Thyroid

[Prudence]

I was just wondering if anyone else has been diagnosed with Thyroid Nodules, and if it is related to Celiac.

I have not been very true to my diet. (I am weak. I know this.) Anyway, recently a doctor noticed that I had several cysts on my Thyroid. I had a sonogram done, and lab work. The lab came back normal. The sonogram showed 7 med to large nodules on my Thyroid. They plan to do a biopsy in April to make sure they are not cancerous. I am not too worried about cancer, since I am only 29. But I am wondering if my gluten diet is contributing to the development of the cysts. Any ideas?

And I have been better on my diet...as of the last 4 days anyway...

Thanks

Prudence

[celiac-mommy]

I don't have Celiac, but I have had my thyroid removed in 2 stages (when I was 8 and again when I was 24) due to large nodules growing all over the gland. It was supressing its function and was inconclusive for a cancer diagnosis. It wasn't until after the pathology came back (post-op) that it was determined it wasn't cancerous. I don't know if this can be related to celiac disease or not, just wasn't in my case...

[AliBell]

I am a 21 year old female who has been gluten free for a little over a year. After still having symptoms I had a thyroid sonogram and found several nodules too. I was convinced I had hypothyroidism because I had all the symptoms too, but my endocrinologist said the blood work was normal. He didn't seem too concerned about the nodules and said to come back in a year.

I think the nodules could be caused by Celiac but I don't know either.

[earthtoneNJ]

  AliBell said:

I am a 21 year old female who has been gluten free for a little over a year. After still having symptoms I had a thyroid sonogram and found several nodules too. I was convinced I had hypothyroidism because I had all the symptoms too, but my endocrinologist said the blood work was normal. He didn't seem too concerned about the nodules and said to come back in a year.

I think the nodules could be caused by Celiac but I don't know either.

Alibell - Do you know what your actual numbers were for the thyroid testing? Did they test free T3 and T4? There have been changes in what's considered the "normal" range, and unfortunately a lot of doctors and labs are out of touch with the new range. I believe for TSH it's now 0.5-3.0, but you can be symptomatic even in the mid-to-low 2's. Yet, when i had my TSH tested in December the lab still showed normal to be up to 4.0. Some will even tell you up to 5 is normal (and the newer range came out several years ago!). But *IF* I recall my numbers right, 92% of the population is below 2.5, and some argue that THAT should be upper limit. My test was 2.56, and I think I'm symptomatic (runs in my family).

I just started Gluten-free Casein-free a month ago, so I'm wondering if htat will help.... ??

[kimis]

I have a nodule, and my thyroid is enlarged. I was dx with Hashimoto's in November I think. I agree that it is somehow related to Celiac. I didn't start feeling the effects of the thyroid problems till 3 or 4 months after I started the gluten-free diet. I think my immune system had nothing to do after I stopped eating gluten.....so it moved on to something else.

By the way.....The first endocrinologist I saw said she had like 7 nodules, and everything was fine with her. She said,"sometimes your body just grows things"......I wish my body would grow a million dollars!

[Vermontgrrl]

HI All-

I had my celiac diagnosed in 12/05, but had suffered for about 8-10 years prior to figuring out what was wrong. I was just diagnosed with papillary thyroid cancer in January and had my thyroid and several lymph nodes removed in February. I am learning, via the internet mostly, that there is a definite connection between Celiac and thyroid cancer. So, keep an eye out for lumps on your necks! My thyroid counts had always been in the range of normal, even up to 3 months before the cancer diagnosis. The cancer is very treatable and easily contained, but not that fun to deal with. My endocrinologist scoffed when I first suggested that there might be a link (possibly) between the celiac and the cancer, but apparently there is.

  kimis said:

I have a nodule, and my thyroid is enlarged. I was dx with Hashimoto's in November I think. I agree that it is somehow related to Celiac. I didn't start feeling the effects of the thyroid problems till 3 or 4 months after I started the gluten-free diet. I think my immune system had nothing to do after I stopped eating gluten.....so it moved on to something else.

By the way.....The first endocrinologist I saw said she had like 7 nodules, and everything was fine with her. She said,"sometimes your body just grows things"......I wish my body would grow a million dollars!

[ptkds]

I had an ultrasound on my thyroid a couple of months ago and they found a few cysts. One was different thatn the others, so they did a biopsy on it. It was benign. They really aren't doing anything to deal with the cysts since they don't appear to be causing any problems.

I don't know if there is a link, but there very well could be since thyroid issues are probably related to the immune system.