Jump to content
  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):
  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

Help With Diagnosing Thyroid Issues With Celiac!


Paeldi

Recommended Posts

Paeldi Newbie

Hi! I was diagnosed with Celiac about 2 and 1/2 years ago. Since then, my weight has gone up and down, bouts of depression, node on thyroid, visibly enlarged thyroid, high cholesterol levels, T3 levels out of range, etc. From my own research, these seem to be the signs of hypothyroidism or Hashimoto's. I have been through testing before, but nothing ever came of it or they said I was OK. I am going through another active phase right now and need guidance with specific testing from my endocrinologist who is not familiar with celiac. I would like to know what levels need to be tested. The ones I have found online are:

TSH

Free T3 (Is this different than just a T3 test?)

Free T4 (Is this different than just a T4 test?)

Thyroid Test Hormone

Thyroid antiperoxidase antibody test

Thyroglobulin (are there other antibody tests?)

What is T3 uptake?

What do you think? Did I miss anything? Any guidance?

I'm at my witts end!! It just doesn't make sense that I can lift weights and do cardio 5-6 days/week and barely lose weight. I can and do put on muscle though--weird! I am exhausted and depressed all the time too!

Thank you for any info that you would have!!


Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



ShayFL Enthusiast

A great place to find EVERYTHING you need is here:

www.stopthethyroidmadness.com

It covers EVERYTHING thyroid!!

You will need:

TSH (3rd generation)

Free T3

Free T4

Both antibodies

Have them include:

B12

Ferritin

Folic Acid

Iron

Vitamin D

These are all interrelated to each other. And go with thyroid issues. BE SURE you inform your doctor about the new TSH ranges .3 - 3. Most labs use the old ranges and doctors just scan the labs looking for anything out of range. Most doctors are not aware that the ranges have changed and do not correctly dx hypothyroid in MANY patients.

Since you go through phases it sure sounds like Hashimotos which goes hand and hand with your Celiac dx. The best way to treat Hashi's is to suppress the TSH to get closer to that .3 or lower level. Once the thyroid stops being stimulated by the pituitary (TSH) the attack will stop and so will the symptoms.

Wishing you well!

Mother of Jibril Enthusiast

I've been reading about this because I'm trying to get some better management for my own thyroid disorder. Here's what I found about the tests you mentioned:

TSH: is good for uncovering hypothyroidism, as long as you realize that a normal level is under 3.0 and you might not feel healthy again until it's even lower than that. A low TSH plus a low T3 might indicate that your pituitary gland is not stimulating your thyroid properly.

Free T4: indicates how much of the "storage" hormone is available for use by your body. The goal is to get this into mid-range with a high-normal to elevated T3. (Total T4 is not the same as Free T4).

Free T3: indicates how much "active" hormone is available for use... if your T4 is high and your T3 is low you're having a problem with conversion (you probably need more medication and some supplements).

Reverse T3: is produced when your adrenal glands are not producing enough cortisol (due to chronic stress or another autoimmune disorder called Addison's disease). rT3 blocks the intake of T3 to your cells. You want at least ten times more T3 in your body than rT3.

www.stopthethyroidmadness.com has a lot of good information about these tests and medication options.

Paeldi Newbie
I've been reading about this because I'm trying to get some better management for my own thyroid disorder. Here's what I found about the tests you mentioned:

TSH: is good for uncovering hypothyroidism, as long as you realize that a normal level is under 3.0 and you might not feel healthy again until it's even lower than that. A low TSH plus a low T3 might indicate that your pituitary gland is not stimulating your thyroid properly.

Free T4: indicates how much of the "storage" hormone is available for use by your body. The goal is to get this into mid-range with a high-normal to elevated T3. (Total T4 is not the same as Free T4).

Free T3: indicates how much "active" hormone is available for use... if your T4 is high and your T3 is low you're having a problem with conversion (you probably need more medication and some supplements).

Reverse T3: is produced when your adrenal glands are not producing enough cortisol (due to chronic stress or another autoimmune disorder called Addison's disease). rT3 blocks the intake of T3 to your cells. You want at least ten times more T3 in your body than rT3.

www.stopthethyroidmadness.com has a lot of good information about these tests and medication options.

