So, if you remember last year, I had my doctor run all the tests to see why I am not loosing like I should be - regardless of Zumba, the gym, walking and how much I eat. I thought there has to be something going on with my thyroid or blood sugar, because this just isn't right. Granted, I have a weakness for baked gluten-free goodies, but I am not scarfing them down daily (ok, well maybe once in a while). My doctor had told me everything was normal, and I accepted that and never looked back. I figured this is the doctor who discovered out I had celiac, when I thought there was no way in h*ll I could have it, so I assumed she covered all the bases and I took her word on it.
However, the other day, a friend mentioned that sometimes thyroid numbers may seem normal, but may really be borderline and need to be treated. And that some doctors actually use different ranges as to what qualifies as "normal". I just couldn't get that out of my mind, so I called my doctor, who did the tests, and asked for the exact numbers. And funny enough, the nurse called me back with the information as I was in a bookstore looking at a book called the "The Thyroid Diet" which I just happened to walk by a minute beforehand. I was actually at the store buying I'm with the Band for my next book group meeting, not obsessing about my health, believe it or not. Sure enough the numbers looked very borderlike (according to the thyroid book I had in hand) with hypothyroid.
I called my new doctor here, and asked her opinion. She said that indeed if she ran those numbers, she would have been treating me. So now I have an appointment to get the numbers rerun and to go from there.
And of course me being the paranoid freak that I am, and who hates taking meds of any kind, am now wondering...great..what kind of side effects will I have from this? And after a brief search online, I saw some people said "weight gain"...and my jaw dropped. I will not do something that will make me gain weight! I just want my "normal" metabolism back! Also, an underactive thyroid is also not good for TTC...which is a whole other issue.
I don't feel like I have many of the symptoms except for my inability to loose weight, and I do feel pretty energetic most of the time.
Doing some more research, I see that it is very common for an underactive thyroid to go hand-in-hand with celiac, but one would think that eating gluten-free would help that out. And then I see how there are actually certain foods to avoid, which are called goitrogen foods....how nasty does that sound? And of course, most foods on this list are my favorite fruit and veg! So, let me get this....because of celiac, I can no longer eat fiber-rich whole grain bread as I used to, and with an underactive thyroid, I can no longer eat most healthy veg and "super foods"?
I may have an answer to one thing, but that just leads to so many questions. Do I really have to give up brussels sprouts, bok choy, tofu and strawberries, or is it just when they are raw? Soy, I have been trying to cut down anyway, because I think too much is not good of anything, but I do like my tofu and veggies.
I would love to hear from people who also have celiac and hypothyroid, and your experience with it.
I was diagnosed hypothyroid in 1994, celiac in 2007. I have been taking synthroid since my hypothyroidism diagnosis with no problems. I haven't ever changed my diet--didn't know that could be a part of it. I have my thyroid levels checked yearly and they have always been normal (except one time when it was low, so they raised the dosage of synthroid slightly).
ReplyDeleteTest the goitrogens one at a time. In re: my own hypothyroid issues (I have a goiter), I discovered that peanuts, cauliflower, raw peaches and strawberries were a no-no, but I could still eat broccoli, cabbage, bok choy and a small amount of soy. I can eat peach or strawberry preserves, but I cannot eat them raw. I do miss cauliflower, but it's the worst of the goitrogens for me. I can't eat braised tofu anymore, but I can still manage a small amount of soy such as is present in, for example, a can of soup. I've other friends with hypothyroid issues and they find the same thing. Some of the goitrogens they cannot eat and some they can and it's not always the same for each person.
ReplyDeleteI was just diagnosed with Grave's Disease, hyperthyroid, a week ago. I was diagnosed with celiac in 1995. Any thyroid issues go along with celiac as they are both auto-immune diseases. Get thee to an endocrinologist to get it all checked out thoroughly. Unfortunately my endo said that eating gluten free all these years didn't necessarily help my thyroid stay strong and healthy. She said that it is about your genes mostly.
ReplyDeleteAnd be happy that you don't have to go through radioactive iodine treatments to kill yours... mine will be ablated in March or April sometime, kind of freaks me out...along with having to take thyroid meds all my life in order to stay alive! After ablation you become hypothyroid cause it is dead.
So many people have it, and I am sure you will get it worked out and figure out what you need to do in order to stay healthy!
Renee
Thank you all for your feedback, it is greatly appreciated!
ReplyDeleteWhen testing goitrogens, how can you tell when one doesn't work for you? What effects does it have on you? Does it make you sleepy, or sick? About to write an update now =)