Hypothyroidism and MC

[tex]

Marliss,

Thanks for the update. It will be interesting to see what doubling the dose again will do to your test results.


JoAnn,

Wow! You're really sensitive to that stuff. I hope you can find a mix of thyroid hormone supplements that works correctly.

I believe you're right about hypothyroidism trumping MC, regarding weight regulation, (metabolism). I've never had any luck convincing a doctor of that, though.

Tex

[Robbie]

I have been on Synthroid since 1985 so I'm one of the ones on the forum with thyroid issues. However, I don't really know if I have MC (I don't know what I have).

Thanks for posting all the info. My thyroid is currently very messed up so I need to be better informed. Normally I have a hard time losing. Right now I can't not lose. It's okay - I can spare the weight. But I have to get it corrected or I will start going in the hole.

[wonderwoman]

About two years before my CC diagnosis, my thyroid results were all over the charts until the PCP referred me to an Endocrinologist. She has me take the medication first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. I eat about an hour or two later. I always have my blood drawn early in the morning and was told to NOT take the medication on the morning the blood is drawn until after the test is done. I take Levothyroxine and it is noted at the drug store to only fill my RX with tablets made by Mylan Laboratories. The reason for this is they were filling it with tablets from different labs and she thought this may make a difference.

Since being GF, I have seen a slight reduction of my TSH figure. I am eager to have it tested again in January to see if it has dropped further even though I have been on 75mcg a day for about 3 years. My lab uses the .45-4.50 for normal range.

[JoAnn]

I am very sensitive to thyroid hormone and have to make sure I get the Lannett brand at Walgreens. When I was first diagnosed, my tsh was 4.5 which was considered borderline Hypothyroid, but I was experiencing severe, debilitating symptoms. There's a lot of debate about the range for tsh and I know some labs have lowered it to 3.5. I feel fortunate to have a nurse practitioner who ignores those old standards and treats me individually by numbers and symptoms. She also checks both T4 and T3 along with tsh which most doctors don't. Charlotte, I did see an endocrinologist at one point, but did not have a good experience. She was too much by the book and stuck to the ranges that are too broad to catch a lot of thyroid problems. She suggested I had other problems since I didn't respond as I should have to her treatment. Thank heavens I was led to the nurse practitioner I have now. It's good you found a good one. JoAnn

[tex]

I take Levothyroxine and it is noted at the drug store to only fill my RX with tablets made by Mylan Laboratories. The reason for this is they were filling it with tablets from different labs and she thought this may make a difference.

I suspect that your doctor is right on target. The drug companies convinced doctors a few decades ago, that Armour, being a natural product, was not nearly as consistent in strength as the synthetic substitutes that they were selling, so many/most doctors started prescribing the synthetic stuff, instead of Armour.

According to some of the test reports I've seen, though, spot checks of the synthetic products show that their potency often varies wildly, from batch to batch, and recalls are somewhat common, because occasionally the strength of the products are so far off label that they are dangerous. Sticking with the same brand usually helps to minimize problems.

Tex

[MBombardier]

Well, FWIW, after three days on the doubled dose of Armour, I feel like a new woman. I had forgotten what it felt like to not have that weight of fatigue robbing me of motivation and joie de vivre. I hope this means that I will start to see the scale move.

[tex]

That's certainly good news. That was a fast response to the increased dose.

Tex

[MBombardier]

If I was a cursing woman... !!!

I lost a few pounds in the last couple of weeks so I was thinking, "Hurray! My thyroid is finally medicated the way it should be!" Then I went in on Monday to get my thyroid levels checked, and got a call from the MD this morning that I am OVER-medicated because my TSH is 0.04 and my T4 is 1.05!!! Holy guano, Batman... I knew my heart was beating harder at times, but I thought that was because I have been indulging in sweets this holiday season. Also, I wondered if since I was in a flare that would affect my levels at all.

