Thyroid Problems

[PreOptMegs]

It took a good 2 weeks before I started losing weight, but I stopped having nausea as soon as I stopped taking the pill.

[jkmunchkin]

Count me in. I take Synthroid daily. I go to my doctor every 6 months to regulate my dosage.

I was diagnosed several years before being diagnosed with celiac however I'll never know if the thyroid problem is a result of the celiac, or if I would have developed it regardless because thyroid problems run in my family. My guess is I would have had a thyroid problem inevitably but the undiagnosed celiac sped my developing it.

[sspitzer5]

I do. I was diagnosed with low thyroid/hashimoto's about 8 years ago.

S

[Becky6]

I think I have thyroid probs but my tests come back fine. My doc was convinced that is what it was. I am losing my hair, lethargic, gaining weight-despite going on 2 3o minute walks a day, cold extremities. I think I may go see an endo.

[PreOptMegs]

I think I have thyroid probs but my tests come back fine. My doc was convinced that is what it was. I am losing my hair, lethargic, gaining weight-despite going on 2 3o minute walks a day, cold extremities. I think I may go see an endo.

Those are classic hypothyroid symptoms. Did you just get TSH checked, or did you get teh free T3, T4? I would definately see a specialist.

[cultureslayer]

I think I have thyroid probs but my tests come back fine. My doc was convinced that is what it was. I am losing my hair, lethargic, gaining weight-despite going on 2 3o minute walks a day, cold extremities. I think I may go see an endo.

Consider having adrenal function tested as well. It can cause similar symptoms sometimes.

[Canadian Karen]

I once read that going prematurely grey is a symptom of thyroid disease. Has anyone else read this? Has anyone else experienced this? I went totally grey in my early 20's (thank God for L'Oreal Preference!)

Karen

[Rachel--24]

graves disease here (hyperthyroid) - diagnosed like 9 years ago

daignosed 12/5 celiac

i recently asked my endo if maybe it's possible that going gluten free would allow ne a better chance of remission with graves. he said there weren't any studies showing that would or wouldn't be likely, but it was an interesting question.

in any case, it got him off my back pushing me to get radioactive iodine - at least for a few months.

-rg

I think its a real possibility the Graves will get better after being gluten-free for awhile. I wish I had that chance...I finally gave in to RAI (why do they always push for this?) and I regret it now. I felt like my symptoms were because of the Graves and my meds didnt seem to be working anymore so thats why I gave in. My symptoms had nothing to do with the Graves....it was gluten and other food intolerances. Now I have no thyroid and I didnt get any better from the treatment. I suffered 2 more years after RAI before I learned about gluten.

[cultureslayer]

Another thing to keep in mind is that t3 is absorbed more easily than T4, so if you're having absorbtion problems then you might want to try Armour or injections and see if it makes a difference. My mother is chronically undermedicated (synthroid only). I have far less of my thyroid that she does if you go by medication dose, but I feel a whole lot better than she ever has. Yet she won't ask her doctor for Armour or try gluten-free. She just complains about being tired.

[lonewolf]

I once read that going prematurely grey is a symptom of thyroid disease. Has anyone else read this? Has anyone else experienced this? I went totally grey in my early 20's (thank God for L'Oreal Preference!)

Karen

Hmmm, I was wondering if all those gray hairs had anything to do with gluten or thyroid or something. I can't pluck em out fast enough anymore. My sister is almost 50 (MUCH OLDER SISTER) and is totally gray and my grandpa was totally gray by 25. Sis is on thyroid, I think grandpa was too. So I guess I'm no help - just wondering the same thing. I did pluck one today that was dark at the roots - I'm hoping they all get the same idea. I'm so sensitive to chemicals that I'm afraid to do anything to my hair besides wash it, since it's so thin already, along with going gray.

[PreOptMegs]

"Diabetes, pernicious anemia and thyroid problems have all been linked to pre-mature graying."

Open Original Shared Link

I hadn't ever heard that before, but that is interesting. I have learned the thyroid pretty much controls everything, so why wouldn't it be linked..

