Questions About Celiac Testing And Synthroid

[rfamilyof8]

Hi All, I was just diagnosed over the summer as being gluten intolerant by my chiropracter who put me on a specific carbohydrate diet. Just last week I received the results of my endoscopy from my GI doc. He did a biopsy of the small intestine and also did a blood test to check for Celiac Disease. They both came back ...negative. He did tell me that I was gluten intolerant and I should still stay away from foods containing gluten. Does any one know if you could still have Celiac Disease even with negative test results??? I get really sick when ingesting gluten and have heard different stories about the accuracy of the biopsy and blood tests to check for Celiac.

I also wanted to know if anyone has heard of Synthroid not being gluten-free. I called the maker (Abbot Labs)of Sythroid yesterday to verify this and they told me that an outside source tested the drug and that it is supposed to be gluten-free, but they could not give me a definite answer. I am still having symptoms of constipation and insomnia even though I am on a gluten-free diet. Any info would be helpful. Thanks.

Amy

[Wolicki]

Hi All, I was just diagnosed over the summer as being gluten intolerant by my chiropracter who put me on a specific carbohydrate diet. Just last week I received the results of my endoscopy from my GI doc. He did a biopsy of the small intestine and also did a blood test to check for Celiac Disease. They both came back ...negative. He did tell me that I was gluten intolerant and I should still stay away from foods containing gluten. Does any one know if you could still have Celiac Disease even with negative test results??? I get really sick when ingesting gluten and have heard different stories about the accuracy of the biopsy and blood tests to check for Celiac.

I also wanted to know if anyone has heard of Synthroid not being gluten-free. I called the maker (Abbot Labs)of Sythroid yesterday to verify this and they told me that an outside source tested the drug and that it is supposed to be gluten-free, but they could not give me a definite answer. I am still having symptoms of constipation and insomnia even though I am on a gluten-free diet. Any info would be helpful. Thanks.

Amy

There are many who believe (myself included) that Gluten Intolerance is Celiac disease before it's caused a lot of damage to your intestines. The symptoms can be every bit as bad.

Synthroid cannot be guaranteed gluten free, and there are members here who think they have been glutened by it. I personally wont take a chance, and asked for Levoxyl. it is definitely gluten-free, and I have no issues with it.

Either Celiac or gluten intolerance, the cure is a life long gluten free diet.

[Berkana18]

Hey there! I am gluten intolerant and celiac negative. (Kinda like saying I wear glasses but I'm not blind yet.) The way it was explained to me, the effects of the intolerance, if not kept in check by diet, could cause a progression from intolerance to true celiac disease.

Amongst my list of facinating debilitating, but not terminating conditions, is Graves disease. My thyroid was destroyed via radiation and I have been on Synthroid since 2000. I was not diagnosed with pre-celiac until 2005. I have had no gluten issues with name brand Synthroid. When I asked about it I was told the product was clean. FEW pharmaceutical manufacturers will guarantee much of anything these days since they often subcontract manufacturing and cannot exert much control.

The biggest piece of thyroid advice I can give you is NOT to change your thyroid med WITHOUT the advice of your endo. For example -- I am not to accept a generic or different version of synthetic thyroid (such as Levoxyl) because they are not the best choices for me. And I had to stomp my little feet and scream long and loud when my prescription service sent me some other thyroid med they said was cheaper and "just as good". I had to take it for a week while they sent the good stuff. I was woowooy, constipated and cranky. Yuck!

Good luck.

[Gemini]

The biggest piece of thyroid advice I can give you is NOT to change your thyroid med WITHOUT the advice of your endo. For example -- I am not to accept a generic or different version of synthetic thyroid (such as Levoxyl) because they are not the best choices for me. And I had to stomp my little feet and scream long and loud when my prescription service sent me some other thyroid med they said was cheaper and "just as good". I had to take it for a week while they sent the good stuff. I was woowooy, constipated and cranky. Yuck!

