I’ve had a number of people ask me whether it’s possible to have both Graves’ Disease and Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis at the same time. I’ve also had some people tell me they have been diagnosed as having both conditions. Although both Graves’ Disease and Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis are autoimmune thyroid disorders, there of course are differences between the two conditions.
Graves’ Disease is an autoimmune hyperthyroid condition, while Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis is an autoimmune hypothyroid disorder. Both could involve the presence of TPO antibodies, while TSI antibodies are involved with Graves’ Disease. Other types of antibodies can be involved as well. But of course Graves’ Disease involves an excess production of thyroid hormone, while Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis involves a decrease in thyroid hormone.
There are times when people seem to fluctuate between Graves’ Disease and Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis. For example, some people will be diagnosed with Graves’ Disease, but then over time will develop a hypothyroid condition, and will be diagnosed with Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis. There are some people who will fluctuate back and forth between the two conditions, although this is rare. And of course someone with Graves’ Disease who receives radioactive iodine or thyroid surgery and doesn’t address the underlying cause of the condition has a pretty good chance of developing another autoimmune disorder, such as Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis.
But to answer the original question, one cannot have both conditions at the same exact time. If the definition of Graves’ Disease is an autoimmune hyperthyroid condition and Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis is an autoimmune hypothyroid condition, then hopefully you can understand why it’s not possible to have both conditions simultaneously. However, a person can have different thyroid antibodies, and so once again it is possible to fluctuate between the two conditions.
Can Following A Natural Treatment Protocol Help?
For someone who has thyroid antibodies for both Graves’ Disease and Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, a natural treatment protocol can frequently help with this. Just as is the case with someone who only has thyroid antibodies for a single condition, the goal is to get to the underlying cause of the condition. And while it’s rare for someone to fluctuate back and forth between Graves’ and Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, following a natural treatment protocol consisting of eating well, taking certain supplements and herbs, and modifying other lifestyle factors can potentially restore this person’s health back to normal.
This doesn’t mean there can’t be some challenges when trying to help someone with such a condition. For example, while people with Graves’ Disease who have an iodine deficiency can supplement with iodine, the same thing isn’t always true for someone with Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, although there is some controversy over this. So if someone is fluctuating between both conditions and has an iodine deficiency, one might want to hold off on giving that person iodine until the autoimmune response is addressed.
Similarly, the herb Bugleweed is commonly recommended for people with Graves’ Disease, but is contraindicated for people who have Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis. So a person who fluctuates between the two conditions probably shouldn’t take Bugleweed, or any other herb which is contraindicated for either Graves’ Disease or Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis.
But for the most part, such a condition is handled in a similar manner as someone who is diagnosed with just Graves’ Disease or Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis. While there might be fluctuations between the thyroid blood tests and thyroid antibody tests, this is why other tests are usually recommended (adrenal testing, hormone testing, hair mineral analysis, etc.). So regardless of the autoimmune thyroid condition, the ultimate goal is to find the underlying cause of the condition and do what is necessary to correct the problem.
In summary, it isn’t impossible for someone to have both Graves’ Disease and Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis at the same exact time. However, it is possible for someone to have thyroid antibodies for both conditions, which can cause them to switch back and forth from one autoimmune thyroid disorder to another. Either way, for anyone looking to restore their health through natural treatment methods, the goal is to find out what the underlying cause of the condition is, and then put the person on the appropriate protocol in order to correct the cause.
But I would like to contradict you! I have hypothyroidism and I was diagnosedin the same time with Graves and Hashimoto. Since than I am still hypo and still have Graves and Hashi. My Trab is 16 and my Atpo 3900. At present my Tsh is 1.2 but it only goes up if I feel bad or get stressed. I know is not common at all, but there are people who have both
Hi Camille,
There’s nothing to contradict, as I agree that it is possible to have the “antibodies” for both Graves’ disease and Hashimoto’s at the same time. In fact, I’ve worked with patients who had elevated TSI levels and thyroglobulin levels that were out of range as well.
What meds are you taking right now?
I also have both. When my doctor ran the tests to investgate my symptoms, she found both graves and hashis antibodies. Its not that common and it is a struggle find ohers who have been diagnosed or information regarding the topic. I know this post is almost a year old but im having to dig further into my condition myself as I started having symptoms again. Ugh
I have been diagnosed with both as well. I’ve never found anyone else diagnosed with both at least not at my young age
I was diagnosed with hypo in 1988 and last month with Graves also. I was told I have both now at 65 y.o. and yes it will fluctuate back-and-forth from time to time. I have now lost 10 pounds since I was diagnosed but have leveled off. Here is my test results
free T4 0.30 ng/dL
TSH 61.92 mU /L
T3 0.49 ng/ mL
thyroglobulin antibodies 2366.0 IU/mL
thyroid paroxdase antibodies 214 U/ mL
So do you get the same autoimmune thyroid Disease. With both? I take levothyroxin 112 MCG
I was just diagnosed with both. Started on tapazole. Hoping for the best.
Yes, Camille is right – you can have both. Look into Hashitoxicosis. I have Hashimotos and Graves, and an excellent endocrinologist
My mother was diagnosed with graves about 8 years ago and for a year or so was just adhering to a very strict diet and doing the best she could to try and enjoy life. Then, she started menopause and that caused everything to sorta go haywire for her and she was recommended the radiation shot. For anyone ever told to take that shot, for the sake of yourself or your loved one, advise against it. All the shot does is send your thyroid into super angry hulk stage and now she has both graves and hashimoto. It’s a “fun” rollercoaster. She never knows when its going to flip and has the “luxuries” of having the symptoms of both at any given time. To top this beautiful cake off, she has also been diagnosed with fibromyalgia. She cannot take pain meds because they just destroy her stomach and do nothing for the pain. Most of the thyroid “specialists” she’s been referred to have told her that because she has both, there’s nothing they can do for her, because the medications for either can be deadly for the other. So if she’s taking meds for graves and flips to hashi, it could kill her and vise versa. I really, with all my heart, wish there was more known about thyroid, especially for the folks, although more rare,do indeed have both. At this point, its a struggle just to keep her out of severe depression from chronic pain.