[Mme]

I once read that going prematurely grey is a symptom of thyroid disease. Has anyone else read this? Has anyone else experienced this? I went totally grey in my early 20's (thank God for L'Oreal Preference!)

Karen

Yes! It is.

And there is a strong link between autoimmune diseases, glandular malfunction, and premature graying.

My husband, who is hypothroid after a youth of being hyperthyroid, and I have found the book Open Original Shared Link a good $25 investment. It addresses thryroid, sex hormone, and adrenal imbalance and methods of restoring balance. Reading the book led me to my family history of Celiac and immune problems.

It does need to be read with grains of salt and cross-checking, but it has good current information on nutriceuticals, pharmaceuticals, toxins, and regimens for people with the three primary sorts of glandular malfunction and family histories of autoimmune diseases.

My husband benefited from the information that the ayurvedic herb Ashwagandha can help people who are having problems synthesizing T3 from their Synthroid and other supplements.

[Alexandra]

Hi all,

I don't know yet if I have celiac. Waiting for blood results back. But I do for sure have auto-immune hypothyroidism (aka Hashimoto's).

I believe Synthroid (synthetic T4), Armour (natural T4 and T3 derived from dessicated pigs' thyroid glands) and other thyroid replacement products are digested/absorbed in the small intestine. So I assume that active celiac would reduce your ability to absorb what you need from what you are taking and conversely, that improved conditions in your gut might lead to needing a lower dosage since less would be getting through unused.

As I understand it, the thyroid is the only gland in the body that produced T4, which is so-named because it contains 4 iodine molecules. By itself, T4 is not very useful to the body and just floats around, and can remain in your body for a long time. When the body needs some 'thryoid hormone,' a number of organs including the thyroid and the liver and I forget what, but some other ones, take the circulating T4 and convert it to T3, which is another hormone but one containing only 3 iodine molecules instead of T3. Once created, the T3 gets used very quickly. T4 can float around for several weeks waiting to be used, while T3 gets used up literally within a matter of hours.

This is why many doctors prefer to prescribe Synthroid and other T4-only products. It is easier to get the dosage right because the way our bodies use T4 is very stable. Also, this should in theory work OK, because even if the thyroid is damaged, other organs do most of the converting from T4 to T3. That is, only the thryoid can make T4, so if it is damaged you definitely need T4 supplementation, but you may well be fine without adding any T3 (as long as you do add T4).

However, some patients do find, and some doctors believe, that there are people who are not good "converters," and need products that contain both T4 and T3.

I personally was doing much better on Synthroid than I had been with nothing, and then talked my doctor into switching me to Armour because I thought I might like that even better. I HATED it! I'd get these great rushes and then these lousy crashes. Sure, maybe I could have gotten the dosing better or something (though we did the standard conversion from the 'right' Synthroid dose to the equivalent Armour dose) but I figured why try, since I'd actually been perfectly fine with Synthroid -- anyway, the point is, what works well for one person may not work well for another. I'm now back on Synthroid and feeling good again.

Um, what else? I had normal (2.X) TSH but high ATAs and hypothyroid symptoms, and was happy to find a doctor willing to treat -- the Synthroid made the symptoms go away (low energy, low libido, toenails falling out). So if you are ATA +++ with hypo symptoms but otherwise euthyroid, consider finding a doctor willing to try treatment, although one thing to consider is that this does put you at increased risk of osteoporosis, a real concern for celiac patients, obviously.

I found my thyroid doc using this website: Open Original Shared Link and like her a lot, though I cannot promise all the ones listed are wonderful (because I don't know!). It does provide a link to doctors who prescribe Armour, for those who are interested, as well as to some docs in places besides the U.S. And the parent site that this is part of, Open Original Shared Link, is IMO a great site with lots of good information about thyroid issues and good patient advocacy, too.

-- Alexandra

[cultureslayer]

How long did you try Armour and how often were you taking it? Armour MUST be taken twice a day (or more) but most doctors don't realize that. Usually in the AM and mid afternoon. Changes should also be made gradually (for example, 1/4 Armour for a week, then 1/2, etc.). Most people prefer 1/2 Armour and 1/2 Levoxyl instead of either one straight as well. I'm one of those poor converters and I pretty much just take the armour for the T3. I'm sure I get some benefit from the 4, but on my last bloodwork the FT3 was only slightly higher than the FT4 and most people are high 3 and low 4 when on pure armour.