So it looks like I got my thyroid checked at just the wrong time, when my Hashimoto's is causing a node to go hot. The MD is cutting my Armour back from 60mg to 45mg. I have to think what to do, and I need some advice from other MC'ers who deal with Hashimoto's. The MD said the too-high levels would affect my heart, but since I am pretty sure I am just dealing with the effects of a hot node... I am supposed to go in 4-6 weeks and have my levels checked again.

Just when I thought that at least one of my autoimmune diseases was under control...!!

[MBombardier]

Okay, I have been questing about on the internet, and I discovered this page: http://thehealthyskeptic.org/the-gluten ... connection. It says in part,

The molecular structure of gliadin, the protein portion of gluten, closely resembles that of the thyroid gland. When gliadin breaches the protective barrier of the gut, and enters the bloodstream, the immune system tags it for destruction. These antibodies to gliadin also cause the body to attack thyroid tissue. This means if you have AITD and you eat foods containing gluten, your immune system will attack your thyroid.

This man calls gluten intolerance a health catastrophe in a nation where the #1 source of carbohydrate is refined flour, and comments very positively about Dr. Fine.

There is also another article http://thehealthyskeptic.org/the-role-o ... -disorders where this man says

Since vitamin D is absorbed in the small intestine, a leaky and inflamed GI tract – which is extremely common in people with low thyroid function – reduces the absorption of vitamin D.

Apparently for those with auto-immune thyroid disease (AITD) the vitamin D issue is much more complicated than just increasing supplementation because the absorption ties into gluten sensitivity. I wonder what just jacking my vitamin D up to 10,000 IU has to do with my sudden apparent thyroid hormone OD.

Grrr...

[tex]

Marliss,

To be honest, I'm a little skeptical about "the healthy skeptic", whom you quoted. I'm not saying that he is entirely clueless, but he might be an example of why a little education can be a bad thing. In your first quote, for example, he mentions "The molecular structure of gliadin, the protein portion of gluten, closely resembles that of the thyroid gland." First off, gliadin is most definitely not the protein portion of gluten. Gluten is a storage protein found in wheat, and there are numerous gliadin fractions which happen to be minor segments of the amino acid sequence, (chain), that makes up the molecular composition of gluten. There are alpha, beta, gamma, delta, etc., gliadin fractions, ( also known as peptides), all of which are found in the gluten amino acid chain, and all of which celiacs react to, at varying levels of sensitivity/severity. Gluten also contains other protein fractions to which celiacs react, known as glutenins, which are also peptides of various amino acid chain lengths. IOW, while it is true that the alpha gliadin peptide is the primary "allergen", there are many other protein fractions in gluten to which we react, and all of them are proteins, and furthermore, gluten itself is the primary prolamin protein in wheat. All the peptides that I mentioned are only fractions of the entire amino acid chain that defines gluten. Note that in the grains, at least, we, (and celiacs), only seem to be sensitive to certain sequences in the amino acid chains of the prolamin proteins, (prolamin proteins are storage proteins, which are used to store starch in the grain kernels, which is subsequently converted to sugar, for use by the developing plant, by enzymes which are generated when the germ is activated, (IOW, when the seed sprouts).

He says that gliadin, (I assume that he is referring to the alpha gliadin fraction, since he doesn't specify), closely resembles that, (the protein), of the thyroid gland. Does it? For all I know, maybe it does resemble one of the peptides, (fractions), of the amino acid chain that defines one of the proteins in the thyroid gland, but I don't believe that's an established fact, (and yet he presents it as a fact). Hashimoto's is diagnosed, of course, by confirming the presence of antibodies against the thyroid enzyme peroxidase, which plays a vital role in the production of thyroid hormones. I suppose that it's possible for gluten to initiate a mimicry immune system response against the thyroid gland, but Hashimoto's itself, apparently involves antibodies against an enzyme that it produces, (peroxidase).

When I went to find out more about him, I found that he said this:

In my early 20s I set out to see the world. A few months into that trip, while traveling in Indonesia, I contracted a mysterious tropical illness. I recovered relatively quickly from the acute phase, but as I continued to travel it became painfully clear that the illness had morphed into a chronic condition.

I returned to the U.S. to seek medical care. In the next few years I saw more than twenty doctors around the world and spent thousands of dollars in an effort to diagnose and treat my condition. No one could figure out why I felt the way I did or what to do about it.

It became increasingly clear over time that if anyone was going to figure it out, it would have to be me. After all, nobody was even half as motivated as I was to find the answer! So I educated myself thoroughly about any health condition that resembled my own, and I learned to gather and analyze medical research so I could stay abreast of the latest developments.

Nowhere, though, does it actually say that he was able to do any better than those "twenty doctors", at figuring out and resolving his own medical issues. Sure, he implies it, but nowhere does he claim to have actually accomplished that goal. Maybe he included it, and I just didn't see it, or maybe he just forgot to mention it, (or maybe he didn't do any better than those 20 doctors).

I wonder what just jacking my vitamin D up to 10,000 IU has to do with my sudden apparent thyroid hormone OD.

There is some evidence that a vitamin D deficiency may suppress the conversion of T4 to T3. Therefore, increased vitamin D intake might enhance the conversion, thereby creating the possibility of a thyroid hormone supplement overdose.

And of course, you have at least one other symptom of a thyroid hormone supplement overdose - diarrhea.

Personally, if I were in your shoes, I would err on the side of caution, and follow your MD's advice about reducing the dosage, because thyroid hormone overdoses can cause serious problems in some cases. One never knows, until it's too late.

That said, I'm taking 60mg of Armour, and I've taken anywhere from 500 IU to 50,000 IU of vitamin D per day, for several days in a row, (my standard dose these days is 4500 IU daily in the winter, and 2500 IU during the summer), and I've never noticed any affect on my thyroid symptoms. However, I do not have Hashimoto's disease, (at least I tested negative to the peroxidase antibody test, a couple of years ago), so my condition is relatively stable, and that is probably a vital difference.

Tex

[MBombardier]

Thank you, Tex. You are a voice of reason in a wilderness of sometimes arbitrary and/or inaccurate information. I have decided to go with my MD's recommendation, and to also check with him after Christmas concerning possibly testing my pituitary and hypothalamus function.

FWIW, I don't have D right now. My flare only lasted two days. I had a good night's sleep last night and woke up healthy and refreshed (and relieved) this morning. I'm pretty sure that Lindberg key lime rice chips caused it. This is the second or third time I have reacted to them, and since it had been quite a while since I had had them, that is probably why the flare was so bad. I have to remember that my gut just cannot handle spices yet.

Thanks again, Tex.

[tex]

Another thing I've noticed is that "plain" chips, (whether potato, corn, rice, or whatever), usually have very few ingredients, while the "flavored" chips tend to have an ingredient list that includes literally dozens of ingredients, often with long, mysterious names. Individually, those ingredients might be OK, but sometimes the combination can be more than we can handle.

You're most welcome, and I hope that the feeling of healthy and refreshed will stick around, now.

Tex

[MBombardier]

Well, I finally got around to going in for the thyroid re-test. I've been feeling pretty good as far as what I perceive as thyroid issues, i.e., not feeling like I just can't get up in the morning, and being pretty productive. I got the results today, and my TSH is now 1.4 and my free T4 is .89. I had dropped my Vitamin D supplementation to 5,000IU, and between it and the almost-five-months gluten-free, I'm thinking that my thyroid may be more stable now.

Now to figure out why I am not losing weight. This is probably where the SCD or the paleo diet will be really beneficial.

[Polly]

Glad things are improving, Marliss!

One of our original members was able to decrease her thyroid medication after some time on the GF diet.

Hugs,

Polly