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Gluten Withdrawal And The Thyroid

Marz

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Marz Enthusiast
Marz
Posted

So as a quick update to my progress, I started the gluten free diet on Saturday, felt fantastic on the weekend, and then hit a wall on Monday.

My "gluten withdrawal" symptoms (some of which overlap with my gluten-poisoning symptoms marked with *, but I'm fairly sure I've been strictly gluten-free) :

- Nausea*

- Depression, irritability, crying over nothing, anxiety*

- Stomach upset* (to be expected, but stomach is otherwise a *lot* better).

- Sore throat/feeling like I have something caught in my throat/swelling.

The sore throat was interesting - the pain/swelling feels like it's coming from my thyroid gland, I swear! I've never had pain in that area, it's right by the adam's apple, and apparently that's where the gland is. I can even feel it, feels like it's a bit swollen. No other symptoms of a cold, I'm not feeling "sick", so I don't think it's an infection.

Was reading up on hypo/hyper thyroidism, and thought it was interesting how many symptoms of hyperthyroidism correspond to gluten-withdrawal symptoms. From reading through this forum, I've seen a number of similar complaints after going gluten-free, except maybe weight loss, hair loss.

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Major clinical signs include weight loss (often accompanied by an increased appetite), anxiety, intolerance to heat, hair loss, muscle aches, weakness, fatigue, hyperactivity, irritability, apathy, depression, polyuria, polydipsia, delirium, tremor, pretibial myxedema, and sweating. Additionally, patients may present with a variety of symptoms such as palpitations and arrhythmias (notably atrial fibrillation), shortness of breath (dyspnea), loss of libido, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.[citation needed] Long term untreated hyperthyroidism can lead to osteoporosis. These classical symptoms may not be present often in the elderly.

So this is my theory - initially when going off gluten, your thyroid gland which was previously being under-regulated/suppressed by gluten-poisoning, now suddenly is released from this suppression. All the up-regulating mechanisms in your body goes into overdrive (There's a number of hormones involved in this, too long to explain!), results in temporary *hyperthyroidism*.

Hyperthyroidism is also associated with an enlarged thyroid. Not sure if pain comes into it.

Good withdrawal symptoms:

- Had the best sleep of my life on Saturday evening. Awoke on Sunday completely awake and refreshed. It's crazy that I've felt so groggy in the morning for so long, I forgot what it's like to feel normal!

- My intermittent nose bleeds have suddenly stopped, which is weird.

- Other than the mild nausea and moderate stomach pain my GIT system seems a lot more stable.

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maile Newbie
maile
Posted

So this is my theory - initially when going off gluten, your thyroid gland which was previously being under-regulated/suppressed by gluten-poisoning, now suddenly is released from this suppression. All the up-regulating mechanisms in your body goes into overdrive (There's a number of hormones involved in this, too long to explain!), results in temporary *hyperthyroidism*.

Hyperthyroidism is also associated with an enlarged thyroid. Not sure if pain comes into it.

Hypo/Hyperthyroidism is definitely associated with gluten intolerance however, it's really hard to go hyper on a temporary basis. Hyper is usually recognised by rapid heart rate/pulse, increased temperatures, shakiness and many loose stools in a day (which as you pointed out are also classic gluten poisoning symptoms)

what you may have experienced is a "thyroid dump" where the body dumps a whole bunch of stored thyroid into the system in a short while, what you want to look for after that is whether your thyroid begins underperforming (constipation, inappropriate weight gain, FATIGUE, hair loss etc) which is what usually happens when one has an inflamed thyroid gland.

Marz Enthusiast
Marz
Posted
  • Author

Thanks for the info, my theory was wrong :) Swelling is down so it must've been a temporary thing, and still not sure if it was even thyroid related.

beansmom Newbie
beansmom
Posted

Thanks for the info, my theory was wrong :) Swelling is down so it must've been a temporary thing, and still not sure if it was even thyroid related.

Hi. Found your theory interesting. Actually, I have thought something quite opposite. I just started a gluten challenge and a week into it have noticed that my thyroid hurts to touch. I have autoimmune thyroiditis and have been on thyroid replacement for some time. I was thinking that the antibodies to the gluten may cross react with the thyroid antibodies...

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      how much gluten do I need to eat before blood tests?

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      after several years of issues with a para-gland issue, my endo has decided it's a good idea for me to be tested for celiac disease. I am 70 yrs old and stunned to learn that you can get celiac this late in life. I have just gradually stopped eating most foods that contain gluten over the past several years- they just make me feel ill- although I attributed it to other things like bread spiking blood sugar- or to the things I ate *with* the bread or crackers etc   I went to a party in Nov and ate a LOT of a vegan roast made with vital wheat gluten- as well as stuffing, rolls and pie crust... and OMG I was so sick! the pain, the bloating, the gas, the nausea... I didn't think it would ever end (but it did) and I was ready to go the ER but it finally subsided.   I mentioned this to my endo and now she wants me to be tested for celiac after 2 weeks of being on gluten foods. She has kind of flip flopped on how much gluten I should eat, telling me that if the symptoms are severe I can stop. I am eating 2-3 thin slices of bread per day (or english muffins) and wow- it does make me feel awful. But not as bad as when I ate that massive amnt of vital wheat gluten. so I will continue on if I have to... but what bothers me is - if it IS celiac, it seems stupid for lack of a better word, to intentionally cause more damage to my body... but I am also worried, on the other hand, that this is not a long enough challenge to make the blood work results valid.   can you give me any insight into this please?   thank you
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