I have celiac disease and Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis. My Hashimoto’s started as an enlarged thyroid (felt by my MD). He prescribed a tiny dose of Thyroid replacement (20 years ago) in the hopes of delaying the destruction of my thyroid. I am not sure it worked, but it took about 10 years for my dosage to change. My thyroid antibodies were over initially 4,000! The thyroid replacement did seem to help with the antibodies, but only lowered it to 2,000. My enlargement did not change.
Fifteen years later, I was diagnosed with celiac disease. I probably had it my entire life but went undiagnosed. Going gluten free eliminated my thyroid enlargement and nodules. My antibodies are still high but just around 300. They might have been lowered even more, but my last thyroid antibodies test occurred after a Gluten exposure. I learned that triggering my celiac disease can affect other antibodies as well because I was diagnosed with autoimmune gastritis and hives after that hidden gluten exposure (I would never knowingly consume gluten).
Please get tested for celiac disease first before going gluten free. Hashimoto’s, TD1 and celiac disease are commonly linked. Celiac disease is definitely genetic. A diagnosis can help other family members get tested as symptomatic celiacs exist (intestinal damage, no symptoms).
Gluten is not everywhere. People need to learn to read labels and concern themselves with only those items that could be ingested. I have yet to find a toothpaste that contains gluten. Making sure your lipstick is gluten free is critical. More worrisome are drugs since the FDA does not require pharmaceutical companies to adhere to the gluten free guidelines that food manufacturers need to follow (e.g. Kraft, Nestle, ConAgra). Yes, processed food is safer but pharmaceuticals are not. Every drug must be checked and verified with a phone call to check inactive ingredients.