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

Uncertain


BettyinMD

Recommended Posts

BettyinMD Newbie

Hello! Another fellow newbie here..seems to be a lot of us lately!

Anyway, the questions I have are related to the connection between this thyroid problem I have and questionable gluten intolerance...

Let me rewind a little.....

I was always active growing up, but kinda 'slower,' than my friends...got tired easily, etc..and I've always been heavier set as well(could be genetics?) I also had really bad nose bleeds from infancy, that by the time I was about 11, my mom took me to get my nose cauterized..Starting around 12 I got severe migraines, to the point of getting sick to my stomach..

Fast forward even more to getting pg with my second child...some of my thyroid levels came back borderline low, but not enough to take meds..I got tested again after my daughter was born and things were fine...well, a year later things were NOT fine..I had trouble losing the weight I had gained( I ate ALOT of pasta when I was pg :rolleyes: ) was fatigued a lot(thought because I was a mom) But I ate well, and exercised consistently and the weight wouldnt come off..I went to the doc to get a basic metabolic panel done, and ta-dah! I was hypo-t...not extremely out of range up or down, but obviously enough to where I was feeling it!

My doctor was very unhelpful, gave me meds and sent me on my way basically..but that wasn't good enough..I started digging around on the net,(pretty sad you can get more answers from the internet, than you can from your Doc!) I read about food intolerances being related to the thyroid...I asked my mom if I ever got tested for any allergies, and interestingly enough she said I couldn't eat gluten when I was a baby!!

It came on when I was about 18 months, after I had surgery for an infection in my glands in my neck..she couldnt figure out why I kept having diahrea and she had to change my cloths multiple times a day! she took me to the doctor, and even back then they just said take out all 'wheat products.' She did, and I was cured within a day she says! Then a day a couple months later the babysitter forgot and gave me a graham cracker, and it started all over..I was sick for a week..

Thats all my mom can remember and she says i eventually "grew out of it." But have I?

Now as an adult, I have hypo-t, and no one has sat down to talk to me about WHY...

I recently gave up gluten, at least the obvious culprits..and my stubborn body has actually lost 6 pounds in the last two weeks! And I haven't been taking my thyroid meds for almost two months..

I made an appt to see an endocrinologist on the 19th of August, and I want to sound like I know what Im talking about lol..I dont even know if I should ask for any tests..but I want to challenge the meds I was given to see if I can get better with just my diet...

Umm, I guess thats it.. :rolleyes: Thanks for reading!

Anyone else with similar stories/situations?


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



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



ravenwoodglass Mentor

Hi and welcome, sorry it took so long for a response to your post. Hopefully you have been reading here and now know that yes celiac can have detrimental effects on your thyroid. Now on to the most important thing. It used to be thought that children would outgrow celiac. They now know that is not a case. Do be aware that if you are already gluten free the tests for celiac will be a false negative. Also make sure you let your doctors know you were diagnosed with it as a child. I am glad you are seeing such positive changes with the reintroduction of the diet, that is often the best test there is.

BettyinMD Newbie
Hi and welcome, sorry it took so long for a response to your post. Hopefully you have been reading here and now know that yes celiac can have detrimental effects on your thyroid. Now on to the most important thing. It used to be thought that children would outgrow celiac. They now know that is not a case. Do be aware that if you are already gluten free the tests for celiac will be a false negative. Also make sure you let your doctors know you were diagnosed with it as a child. I am glad you are seeing such positive changes with the reintroduction of the diet, that is often the best test there is.

Hey, that's ok! Thanks for responding though! Yes, I have been doing a lot of reading here, and its been very helpful yet confusing at the same time..I understand there are a plethora of symptoms of celiac disease..I dont have the classic tummy troubles most people do, accept when I was younger..even then, they didn't do any formal testing..they just told my mom to take out gluten and I was fine!

The only thing she remembers is that eventually I could it, but in small amounts...weird! I guess I'm having a hard time knowing if I should even pursue testing now.

I'm sure my doctor is going to think Im INSANE! :rolleyes: But curiosity has the best of me...

ranger Enthusiast

My doc did not want to test me for celiac, but I insisted. With your history, testing would be a good idea, but you will have to injest gluten for awhile first. I had been on a gluten-free diet for a month before testing and, of course, tested negative. That was before I got on this forum and I was ignorant about all things celiac. At this point, it would be over my dead body before I'd eat gluten to do a proper test. The improement on this diet is enough "proof" for me. Let us know how this works out for you.

BettyinMD Newbie
My doc did not want to test me for celiac, but I insisted. With your history, testing would be a good idea, but you will have to injest gluten for awhile first. I had been on a gluten-free diet for a month before testing and, of course, tested negative. That was before I got on this forum and I was ignorant about all things celiac. At this point, it would be over my dead body before I'd eat gluten to do a proper test. The improement on this diet is enough "proof" for me. Let us know how this works out for you.