Paeldi Newbie

Thank you so much for the helpful information and I will pass this on to my doc today. I will keep you all posted of any info that I receive.

Paeldi Newbie

I just received my last two years of blood work from my doc and I see that my liver panel is completely off and has gotten worse over the last year. Also, my bilirubin in elevated and my white and red blood cells are low. Does anyone have any input regarding the liver issues? Is this normal with celiac? I'm sure the red means I am anemic but not sure about the white.

Thanks for any guidance!!!!

ShayFL Enthusiast

Abnormal liver enzymes and labs are common with Celiac, but they could indicate other issues as well. My liver enzymes were slightly elevated before gluten-free and are now back into the normal range.


Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



Nancym Enthusiast
I just received my last two years of blood work from my doc and I see that my liver panel is completely off and has gotten worse over the last year. Also, my bilirubin in elevated and my white and red blood cells are low. Does anyone have any input regarding the liver issues? Is this normal with celiac? I'm sure the red means I am anemic but not sure about the white.

Thanks for any guidance!!!!

Good for you, getting your test results. It's a shame doctors don't report these to us, so always best to look for ourselves.

Liver issues can be caused by lots of things, alcoholism, celiac disease, Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (probably caused by eating too much sugar and starches), some drugs, some autoimmune disorders.

  • 2 weeks later...
one more mile Contributor

Sounds like you need to find a good endocrinologist's. He or she will be able to look at the big picture and figure it out.

a GP may not. It took me two endocrinologist to find a good one, I now drive an hour to see him.

Most of my adult life what I ate and what I weighed were not related, at all.

I have since had my thyroid removed and my labs are done every three months things

are going much better. An endocrinologist. is trained more at looking at a balance in the labs

and looking at patterns.

Make sure you have someone that will test you every three or 4 months till you are stable.

One more mile.

ShayFL Enthusiast

Sadly, both Endo's in Tampa failed me. It took a regular M.D. to properly diagnose me and treat me. :(

I hope you have better ones in your areas. But if not, dont give up!! A good M.D. can be a godsend.

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Celiac.com:
    Join eNewsletter
    Donate

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):





    Celiac.com Sponsors (A17-M):




  • Recent Activity

    1. - SilkieFairy replied to catnapt's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      4

      results from 13 day gluten challenge - does this mean I can't have celiac?

    2. - Wheatwacked replied to Scott Adams's topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      50

      Supplements for those Diagnosed with Celiac Disease

    3. - knitty kitty replied to catnapt's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      4

      results from 13 day gluten challenge - does this mean I can't have celiac?

    4. - knitty kitty replied to Scott Adams's topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      50

      Supplements for those Diagnosed with Celiac Disease

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):
  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      133,360
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748

