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About Rachel
Start Here!
- Symptoms of Hypothyroidism and Hashimoto’s
- Order Your Own Thyroid Tests
All Articles
Newsletter
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- About My Books
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Lifelong

Is Hypothyroidism a Chronic Illness?

You may notice that I occasionally use the term ‘chronic illness’ when I refer to my…

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theinvisiblehypothyroidism

🔆 A video repost from when I was pregnant 2.5 y

🔆 A video repost from when I was pregnant 2.5 years back!

💊 There are certain supplements that can support thyroid health as well as other parts of your health that can benefit from support when you have hypothyroidism and / or Hashimoto’s.

☀️ For example, we also often have low levels of iron, B12, Vit D, folate, magnesium etc. alongside a thyroid issue, and these can contribute to ongoing complaints and symptoms too.

❗️ As always, consult your doctor, pharmacist or other chosen healthcare professional before starting any supplements and I alllllways recommend testing levels before taking anything. Overdosing / taking something when you don’t need it can be dangerous.

❗️If you are gluten, soy, dairy free, or have any other restrictions, always check they are free of this too.

🌟 Commonly helpful supps: 🌟

💛 B Vitamins, Folate - low levels of B12 or folate can cause fatigue. B vits are crucial for metabolic function, adrenal health, energy and TSH production

💛 Iron (bisglycinate is often the best tolerated) - low ferritin can cause fatigue, heart palps, aches and pains. Iron is needed to make TSH and for conversion of T4 to T3.

💛 Selenium - supports thyroid hormone conversion also, as well as lowers thyroid antibodies.

💛 Vitamin D3 - low D can show up as joint and bone pain, fatigue and feeling cold. Supplementing D can also reduce thyroid antibodies. Always take K2 alongside.

💛 Zinc - Needed for TSH production, good immune system function, thyroid hormone conversion and also good for gut health.

💛 Omega 3 - Cod-liver oil is one of the best sources of omega three fatty acids (EPA & DHA).

💛 Magnesium - needed for making TSH, and for conversion. Low magnesium may show up as having muscle aches and pains.

💛 Probiotics - Supporting / improving our gut health can really help with holistically improving our health when we have a thyroid issue. Digestive enzymes and bone broths are also good for this.

⬇️ Let me know below.. Any supplements in particular which have helped you?

🔖 SAVE this post to refer back to later!

remember: retest levels + reassess what your body does and doesn’t need OFTEN.

- Rachel Hill, thyroid patient advocate 🦋💙

🤧 Another week, another viral illness. I can’

🤧 Another week, another viral illness. I can’t seem to catch a break lately!

❓Are those with hypothyroidism and Hashimoto’s sick more often?

🦠 At 17 years old, I was in the ICU with pneumonia, unconscious for 90% of the day and too out of it to even eat or drink (or pee without a catheter), I was just 17 years old and should have been the perfect image if youth and vitality.

🦠 but my body just couldn’t seem to fight off illness.

🦋 I was diagnosed with Hashi’s and hypo around 5 years after this, but it was a marker in the downward spiral of my health for sure.

🦋 From this point, I would catch back to back illnesses, and it became a joke that I was always ill, always the sickly one in the office.

🦋 And it’s certainly a common occurrence to hear from others who experience the same.

🫶Now, we do need to keep in mind that thyroid disease itself can cause symptoms similar to a cold or the flu, such as aches and pains, heavy fatigue, trouble sleeping and more. So separating the chronic health condition (and its flares) from a short term illness is important.

🫶But yes, there can be some reasons why we may be more ‘sickly’…

• Low Vitamin / Mineral levels, such as selenium, D, A, E, K and Zinc which can an impact how well our immune system works. (many of us are low in certain ones due to poor gut health for example)

• A diet low in these vitamins and minerals, and also Vitamin C.

• A lack of enough, good quality Zzz’s, due to feeling “tired but wired”, another common thyroid disease complaint. Whenever this is an issue, adrenals / cortisol should be considered.

• Poor gut health, considering that most of your immune system exists in your gut! We can explore probiotics, a fibre rich / nutrient rich / varied diet, bone broths, digestive enzymes etc.

👀 However, some evidence also suggests that those with autoimmune diseases like Hashimoto’s have better immune systems, better equipped to combat dangerous infections and enabling us to live longer. 🤷🏼‍♀️

👇 What are your experiences with this? Let me know.

- Rachel Hill, thyroid patient advocate 🦋💙

🌟 Community Question 🌟 If you’re lucky en

🌟 Community Question 🌟

If you’re lucky enough to have found a type of exercise that helps you feel GOOD as a thyroid patient, share what it is below so we can all learn from others’ experiences! 🤗

For me:

🧘‍♀️ Yoga
🚶‍♀️ Walking
💃 Dancing
🏊‍♀️ Swimming

So many thyroid patients struggle with exercise due to low stamina, heavy fatigue, muscle pain and exercise causing flare ups.

It can be helpful to explore whether other types of exercise help us to keep healthy without aggravating our chronic illness. 👍🏻

- Rachel Hill, thyroid patient advocate 🦋💙

🎃 Yesterday, we enjoyed our family tradition of

🎃 Yesterday, we enjoyed our family tradition of pumpkin picking (and sweetcorn!)

🌽 It’s really important to me that my children know and understand where food comes from. They also love fruit and veg picking, so going to the farm, harvesting it, preparing it, cooking and devouring it is a process we really appreciate as a family!

🥦 Growing up appreciating all food, what it does for our bodies and more is so important, I feel. Those thyroid puzzle pieces of nutrition, vitamin & mineral levels and gut health are so important, and if we can understand and appreciate them from a young age then that’s great. 😊

🫛 Do you do anything similar? 👇

- Rachel Hill, thyroid patient advocate 🦋💙

© Rachel Gask and The Invisible Hypothyroidism, 2015-2024. All Rights Reserved.

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