I’ve encountered a lot of confusion and misinformation on whether there is a ‘cure’ for Hashimoto’s on the internet.

Rumours abound! Sheryl from Canberra says one thing, Monica’s GP told her this, Suzie’s myotherapist has another opinion and Kara’s next door neighbour sells this all natural pill which is practically a cure for everything so naturally she’s had the cure all along!

At the beginning of our journey if we weren’t lucky enough to have a Hashi’s savvy GP or specialist diagnose us, many of us heard something like this, “There is no cure, Hashimoto’s will eventually claim your thyroid and you’ll be reliant on lifelong hormone replacement therapy by that stage, here’s your prescription.”
Bloody bleak if you ask me! And on the other hand there are others, usually on social media, claiming they have found THE cure.

In my opinion, both are false.

It’s all a lot more nuanced and complicated than either of those scenarios will allow.

A cure implies that there is a single intervention such as a medication, therapy, pill, diet, supplement or lifestyle choice that can bring an end to the autoimmunity attack, normalise thyroid function and give you back your life permanently. If that is your definition then no, there is no single ‘cure’ for Hashimoto’s disease.

We need to remember that we are all unique and so is our Hashi’s story. Recovery can often be as complicated as what triggered the autoimmune disease in the first place which is a combination of at least 3 of the following; intestinal permeability (a ‘leaky’ gut that is on high alert due to poor function & inflammation), trauma/grief/stress, genetic predisposition, environmental exposures to heavy metals or other toxins, viral infections, nutrient deficiencies, being female, undergoing hormonal events such as child birth or menopause and other funky genetics that can impact our bodies ability to function optimally.

So how could one intervention (insert pill, therapy, device, diet, exercise) address all those factors? The honest answer is that it can’t and there really is no magic cure. Sorry!

BUT!

It’s not all doom & gloom either though because you don’t have to sit back and take the bad news lying down, you have plenty of control over how you feel and maybe even whether or not you can get yourself into remission too. You might not have the right tools or knowledge just yet, but they are out there. If you ever need to outsource this process I’m always here to help because having a clear plan, expert guidance and accountability from someone who understands your thyroid condition kinda makes me your Hashi’s fairy godmother.

Many have been able to get their antibodies down to below 100 (remission) or even 50 which means that you are technically no longer in a Hashimoto’s disease state. Generally speaking, the longer you’ve had Hashi’s the harder it is to bring antibodies down with lifestyle changes. That being said, you can still improve the symptoms drastically regardless of what your antibodies are doing and live a normal life that is no longer sabotaged by your symptoms. Last time I checked I was in remission (happy dance). While this can happen spontaneously in the case of postpartum Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, usually this occurs because these people have adopted dietary and lifestyle changes and found success.

As someone who falls into the former category and has built a career helping Hashi’s women regain their lives, my perspective is that Hashimoto’s is a chronic inflammatory condition and autoimmune disease that needs good management throughout your lifetime. Even if you do get antibodies into remission or lower, it has the potential to return if the triggers that were present initially are replicated or still present. We’ll always need to take better care of ourselves than your average person. Our liver, gut, thyroid and immune system just need more lovin’ and VIP treatment.

The important thing is to do what you can to improve your health and chances of remission while focusing on how you are feeling rather than the antibody numbers on the page. Because it is 1000% possible to maintain a healthy weight and have abundant energy with antibodies present.

So when it comes to Hashimoto’s, I prefer use the phrase ‘well managed’ rather than ‘cured’.