Thats one of the confusing things...almost everyone says, 'oh you have to eat gluten to do the testing, but I would never do that!' <_<

So whats a girl to do? If testing is a good idea, but eating gluten for the testing isn't such a good idea, then????

And what is the point of testing? Because I'm curious? Or to make sure that I'm not unnecessarily avoiding things I don't have to? Or to make sure I am, so I can do everything I can to avoid gluten..I just got into reading labels and all that..at first it was just food..

Personally, it would be like finding the missing piece of the puzzle! And I work as a Personal Trainer, and I would want to be a good example for others around me...

Also, how crucial would it be if things did turn up positive, having my kids get tested? They don't have symptoms now, but I know all it takes is for a traumatic event to 'turn something on.'

Sorry for all the crazy questions! Thanks for helping out! :rollseyes:

BettyinMD Newbie

One more question :rolleyes:

Would it "pay," to skip all the hassling with the docs and just go straight to enterolab?

Im already thinking the worst, and Im betting my doc is going to think Im off my rocker(first appt with this endo)

But who knows, maybe she'll just nod in agreement and send me right away for testing!(in my dreams!)

I'm just trying to find out the CAUSE of my thyroid problemo..not mask it with meds, meds and more meds!

ravenwoodglass Mentor
One more question :rolleyes:

Would it "pay," to skip all the hassling with the docs and just go straight to enterolab?

Im already thinking the worst, and Im betting my doc is going to think Im off my rocker(first appt with this endo)

But who knows, maybe she'll just nod in agreement and send me right away for testing!(in my dreams!)

I'm just trying to find out the CAUSE of my thyroid problemo..not mask it with meds, meds and more meds!

If the idea of doing a gluten challenge makes you cringe then I would say yes go right to Enterolab. They can do a stool test for the antibodies and while they cannot diagnose celiac they can tell you if you are making antibodies for up to a year after you have gone gluten free. They can also test for antibodies to soy, egg and yeast as well as testing for malabsorption and they do a pretty comprehensive gene panel. It is not unusual for celiacs to have other issues including thyroid. If you have been able to discontinue your meds with no ill effect after going gluten free in my opinion that is a real clue in itself.


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



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



BettyinMD Newbie

I've only been off my meds for about 1.5 months(cause I was too lazy to refill script, and I started reading about natural healing, etc), but gluten free(for the most part) for three weeks..

I will wait and see what the docs opinion is..I'm still going to remain gluten-free to see if my thyroid tests improve at all...probably in another two months get more tests to see!

If they are improved, then I can eat a bunch of gluten without my thyroid meds to prove that was the culprit? Maybe I can be there first guniea pig or something.. :rolleyes:

ravenwoodglass Mentor
I've only been off my meds for about 1.5 months(cause I was too lazy to refill script, and I started reading about natural healing, etc), but gluten free(for the most part) for three weeks..

I will wait and see what the docs opinion is..I'm still going to remain gluten-free to see if my thyroid tests improve at all...probably in another two months get more tests to see!

If they are improved, then I can eat a bunch of gluten without my thyroid meds to prove that was the culprit? Maybe I can be there first guniea pig or something.. :rolleyes:

Personally I would not advise that. For one thing for many of us the reaction we have to gluten after being gluten free for a time can be very violent and in some rare instances can result in permanent damage. I can only use myself as an example but the first challenge I did for my allergist the reaction was severe but not extreme. My second challenge for the GI doctor a couple weeks later resulted in a GI bleed that lasted 3 hours. Now 7 years later my last 'accident' (I would never eat gluten again on purpose) resulted in a bleed that lasted over 3 days. At the very least you would set back your healing at worst you may make your thyroid condition so much worse that you wouldn't recover to the extent that you are so far. IMHO it would be best to just continue healing and be thankful for any related issues that have gone into remission.

If you want your doctor to recognise the relationship between your thyroid issues and gluten there is a lot of peer reviewed research and articles that could open the doctors eyes without risking damaging yourself further.

BettyinMD Newbie

Had a follow up appt with the endo. yesterday..

It WAS a big FAT waste of my time yesterday..

Apparently I was supposed to get labs redone that I knew nothing about..so the doc wouldn't even see me *grumble* you couldn't have checked my record before I drove 30 minutes here to tell me that? :angry:

Oh well..so in two weeks Ill get em redone..that will be 2 months no meds and no gluten..so it'll be interesting to see what the test results will be..

If they are worse, then that sucks..if they are BETTER then that would be AWESOME! I'll have my answer too, pretty much...and maybe the doc will listen then..

