Selenium and Hashimoto's - anyone taking it?

[micaela27]

I just came across info this afternoon about the effects of Selenium on autoimmune thyroid disease.  i'm amazed i hadn't read this info before now, but i'm very curious to see whether anyone else on here with Hashimoto's Thyroiditis has heard this info and/or is taking Selenium to combat the rising antibodies.  the article mentioned the study used 200mcg doses in trials and there was a measurable decrease in antibodies with the Selenium group.  thanks!!

[Tamara300]

I was diagnosed with hypo and Hashi's last year, my mother has Lupus, and one of my children has Type 1 diabetes.  Should I be having my other children tested for antibodies and started on some type of proactive treatment?  Can the primary care physician check for gluten intolerance?  

[Barb135]

I take selenium every day and although my antibodies have not gone any higher since starting it, they haven't decreased any either.  I think the main thing it does for me is to keep the antibodies from "raging" so badly; helps keep the "choking" feeling away.  

I ALWAYS keep in mind that my Hashimoto's will NEVER be cured - but it can be calmed.........

[deirdre60]

All of my kids have "Hashimotos" looking thyroid glands and are slightly hypo. They have been on a little Armour and 200 selenium for over 2 years and have never shown positive for the antibodies for thyroiditis. I think this is being prevented by the selenium, and so does my doctor. We also started on a mineral protocol about 6 months ago - Dr. Paul Eck research about  mineral pattern balancing- which includes about 50 mg of zinc and other minerals, and both of my teenagers TSH took a nosedive, so that they are no longer having to take the Armour. (Zinc increases thyroid activity) This was great.

We have also been gluten free for a year. Gluten does contribute to thyroiditis and is implicated in many autoimmune diseases. It's not Celiac disease I am talking about here- most people are slightly intolerant to gluten especially as we age. We all tested negative to Celiac, but were positive on a gluten intolerance test, which is different than food allergy test. Gluten is a thick gummy substance that is incredibly hard to digest and the wheat products today are much different than the wheat products of decades ago. My father had terrible RA, and went gluten free and within 2 weeks was off all meds and was basically pain free. Alopathic medicine is clueless about any of this, unfortunately. Much of all degenerative diseases are caused by the foods we eat ( mainly gluten and dairy which are the hardest to digest) which slowly destroys the small intestines, which compromises our immune system- then we contract chronic infections and parasites which must be treated. (Check out Dr. Daniel Kalish's website- he is a genious and has a great article about gluten intolerance and chronic/autoimmune disease.) We were all tested by Metametrix labs by DNA stool analysis, and had various specific parasites and candida. (Yuk!) It is a vicious cycle that needs to be broken!

[stella5349]

I am glad you feel well - but Selenium is not a cure for Hashimoto - That is autoimmune and "cure " should be stated as remission. Selenium can contribute to helping hormone conversion and also calming the attacks of antibodies with Hashimoto -

This may be why you saw a decline in your TSH - not  sure though.

I also take selenium and find it helpful - I am also on thyroid medication - with no thyroid.

[CJM25]

I had a TSH of 7.69 and thyroid antibodies of 602.7 when I was tested in September of 2007. I started taking 200mcg of selenium with 400IU of Vitamin E together every morning, as Vit E maximizes the absorbtion of Selenium. I was tested again 3 weeks later and my THS went down to 5.4 then again three weeks after that and my THS was at a 4.3 by Christmas that year I had dropped back into a Normal range of TSH 2.1..my antibodies are still high at a 201.3 bit they've dropped ALOT! I'm now getting my silver fillings removed, because I can pin point when my Hashimoto's started when I got my first five fillings summer of 2006! I'm hoping this will lower the rest of the antibodies. Selenium has been a real miracle for me as I'm only 25 and was so sick with Hasimotos Hypothyroid that I was having severe panic attacks and could not leave my house for 8 months!! My doctor has now told many of her patients about Selenium after seeing my results, she was never thought there was a "natural cure" for Hashimoto's, but I'm LIVING PROOF! It has also helped many of her other patients.

[Christy1950]

Read this on a support site hope it helps...Quote...Selenium is crucial in both the production of T4 thyroid hormone(thyroxine) in the thyroid gland, was well as in the conversion of T4 to T3 thyroid hormone, the active form (thyronine) Zinc is needed both before and after these production and conversion processes. Zinc is necessary for the TRH hupothalamus hormone to stimulate the pituitary gland, which signals the thyroid gland to produce thyrroid hormone. unquote