My Journey to Cure Thyroid Issues

Can you cure thyroid issues? I don’t have an answer today, but I can see the writing on the wall.

This is an ongoing journey and will be updated on a regular basis. If you would like to receive updates whenever a new story is published, please subscribe to the newsletter.

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Note that my website deals with food, and this is an exception to share my journey on curing one of the most common conditions we face today. Whatever you read here is based on my personal experiences. Others dealing with the same condition may have different experience and outcome.

You Will Read About

• My Condition
• Starting With Allopathy
• The Ayurveda Question
• My First Ayurveda Doctor
• The Real Ayurveda
• My Prescription to Cure Thyroid
• After 3 Weeks
• My Recovery Rating
• Choosing the Right Ayurveda Doctor
• Ending Note

I started writing this weblog in the 3rd week of my Ayurvedic treatment, in the last week of February, 2021. This is being published as I complete 4 weeks of my treatment.

Important: The diet and lifestyle suggestions provided in this blog is based on my conditions. Using the same to treat yours may not benefit you, or may impact you negatively. Ayurvedic treatment is based on issues that an individual faces and hence varies from person to person or patient to patient. FinallyFoodie.com can in no way be held responsible for going against this directive.

I was first diagnosed with hypothyroidism in 2011 as I graduated from college.

Since the mid of 2010, I had faced a riot of skin issues and skin boils. They would appear during the extremely hot summer months under the arms, on the throat and neck. Mostly painless unless disturbed, they would stay on for a few days and disappear.

I reached out to a local homeopathic practitioner for remedy. The medicine worked temporarily but soon enough, I had skin boils coming back to haunt me. This continued over the next summer as college ended and I returned home waiting for my joining letter from Infosys.

Getting Started With Allopathy

As the skin boils continued to disturb my well being during the summer of 2011, my parents suggested that I visit a local allopathy doctor. He suggested that I should get my diabetes tests done and report back.

The diabetes tests came out negative and he asked me to get my TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone) levels checked. And so I proceeded with a Thyroid Profile Test which had to be done under fasting.

And the results came out positive.

The doctor suggested that I take Thyroxine 25 mcg everyday in the morning on an empty stomach before taking my meals. The doctor asked me to avoid eating raw vegetables (except onions) and repeat the TSH tests every year.

And so I did for a couple of years. I did skip or forget the medicines on a couple of instances.

In 2013, I had to go to Hyderabad for an office assignment and I stayed there for close to a year. For a routine check up, I got my tests done in the city and consulted with a doctor who took a look at my reports, asked me to continue the medication (Thyroxine 25 mcg). She also suggested that I should only eat after an hour of taking the medicine.

I took her advice seriously and continued. Everywhere I met people, only to learn that this was how allopathy generally treated hypothyroidism. I heard it so many times that I considered it true, wondering if there was any cure in ‘modern medicine’.

Over the next few years, I continued the regimen – take the medicine, wait for an hour, eat and ensure that the TSH levels are checked once a year.

Among all these, another doctor told me that it was not compulsory to give an hour between the pill and the breakfast. I was confused.

The same medicine, different doctors, different opinions – and I started to show off more and more symptoms as my TSH levels started to increase.

My appetite went down, I was rarely hungry, I sweated profusely if I was under the sun for sometime. Not to forget, I was becoming intolerable to heat. I had skin issues, and was breathless if I walked briskly for a few minutes. I was lethargic.

And I was nowhere near to a cure as my TSH levels continued to increase.

Should I Try Ayurveda?

Over the past few years, I have read a lot about ayurveda.

The first hand accounts from Aparna Krishnan mam, who stays in Paalaguttapalle, a village in Andhra Pradesh opened my eyes and ears to traditional Indian medicine that is often looked upon as false and unscientific among large sections of Indians, who have never tried it. She also has a blog that documents stories of cure through ayurveda, which is definitely worth a read!

This doubt on Indian traditional medicine by literate citizens is not ironical as most have moved to cities and have never been to villages where ayurveda still forms a major part of preventive and curative healthcare.

Before I proceed, the women at Paalaguttapalle make incredibly beautiful cotton bags that are sturdy and most importantly give these women a source of income during these hard times. For details and purchase, please check their Facebook Page named Paalaguttapalle. You can also order via their website.

Now back to the topic.

So when I received my last thyroid profile test report in January 2021, I knew that allopathy would not cure me. The levels had shot up over the years and thyroxine remained my constant companion.

I dialled Ayurveda!

My First Ayurveda Doctor

I have been following certain ayurvedic principles and rules over the past couple of years and some of them are listed in my healthy food blog post. Most of these are being confirmed by researchers today, while ayurvedic texts going back hundreds of years already mention them.

I looked up Google and reached a local ayurvedic doctor who was just preparing to shut down for the day. He asked me the purpose of my visit and I showed him my TSH report (ayurveda does not rely on blood test reports).

He looked up at me, took a pen and started scribbling a prescription. I was shocked!

“Take these medicines, do some yoga, anulom vilom and vajrasana and visit me after 15 days”, he finished the entire consultation and prescription in flat 3-4 minutes.

He prescribed me two pills – Liv 52 DS (by Himalaya) and Thyromin (by Trio Healthcare).

I told myself that the diagnosis was incorrect and so pinged Aparna mam over Facebook to be sure.

She confirmed that this was not how diagnosis was done in ayurveda and asked me if she can recommend a doctor. I readily agreed.

Ayurveda in Reality

I reached out to Doctor Vani over email.

She responded with a list of questions to understand why I got my thyroid levels tested the first time, what was my diet during that period, what is my diet and lifestyle currently, what other issues I face with my body, etc.

One glance at the questions and I knew that this was going in the right direction. I spent close to an hour answering all her questions in details over an email.

We agreed to have our first consultation over a phone call later in the week.

On the agreed date and time, I rang her up and had a discussion. She explained to me that I was having a kapha imbalance and the treatment would need some time for results (because I have lived with it for long now). She also mentioned that there would be three parts to this entire process.

• Control through change in diet and lifestyle
• Reduce through ayurvedic medicines
• Eliminate through vamanam (induced vomitting) and nasyam (treatment using nasal drops)

I was told that elimination of toxins needs to be done under supervision of an expert and comes later. For now my treatment would consist of ayurvedic medicines, diet and lifestyle.

After our call was done, she shared the prescription over email. Perhaps the longest prescription I have seen – it had close to 1200 words. Yes, it was detailed, long and written in simple to understand language, minus the jargons.

The Prescription

It is not possible, wise and ethical to put all the 1200 words in here. But I will give a brief of what I was told to do and what I was asked to avoid.

• Avoid milk and milk products (except cow ghee). No paneer, buttermilk, curd, jaggery, etc.
• Avoid urad dal. No idli, dosa, vada, etc. Whole green moong dal and masoor dal is allowed for daily consumption
• Avoid wheat and rice. However, since these are staples I was allowed to consume either once a day and include millets in my diet
• All seasonal vegetables were allowed in rotation
• Process to cook rice and vegetable was shared
• Avoid fruits/vegetables that are strongly sweet or sour. These include mango, pineapple, tamarind, jackfruit, for example. The only exception to these were pomegranate and amla
• Avoid sea salt. Replace with rock salt
• Avoid green and red chili. Use them in spare
• Recommended use of mustard oil and ghee
• Avoid cold food
• Non veg was allowed, except fish and sea food
• Suggested that I wake by 6 AM and go to bed by 10 PM
• Avoid day sleep
• Suggested to eat only when hungry and stick to two to three meals a day. Lunch between 10 AM and 2 PM while dinner should be completed by 7:30 PM. A 5-10 minute stroll after each meal is recommended
• Suggested to drink water only when thirsty
• Avoid snacking between meals. There should be 4-5 hours of ‘no-eating’ after one meal to allow complete digestion
• Avoid any packaged products
• Suggested 1 hour walking. This can be done in two phases as well, each of 30 minutes duration

I was also prescribed four ayurvedic medicines.

• Triphala churnam to be had 30 minutes before meals
• Navayasam to be had 30 minutes before meals
• Ashta churnam to be had with food
• Ayaskriti to be had after food

After 3 Weeks

This is where I decided to document my journey.