Try alpha lipoic acid. You can google it and it works for thyroid problems. I have taken 400 mg twice a day of the Walmart kind, many expensive brands did not work for me. It also helps greatly with fibro. I have to take extra multi vitamin with b complex and a big dose of biotin with it. I get them at family dollar. For twelve bucks I put my thyroid into remission in thirty days. Also, alpha lipoic acis was given to children of Chernobyl to help prevent and repair their radiation sickness. It has also caused my cancer to go away. Please google it and learn about it.
I have put my pbc and hashimotos in remission using alpha lipoic acid and ursodiol. My tpos are now normal and I’m off synthroid with normal thyroid levels but my eye doc says I have exopthalmos and they have not tested my tpis. Can these be high but the rest be normal?
I have been treated for hypo hashi 13 years with cycles of hyperthyroid symptoms over the years.
This year has been the worst.
I now have low TSH .2 and have eye symptoms and textbook hyper symptoms.
My mom has Graves as did her Aunts.
I’m getting a thyroid scan soon.
I need help to manage the heart rate and anxiety.
Any suggestions?
Hi, just read your response, I have graves. I take bystolic, for my high heart rate. It helps tremendously, with no side affects. I take sinemet, a Parkinson’s medicine, for my tremors. It’s a dopemine med, so it makes me happy also.
Hi Cheryl, I’ve gone through the same exact symptoms you’ve described just the past few months. My doc put me on propanalol, high dose, to get my heart rate down. I’m now down to 10 mcg 2x per day and r sting heart rate is in mid 70s. I tried weaning off but heart rate started to go back up. Still trying to figure out how to manage the thyroid issues though. I hope you’ve been doing better since your original post!
Hello, I also have both. I actually started hypo when having babies and went over to hyper after weaning my youngest. The healthier I eat the better I feel, also multivitamins and Vitamin D. I have taken both levothyroxin and methimazol(not at the same time) but have been in remission for a couple of months (yay for no meds). I was reading the above comments and wanted to note I took ursodiol for a different condition while I was pregnant ICP Intrahepatic cholestasis of Pregnancy. Apparently I have hit the jackpot for rare endocrine related diseases as ICP has to do with liver and kidney malfunction. I am going to try an autoimmune diet to see if it will help me to stay in remission.
Hello! Yes, recently diagnosed with both Graves and Hashimotos and Hashitoxicosis. It was actually my Ophthalmologist that cued in on the Graves. I also have Thyroid Eye Disease. I have been a diagnosed Hashimoto for 9 years. I also had active Epstein Barr, so took quite a dose of Armour with a TSH of only 4 to feel well. Over the years, the active EBV titers dropped and subsequently, so did my need for Armour. We thought it was just that…but every time we dropped my meds, I would feel ‘hyper’ (irritable, palpitations, muscle tremors, visual fluctuations, swelling and cognition issues). Anyhoo, FINALLY they tested my TSI, which was over 500. My TPO however came down to 66…but my TSH is looming around 7. I am unable to take any more thyroid meds. It’s an interesting journey for sure. Now, at the recommendation of my endo (whom I love…but he has admitted that he is learning a lot from my case), I will try Turmeric, which will be interesting with my genetics, as I have a ton of trouble with anything sulfur. If the Turmeric doesn’t work…next request is LDN (low dose Naltrexone) LOVE the comments though…patients have so much to teach through their experiences!
Your so right, Tiffany!
I’m reading all these comments. I feel like I’m going crazy. I have graves, not doing to bad. I hit menopause abruptly at 45, and my hair grows and stops, grows and stops. I don’t gain weight, I have both hypo and hyper symptoms. I have yet to get a good Endo!! They just aren’t listening to me. I have no estrogen. I feel like going into menopause completely made my graves go haywire. 😓
does anyone have a nodule with both HT and GD? I do… waiting treatment…
I have had Graves treated with mithamazole for over a year and it never controlled my numbers. I got some sort of nasty infection and had to come off meds. This caused my thyroid numbers that were never under control to sky rocket. So I was really sick AND had insane thyroid symptoms. I am going to have my thyroid removed in less than a week. I’m so tired of feeling bad. Forgot to mention, post infection, when I was able to go to regular dose of methimazole, my numbers finally recovered. Can’t wait to feel better.
But everything I read said getting thyroid taken out gives you a slew of new problems…
I’m in tears reading this Ive had graves and Ted for many yrs had RAI in 2011 worst thing ever I had symptoms for both and conflicting bloods showing both also my parathyroid showing hyper and hypo. Now waiting for neurologist appointment for constant nerve pain 😔 ideally need a good endo and we all need a voice so that we’re heard. This disease is taking my life
I just got diagnosis of hyperthyroidism Graves and was on a med for it for two months or so now I’m all out of sorts with hypothyroid symptoms they stopped the med tsh was too high my doc says it’s probably both hashi. And Graves but I’m in the early stages of testing. I’m so confused to say the least and I have had fibromyalgia and panic disorder for ten years also hyperglycemic doc says he’s going to put me on a new med. idk what med yet but I’m very confused and nervous its all happening so fast my heads spinning
I have to say I was diagnosed over 16 yrs ago with both annd just recently did more test 2 months ago, and my left side thyroid is Graves and my right side is Hashimotos. So mine have been working against each other for 16 years and nothing has helped so now it’s surgery.