Hypothyroidism

[keri-b]

My 19-year old will be seeing a gastroenterologist for the first time on Monday. We are pretty sure she has celiac disease. She already has complex partial seizures, which from my research seem to indicate that it is related. I am also wondering about hypothyroid, as she can't seem to lose weight and has some of the other issues. Anyone out there able to relate?

[Lily]

Hi Keri,

Yes I can relate. I have had weight problems since I was about 18 or 19. I seem to stay heavy no matter what I eat. The GP always looks at me like there is nothing wrong with me that a good diet wouldn't cure. My health escalated and took a huge downturn this year and after almost a year, they have finally decided I have gluten allergies, with a side of high cholesterol and hypothyroidism (don't forget the arthritis, the wheezing, the abdominal pain, etc. etc.).

Anyhow, all of these are caused by my severe food allergies. My body isn't functioning properly and everything else is shutting down. Celiac is an autoimmune disease so until I detoxify myself my immune system is refusing to work normally.

Hope this helps. The gastroenterologist is the one who finally diagnosed me, however he said I'll have to go back to the GP for the thyroid, connective tissue problems and various other little problems I have. I don't agree with that. I think once I am gluten free (and stay that way) all these other nasty little symptoms will go away. Your daughter is going to have to educate herself and only she will know what makes her feel better (or worse).

I wish you the best of luck.

Lily

[tammy]

Yes! I do.

I have all of it. Well, I am gluten sensitive which is slightly different than celiac but I must live a gluten-free life.

Now is the time to give her immune system the most support. Once I started eating gluten-free it greatly reduced the wheeze. My thyroid is still requiring a lot of medication adjustments. I do feel much better with the thyroid medication but I have had a thyroid diagnosis since the age of 12 1/2 I am now 38. The biggest problem is sugar cravings. But I am sure it is the compounded effects of a complex health history.

I hope that helps...

Tammy

[natalieb]

Yes I can. My name is Natalie and I am 39. At 26, I dev. graves disease and had my thyroid oblated. At around the age of 32, I began having extreme colitis,(or so the gi specialist I had gone to said). I also had weird symptoms like numbness in my hand, and pains in my legs. I have always been a hardworker who has thrived on a career after college but I began to feel so tired. At 38, I had a colonoscopy and they found an adenoma polyp. During this whole 6 years, my gi doc never ever tested me for celiac. I never knew what it was so therefore, I didn't ask. Something like a gut instinct told me to go get another opinion even though my doc was sooo respected. I went to presbyterian hosp in Pgh and my new doc asked about graves disease. Seems the thyroid is linked to celiac as it is an autoimmune disease. He tested me right away for celiac and addison's disease. I am new to all this with celiac and am trying to survive. I just want to say that if you don't like the answer your getting or not getting from your doctor, go to another. I wish I would have, however, I was made to think that I had lost my mind. I will keep your daughter in my prayers. take care

[CristinaD]

Yes, I have both hypothyroidism and celiac disease, too!

I have had thyroid problems since I was 11 and just this year, after being misdiagnosed with IBS , was finally diagnosed with celiac disease. I have had many other autoimmune problems as well, including infertility. I am now 38 and have been on the gluten-free diet for 4 months. I immediately felt better after being on the diet for 1 week.

I have read that hypothyroidism may actually disappear after being on the diet for 1 year or so.

Has anyone had this happen to them?

[shelagh-e]

Hypothyroidism runs in my family.... but I have been tested regularly, the last time 2 years ago. My doctor says "no", I don't have it- but I have gained significant weight (20 lbs) since going gluten-free seven months ago. I was never a lightweight to begin with! So this is TRULY bothering me. I work out 4-5 times per week, and watch my calories, too. I tried Atkins- and GAINED weight on it!!! How depressing is that???

Any suggestions? I tend to eat a lot of veggies, etc., and average 1250-1450 calories per day. Still have bouts of exhaustion and brittle hair and fingernails, etc....

[kvogt]

My thyroid went out about 15 years ago whilst undergoing severe stress. My gut problems began then too. Unfortunately, my thyroid was all that was diagnosed then. Fourteen years later, I turn up anemic and get diagnoses celiac. I recommend anyone with thyroid abnormalty to get tested for gluten sensitivity. The best method would be EnteroLab.

[Guest jhmom]

I too began having thyroid problems during a very stressful time in my life, I believe that was in 1999. I went to the doc and was put on thyroid medicine. Soon after that I began having GI problems, mostly constipation and then horrendous diarreah. In Aug 2002 it all hit me at once and hit me very hard! I was finally diagnosed with Celiac in Sept 2003.

