# Just diagnosed with Hashimoto's; question about selenium



## JanineNYC (Oct 4, 2013)

Hello everyone,

After months of having symptoms and waiting to see an endocrinologist, I finally have a diagnosis.

My first visit with my doctor was paid out of pocket. I am waiting for my health insurance to kick in, which won't take any longer than January. Because of this, my doctor wants to wait to potentially put me on any medication because of the cost (also waiting for most recent blood work results).

He told me not to worry so much, but if there is something I can do to help myself in the meanwhile I'd like to do it. I already eat brazil nuts and have limited my intake of soy and gluten (the gluten part is more difficult for me).

I keep hearing people on this board talk of selenium, but I don't really know what it is and how it works. I take a multivitamin that has 200 mcg of selenium in it, but it also has iodine which I heard is not good for the thyroid.

Can anyone help me figure out if there is more I should be doing or if I should just be patient and wait for the doctor's instructions?

Thank you all so much-

Janine


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

JanineNYC said:


> Hello everyone,
> 
> After months of having symptoms and waiting to see an endocrinologist, I finally have a diagnosis.
> 
> ...


Janine.........................can you not pay out of pocket for thyroxine replacement? Synthroid and/or Levoxyl are not that expensive, I don't think? It seems a shame for you to wait so long and to continue feeling badly!

What led the doctor to decide you have Hashimoto's? And do you have labs and ranges you can share w/us?

Selenium is good but not iodine. You are correct about that.


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## Swimmer (Sep 12, 2013)

Hi, I am also a newer Hashimoto's person -- I have done TONS of research.

When I finally got to my doctor -- regarding selenium, I was also eating brazil nuts. Here is what this excellent endocrinologist told me:

He told me to take 200 mcg of selenium per day. He told me not to use the brazil nuts -- he explained that too much is not good for the thyroid (he explained that better than I can explain) and too little isn't good either -- that I need to have the right amount -- every day -- rather than going with a different "uknown amount."

Regarding iodine, the research that I have found is very specific for Hashimoto's -- apparently -- it is a bad idea to supplement with it -- however, personally I make sure I have iodized salt (it's on my popcorn) because I'm a swimmer, and have been very exposed to "halides" - chlorine, chloramines, bromines -- and I want to make sure that my body is receiving iodine and not halides when it comes to thyroid receptors -- however -- my study in this area is "non-scientific" and I do not know if there is any scientific correlation -- or if this is merely speculation.

There seems to be a lot of hogwash out there -- mixed in with other great info. While I am also off medication at the moment until my blood test & the next step, I am heading toward a "ray peat" style diet (at times) and avoiding "goiterogenic foods" and nourishing my body by occasionally eating organ meat, milk, (organic is very good - and not non-fat), freshly juiced orange juice... and more. I have actually posted some of the diet info on this board somewhere -- I think if you search "Ray Peat" you'll find the diet info. LOTS of rest. Also concerning fitness, I'm supposed to take it easy.

My doc said -- 2,000 of vitamin D per day (not too much or too little) and only 500 of vitamin C. (I have read info about Hashimoto's people often being low in vitamin D.

Hang in there.


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## JanineNYC (Oct 4, 2013)

Hey guys,

Thank you for your helpful responses. I got my blood-work results and prescription in the mail today, and starting tomorrow I will be on 25mcg of Levothyroxine per day. I'm assuming that is a low dose... I will be seeing the doc again in 6 weeks to see how it's working.

Here are the results from my thyroid panel:

Free T4 # is 0.88 (reference range 0.82-1.63) - normal

Total T3 # is 1.1 (reference range 0.8-1.6) - normal

But TSH is 7.9 (reference range 0.4-4.0) - high

I know what TSH is, but I still don't entirely know why it is high while the T3 and T4 is normal, and what that means.

Also, is there a difference between the generic medication and the brand medication? I'm sure there isn't, but I'm just a worrier 

Should I also start taking 200 mg of selenium per day?

Thanks again for all the insight...

Janine


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## Swimmer (Sep 12, 2013)

Hi, I'm not sure if you should take selenium; (read about having too much selenium) it's a good question for your doc. I have an inflamed thyroid. My doc has me on 250 mcg per day. I was using brazil nuts, but he wanted me to have a "known" and correct amount.

One thing that is common among Hashimoto's people is that they are frequently low in vitamin D -- so that is something you might want to consider.


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