[Alexandra]

How long did you try Armour and how often were you taking it? Armour MUST be taken twice a day (or more) but most doctors don't realize that. Usually in the AM and mid afternoon. Changes should also be made gradually (for example, 1/4 Armour for a week, then 1/2, etc.). Most people prefer 1/2 Armour and 1/2 Levoxyl instead of either one straight as well. I'm one of those poor converters and I pretty much just take the armour for the T3. I'm sure I get some benefit from the 4, but on my last bloodwork the FT3 was only slightly higher than the FT4 and most people are high 3 and low 4 when on pure armour.

Hi.

I took Armour for maybe 2 months and I did take it twice a day. I didn't make a gradual switch, so that may have contributed to my problems with it, and I realize I might have been better off with more T4 to less T3, (which is what the part-Levoxyl part-Armour dosing you are describing would achieve, as I'm sure you realize, but in case anyone reading along doesn't).

Truthfully, I felt (feel) great on Synthroid. But I hadn't realized I'd been feeling bad before I started it, and on top of that all the stuff on Mary Shomon's site (Open Original Shared Link) made me wonder if I'd feel even better on Armour. But I didn't so I went off of it and back on the Synthroid. I'm OK with that and think it's useful for people to know that not everyone does better on Armour (or 100% Armour) than they do on 100% Synthroid. Though I do also recognize some people do better on Armour. And there are now also synthetic pure T3 products which I assume makes it even easier to tweak the T4/T3 dosing balance, if needed, and may be useful for people who want to avoid pig or animal products.

Thanks!

-- Alexandra

[lonewolf]

Armour MUST be taken twice a day (or more) but most doctors don't realize that.

What? I've been on it for 10 years, except for the two different times doctors wanted me on Synthroid and then Levoxyl to see if they would work better. No one ever mentioned that to me. Why don't pharmacists know this? Does it work better that way? Would I lose weight easier? Do you just cut your pills in half or get a prescription for half-doses?

[cultureslayer]

T3 has a ~24 hour half life. So if you take it once a day you get a large variation in your metabolism throughout the day, which may or may not contribute to weight problems. The pills are VERY easy to break in half. I currently take 1 grain in the morning and 3/4 a pill at night to get 105mg. I can quarter it by hand, but if I'm at home I'll use the pill cutter because it's a little more even that way. I had to tell my doctor about a half dozen times why I was taking it as a divided dose before he remembered (I wonder if he could benefit from a little T3).

Not everyone does better on Armour, but I'm of the opinion that EVERYONE should try both options and see what works best for them. For me it's pure Armour, but for some it's all T4 or a mix. Cytomel doesn't come in very many sizes, so it's actually much easier to precisely adjust T3 with armour or thyrolar (same sizes and %T3 as armour and from the same manufacturer but it's synthetic). Thyrolar has to be refridgerated for long term storage and I wasn't sure I could remember to clean out and refill my pill box in my bookbag every week so I'm sticking with armour. My mother doesn't want to be "bothered" with taking armour twice a day so she's on synthroid and still has many typical hypo symptoms. She doesn't like the idea of trying a gluten free diet for even 2 weeks either, but when she heard about a special diet for her arthritis everyone had to give up nightshade veggies for a while .

When I tried levoxyl I replaced 1/3 of my dose with it and after two weeks I went to the pharmacy and asked if the pills they gave me had been recalled. It might as well have been a placebo for all the good it did me.

[PreOptMegs]

how expensive is Armor? Synthroid is about 15 a month..

[cultureslayer]

Armour is dirt cheap (well, almost). I pay about $10 a month with drugstore.com, but keep in mind that I'm taking about the equivalent of 175mcg Synthroid a day.

Armour costs about 1/3 to 1/4 what synthroid does for a roughly equivalent dose.

If your switching to armour from synthroid you might want to go 1/2 and 1/2 for the first month or so and see how you feel. Many people do best on 1/2 and 1/2, but I need lots of T3.