[svalexis]

shelagh e, hypothyroidism can be a tricky thing to diagnose. One doctor may interpret the values as normal, while another one will say that you're hypothyroid. I did some research on the subject myself, and now take thyroid-boosting supplements, which makes a huge difference in my energy level. About.com has a great thyroid site.

[noglutenallgood]

I too have hypothyroidism and celiac disease. Interestingly, the hypothyroidism was diagnosed in 1995 and I have been taking replacement thyroid ever since. 137mcg daily. I was diagnosed with celiac disease in November 2003, after 2 months of GI symptoms. I wasn't getting better and they finally checked my thyroid again. I had way too much! It came as a surprise to me that too much thyroid can be as problematic as too little. They reduced my dosage to 75mcg daily and I am finally starting to feel better. The Drs think that either my body is absorbing the thyroid replacement more effectively or that my immune system is functioning better and somehow that has allowed my thyroid gland to begin functioning better. There are three blood tests you can request to check your thyroid, TSH, this checks the level of thyroid stimulating hormone in your blood, T3 and T4, these check the levels of thyroid in your blood. TSH is probably the most sensitive, if it is high your your body wants more thyroid than you have. I always get the numbers from my doctor, just being in the normal range isn't enough for me. I want to be in the middle of the normal range. In any case, thyroid can be very tricky. I hope you get this worked out.

[smack]

Hi keri_b,

My mother has both hypothyoidism and celiac disease, I was hyperthyroid as a young child but it corrected itself, I get checked once a year to make sure everything is okay. I also have alopecia areata, which first appeared when I became hyperthyroid, but has stayed with me all my life unlike my thyroid condition.

But since celaics is an auto-immune disorder, as alopecia and thyroid conditions are thought to be triggered by the immune system, it is not surpising that many of us also have other immune related problems. (my mom also has severe allergies to perfumes, and various foods)

If you really want to make sure her thyroid is okay, your best bet is to see an Endochrinolist, they deal specifically with the glandular system and are best trained in these areas.

I also had trouble losing weight and extreme fatigue before and after my diagnosis of celiac disease without having thyroid problems, so the weight issue may not be related to her thyroid.

Before my mom was diagnosed with hypothyroidism, she was fatigued, lost her appetite, had thinning hair, felt cold a lot, gained weight (due to a slowered metabolism) among other common symptoms. But I have also experienced many of these and my thyroid is fine. Her endochrinologist pin pointed her thyroid problem and her family physician regulates her medication levels.

Good luck! I hope you find the answers.

[aldociao]

There is a Do-it-yourself Test for determining if you have an underactive thyroid that is said to be even more accurate than the blood tests. I've come across this suggestion in a number of places, the most recent being "The Acid Alkaline Balance Diet" by Felicia Kliment. She suggests that a mercury thermometer be placed under your arm for 10 minutes on waking and before getting up from bed. (A digital thermometer will not work.) Shake it down the night before so it registers less than 95 degrees. Remain as still as possible and record the temp each morning for a week. It should register 98 plus or minus 2/10s of a degree. "Any temperature reading below these numbers indicates an underactive thyroid," she says. (It is normal, she says, for one's temp early in the morning and late at night to be less than the normal 98.6.)

She goes on to say that "Blood tests only measure pituitary (TSH) and T3 hormone blood levels, while temperature readings measure how much energy is actually being generated in the cells. You can use the temp test not only to determine if you have an underactive thyroid but also how much thyroid medication you need." She stresses that you should not self-medicate, that this should be done only in consultation with your doctor. She continues: "When you're on thyroid medication and your temperature normalizes (between 97.8 and 98.2 on waking and 98.6 during the day) without causing an increase in the heart rate or pulse, you know you're taking enough medication to maintain normal metabolic function. Another advantage of using the thermometer method, she says, "...is that if your doctor, convinced that your tests have come out negative, refuses to give you thyroid medication, you can double check with the temperature test."

There is only one difficulty: finding a mercury thermometer. They are no longer being made as you may know, and I've been told by the pharmacy in town that they should have been turned in years ago, if you had one. I got mine by asking friends to check their medicine cabinets--a suggestion made by the pharmacy. You may want to do the same, if you find any merit in Kliment's suggestion.

--Aldo

[tarnalberry]

Just one comment on the test using a thermometer - the question of whether or not it is under 98.0 on waking is a little more tricky for women. It may well be normal for a woman to have her temp a bit below 98.0 upon waking before she ovulates and produces much progesterone in the cycle.

Also, you can get digital basal body temperature thermometers that will suffice for this. They are often marketed to women trying to get pregnant, as they are used to chart basal body temperature to identify when a woman ovulates.

[smack]

My body temperature is always below 98, usually runs between 96.5 and 97.5 at any time of day and my thyroid is fine...I know that if I have a temp. of 98 or higher, that I'm actually running a bit of a fever. Make sure you consult a specialist along with performing your own diagnostics.

[aldociao]

Tarnalberry,

Thanks for that info. My pharmacist apparently was unaware that I could get the same results by using a woman's digital basal Therm or, more likely, his head was too filled with other things to hear my question. I double checked with Kliment and she neglected to mention the possible differences in basal temp between men and women that you mentioned and that you would expect to find. Maybe Kliment felt that averaging out the temp over a weeks time would make it less important. But it would seem that any difference, however small, would be important enough to mention.

smack,

Nothing like throwing a monkey wrench into this. Thanks. Really. Though it's frustrating to know that what seemed to be very clear is not, I'm better off now knowing that I may not know anything at all about this strange organ and how it functions. At least now I know enough to start at the beginning. My basal temp averaged out over a week was 97.2. Are you saying, contrary to Kliment and others, that this could be normal for me? I too run a lower than normal daytime temp.

May I ask how you know your thyroid is fine? Is it because you have none of the consequences of a low functioning thyroid, or because you were tested, or because of both? Kliment said that she once had a waking basal temp of just over 96. Her TSH was 20 (normal range 0.4-6.0) and the T3 was 25 (normal range 55-171). She said she did one thing only to normalize her thyroid to 98.5: reducing the number of cups of tea she drank daily from 15 to 1. How strange is that? To make this discussion even more bizarre than it is. --Aldo

[tarnalberry]

aldociao,

I only know this because I'm using FAM and charting my temperature, but if you take a look at the "FAM bible" "Taking Charg of Your Fertility", you'll see that for women, when ovulation has occured and the corpus luteum begins releasing progesterone, the basal body temperature goes up by somewhere between two thirds and one and a half degrees (on average). It stays high until the corpus luteum disintegrates, and stops producing progesterone - which takes about two weeks, on average. So a woman's temperature (again, on average) may be fluctuating around, say 97.6 for the first two weeks of her cycle (starting on the first day of menstruation), then spike to, say 98.8 over the course of two days or so, and remain that high until menstruation starts approximately two weeks later.

(Of course, there are lots of variations on this, my temperature drops about 0.6 degrees when I begin menstruation, then drops another 0.6 or so after that stops until I ovulate, at which point it takes a good week to gradually rise up 1.2 degrees or so.)

Everything I read online noted to take three days worth of readings starting the second day of menstruation for women. Even based on that, my temperature is low, but honestly, I'm not sure if I should go see my doctor. I do have some of the symptoms of hypothyroid, but that can overlap with celiac, or the low testosterone which I know I have, and a thyroid test two years ago was totally normal. And I'm tired of going in there and saying "I think I have this, can you test me." Less because she thinks I'm a hypochondriac, than because it makes ME feel ... inappropriate. (Never mind I'm usually right on these things...) Sigh... I'm still not sure what I am going to do about it. My temperature ranges from 98.4 or so, down to 96.6 or so.

[scobeedoo1]

Greetings! - New to the forum. I thought the hypothyroid question was good because that was the first thing I was diagnosed with. Seem like after my first child everything went down hill. Sigh - I'm on a .200 dose now. Also a Type I diabetic (pump), and the never ending anemia issue. I haven't noticed a big change with the diet but I am definitely sensitive when my levels are off. Either so sleepy all the time or have that really nervous, jittery, can't sleep feeling. I've also notice I'm freezing if it's low and seems like hot flashes when its high. So it's interesting to see the thermometer theory. Don't know if this helps, just my experience.

[mommida]

I have Hashimoto's thyroiditis ( auto-immune disorder ) hypothyroid. Now I need to get tested for celiac disease. All the symptoms are there.

What do you think the most reliable test is for diagnosing celiac?

Does anyone know of a doctor in the metro- detroit area?

I'm sick of seeing all the quack doctors!

Laura

[flagbabyds]

I have thyroid problems as well as celiac disease. When I get gluten my thyroid goes bonkers!

