Low Thyroid And Testosterone

[scottyfeelsick]

I'm in my late twenties and male. I tested low thyroid and low testosterone with blood work. I was put on levothyroxine at that time(about one and a half months ago). I am supposed to start taking testosterone replacement soon. I don't know if I want to. At the same time I tested positive for gluten intolerance, the celiac gene, and high malabsorption all through enterolab results. I have been gluten and dairy free now also for about one and a half months.

Does anybody know which came first. Did my gland/hormone issues cause gluten issues or the other way around? also if I stay off of gluten, after a while is there any chance that I could stop taking hormone replacement, or is it kinda for life? I am still feeling really bad except for a couple really amazingly good feeling days. I am really carefull about CC and everything with gluten. I am still extremely cold sensetive and since being gluten free have lost diarrhea, but become very constipated. Still zero libido. And very fatigued still as well. I am very frusterated. Does anybody know anything about any of this, or even a word of encouragement. thanx so much.

[veggienft]

I'm in my late twenties and male. I tested low thyroid and low testosterone with blood work. I was put on levothyroxine at that time(about one and a half months ago). I am supposed to start taking testosterone replacement soon. I don't know if I want to. At the same time I tested positive for gluten intolerance, the celiac gene, and high malabsorption all through enterolab results. I have been gluten and dairy free now also for about one and a half months.

Does anybody know which came first. Did my gland/hormone issues cause gluten issues or the other way around? also if I stay off of gluten, after a while is there any chance that I could stop taking hormone replacement, or is it kinda for life? I am still feeling really bad except for a couple really amazingly good feeling days. I am really carefull about CC and everything with gluten. I am still extremely cold sensetive and since being gluten free have lost diarrhea, but become very constipated. Still zero libido. And very fatigued still as well. I am very frusterated. Does anybody know anything about any of this, or even a word of encouragement. thanx so much.

You might have the HLA-DQ8 gene like 5-10% of known celiacs. In that case it could take 6 months before you start improving. And that's assuming your other symptoms are related. The only person I've talked to with celiac-related thyroid issues was diagnosed first with Graves disease before his celiac diagnosis.

After going gluten free it took a year, but his Graves went into remission.

..

[Nantzie]

My husband was diagnosed with low testosterone a few years ago. It was so low that his doctor was surprised that we have two kids without needing fertility treatments. He started using daily Androderm patches and his mood, his libido and his exhaustion all improved very quickly.

Every once in a while he would stop taking his testosterone patches, thinking he was fine, and it was always glaringly obvious within a day or so. His symptoms came back almost immediately. Not fun for either of us. He eventually stopped forgetting on purpose and got it that he really needed to use his patches every day. It made such a difference that once he accepted that it made a positive difference in his life, he kept some at work just in case he forgot in the morning.

A couple years ago we put the whole house gluten-free when we figured out our kids needed to be on the gluten-free diet. So from that point on he has only eaten gluten if he went out to lunch.

Then last fall we ended up with money problems AND really, really bad medical insurance. We were told that his patches would cost us over $200 a month because they didn't cover it. We barely had the $20 copay we expected, so we had no choice but to not get them. I was dreading it. Also, because of the money problems, he was coming home for lunch, not eating out at all. So he was on a 100% gluten-free diet

The surprising thing was that when he stopped his patches he didn't get his low testosterone symptoms at all. His libido never changed. He wasn't falling asleep all the time. He wasn't irritable or angry. He was fine. If I hadn't known better, I would have assumed he was still taking the Androderm.

It was really obvious that the gluten free diet had something more to do with things than we thought.

About a month ago he had to go out of town for a conference and ate gluten all week. When he got home it was awful. His mood was absolutely horrible. He was exhausted and irritable. I have no idea if his libido was down or not because he was being such a jerk I didn't care. It took a couple of weeks for him to start feeling better and now about a month later he's back to his awesome husband status.

I have no idea if going gluten-free will improve your low testosterone on it's own, or if you'd need at least some time on hormone replacement in combination with the gluten-free diet to see an improvment in the low testosterone symptoms. But I totally believe that there is a connection.