They don't even know Im off my meds, because, like yesterday for example, I didn't even get a minute to even TALK to the doc..

Archived

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

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

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





    Celiac.com Sponsors (A17-M):




  • Recent Activity

    1. - tiffanygosci replied to tiffanygosci's topic in Coping with Celiac Disease
      12

      New Celiac Mama in My 30s

    2. - RMJ replied to Riley.'s topic in Introduce Yourself / Share Stuff
      4

      Outgrow celiac?

    3. - knitty kitty replied to Riley.'s topic in Introduce Yourself / Share Stuff
      4

      Outgrow celiac?

    4. - knitty kitty replied to tiffanygosci's topic in Coping with Celiac Disease
      12

      New Celiac Mama in My 30s

    5. - trents replied to Riley.'s topic in Introduce Yourself / Share Stuff
      4

      Outgrow celiac?


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):



  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      131,979
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748

    volivier
    Newest Member
    volivier
    Joined

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):


  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.5k
    • Total Posts
      1m

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):





  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):



  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • tiffanygosci
      Thank you for sharing all of this, Knitty Kitty! I did just want someone to share some commonality with. I did not know This one Deficiency was a thing and that it's common for Celiac Disease. It makes sense since this is a disorder that causes malabsorption. I will have to keep this in mind for my next appointments. You also just spurred me on to make that Dietician appointment. There's a lot of information online but I do need to see a professional. There is too much to juggle on my own with this condition.<3
    • RMJ
      I think your initial idea, eat gluten and be tested, was excellent. Now you have fear of that testing, but isn’t there also a fear each time you eat gluten that you’re injuring your body? Possibly affecting future fertility, bone health and more? Wouldn’t it be better to know for sure one way or the other? If you test negative, then you celebrate and get tested occasionally to make sure the tests don’t turn positive again. If you test positive, of course the recommendation from me and others is to stop gluten entirely.  But if you’re unable to convince yourself to do that, could a positive test at least convince you to minimize your gluten consumption?  Immune reactions are generally what is called dose response, the bigger the dose, the bigger the response (in this case, damage to your intestines and body). So while I am NOT saying you should eat any gluten with a positive test, the less the better.  
    • knitty kitty
      @Riley., Welcome to the forum, but don't do it!  Don't continue to eat gluten!  The health problems that will come if you continue to eat gluten are not worth it.  Problems may not show up for years, but the constant inflammation and nutritional losses will manifest eventually.  There's many of us oldsters on the forum who wish they'd been diagnosed as early.    Fertility problems, gallbladder removal, diabetes, osteoporosis and mental health challenges are future health issues you are toying with.   To dispel fear, learn more about what you are afraid of.  Be proactive.  Start or join a Celiac group in your area.  Learn about vitamins and nutrition.   Has your mother been checked for Celiac?  It's inherited.  She may be influencing you to eat gluten as a denial of her own symptoms.  Don't let friends and family sway you away from the gluten-free diet.  You know your path.  Stick to it.  Be brave. 
    • knitty kitty
      @tiffanygosci, Hello.  I apologize for your thread being hijacked.   I recognize your symptoms as being similar to what I experienced, the migraines, food and chemical sensitivities, hives, nausea, the numbness and tingling, joint pain, tummy problems, sleep problems, emotional lability, and the mom brain.  My cycle returned early after I had my son, and I became pregnant again with all my symptoms worsening.  Unfortunately, I lost that baby.  In hindsight, I recognized that I was suffering so much from Thiamine deficiency and other nutritional deficiencies that I was not able to carry it.   Celiac Disease affects the absorption of nutrients from our food.  There's eight B vitamins that must be replenished every day.  Thiamine Vitamin B1 becomes depleted first because it cannot be stored very long, less than two weeks.  Other B vitamins can be stored for two months or so.  But Thiamine can get low enough to produce symptoms in as little as three days.  As the thiamine level gets lower, symptoms worsen.  Early symptoms like fatigue and anxiety are often attributed to life situations, and so frequently go unrecognized by medical professionals who "have a pill for that".   I used to get severe migraines and vomiting after gluten consumption.  Thiamine and the other B vitamins are needed to turn carbohydrates, fats and proteins into fuel for our bodies.  With a large influx of carbohydrates from gluten containing foods, the demand for Thiamine increases greatly.  Available thiamine can be depleted quickly, resulting in suddenly worsening symptoms.  Emotional stress or trauma, physical activity (athletes and laborers) and physiological stresses like pregnancy or injury (even surgery or infection) increase the need for Thiamine and can precipitate a thiamine insufficiency. Pregnancy requires more thiamine, not just for the mother, but for the child as well.  