started to research online that I found others who were going through the same thing.

      A couple of years after my diagnosis, I found Hashimoto’s 411, a closed Facebook group run by Alice Berry McDonnell. This group is amazing! It is comprised of an army of highly motivated, smart, supportive women and men (now 45,000+ strong), and each of them sharing ideas of what worked for them, things they were planning to try, and offering support to one another. The comfort I received from knowing that there were others going through the same challenges as I, was enormous.

      https://www.facebook.com/groups/hashimotos411/

      Ask questions. Post your thoughts. Scan the files. It is an absolutely amazing resource. Best of all it’s kept private from spammers.

      Reply

  6. Mary, have you heard of Tirosint? I’ve been taking armour for years and the efficiency of armour is so labile So the tirosint seems to be helping my hypothyroidism but I was just dx with Hashimito’s and am finding these are 2 seperate yet interrelated dx,
    Reply

    • Jeannie- When I was first diagnosed with Hashimoto’s, I felt so alone. My doctor didn’t think it was a big deal, and none of my friends or co-workers had it. It wasn’t until I started to research online that I found others who were going through the same thing.

      A couple of years after my diagnosis, I found Hashimoto’s 411, a closed Facebook group run by Alice Berry McDonnell. This group is amazing! It is comprised of an army of highly motivated, smart, supportive women and men (now 45,000+ strong), and each of them sharing ideas of what worked for them, things they were planning to try, and offering support to one another. The comfort I received from knowing that there were others going through the same challenges as I, was enormous.

      https://www.facebook.com/groups/hashimotos411/

      Reply

  8. I was on. Synthroid for 15 yrs then switched to Armour then Nature-throid. I finally tried Tirosint in 2013. Then had TT. It has worked better than others but just cannot get back to me. There is a new drug in the making. Thyromax aT3 timed release hopefully out this year. I am gluten free and no dairy.
    Reply

  9. I was diagnosed with Hypo and Hasimotos about 15 years ago. I was unable to take armour then had absolutely no effect. On synthroid and lythrothre. 3 years prior to being diagnosed I gain 50 lbs in a month. I attributed it to the job and poor eating habits. So I’m gluten free since I started reading your blog about 2 months ago. I do eat dairy. But none of my doctors ever suggested gluten free or dairy free diet. My question is does your body change enough that maybe the armour may work now for me? Thank you so much for the blog and FB. Learning so much.
    Reply

  10. Im a little more confused as I read more and more on the hashi diet recommendations. I read to try paleo and interested to start. It restricts all dairy and all yogurts and suggests no supplements. Then I read on leaky gut to use Kefir or probiotics. Thats just an example. How do you work on leaky gut as well as paleo type diets, antiinflam foods when the nutritionists for each diet recommendations conflict with each other. Im frustrated.
    Reply

  12. I’m trying to change my diet as I just was diagnosed with Hashi after being on synthroid for 20 years and only TSH tests. But I’m vegetarian! I’m having a hard time incorporating Paleo! 🙁
    Reply

    • Marie- 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

      Reply

  13. In your article you state that a TPO of 30 is “normal”. Does that mean Hashimoto’s is not active at that point? I am hypo, on Armour and just had my antibodies checked. TPO was 20 and TgAB was less than 1. Working on finding root cause and striving for a TPO of ZERO.
    Reply

  14. Focusing on success stories to create more success stories! I love it! That’s so important to what we need. It can be so easy dwelling on the negative. Thank you Dr. Wentz for sharing these with us Hashimoto’s warriors!

    Reply

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