[ms-sillyak-screwed]

When I found out I was gluten intolerant.....I also found out I was hypothyroid.

I am just wondering who else has thyroid problems as well!

.....at 30 had a total hysterectomy, they gave me hormore replacement which a short time later they diagnoses hypothyroidism. They put me on synthroid ....

I had hyperthyroid (Graves) and had radioactive iodine treatment to basically destroy my thyroid.

Did most of u have thyroid problems before ur DX of celiac?

Is there a chance that I can develop a thyroid problem even after going gluten-free?

I once read that going prematurely grey is a symptom of thyroid disease. Has anyone else read this? Has anyone else experienced this? I went totally grey in my early 20's

I think its a real possibility the Graves will get better after being gluten-free for awhile. I wish I had that chance...I finally gave in to RAI (why do they always push for this?) and I regret it now. I felt like my symptoms were because of the Graves and my meds didnt seem to be working anymore so thats why I gave in. My symptoms had nothing to do with the Graves....it was gluten and other food intolerances. Now I have no thyroid and I didnt get any better from the treatment. I suffered 2 more years after RAI before I learned about gluten.

Hope I didn't chop-up everyone’s post. Thank you for creating this thread. I feel that there is a connection between celiac disease, thyroid and our hormones. I've tried to speak with my thyroid doctor and the gastro doc, but it's like talking to 'dead-air'.

As a kid I was hyperactive and all of my life plenty of energy. I had a total hysterectomy in my early 30's I went on HRT the patch Vivelle 0.05 for years. In 1994 I was DX with what you can see in my profile below. I lived with it I was in a loving environment, lived a wonderful stress free life, life was really really good.

Then in 2001 stress hit like thunderbolts one after-another, it was at the exact time I stopped HRT I immediately came down with extreme celiac disease symptoms and I would soon developed borderline hyper thyroid.

To be more specific my gynecologist had given me some Vivelle HRT samples of what I was taking (he thought). I didn’t realize until afterwards it was double dose of what I had taken for 10-yrs. It made me feel extremely ill. I had wanted to stop taking HRT because of the media-hype and the controversy surrounded by should-we, shouldn’t-we, thing at the time. It was then when I finally peeled that patch off totally because my friends kept telling me “…the patch is what’s really making you sick!” So I did. I took it off and stopped HRT. Those symptoms disappeared! At that time I was under major traumatic stress. I ate poorly to say the least. My life was upside down and it had become a horrible living nightmare. And the celiac disease symptoms appeared thru seizures. I felt like I was dying (about 3 months) until an angel whispered in my ear about celiac disease and dairy allergies. I changed my diet and life overnight went gluten-dairy free for 5-years. I was doing well. Thought this celiac disease was a cake-walk, I have will-power.

Nope! Not the case, these things I believe were triggers. Post traumatic stress, more stress, no HRT, the body goes into shock! Immune system flips-out.

Did the celiac disease come first? Or did the hyper thyroid? That’s what I keep asking my doctors!

And these secondary food allergies, no-one told me about them 6-yrs ago? Where did they suddenly come from when I developed the thyroid malfunction? I know many of you are sick of me banging my drum about ‘soy is poison’. I wish someone told me 6 years ago I believe I could have prevented this. What I’ve read go hand-and-hand with this. They say 60% menopausal woman get thyroid problems and soy is a problem for them. When I went gluten dairy free everything I ate had soy hidden or otherwise for those 5-years, then I grew hot nodules. Maybe no connection, but I believe there is one.

Just like 'Rachel--24' I had the RAI and feel the same way she does. They destroyed my thyroid all together and our only option is life time medication. And that medication is poisoned with gluten. The die the drug manufactures are using are CC w/gluten. It is what I’m finding in my research. And the thyroid medications aren't stable that’s why we can’t find a balance.

