Do you have Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism and chronic pain? Go to the root cause
Chronic pain can drain you of energy, joy, and hope and make everyday activities seem like insurmountable obstacles. Over-the-counter anti-inflammatory medications, prescription pain meds, and steroids may bring temporary relief, but they come with complications and do not address the underlying causes of chronic pain.
When you already struggle with Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism, adding chronic pain to the mix is a double whammy for misery.
For more genuine and permanent relief, it’s important to address what is causing the pain to be chronic. Often addressing what causes chronic pain can also help you manage an autoimmune disease such as Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism.
Is inflammation causing your chronic pain and Hashimoto’s?
One of the most common causes of chronic pain is inflammation. Inflammation is the result of an immune response to remove harmful compounds, including damaged cells. It is necessary for healing and protecting the body, however runaway inflammation keeps the immune system on red alert and can cause chronic pain anywhere (or everywhere) in the body. One of the most important things to address if you suffer from chronic pain is inflammation.
Chronic inflammation underlies many cases of autoimmune disease, including Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism. Addressing inflammation will also help you manage your Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism.
Anti-inflammatory diet for pain
Following an anti-inflammatory diet is foundational to dampening inflammation. Many everyday foods are actually very inflammatory and people can experience considerable relief by removing these foods from their diet. For instance, two of the most common pro-inflammatory foods are gluten and dairy, something most people eat at almost every meal. Many people have found considerable pain relief simply by eliminating these foods from their diet. You can find out which foods are inflammatory for you through a food sensitivity panel or simply by following the anti-inflammatory diet for about a month and then reintroducing foods one at a time every 72 hours and monitoring for reactions.
Some people find a group of vegetables called “nightshades” cause pain and inflammation in their joints. Nightshades include eggplant, potatoes, peppers, tomatoes, tomatillos, and hot pepper products (cayenne, Tabasco, etc.). Simply removing nightshades from the diet has brought relief from joint pain for many.
However, don’t ditch vegetables completely. Ample vegetable consumption, including veggies that are cultured, is a key component to a pain-busting diet.
The anti-inflammatory diet can be a profound way to manage an autoimmune condition such as Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism.
Ditch the sugar to tame chronic pain and Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism
In conjunction with removing anti-inflammatory foods, it’s also important the diet work to stabilize blood sugar. Blood sugar that is too low, too high, or that swings between the two will contribute to inflammation. One of the best ways to stabilize blood sugar is to ditch the sugar and refined carbohydrates. Not only does the sweet stuff destabilize blood sugar, it also directly causes inflammation. Eliminating or minimizing sweets is vital to taming chronic pain.
Unwinding vicious cycles of pain
The problem with chronic pain is it can create vicious cycles both in the immune system and in the brain that perpetuate pain. In other words, the pain itself stimulates the body to create more pain. Fortunately, certain nutritional compounds have been shown to help unwind these vicious cycles. They include therapeutic doses of emulsified and highly absorbable vitamin D3, omega 3 fatty acids, turmeric, and resveratrol. Other natural compounds and therapies can also help with pain relief while you work on bringing down inflammation naturally. Not surprisingly, these nutrients play an important role in helping to dampen Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism.
Ask my office for more information on alleviating your chronic pain and dampening your Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism by addressing the underlying cause.
