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21 years with Hashimoto's - my life hacks… So I've been diagnosed with hashi since I was 38, I'm 59 now. And like, I've tried so many things over the years, some helped a little, some helped a lot, and some did absolutely nothing, so I thought I'd share with you here what actually made a difference because I see so many posts here asking the same questions I had. For me, the worst part has always been the exhaustion. Like I'd sleep 9 hours and wake up feeling like I didn't sleep at all. And then trying to get through my day but my brain feels like it's wrapped in cotton and I can't think straight. Or I'm in the middle of talking to someone and I just... lose the words. They're right there in my head and then they're just gone. And I'm standing there looking like an idiot. (I used to wonder if it was the Hashimoto's or if I was just losing it) Anyway, here's what's helped me over the years: Tracking my basal body temperature Okay so this one sounds weird but my functional doctor told me to do this. You take your temperature first thing in the morning before you even get out of bed. If it's consistently below 97.8 it means your metabolism is sluggish even if your TSH looks fine. Once I started tracking it I could see patterns, like when my temp dropped I knew a flare was coming. At least I could prepare for it instead of being blindsided. Taking my levo at night instead of morning I know everyone says take it in the morning on an empty stomach but I read some research that showed nighttime absorption is actually better for some people. I switched and honestly my levels stabilized more. My endo was skeptical but the labs don't lie. Selenium but the right kind Not just any selenium. It has to be selenomethionine, like 200mcg. The cheap selenium selenite form doesn't absorb well. This actually helped with my antibodies, they went down about 30% over six months. Cutting out goitrogens during flares So like, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, all that stuff we're supposed to eat for health? Turns out they can interfere with thyroid function if you eat them raw during a flare. I started cooking them thoroughly or just avoiding them when my symptoms got bad and it helped. Those things made life more manageable, like I wasn't getting WORSE at least. But I still felt like I was living at like 50% capacity. Now, here’s the big one… Last year I switched to this doctor Sarah Camillie who specializes in thyroid patients. And she ran a full panel, not just TSH. Turns out my Free T3 was really low even though my TSH was "normal." She explained that the levothyroxine I take is T4, which is inactive. Your liver has to convert it to T3 for your cells to actually use it. But Hashimoto's causes inflammation and that makes your liver sluggish, so the conversion doesn't happen properly. She actually showed me this study about how Hashimoto's patients have impaired hepatic deiodinase activity (that's the enzyme that converts T4 to T3) and I was like... why has nobody ever mentioned this before? Plus she said women with Hashimoto's are almost always deficient in the minerals needed for that conversion to happen. Selenium, zinc, magnesium, copper. So basically I was taking my medication every day but my body couldn't convert it and use it. No wonder I felt terrible. She told me I needed to support my liver function first to open up that conversion pathway, and then give my body the actual minerals it needs to make the conversion happen. She said it has to be together in liquid form though, not separate supplements, because our gut lining is too damaged to absorb capsules properly. She recommended this liquid supplement that had clinical-grade milk thistle for the liver (not the weak stuff from the drugstore) plus the minerals in forms that actually absorb. I tried it because honestly what did I have to lose at that point. And I don't want to sound dramatic but after a few weeks I noticed I could get through a full day without needing to lie down. Then I realized I was having actual conversations with people and not forgetting what I was saying halfway through. Then one Saturday I deep cleaned my whole kitchen. Moved the fridge, scrubbed everything, organized all the cabinets. And I wasn't completely destroyed after. I made dinner that night. I stayed up and watched a movie. I haven't been able to do that in YEARS without needing two days to recover. My daughter came over and said Mom you seem different, more present. And that kind of broke my heart because I didn't realize how checked out I'd been. It's been about 4 months, I’m still using that supplement and I can actually keep up with my life again. I can think clearly. My brain works again. I even lost 11 pounds since taking it. And I felt GOOD. Not exhausted. Just good. I don't know, maybe this won't work for everyone but if your labs are "normal" and you still feel terrible it might be worth fixing your liver because that made the biggest difference for me. Because taking the medication is one thing but if your body can't actually use it then what's the point. Anyway, I hope this helps someone! EDIT: sorry, I'm getting so many messages asking what supplement, it's called Pureveen, here's the link: https://pureveen.com/products/pureveen%E2%84%A2-thyroid-balance-4