Yes! My hair has changed too it more gray a coarser texture, and more resistant to color. And you are right only your hairdresser should know for sure! [giggle]

[elye]

I have had an endocrinologist for over twenty years, as I'm a diabetic along with everything else. He found my thyroid to be low just before Christmas, so he put me on 0.1 mg of Eltroxin at that time. I have had to have it tested every month since then and for another three months to come. Yep, he isn't kidding around--he wants to get my numbers stabilized at around 5, I think he said, and wants to watch it very closely right now. Hypothyroidism is a given if you're celiac and long-term type one diabetic, I'm afraid!

[CarlaB]

I have been taking Solaray Thyroid for years due to low basal temps (Broda Barnes MD did a lot of research on this) and so many other symptoms of low thyroid, including cold hands/feet, low energy, etc. I did not have trouble with weight, probably due to the gluten intolerance. In fact, my weight dropped to 123 and I'm 5'8". I've since gained 8 pounds back. I don't know if that's really low weight or not, but people could tell I was sick and I was eating twice as much as any grown man would. I was taking 300mg per day thyroid, but have reduced it to 150 since going gluten-free. I use my basal temps as the indicator as it seems to be more reliable than the blood tests IMHO, but that may have something to do with my basic distrust for the medical profession ... that's another topic altogether. When the doc tested my throid during all the testing for celiac, he said my levels were normal; that was when I was taking 300 mg. daily, so apparently I needed it.

I knew about my throid problem years before I learned about my gluten problem.

Carla

[smack]

I found out last week that I have sub-clinical hypothyroidism after going to my GP witha complaint of fatigue. She took a few blood tests, iron, TSH and vitamin B12. My TSH is 5.28, but I've been so tired for about 5 months, so I think this is a greater imbalance for me and my t3 and t4 are normal apparently but those weren't noted onthe blood req so I'm not sure how she knows that (here they generally haveto be noted or they won't be tested but maybe that's changed ).

I've read a lot on the net that many specialists feel the normal range should be moved from 2 - 5 to 2 - 3, if this is true, I'm off mark for sure! My body temp has been 96.5 for about 3 years! But in truth it has always run lower than 97.5 my entire life. I'm upset because my family doc is reluctant to medicate me and thinks that a referal to an Endocronolgist won't help as I'm sub-clinical but I feel that dealing with these conditions on daily basis the specialist may have a differing opinion. Never mind the fact that when I was a child I was hyperthyroid (it corrected itself and my TSH is tested yearly now), my mother is hypo and has been for the last 20 years (which my GP is aware of). I don't really want to leave it as my mom was sub-clinical for about 6 -8 months and than had a such a severe drop in a 3 month period they thought her blood tests had been mixed up, her GP said it usually takes years and years to get as low as she was, not within a few months...

My skin is dry, I can't remember anything and I'm tired all time and kind of feeling 'detached' both of which are starting to depress me. Just give me the damn referal already!! She's wants to send me to an Internist, which I don't understand, Endocronologists are Interists who have sub-specialized...On top of all that my GP's office takes FOREVER to call in referals, it'll be July or August until I'm seen. I just don't want to be tired anymore. It's not as bad as the fatigue I experienced when I was diagnosed with celiac disease, but still trying.

[Ruth52]

I think it would be worth asking your GP to refer you onto an Endocronolgist. A TSH of 5.28 while it is only just out of the 'normal' range, is high. Your TSH is only part of the story. Your GP would also need to have your Free T3 and Free T4 tested (not T3 & T4).

[DonnaD]

I think it would be worth asking your GP to refer you onto an Endocronolgist. A TSH of 5.28 while it is only just out of the 'normal' range, is high. Your TSH is only part of the story. Your GP would also need to have your Free T3 and Free T4 tested (not T3 & T4).

TSH of 5.28 is certainly too high. Mine was 2.96 and my GP refused to do further testing so I paid myself and got also got adrenal testing done (as poor adrenal function can further depress thyroid function) and posted the results on Open Original Shared Link for advice . I consulted a 'top doctor' on their list and he confirmed what I had all ready worked out, I have thyroid resistance (or fibromyalgia by another name) I am going really well on adrenal support and am up to 120mg (2 grains) of Armour, split dosing under my tongue. My temp is up, the brain fog is clearing, I'm getting my life back! a lot of people on the site self-treat as they cannot get their GPs to test/treat.