    Known1
    Newest Member
    Known1
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):
  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.6k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):
  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • SilkieFairy
      I am doing a gluten challenge right now and I bought vital wheat gluten so I can know exactly how much gluten I am getting. One tablespoon is 7g so 1½ tablespoons of Vital Wheat Gluten per day will get you to 10g You could add it to bean burgers as a binder or add to hot chocolate or apple sauce and stir. 
    • Wheatwacked
      Raising you vitamin D will increase absorption of calcium automatically without supplementation of calcium.  A high PTH can be caused by low D causing poor calcium absorption; not insuffient calcium intake.  With low D your body is not absorbing calcium from your food so it steals it from your bones.  Heart has priority over bone. I've been taking 10,000 IU D3 a day since 2015.  My doctor says to continue. To fix my lactose intolerance, lots of lactobacillus from yogurts, and brine fermented pickles and saurkraut and olives.  We lose much of our ability to make lactase endogenosly with maturity but a healthy colony of lactobacillus in our gut excretes lactase in exchange for room and board. The milk protein in grass fed milk does not bother me. It tastes like the milk I grew up on.  If I drink commercial milk I get heartburn at night. Some experts estimate that 90% of us do not eat Adequite Intake of choline.  Beef and eggs are the principle source. Iodine deficiency is a growing concern.  I take 600 mcg a day of Liquid Iodine.  It and NAC have accelerated my healing all over.  Virtually blind in my right eye after starting antihypertensive medication and vision is slowly coming back.  I had to cut out starches because they drove my glucose up into the 200+ range.  I replaced them with Red Bull for the glucose intake with the vitamins, minerals and Taurine needed to process through the mitochodria Krebs Cycle to create ATP.  Went from A1c 13 down to 7.9.  Work in progress. Also take B1,B2,B3,B5,B6. Liquid Iodine, Phosphatidyl Choline, Q10, Selenium, D and DHEA.     Choline supplemented as phosphatidylcholine decreases fasting and postmethionine-loading plasma homocysteine concentrations in healthy men +    
    • knitty kitty
      @catnapt, Wheat germ has very little gluten in it.  Gluten is  the carbohydrate storage protein, what the flour is made from, the fluffy part.  Just like with beans, there's the baby plant that will germinate  ("germ"-inate) if sprouted, and the bean part is the carbohydrate storage protein.   Wheat germ is the baby plant inside a kernel of wheat, and bran is the protective covering of the kernel.   Little to no gluten there.   Large amounts of lectins are in wheat germ and can cause digestive upsets, but not enough Gluten to provoke antibody production in the small intestines. Luckily you still have time to do a proper gluten challenge (10 grams of gluten per day for a minimum of two weeks) before your next appointment when you can be retested.    
    • knitty kitty
      Hello, @asaT, I'm curious to know whether you are taking other B vitamins like Thiamine B1 and Niacin B3.  Malabsorption in Celiac disease affects all the water soluble B vitamins and Vitamin C.  Thiamine and Niacin are required to produce energy for all the homocysteine lowering reactions provided by Folate, Cobalamine and Pyridoxine.   Weight gain with a voracious appetite is something I experienced while malnourished.  It's symptomatic of Thiamine B1 deficiency.   Conversely, some people with thiamine deficiency lose their appetite altogether, and suffer from anorexia.  At different periods on my lifelong journey, I suffered this, too.   When the body doesn't have sufficient thiamine to turn food, especially carbohydrates, into energy (for growth and repair), the body rations what little thiamine it has available, and turns the carbs into fat, and stores it mostly in the abdomen.  Consuming a high carbohydrate diet requires additional thiamine to process the carbs into energy.  Simple carbohydrates (sugar, white rice, etc.) don't contain thiamine, so the body easily depletes its stores of Thiamine processing the carbs into fat.  The digestive system communicates with the brain to keep eating in order to consume more thiamine and other nutrients it's not absorbing.   One can have a subclinical thiamine insufficiency for years.  A twenty percent increase in dietary thiamine causes an eighty percent increase in brain function, so the symptoms can wax and wane mysteriously.  Symptoms of Thiamine insufficiency include stunted growth, chronic fatigue, and Gastrointestinal Beriberi (diarrhea, abdominal pain), heart attack, Alzheimer's, stroke, and cancer.   Thiamine improves bone turnover.  Thiamine insufficiency can also affect the thyroid.  The thyroid is important in bone metabolism.  The thyroid also influences hormones, like estrogen and progesterone, and menopause.  Vitamin D, at optimal levels, can act as a hormone and can influence the thyroid, as well as being important to bone health, and regulating the immune system.  Vitamin A is important to bone health, too, and is necessary for intestinal health, as well.   I don't do dairy because I react to Casein, the protein in dairy that resembles gluten and causes a reaction the same as if I'd been exposed to gluten, including high tTg IgA.  I found adding mineral water containing calcium and other minerals helpful in increasing my calcium intake.   Malabsorption of Celiac affects all the vitamins and minerals.  I do hope you'll talk to your doctor and dietician about supplementing all eight B vitamins and the four fat soluble vitamins because they all work together interconnectedly.  
    • Florence Lillian
      Hi Jane: You may want to try the D3 I now take. I have reactions to fillers and many additives. Sports Research, it is based in the USA and I have had no bad reactions with this brand. The D3 does have coconut oil but it is non GMO, it is Gluten free, Soy free, Soybean free and Safflower oil free.  I have a cupboard full of supplements that did not agree with me -  I just keep trying and have finally settled on Sports Research. I take NAKA Women's Multi full spectrum, and have not felt sick after taking 2 capsules per day -  it is a Canadian company. I buy both from Amazon. I wish you well in your searching, I know how discouraging it all is. Florence.  
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

NOTICE: This site places This site places cookies on your device (Cookie settings). on your device. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy.