Celiac Disease and Hashimotos

Options
pickledpete
pickledpete Posts: 48 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I have had Hashimotos since I was about 9. I went on an Autoimmune diet last year to see if it would help me feel better. When I went off of it my thyroid levels went out of whack. Every time I have checked my levels after going off the diet I have had to increase my dosage. I also am deficient in Vitamin D. I am wondering if this could be related to something going on in my gut. I was wondering if anyone with Celiac has had a problem absorbing their thyroid medication. I have read that there is a correlation between Celiac and Hashimotos, and would love to learn more from anyone who knows. Thanks!

Replies

  • PeachyCarol
    PeachyCarol Posts: 8,029 Member
    edited April 2015
    Options
    If your problem is celiac disease, and you were at the point of malabsorption, you'd be noticing a lot more than just a whacked out thyroid.

    I have celiac and Hashmito's. Before my celiac was diagnosed, when things got to the point where I wasn't absorbing things? It was... not pretty. I'll spare you the TMI.

    You need to talk to your endocrinologist about what's going on with your thyroid.
  • pickledpete
    pickledpete Posts: 48 Member
    Options
    Thanks. My endo moved, and I haven't found a new one yet. I really should.
  • rolom3
    rolom3 Posts: 28 Member
    Options
    I'm intollerant to gluten but not allergic and I have hypoactive thyroid but don't know if it's hashimotos, and I'm deficient in vit D too! Let's be friends :D x
  • mjudd1990
    mjudd1990 Posts: 219 Member
    Options
    Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin so if you're taking a supplement make sure you take it with a meal containing some fat (butter, peanut butter, olive oil, coconut oil, etc.) Usually recommend to start with 5000 IU or so a day if you know your levels are low and then get follow up labs done in a few months. As per your Hashimoto's, you need to go to a family doc/endo and get your TSH/T3/T4 levels checked. Hypothyroidism is super easy and safe to treat with meds but not much you can do on your own to raise your levels unfortunately.
  • FitPhillygirl
    FitPhillygirl Posts: 7,124 Member
    Options
    shelesepbryant wrote: »
    I have had Hashimotos since I was about 9. I went on an Autoimmune diet last year to see if it would help me feel better. When I went off of it my thyroid levels went out of whack. Every time I have checked my levels after going off the diet I have had to increase my dosage. I also am deficient in Vitamin D. I am wondering if this could be related to something going on in my gut. I was wondering if anyone with Celiac has had a problem absorbing their thyroid medication. I have read that there is a correlation between Celiac and Hashimotos, and would love to learn more from anyone who knows. Thanks!

    Hi, I have Hashimotos and was diagnosed with Celiacs disease after biopsy was done. If you are not obsorbing your thyroid meds due to Celiacs, a gluten free diet should help with this. After being on a Gluten free diet for a few months my doctor was able to decrease the dose of my Synthroid.
  • FitPhillygirl
    FitPhillygirl Posts: 7,124 Member
    Options
    shelesepbryant wrote: »
    Thanks. My endo moved, and I haven't found a new one yet. I really should.

    Do you have a primary care physician? If so, he/she is capable of managing your Thyroid meds until you find a new endocrinologist. I never bothered to go to an Endo doc because my PCP has been managing my Thyroid medication just fine for many years.
  • briannadunn
    briannadunn Posts: 841 Member
    Options
    Celiacs is an awful diease..get away from all forms of gluten and get it out of the house..that should help a great deal with your absorption.
  • Omaoffive
    Omaoffive Posts: 15 Member
    Options
    I had undiagnosed celiac disease for 8 years, but my thyroid tests were always good even though I couldn't have been absorbing all my nutrients for I was very ill at times. I've been gluten free for 10 years now and am still on the same thyroid dosage I was from the beginning.
  • shaumom
    shaumom Posts: 1,003 Member
    Options
    Yes, celiac disease could cause the problems you describe. The thing is, the damage from celiac disease is not always in the same place in the gut, not always uniform damage, and where and how bad the damage is affects what the effects ARE. So you absolutely can have malabsorption issues for one thing (like medication), while having nearly no effects otherwise, or at least none that you are noticing yet.

    With Hashimoto's, you are in a higher risk category for celiac disease, yes, and vise versa.
    Celiac disease can also make symptoms of Hashimoto's worse, regardless of medication issues, so there can be good absorption of meds and instead the disease is actually getting worse and needing more medication, too.

    Also, some folks (and I was one of them) can have very little damage from celiac disease, and yet a huge affect on the thyroid - don't know why, but when I accidentally was getting very low contamination levels on a GF diet, my thyroid levels were terrible. I found the gluten contamination, eliminated it, and my levels were normal for the first time in years, within a month or so. Doctor said this was not uncommon.

    So basically - it's worth testing for celiac disease, at least, if you have been eating gluten daily for at least 4-6 weeks (test is sad, and only tests for markers of damage FROM gluten, and only detects levels that would arise after weeks of damage, so you have to be eating gluten for a while for the test to be accurate).

    In three generations, all but one person in my family have celiac disease, and two generations of them have thyroid problems. So we've run into this a lot. ^_^
  • silliejennie3976
    silliejennie3976 Posts: 1 Member
    Options
    I am hypothyroid and have been for ten years. It turned into hashimotos which is not uncommon for hypothyroid patients. My synthroid dose was increased which helped my levels be stable however my type of hashimotos has been giving me a constant choking sensation they also found a large mass on my throid. After my own research and many tests with an amazing endocrinologist I decided it was best to have my thyroid removed. It has been two months since my surgery and I feel good.....plus no more choking sensation. I am excited that I can also lose weight now! My suggestion is to see an endocrinologist because PCD's usually don't know too much about thyroid disease. Having an ultra sound and regular blood work is very important too. Go to a endocrinologist as soon as you can. Thyroid disease is very serious and can lead to other things. I have eliminated gluten from my diet even though I don't have celiac. It has made me feel so much better to not have gluten. I stick with lean protein and veggies. I do allow myself to have bread but only if I really feel like I need to have it. I wish you luck, please invest in an endocrinologist....it will be worth it for you. I am in CT and see a great DR. At Yale. Best of luck to you!
  • pickledpete
    pickledpete Posts: 48 Member
    Options
    Thanks for all of the responses. I appreciate the help :smile:

Categories