I can understand why you'd be leery of hormone replacement, but it's worth a trial. It may not be something that you'll need to do forever. It made a huge difference in my husband's life. If we had never figured out the gluten connection for him, he would have gone back on the patches as soon as we could have afforded them.

I hope you start feeling better soon.

Nancy

[kenlove]

For me it was all related to gluten although I didnt know it. Had almost zero testosterone level in the middle of being sick and heart problems for 6 months. Finally diagnosed with celiac, went gluten free and with 2 months I was totally back to normal. I'm 30 years older than you but had never had a problem with anything

until 2.5 years ago when this all started. I think the trick is to be totally gluten free. I had 2 shots of testosterone

in one month and then patches for a few weeks prior to being diagnosed. It's an amazing difference after gluten.

Good luck

Ken

I'm in my late twenties and male. I tested low thyroid and low testosterone with blood work. I was put on levothyroxine at that time(about one and a half months ago). I am supposed to start taking testosterone replacement soon. I don't know if I want to. At the same time I tested positive for gluten intolerance, the celiac gene, and high malabsorption all through enterolab results. I have been gluten and dairy free now also for about one and a half months.

Does anybody know which came first. Did my gland/hormone issues cause gluten issues or the other way around? also if I stay off of gluten, after a while is there any chance that I could stop taking hormone replacement, or is it kinda for life? I am still feeling really bad except for a couple really amazingly good feeling days. I am really carefull about CC and everything with gluten. I am still extremely cold sensetive and since being gluten free have lost diarrhea, but become very constipated. Still zero libido. And very fatigued still as well. I am very frusterated. Does anybody know anything about any of this, or even a word of encouragement. thanx so much.

[scottyfeelsick]

Thank you all so much for your responses. SCOTT-FREE, I had a gene test done through enterolab(I don't know how acurate or reputable their testing is for gluten or gene testing). I can just post it here though:

HLA-DQB1 Molecular analysis, Allele 1 0302

HLA-DQB1 Molecular analysis, Allele 2 0501

Serologic equivalent: HLA-DQ 3,1 (Subtype 8,5)

I have never heard of a different gene taking longer to heal. Do you mean that it will take longer for my body to heal from gluten, or just that related complications will take longer to resolve?

Nantzie, thanks so much for telling me your story. That is so encouraging to me. How long after going on hormone replacement before he started feeling noticably better? Also was he ever diagnosed with celiac or did you guys just know. (I am wondering if I should go back on gluten to have a biopsy, to make sure that that is my problem. With enterolab I had a score of 51 for antigliadin IgA. less than 10 is normal. And a malabsorption score of almost 1000. less than 300 is normal. But I don't know if they are the best place for an official diagnosis).

thanx again for all your responses

[fedora]

hi,

enterolab's genetic testing is definately reputable. I did mine through them and they sent it to Red Cross. so I know it is true. Lots of people have done enterolab testing and feel it is accurate. I did, since I was already gluten free and there was no way in Hades I was going to eat it again for bloodwork,etc.

The DQ3,2 gene is the DQ8 gene.

I am not male, but female. I have had so many hormonal issues. I didn't have fertility problems. Instead I dropped 2 eggs at 24 and had fraternal twins at 25. The first in my family for several generations. But since then I know there have been times I did not ovulate. And my libido is terrible.

When I gave up gluten, I was shocked and pleased to have my PMS mood symptoms go away!!!! I could not believe it . My libido is better(though not the best. still praying it will get better). So if it can effect hormones in women, I am sure it can in men .

good luck. take care

[veggienft]

Post deleted by veggienft.

[Nantzie]

Thank you all so much for your responses. SCOTT-FREE, I had a gene test done through enterolab(I don't know how acurate or reputable their testing is for gluten or gene testing). I can just post it here though:

HLA-DQB1 Molecular analysis, Allele 1 0302

HLA-DQB1 Molecular analysis, Allele 2 0501

Serologic equivalent: HLA-DQ 3,1 (Subtype 8,5)

I have never heard of a different gene taking longer to heal. Do you mean that it will take longer for my body to heal from gluten, or just that related complications will take longer to resolve?

Nantzie, thanks so much for telling me your story. That is so encouraging to me. How long after going on hormone replacement before he started feeling noticably better? Also was he ever diagnosed with celiac or did you guys just know. (I am wondering if I should go back on gluten to have a biopsy, to make sure that that is my problem. With enterolab I had a score of 51 for antigliadin IgA. less than 10 is normal. And a malabsorption score of almost 1000. less than 300 is normal. But I don't know if they are the best place for an official diagnosis).

thanx again for all your responses

Everybody heals on a different schedule. I think when you have additional problems such as thyroid and hormone issues in addition, it can take a while for your body to feel back to normal.

I would say that my husband started feeling better within a couple of weeks with a noticeable difference within a month. When he would "forget" his patches for a day or two, you could tell immediately. He was exhausted just by skipping one day. It would take him three or four days of being on them consistently after a slip before he started feeling better again.

As far as an official diagnosis, there are so many people on here without one. Some because of inconclusive mainstream testing, some because they didn't want to go back on gluten for the biopsy and some because they found out they had an issue with gluten by happenstance (like my husband). I did an informal poll here a year or so ago and the majority of people who answered the poll didn't have a formal diagnosis. I don't. My kids don't. We don't even have the celiac gene, but one of the gluten intolerance genes. Before my diagnosis, I had been virtually housebound for about two years and was well on my way to a wheelchair when I found that gluten was the answer. My bloodwork was borderline and my biopsy was negative. I stopped eating gluten a little over a month before my biopsy because I was sick of waiting (literally). I went gluten-free even though I didn't have celiac, and it changed my life.

They (celiac researchers) say that it can take as much as eating the equivalent of 3-4 slices of whole wheat bread a day for three to four months before the damage can be seen on biopsy. Some people do go for the biopsy and some people don't.

I always think it's a good idea to get an endoscopy and the biopsy just because you want to make sure there's nothing else going on in there. My dad died of stomach cancer, so that was the main reason my doctor and I decided to go ahead with the endoscopy even though the gluten-free diet was obviously working.

Also, make sure stuff like shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, lip balms etc. are gluten free. Your wife or girlfriend should check her cosmetics. Lipstick is a big one. Also nail polish. If she has gluten in her nail polish and prepares your food, it gets in your food. I glutened myself and my kids with that a few times before realizing what was happening.

Nancy

[georgie]

Has your Dr tested for Pituitary problems ? Low thyroid and testosterone are there - how are the levels of DHEA, Cortisol, LH, FSH, Growth Hormone ? Not wishing to alarm but 1 in 5 people have a Pituitary problem and most don't even know it. Some of the symptoms of a Pit Tumour are the failure of the various hormones. Has a Pituitary MRI been done WITH contrast to look for a tumour ? www.pituitary.org has lots of info - including Drs that understand Pituitary ( not all Drs do ). Don't panic - most Pit tumours are benign but they can have crippling effects on your hormones. If you are low in Cortisol or Growth Hormone and don't know it yet - you will feel pretty sick until you get replacement therapy. Good luck with it all. My hubbie is being tested for all this and it has taken 3 years to find a Specialist willing to test Growth Hormone. He is on total replacement of all the other hormones but probably needs the GH ( if he is deficient ) to get well.

[scottyfeelsick]

Has your Dr tested for Pituitary problems ? Low thyroid and testosterone are there - how are the levels of DHEA, Cortisol, LH, FSH, Growth Hormone ? Not wishing to alarm but 1 in 5 people have a Pituitary problem and most don't even know it. Some of the symptoms of a Pit Tumour are the failure of the various hormones. Has a Pituitary MRI been done WITH contrast to look for a tumour ? www.pituitary.org has lots of info - including Drs that understand Pituitary ( not all Drs do ). Don't panic - most Pit tumours are benign but they can have crippling effects on your hormones. If you are low in Cortisol or Growth Hormone and don't know it yet - you will feel pretty sick until you get replacement therapy. Good luck with it all. My hubbie is being tested for all this and it has taken 3 years to find a Specialist willing to test Growth Hormone. He is on total replacement of all the other hormones but probably needs the GH ( if he is deficient ) to get well.

Geogie, Thanks alot for your response.

I have been tested. I am very lucky in my situation with an endocronologist. He is very good and works at a very prestigous hospital. They originally thought I might be HGH deficiant, so they gave me an insulin tolerance test(ITT), but my HGH and cortisol were actually fine, but my thyroid was low as well as my testosterone. My TSH was actually mid-low as well, which would point to my pituitary being the problem causing my low thyroid rather the it being just the thyroid itself malfunctioning. He then gave me an MRI and no tumors were present, so he thinks it is all because of a head injury I have had in the past. I also have the beginning of osteoporosis and I am only in my late twenties. This is all good so far(well, it is very bad, but good that they are finding out what is wrong), except that while they ae very good at what they do, they don't really want to talk about the possible conection between all this and gluten or celiac. I have even read that celiacs often get osteoporosis. I went to see a naturapathic doctor and they had me do enterolabs tests and I came up positive for gluten and very high malabsorption as well as the HLA-DQ8 gene for celiac.

I just wish that I could talk to my doctor about the relationship between the gluten issues and my need for hormone replacement. Like which caused which, and the possibility that I might not be absorbing my thyroid medication because of malobsorption. Which also causes osteoporosis. So could all of this be caused from damage done by gluten, and could it all get better after a year or something of being gluten free? My endocronologist says that this was all caused by old head trauma, and maybe if I really do have a problem with gluten, that it most likely would not cause all of this. But I read stuff that leads me to think differently, or atleast a chance that it could be that.

anyway, I am kinda just ranting now I think. Thanx so much for your response, it really means alot to me.

[veggienft]

.......I just wish that I could talk to my doctor about the relationship between the gluten issues and my need for hormone replacement. Like which caused which, and the possibility that I might not be absorbing my thyroid medication because of malobsorption. Which also causes osteoporosis. So could all of this be caused from damage done by gluten, and could it all get better after a year or something of being gluten free? My endocronologist says that this was all caused by old head trauma, and maybe if I really do have a problem with gluten, that it most likely would not cause all of this. But I read stuff that leads me to think differently, or atleast a chance that it could be that.

anyway, I am kinda just ranting now I think. Thanx so much for your response, it really means alot to me.

I don't think science has come far enough to tell which came first in a particular case. But I think, via what is known, that celiac precedes autoimmune disease.

Open Original Shared Link

-----------------------------------------------------------

HLA-DQ8 (DQ8) is an HLA-DQ serotype that recognizes the common HLA DRB1*0302 and the less common HLA DRB1*0304 gene products. DQ8 is a form of 'split antigen' of the broad antigen group DQ3 which also contains DQ7 and DQ9. DQA1*0301 : DQB1*0302 is the most common DQ8 type

-----------------------------------------------------------

Like fedora said, and according to Wikipedia, you have the HLA-DQ8 gene. Sorry, gene type does not directly determine clearance rate.

The two major types of antibodies associated with celiac are IgA and IgG. They fight different perceived invaders in different ways. Once on a gluten-free diet IgA antibodies take about 2 weeks to clear the system, and IgG antibodies take about 6 months to clear the system. So any celiac sufferer would have to wait at least 6 months for all celiac antibodies to clear, and start full recovery.

Open Original Shared Link

-----------------------------------------------------------

Celiac Disease affects one in about 100 persons of the general population, an epidemic proportion. But, if one member of a family has Celiac Disease, the odds are 1 in 10 that other close family members (parents, children, and siblings) have also inherited the susceptibility genes.6 Family members should definitely be tested.

Specifically, Celiac Disease is associated with both HLA genes and non-HLA genes. HLA is short for human leukocyte antigen. Leukocytes are simply white blood cells. The genetic markers for Celiac Disease are certain HLA molecules known as HLA-DQ2 and/or HLA-DQ8. HLA molecules mark cells as 'antigens', meaning they are detected as "non-self." Unfortunately, in Celiac Disease, HLA is marking our own tissues as objects for attack by antibodies. About 90 to 95% of celiacs have HLA-DQ2 and 5 to 10% have HLA-DQ8. Some people, however, with Celiac Disease do not show either of these HLA molecules......

