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

Gluten Withdrawal And The Thyroid

Marz

Recommended Posts

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.

Open Original Shared Link

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.

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

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


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...

Archived

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

Go to topic listing

  • 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. knitty kitty
      - knitty kitty replied to lizzie42's topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      6

      Son's legs shaking

      Blood tests for thiamine are unreliable. The nutrients from your food get absorbed into the bloodstream and travel around the body. So, a steak dinner can falsely raise thiamine blood levels in the following days. Besides, thiamine is utilized inside cells where stores of thiamine are impossible to measure. A better test to ask for is the Erythrocyte...
    2. lizzie42
      - lizzie42 replied to lizzie42's topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      6

      Son's legs shaking

      Neither of them were anemic 6 months after the Celiac diagnosis. His other vitamin levels (d, B12) were never low. My daughters levels were normal after the first 6 months. Is the thiamine test just called thiamine?
    3. knitty kitty
      - knitty kitty replied to lizzie42's topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      6

      Son's legs shaking

      Yes, I do think they need a Thiamine supplement at least. Especially since they eat red meat only occasionally. Most fruits and vegetables are not good sources of Thiamine. Legumes (beans) do contain thiamine. Fruits and veggies do have some of the other B vitamins, but thiamine B 1 and Cobalamine B12 are mostly found in meats. Meat, especially organ...
    4. lizzie42
      - lizzie42 replied to lizzie42's topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      6

      Son's legs shaking

      Thank you! That's helpful. My kids eat very little processed food. Tons of fruit, vegetables, cheese, eggs and occasional red meat. We do a lot of rice and bean bowls, stir fry, etc. Do you think with all the fruits and vegetables they need a vitamin supplement? I feel like their diet is pretty healthy and balanced with very limited processed food....
    5. Scott Adams
      - Scott Adams replied to Russ H's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      1

      Anti-endomysial Antibody (EMA) Testing

      That is interesting, and it's the first time I heard about the umbilical cord beings used for that test. Thanks for sharing!
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):

  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      132,870
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    KABoston
    Newest Member
    KABoston
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.5k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):

  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • knitty kitty
      Son's legs shaking

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      Blood tests for thiamine are unreliable.  The nutrients from your food get absorbed into the bloodstream and travel around the body.  So, a steak dinner can falsely raise thiamine blood levels in the following days.  Besides, thiamine is utilized inside cells where stores of thiamine are impossible to measure. A better test to ask for is the Erythrocyte Transketolace Activity test.  But even that test has been questioned as to accuracy.  It is expensive and takes time to do.   Because of the discrepancies with thiamine tests and urgency with correcting thiamine deficiency, the World Health Organization recommends giving thiamine for several weeks and looking for health improvement.  Thiamine is water soluble, safe and nontoxic even in high doses.   Many doctors are not given sufficient education in nutrition and deficiency symptoms, and may not be familiar with how often they occur in Celiac disease.  B12 and Vitamin D can be stored for as long as a year in the liver, so not having deficiencies in these two vitamins is not a good indicator of the status of the other seven water soluble B vitamins.  It is possible to have deficiency symptoms BEFORE there's changes in the blood levels.   Ask your doctor about Benfotiamine, a form of thiamine that is better absorbed than Thiamine Mononitrate.  Thiamine Mononitrate is used in many vitamins because it is shelf-stable, a form of thiamine that won't break down sitting around on a store shelf.  This form is difficult for the body to turn into a usable form.  Only thirty percent is absorbed in the intestine, and less is actually used.   Thiamine interacts with all of the other B vitamins, so they should all be supplemented together.  Magnesium is needed to make life sustaining enzymes with thiamine, so a magnesium supplement should be added if magnesium levels are low.   Thiamine is water soluble, safe and nontoxic even in high doses.  There's no harm in trying.
    • lizzie42
      Son's legs shaking

      By lizzie42 · Posted

      Neither of them were anemic 6 months after the Celiac diagnosis. His other vitamin levels (d, B12) were never low. My daughters levels were normal after the first 6 months. Is the thiamine test just called thiamine? 
    • knitty kitty
      Son's legs shaking

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      Yes, I do think they need a Thiamine supplement at least. Especially since they eat red meat only occasionally. Most fruits and vegetables are not good sources of Thiamine.  Legumes (beans) do contain thiamine.  Fruits and veggies do have some of the other B vitamins, but thiamine B 1 and  Cobalamine B12 are mostly found in meats.  Meat, especially organ meats like liver, are the best sources of Thiamine, B12, and the six other B vitamins and important minerals like iron.   Thiamine has antibacterial and antiviral properties.  Thiamine is important to our immune systems.  We need more thiamine when we're physically ill or injured, when we're under stress emotionally, and when we exercise, especially outside in hot weather.  We need thiamine and other B vitamins like Niacin B 3 to keep our gastrointestinal tract healthy.  We can't store thiamine for very long.  We can get low in thiamine within three days.  Symptoms can appear suddenly when a high carbohydrate diet is consumed.  (Rice and beans are high in carbohydrates.)  A twenty percent increase in dietary thiamine causes an eighty percent increase in brain function, so symptoms can wax and wane depending on what one eats.  The earliest symptoms like fatigue and anxiety are easily contributed to other things or life events and dismissed.   Correcting nutritional deficiencies needs to be done quickly, especially in children, so their growth isn't stunted.  Nutritional deficiencies can affect intelligence.  Vitamin D deficiency can cause short stature and poor bone formation.   Is your son taking anything for the anemia?  Is the anemia caused by B12 or iron deficiency?  
    • lizzie42
      Son's legs shaking

      By lizzie42 · Posted

      Thank you! That's helpful. My kids eat very little processed food. Tons of fruit, vegetables, cheese, eggs and occasional red meat. We do a lot of rice and bean bowls, stir fry, etc.  Do you think with all the fruits and vegetables they need a vitamin supplement? I feel like their diet is pretty healthy and balanced with very limited processed food. The only processed food they eat regularly is a bowl of Cheerios here and there.  Could shaking legs be a symptom of just a one-time gluten exposure? I guess there's no way to know for sure if they're getting absolutely zero exposure because they do go to school a couple times a week. We do homeschool but my son does a shared school 2x a week and my daughter does a morning Pre-K 3 x a week.  At home our entire house is strictly gluten free and it is extremely rare for us to eat out. If we eat at someone else's house I usually just bring their food. When we have play dates we bring all the snacks, etc. I try to be really careful since they're still growing. They also, of course, catch kids viruses all the time so I  want to make sure I know whether they're just sick or they've had gluten. It can be pretty confusing when they're pretty young to even be explaining their symptoms! 
    • Scott Adams
      Anti-endomysial Antibody (EMA) Testing

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      That is interesting, and it's the first time I heard about the umbilical cord beings used for that test. Thanks for sharing!
×
×
  • 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.