Celiac And Thyroid

[bbdailey]

Hey everyone im new here...Im 23 and was recently diagnosed with hashimotos disease. I immediately went on a gluten free diet and felt better after a couple of weeks but seemed to kind of platuea in my recovery. My thyroid problem is in the very early stages so Im thinking that the problem may lie somewhere else. Im starting to think that I do have celiac disease and that it will just take time to heal. My question is....does anybody else have hashimotos disease along with celiac disease? Also do you just cut out gluten or dairy/soy/etc?

[cassP]

oh boy... yes i have celiac, hashimoto's, and graves'. its very common to have thyroid disorders & celiac simultaneously.. very common... or even other autoimmune disorders.. sometimes the same genes are involved with a predisposition.

so why do u think your Hashimoto's is only in the early stages?? i too thought that maybe mine had only been about 6 yrs old... but now i think ive had it for over 20 years.... share your thoughts, i am interested... and learning more and more everyday about the scope of thyroid disease. for example, i just learned that Hashimoto's often leaves patients with Low stomach acid, and of course slow motility ... this totally leads to all kinds of digestive problems and malabsorption. so now when i feel like i cant digest things- im like- "um, did i eat to may food intolerances??? did i get glutened? or am i going slightly hypo again??"

the symptoms can overlap for sure.

so, yes i completely avoid gluten. 2nd i do my best to avoid Soy & Corn. and 3rd i am a dairy addict- but i know i have GOT to get off it- as sometimes it makes me feel like ive been glutened. like a Casein induced enteropathy. ((

okay brainfog.... dont hesitate to ask more questions.. i feel like ive learned a lot lately... tho i still have questions too...

[AVR1962]

  On 8/2/2011 at 12:21 AM, bbdailey said:

Hey everyone im new here...Im 23 and was recently diagnosed with hashimotos disease. I immediately went on a gluten free diet and felt better after a couple of weeks but seemed to kind of platuea in my recovery. My thyroid problem is in the very early stages so Im thinking that the problem may lie somewhere else. Im starting to think that I do have celiac disease and that it will just take time to heal. My question is....does anybody else have hashimotos disease along with celiac disease? Also do you just cut out gluten or dairy/soy/etc?

I have a growth on my thyroid which I am currently on meds to try and shrink. I am on a gluten-free, high fructose-free diet and I take a digestive defense aide for a slight dairy intolerance.

[bbdailey]

The reason I think my hashimotos is in the early stages is because of all the blood tests. Last november until this april I had 3 tsh tests two of which were at 1.9 and the other at 5.5. The most recent tsh test was a 3.2 so that doesnt seem too crazy. My TPO antibodies were 203 in April and 252 in July. This is the one thing that confused me(made me think it may not be celiac and maybe just a gluten intolerance) because the antibodies went up and I had been gluten free since I discovered that I had Hashimotos in late april. Is that common? It has been around 3 months off gluten and although I do feel a lot better than before I still have lots going on with my digestive tract( stomach is in knots all the time,constipation,etc) among other lingering symptoms. Does this sound like the typical healing process for celiac or does anybody have suggestions for what else may be causing my stomach problems?

CassP: you mentioned low stomach acid with hashimotos...what are the symptoms with that and how do you go about fixing that?

[cahill]

I have Hashimoto's in addition to Celiac's. I saw my endocrinologist yesterday and she thinks my Hashimotos has just about destroyed my thyroid. So it looks like I am almost totally reliant on the synthyroid ( or some other such drug) from here on out.

In addition to being gluten free,I would encourage you to also eliminate soy from your diet.

[cassP]

  On 8/2/2011 at 12:26 PM, bbdailey said:

The reason I think my hashimotos is in the early stages is because of all the blood tests. Last november until this april I had 3 tsh tests two of which were at 1.9 and the other at 5.5. The most recent tsh test was a 3.2 so that doesnt seem too crazy. My TPO antibodies were 203 in April and 252 in July. This is the one thing that confused me(made me think it may not be celiac and maybe just a gluten intolerance) because the antibodies went up and I had been gluten free since I discovered that I had Hashimotos in late april. Is that common? It has been around 3 months off gluten and although I do feel a lot better than before I still have lots going on with my digestive tract( stomach is in knots all the time,constipation,etc) among other lingering symptoms. Does this sound like the typical healing process for celiac or does anybody have suggestions for what else may be causing my stomach problems?

CassP: you mentioned low stomach acid with hashimotos...what are the symptoms with that and how do you go about fixing that?

interesting... ya, i think the tsh test is not a good indicator honestly... it CAN be one of the indicators for the doctors as they are working out the dose... but tsh is not always indicative of the stage of the disease or how u feel. my TSH was 4.6 in 2004 or 2006.. but i honestly think it may have started when i was 8 or 9. i had a nail condition since i was 8, and it completely disappeared after i got on thyroid medication. ive also been DEPRESSED most of my life.. and on a diet, etc... the disease can also go in and out of remission i think untill it decides to go full force- and then it's progressive from there on out.

your antibodies are certainly high enough to indicate that you've had this for some time... but dont freak out, mine are 512. going gluten free will definitely alleviate your thyroid condition- but it's not a miracle fix like it is for celiac- it will take some time to see a difference in those antibodies... the disease is progressive- so it is completely normal for you to have Celiac or Gluten Intolerance, but still have your Hashimoto's antibodies go up after 3 months on a gluten free diet. there are other environmental triggers that affect those abs besides gluten... soy, fluoride.. some say dairy, STRESS, a vitamin D deficiency, pregnancy.. etc...

u should definitely test your vitamin levels: B12, D, and a full Iron panel including Ferritin & saturation... and also check your adrenals..... in order to improve this disease and FEEL BETTER- you really have to come at all angles.

i also suggest you eat 2-3 brazil nuts every day- for the Selenium. studies show that after a year of taking Selenium- the TPO antibodies were significantly diminished. (u can overdose on selenium, and brazil nuts have a lot- hence- take only 2-3).

uh- signs of low stomach acid?? any indigestion really... when u feel like so many different foods give u a stomach ache.. or u feel you have to eat very small amounts in order to avoid a stomach ache... believe it or not- acid reflux can be a sign of low stomach acid, and also an H. Pylori infection- as they thrive in low acidity. vitamin deficiencies can be a sign of Low stomach acid. there are many ways to correct it- but it takes time- and u have to be careful too... i gotta go to bed- i'll try to remember to add more.... a real gentle way to help it is to take apple cider vinegar before meals... there's also Betaine HCI-> but it is pretty identical to stomach acid- so u really have to start out slow.