The mother's Thiamine stores are often depleted trying to meet the higher demand of a growing fetus.  Thiamine insufficiency can affect babies in utero and after birth (autism, ADHD).  Having babies close together doesn't allow time for the mother to replenish thiamine stores sufficiently.   Thiamine insufficiency can cause migraines, pins and needles (paresthesia), and gastrointestinal Beriberi (gas, bloating, diarrhea or constipation, back pain).   Thiamine deficiency can cause blurry vision, difficulty focusing, and affect the eyes in other ways.  Thiamine deficiency can damage the optic nerves.  I have permanent vision problems.  High histamine levels can make your brain feel like it's on fire or swelling inside your cranium.  High histamine levels can affect behavior and mood.  Histamine is released by Mast Cells as part of the immune system response to gluten.  Mast Cells need Thiamine to regulate histamine release.  Mast Cells without sufficient thiamine release histamine at the slightest provocation.  This shows up as sensitivities to foods, smelly chemicals, plants, and dust mites.  Thiamine and the other B vitamins are needed to lower histamine levels.  Vitamin D is needed to calm the immune system and to regulate our hormones.  Menstrual irregularities can be caused by low Vitamin D.   Celiac Disease is a disease if Malabsorption of Nutrients.  We must take great care to eat a nutritionally dense diet.  Our bodies cannot make vitamins.  We must get them from what we eat.  Supplementation with essential vitamins and minerals is warranted while we are healing and to ensure we don't become deficient over time.  Our bodies will not function properly without essential vitamins and minerals.  Doctors have swept their importance under the rug in favor of a pill that covers the symptoms but doesn't resolve the underlying issue of malnutrition. Do talk to your doctor and dietician about checking for nutritional deficiencies.  Most blood tests for the eight B vitamins do not reflect how much is available or stored inside cells.  Blood tests reflect how much is circulating in the blood stream, the transportation system.  Blood levels can be "normal" while a deficiency exists inside cells where the vitamins are actually used.  The best way to see if you're low in B vitamins is to take a B Complex, and additional Thiamine and look for improvement.   Most vitamin supplements contain Thiamine Mononitrate, which is not easily absorbed nor utilized by the body.  Only thirty percent of thiamine mononitrate listed on the label is absorbed, less is actually utilized.  This is because thiamine mononitrate is shelf stable, it won't breakdown sitting on a shelf in the grocery store.  It's so hard to breakdown, our bodies don't absorb it and can't turn it into a form the body can use.  Take Thiamine in the form Benfotiamine or TTFD (tetrahydrofurfuryl disulfide) which the body can utilize much better.  (Ask for an Erythrocyte Transketolace Activity test for Thiamine level.  Though not accurate, this test does better picking up on a thiamine deficiency than a blood test.) Are you keeping your babies on a gluten free diet?  This can prevent genetically susceptible children from developing Celiac Disease.   P. S. Interesting Reading  Thiamine deficiency in pregnancy and lactation: implications and present perspectives https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10158844/ Descriptive spectrum of thiamine deficiency in pregnancy: A potentially preventable condition https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37458305/ B vitamins and their combination could reduce migraine headaches: A randomized double-blind controlled trial https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9860208/
    • trents
      @Riley, on this forum we sometimes get reports from people with similar experiences as you. That is, their celiac disease seems to go into remission. Typically, that doesn't last. At age 18 you are at your physical-biological peek in life where your body is stronger than it will ever be and it is able to fight well against many threats and abuses. As Wheatwacked pointed out, absence of symptoms is not always a reliable indicator that no damage is being done to the body. I was one of those "silent" celiacs with no symptoms, or at least very minor symptoms, whose body was being slowly damaged for many years before the damage became pronounced enough to warrant investigation, leading to a diagnosis. By that time I had suffered significant bone demineralization and now I suffer with back and neck problems. Please, if you choose to continue consuming gluten, which I do not recommend, at least get tested regularly so that you won't get caught in the silent celiac trap down the road like I did. You really do not outgrow celiac disease. It is baked into the genes. Once the genes get triggered, as far as we know, they are turned on for good. Social rejection is something most celiacs struggle with. Being compliant with the gluten free diet places restrictions on what we can eat and where we can eat. Our friends usually try to work with us at first but then it gets to be a drag and we begin to get left out. We often lose some friends in the process but we also find out who really are our true friends. I think the hardest hits come at those times when friends spontaneously say, "Hey, let's go get some burgers and fries" and you know you can't safely do that. One way to cope in these situations is to have some ready made gluten-free meals packed in the fridge that you can take with you on the spot and still join them but eat safely. Most "real" friends will get used to this and so will you. Perhaps this little video will be helpful to you.  
×
×
  • 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.