......Antibodies are protective proteins produced by our immune system in response to specific substances (antigens) that our body perceives to be threatening. Auto-antibodies are proteins that react against our body's own molecules or tissues as if they are threatening substances and their target is called an auto-antigen. In the case of Celiac Disease, the two classes of specific antibodies/ auto-antibodies mainly involved are immunoglobulin-A (IgA) and immunoglobulin-G (IgG). IgA antibodies are short-lived, lasting about 2 weeks while IgG antibodies are long-lived, lasting about 6 months.

-----------------------------------------------------------

I'm pretty sure differing gene types determine symptoms, and therefore which antibody type a given person has trouble with. So a person's symptoms would correlate with how long it would take for him/her to start feeling better on a gluten-free diet ......... 2 weeks or 6 months.

I firmly believe that celiac and candidiasis (candida albicans fungal overgrowth) are closely connected. Candida is a nasty opportunist of the celiac holes which coeliac and zonulin create in the small intestine lining. While you're cutting wheat out of your diet, strongly consider eliminating all sugar, dyes and chlorine. These substances feed candida while killing competing gut microorganisms. Also eat plain live yogurt every day.

It will probably work. But even if it fails, what's the cost of trying?

..

[georgie]

He then gave me an MRI and no tumors were present, so he thinks it is all because of a head injury I have had in the past.

Just checking - did the MRI have contrast and was it ordered as a Pituitary MRI ? It is possible to also just have a non functional Pituitary ( no tumour ). The treatment is to replace all missing hormones. It sounds like your Endo is still suspecting this. Keep an eye on all the other hormones as sometimes they fail one by one over a period of years. Going gluten-free will certainly help help absorption of nutrients and help stop autoimmune diseases worsening. After going gluten-free for many months I was able to reduce my thyroid meds by about 30% - I say probably due to me absorbing them better.

[RollingAlong]

levothyroxine - can it be taken sublingually?

My thyroid med, Armour can be, and that has helped a lot.

[tmb]

My experience of the link between celiac and low libido has been similar to many of those posted here. I have been gluten-free for nearly 3 months and although my libido is very low I think it is on its way back. I have not had testosterone tests or shots to improve. My libido started dying a couple of years ago, did some recovery and then in the past 6 months totally dissappeared. I am not actually impotent but do not have much desire even to test this. I am also quite irritable and anxious, but not to many issues with energy levels.

The links between celiac and libido/impotence are well known, as well as with candida links both to celiac and libido.

The other part of this is the fact that sexual desire no longer controls my behavior as much as it used too (granted I am 50 yrs old and have 4 kids so lust has already sevred its purpose). Still, carnal desire is a good feeling and I do miss it. My wife is quite relieved in one way, and insulted in another way.

[kenlove]

For me it was a little more than just the libido/desire issue but muscle tone and the inability to perform regular tasks.

I wear a number of hats including that of an researcher with tropical fruit. I couldn't climb trees or walk across a field.

the shots and patches worked wonders in terms of getting my strength back. The desire had never gone away but the ability did which was fixed by the shots and sustained for a few months with patches. I'm 56 with 3 kids

ken

My experience of the link between celiac and low libido has been similar to many of those posted here. I have been gluten-free for nearly 3 months and although my libido is very low I think it is on its way back. I have not had testosterone tests or shots to improve. My libido started dying a couple of years ago, did some recovery and then in the past 6 months totally dissappeared. I am not actually impotent but do not have much desire even to test this. I am also quite irritable and anxious, but not to many issues with energy levels.

The links between celiac and libido/impotence are well known, as well as with candida links both to celiac and libido.

The other part of this is the fact that sexual desire no longer controls my behavior as much as it used too (granted I am 50 yrs old and have 4 kids so lust has already sevred its purpose). Still, carnal desire is a good feeling and I do miss it. My wife is quite relieved in one way, and insulted in another way.