My Experience Using Red Light Therapy for Hashimoto’s
Red light therapy is not a cure for Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, but it definitely makes me feel better! I experimented with it for 4 months and break down what it did for me
What do you do when doctors tell you they won’t help you and you have to wait until your thyroid is destroyed? You do all the research you can do and try out everything possible to feel better!
For me, I see benefits in using red light therapy for Hashimoto’s and I recommend it!
This is simply my story. Nothing in this blog is medical advice. What works for me, might not work for you. But perhaps, by sharing experiences we can learn from each other. Check here to read my full disclaimer.
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Why I tried Red Light Therapy for Hashimotos
When I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, doctors weren’t really willing to help me. I had elevated antibodies and an ultrasound confirmed nodules on my thyroid, but my TSH was still within the “normal” range. Doctors basically told me to wait until I felt worse and until my thyroid was destroyed before they would consider giving me medication or helping me in any other way.
I got a similar response from a naturopath I had been seeing. I was told, take selenium and inositol and good luck!
To say I was angry and disappointed would be an understatement! But I wasn’t just going to sit back and watch this happen.
I could not function, I did not have a choice!
Long story short, I tried two main things, to get started. Firstly I started with the Autoimmune Protocol. I followed the core elimination diet for a few months and it made an enormous difference! But then I messed up the reintroductions and I was back at square one.
So back onto the AIP diet I went.
Around the same time I went back on AIP I heard about Red Light Therapy and its benefits to the body. So I delved a little bit deeper into it and we purchased a panel.
I go into the panel in a bit more detail in this post. I also made a video about it….but I have to admit, I haven’t had the energy to do a follow up video.
To summarize, we chose a panel that covers the entire torso. I wanted to use it for my thyroid, joint pain and to also get benefits from it for my gut. And my husband needed it for his neck, back and knee.
The Experiment Setup
Before we received our panel I made some notes to establish a baseline. I wrote down my symptoms, how I felt and whatever came to mind.
My symptoms were the usual: fatigue, joint pain, low energy and low mood, regular headaches. My sleep quality felt OK but I felt exhausted after 9 hours of sleep.
I also got some thyroid bloodwork done. Not the complete thyroid panel, but I had TSH, Thyroid Peroxidase (TPO) and Thyroglobulin antibodies (TgAb) tested. I could not get T3 or T4 tested at the time.
Over the last 12 months my TSH has been up and down. It was down to 2.72 in August 2024 when I was doing really well with the AIP core elimination diet. But then I did something wrong with reintroductions and in Feb 2025 my TSH was up to 3.77 and my TPO had increased by 200 points to 733 and mt TgAb went up to 119.
We set up the panel in our spare room. Because it is a large panel, we hung it up behind the door. It comes with a pulley system so it is easy to adjust the height of it.
Throughout this 4 month experiment I followed the strict AIP elimination diet with no reintroductions as best as I could, with a slip up here and there. I tried to change nothing else, well, at least nothing I could control myself.
My 4-Month Journey of using Red Light Therapy for Hashimoto’s
Month 1
I set the panel at a consistent height so it would cover me from head to about my hips. I started using the panel for very short sessions initially, to ease into it. From a minute per side I worked myself up to longer sessions.
After 3 days I did 5 minutes on the front and 5 minutes on the back. And a few days later I added more time by lowering the panel after the initial 10 minutes and doing 5 minutes on the front of my legs and 5 on the back.
After the very first session, my body felt like I had been in the sun too long. Warm and slightly red. It wasn’t uncomfortable or caused any issues. And I did not experience this on the second day.
But this definitely shows that you should give your body time to get used to it.
I also tried different times of the day to see if I can feel a difference between morning and evening sessions.
I aimed for 5 days a week, and on average I probably used it 4 to 6 days a week.
Immediately after using red light therapy for a couple of days I noticed a vast improvement in my sleep quality. I still woke up exhausted, but I felt I slept better. Ken also noted that his sleep was vastly improved after using the panel.
Month 2
During the second month I consistently used the light for a total of 20 minutes, generally 5 days a week.
But this month was hard! Ken had knee surgery and I was running around like crazy trying to cook, drive him to appointments and do all the things, while also working full time.
This did not bode well for my stress levels. I messed up my diet a few times and ate things I should not have had. And my joint pain and fatigue went through the roof.
Month 3
This month was pretty much the same as month 2, being in a continuous flare up. I cleaned up my diet again and stuck with it 100%.
But the joint pain was unbearable. My stress levels were still through the roof. Ken had a really rough time after the surgery and recovery was extremely slow and difficult.
I increased my red light therapy sessions to 10 minutes on the front, 10 minutes on the back and then for my lower body I did 5 minutes front, 5 minutes back, and 5 minutes on either side of my legs. Trying to get some relief for the joint pain.
Month 4
I finally started seeing some relief. Things got a bit easier with Ken’s recovery and he was able to help a bit more around the house and drive himself to his appointments.
And I made sure to make more time for myself.
The joint pain started to ease off and by the end of month 4 I was feeling pretty good again.