This is a bunch of baloney perpetrated by drug companies to keep people on Synthroid and paying more money for their meds. I have been hypo-thyroid and on thyroid hormone for close to 20 years

and refused Synthroid in the beginning because of the cost difference. Levoxyl is the same med as Synthroid, only it's generic form and works extremely well for most people who take it. There are also many other good options like Armour and compounded thyroid hormone, which are great because they can be taylor made for gluten-free people.

The only 2 issues are getting the dose correct and figuring out if you need to take a combo T3/T4 hormone. Everyone's different in how they metabolize meds so if you can get the dose figured out

and whether you need to supplement with both hormones, any of the other types will work fine.

My cousin works for Abbot, and as much as I love her, I don't like their selling tactics. Abbot has kept their product expensive and tried to convince people that only Synthroid works well. I'm living proof that's a bunch of baloney.

[Berkana18]

This is a bunch of baloney perpetrated by drug companies to keep people on Synthroid and paying more money for their meds. I have been hypo-thyroid and on thyroid hormone for close to 20 years

and refused Synthroid in the beginning because of the cost difference. Levoxyl is the same med as Synthroid, only it's generic form and works extremely well for most people who take it. There are also many other good options like Armour and compounded thyroid hormone, which are great because they can be taylor made for gluten-free people.

The only 2 issues are getting the dose correct and figuring out if you need to take a combo T3/T4 hormone. Everyone's different in how they metabolize meds so if you can get the dose figured out

and whether you need to supplement with both hormones, any of the other types will work fine.

As I said in my original post, Synthroid is just fine by me. For me Levoxyl isn't. And I would never advise anyone to mess around with their thyroid meds without the assistance of a competent endo. The drug companies aren't the evil monsters you make them out to be. Yes, they are out to make a buck, but there are differences between brands and generics. I am living proof of that. BTW, I'm not just hypothyroid. My body makes none at all, so for me this is a life and death issue. As you said everyone is different...

[Gemini]

As I said in my original post, Synthroid is just fine by me. For me Levoxyl isn't. And I would never advise anyone to mess around with their thyroid meds without the assistance of a competent endo. The drug companies aren't the evil monsters you make them out to be. Yes, they are out to make a buck, but there are differences between brands and generics. I am living proof of that. BTW, I'm not just hypothyroid. My body makes none at all, so for me this is a life and death issue. As you said everyone is different...

I never said that drug companies were monsters. If you re-read my post, I said their selling tactics weren't on the up and up. They absolutely try to convince doctors and patients that only Synthroid works the best and Levoxyl should not be used. The vast majority of doctors that I went to pushed Synthroid over everything else.....especially the more natural medications like Armour. If a doctor pushes a drug to the point of being obnoxious about it, that should ring a warning bell.

Anyone who is thyroid compromised has a life and death issue, that is not just reserved for those who make less than others. Mine is pretty compromised also and is a bigger problem than having Celiac. Treating celiac is easy, balancing a low thyroid is not. Generics are the exact same med as the brand names are but people may respond differently to them. Synthroid is also questionable on the gluten-free front...the company will not guarantee their product gluten-free but many others will or can be compounded to make them gluten-free. If you also need to be taking T3, you won't get that in Synthroid or Levoxyl, you'll have to go to Armour or a compounded med or take a T3 supplement, which are also made by the leading drug companies.

If you are happy with Synthroid, that's fine but there are many other meds which work beautifully and won't cost as much as Synthroid.

[one more mile]

Perhaps you have another food intolerance. I react the same way when I eat soy. and many gluten free foods are soy based.

I take 137 of Levoxyl and do not have problems with it. But your doctor needs to figure that out. I do not know the difference but my doctor said that for me Levoxyl would be better.It is less then 8 bucks a month at cvs.

Some medications tell you to call in with each new lot number because as the price of fillers changes they may switch from one to another.