This was a good regimen that I started to follow and the first few days were hard. For someone who slept around 1 AM in the night and woke up around 8 AM because it was work from home, it was honestly difficult.

I still find it difficult to sleep by 11 PM, however, I manage to wake up around 5:30 AM. I freshen up, go for an hour’s walk till about 7 AM.

Within a week, I noticed higher energy levels. I was happy about this change.

One of the medicines was not suiting me and hence the doctor asked me to stop it. In the next couple of weeks, I informed her that the weather was getting hotter in Bhubaneswar. She suggested that I cut the dosage of Ayaskriti by half.

She also advised me to start taking Anutailam. This is a type of nasal drop used to remove toxins from the nasal passages through the mouth. She shared the procedure over email and I started this in the third week of the treatment. This is a type of nasyam.

The doctor had warned me that I might find it uncomfortable for the initial few days. When I tried it, I felt a slight irritation in my throat which was not uncomfortable.

I would get mucus/phlegm for the next 30 minutes that I would spit out.

The third week is when I felt a lot of difference. Earlier it was just higher energy levels.

• I could walk faster. When I started, the first 3-3.5 kilometres took me an hour, the same distance took around 40 minutes
• Breathlessness after a walk was an issue that my mother pointed out. That reduced by 40%-50%
• I felt more agile, lighter and happy
• Bhubaneswar was clocking above 40 degrees already (last week of February). I did not need the AC, and felt comfortable under the fan running at a slower speed. The sense of discomfort I felt previously when the temperature neared 40 degrees was gone. I am still monitoring this and will provide an update as we progress into severe summer
• I was not sweating like before

Update 1: Tuesday (March 9, 2021)

I should have mentioned this first hand. I am still taking Thyroxine 50 (allopathy medicine) as my ayurveda doctor advised me against discontinuing it suddenly. This will be a gradual process, where dosage would be reduced and then stopped.

Rating My Recovery

Ayurveda works more on the symptoms that a patient is facing. It considers the symptom or group of symptoms to diagnose the root cause and seeks to address it. Hence, there is no term like hypothyroidism in ayurveda.

This section will track my progress on several symptoms that I have faced over the years on a regular basis, ever since I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism. I start at 1 star and as the treatment progresses the ratings will improve or come down, based on how I feel.

If any one of the below is rated above 4, it will be considered as cured.

Ayurveda in a very short span of time has worked for me. I will keep this post updated on a weekly basis to highlight any changes that I encounter as my treatment progresses.

You can subscribe to get an email once I update this post.

How to Know If Your Ayurveda Doctor Is Doing the Right Diagnosis?

This post might enthuse you to approach an ayurveda practitioner, which you should. Just like all doctors are not good, it is important to remember and note how a good ayurveda doctor should diagnose your problem.

He/she should –

• Rely less on blood tests and other medical tests done using rays, etc.
• Take time to understand your body – and all the issues your are suffering from. If a doctor does not take time to evaluate all the issues you are facing, you should avoid further treatment and seek someone better
• Take time to understand your diet and lifestyle (past and present)
• Avoid pushing products marketed by brands under fancy names. The best ayurvedic medicines are those that contain the generic names as found in ayurvedic texts. Also they should not contain preservatives and parabens
• He/she should not just give you medicines, but also explain the type of diet and lifestyle you need. Diet and lifestyle plays a very important part in ayurveda

There are a couple of things, that as patients you should follow too –

• Don’t pester an ayurveda doctor with terms from allopathy – both allopathy and ayurveda have different treatment models and protocols. Hence terms will vary and some may not even exist or apply
• Be open and discuss all your issues. Hiding an issue from the doctor makes you the loser
• If something the doctor asks is not doable, discuss. There might be alternatives.

Ending Words

I would like to end by saying – Ayurveda is not unscientific. Our understanding of science has been limited to what researchers wearing white gowns do in laboratories using test tubes and bottles. Ayurveda has evolved over thousands of years and has worked for generations. To disregard this is mere foolishness.

Read Part 2 Here

Blog Image: Shuddhi Ayurveda