Not bouncing off the walls with energy, but I can cope. I still wake up exhausted. But my joint pain was gone and I just felt more human again!
I continued with the red light therapy sessions of 30 minutes, for on average 5 days a week.
Bloodwork Results
After these 4 months of red light therapy I went back for some blood work. Again I tested TSH, TPO and TgAb.
I am not sure what to make of these results. All my levels were lower. Just a little bit. Not enough to be of significance.
My TSH dropped by 0.61 points. My TPO went down to 615 and TgAb to 98.47. So my TgAb was the lowest it has ever been since I was diagnosed with Hashimotos. But my TSH and TPO did not lower as much as I had hoped.
Interpreting the Results
I am not sure what to make of these results. There are so many variables to consider, so many external factors I could not control.
I had hoped for more, so yes, I was a little bit disappointed. But I was also in an almost 3 month long flare up in the midst of it. Life’s stresses are not always something we can manage. And yes, I messed up the diet and ate things that I should not have.
BUT!!! It did drop my values, even if only slightly. So something was helping. It did help my sleep, for which I am ever grateful. And for this reason alone, I would do it all over again. Better sleep is worth a lot to me!
Yes, it could have been the elimination diet that dropped my values, it could have just been natural variations in my values. But without the flareup my values could have possibly dropped even more! I gess we will never know.
Reflections & Takeaways
To me, this experiment was worth every cent and every second. And I will continue to use red light therapy for better sleep, to help manage my stress levels and to help manage my Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis.
This is my personal experiment, my personal journey. And this does not guarantee that you will feel any differences. But if you have the means to try it, I would say go for it!
Next Steps
Moving forward, I am changing the way I use the light. I now hang it up so the panel is about chin height. It covers my thyroid, my torso and goes below my bum, about mid thigh.
I keep it at that height for the entire duration of my session. I have now worked my sessions up to be 15 minutes in the front and 15 minutes for the back. And over the next few days I intend to work it up to 20 minutes each side.
I am continuing with the elimination diet and have started reintroducing foods. Some with success, some not. But this time round I will be a lot more careful with monitoring my symptoms when reintroducing foods!
I have started walking more again. Movement is so important in our healing journey and an important pillar of AIP. It’s so easy to ignore it when we feel crappy. But it makes a world of difference to our mental and physical wellbeing!
At the same time, I will continue to do my best to manage my stress levels. Having half an hour in a room by myself, for myself, definitely helps! I get to do some breathing exercises, listen to an audiobook or just do nothing!
Time to relax and not be disturbed! I love it!
Tips for Considering Red Light Therapy
Research panels
If you are interested in exploring red light therapy for Hashimoto’s or any other ailment you might have, my first tip would be to do some research on the panels that are available to you. Set a budget and stick to it. Look for a panel that has at bare minimum 810 and 850nm wavelengths (or thereabouts).
But beyond that it is very difficult to say which is the best panel. I would strongly advise you to buy the best panel that you can afford. Cheap isn’t always better.
I give a bit more details on how we chose our panel here.
Rouge Panel
I really like the Rouge panel we chose (Rouge Pro G4) and the customer care from Rouge has been excellent so far. Our pulley broke after about 2 months and they replaced it immediately!
Whether it’s the perfect panel, I don’t know. But I am happy with it and I highly recommend it. They have smaller models available, if you are looking for a small light only for your thyroid.
Consistency
Secondly, you will want to work out a schedule and make this a habit. We have our panel hanging in a spare room that we never use, and too often I forget to use it.
Both Ken and myself notice an impact on our sleep if we forget it for 3 days in a row. So we really try to prioritize our sessions! Even if it is a shortened session! Some is better than none!
Use it immediately after dinner, or have your morning AIP compliant chai latte in front of the panel. There is no right or wrong as to when to use it, just find what works for you. I found that if I use it immediately before bed it messes with my sleep, but an hour or two before bed works great. Mornings work for me too, I just struggle to fit it into my morning routine currently. So after dinner is my preferred time!
If you really want to know if it helps, keep a journal of when you used it, for how long, how you are feeling before and after. Log it all and maybe you will find a pattern.
But don’t get your hopes up. This is not a miracle cure! But maybe these subtle differences together with our lifestyle changes all compounds to us feeling better.
My Conclusion
I have a feeling that this Hashimoto’s journey will be an ongoing, never ending road of experiments, trial and error. So for me, red light therapy is one small puzzle piece in my healing journey.
And if you can, I would encourage you to explore it. You don’t have to necessarily purchase a panel, some spas or health studies have lights whhere you can test it out first.
I am curious to know if you have tried red light therapy for Hashimoto’s or any other ailment you might have, and what your experience was! Please post a comment below. I am sure others would also love to hear more.
Or if you do have your own light, what is your routine? What is your setup? Please share it with us so we can all learn together! Share a picture on Instagram and tag me (@thyme.and.balance).
Or do you have any questions? Maybe I can answer them for you, or at least I will try to find answers for you. I am no expert in this, just experimenting with this myself.