[judy04]

Hello,

I also have thyroid disease. I had a benign nodule on my left thyroid,

which they removed in 2000. Dr said my body was destroying itself

(autoimmune disease) and I have to take a small dose of Levoxyl

to protect the right side.

My Dr also gave me a small book about thyroid and I wish I could remember

the name, but he said that many of us suffer from a "syndrome" which can include

many diseases, the most common are diseases of the thyroid, diabetes, gall-

bladder, celiac, allergies, sygyorn" syndrome, and dyslexia. One odd thing

it said was that anyone with prematurely gray hair, before the age of 30,

should probably be tested for thyroid disease. He went on to say that the conditions

run in families, which was true in my case, my mother always had constipation

problems, 2 of her sisters have thyroid disease, the other had died from diabetes.

and all have had prematurely gray hair. Oh, and my brother has dyslexia and

prematurely gray hair.....

[ms-sillyak-screwed]

Hi to all my celiac disease and thyroid cyberscpace friends!

I'm back again with more questions...

I had the radioactive iodine treatment to burn off the HOT NODUEL off my hyperactive thyroid about 3 months ago. Last monday the thyroid doc examined me and by feeling around said the noduel was gone and now I'm HYPO, not HYPER. MY T4 was 0.7 - T-Uptake was 23.4 - FT1 was 0.2 - THS was 72.11 she said no wonder you feel so bad! She said she wanted me to take 100 mcg of SYNTHROID. Not knowing anything or trusting the doc's here in Florida I questioned her and said. "I'm hypersenstive to everything I take, should I take that much?" She said, "...take 50 for a week the go up to 100."

She went to her medicine closet, instead she gave me LEVOXYL 50 mcg and some 100's of LEVOXYL. When I got home I noticed they were expired a month but took them anyway. She said take 50 for a week see how you do and increase it to 100. When I increased it from 50 to 75, I was okay and had a two very good days on the 75mcg. After a few days I bumped myself up to 100 I got sick again (diarrhea, feeling very irritated for no reason, weak like I was going to passout) so I have been taking 75 mcg for the last few days. I'm taking naps in the afternoon, migaine headaches, constipation then diarrhea. I'm hot when I sleep at night and when I wake up in the morning too. I don't have the heart palputation anymore like before < Thank God! My hands are burning, thingling, numb, like my diabetic 84-year old dad describes as his neouropthy.... Do I have that too now? Will it go away when I get better?

Can anyone tell me what is going on... What can I expect? How long will this take to feel better? I'm feeling depressed! All my life I've been an Up-Person! Is my body trying to balance itself out? Should I take 100 mcg? Or switch to a different thyroid med? Am I being impatient?

Oh, pleeeeeze help.

I have had the worst 9 months of my life lately. Since I got celiac disease in 2001 and put myself on a strick diet and lifestyle change I was okay for 4 years, (or so I thought), then major stress hit me and my thyroid grew this noduel and wham bam I've been blindsided with this and feel like I'm never gonna get better....

Please anyone have any answers I would welcome them.

Thanx < I feel like this!

[tarnalberry]

It sounds like 75mg was a better dose for you, but definitely contact your doctor ASAP.

[gabrielle]

I am 20 years old and I too have hypothyroidism. But unlike many, I am very thin- which doctors blame on celiac disease. I was just diagnosed in January so I am not very knowledgable about the condition(Hypo) (except that in my case it is genetic).

[ms-sillyak-screwed]

Hi I'm baack with more questions and a baad computer with sticky keys. My other computers were infeected with thee trojan virus while looking up drug ingeridents alast night. Please bear with me.

The thyrroid medication I'm taking is giving me diarrhea. I take the pill and eat 30 mins later, within 10 minutes in in the bathroom with diarrhea.

My ssysteem cann NOT tolerate CORN or DAIRY. I'm taking LEVOXYL 75 mcg generic for SYNTHROID. My ddocc is NO HELP! I caalleed thee paarmaacist and I was told LEVOTHYROXINE does NOT contain dairy or corn.

Does anyonee else have the same probelmss and if so whaat do you taake???

PLEASE HELP!

[mommida]

I have been on varied doses of thyroid medication, (Levothroid, Levoxyl) since 1997.

It takes time to get your body regulated on the dosage. I don't know if this makes a difference, but I ask the pharmacy NOT to open the factory sealed bottle. The endo. writes the prescription for 100 pills and it seems like a waste of time for the pills to labeled in the bottle 100 pills and have to get counted.

If you have any thyroid related symptoms, go to the endo. and get the blood test to see if the levels are off. I went on the gluten free diet and found I need less medication.

Laura