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From:
Karen Rose <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Thu, 16 Jul 1998 01:15:58 EDT
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<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

Thank you for all of the responses listed below and your wonderful good
wishes.  I apologize but two people sent me attachments to download but my
system could not open them.  I don't know what they were written in.

1.  If you haven't checked out the American Family Physician web page you
should.  Located at http://www.aafp.org/afp   There is an article on Detecting
Celiac in Your Patient, March 1, 1998.  It says autoimmune thryroid diseases
were found in 5.4% of celiacs.  In the Feb 15,1998 issue there is an article
entitled "Subclinical Hypothyroidism: Deciding When to Treat."  It is worth
looking up if just for the intro, which is a very interesting.
I have celiac & my sister is being treated for subclinical
hypothroidism--problem which first became evident after her first (& only)
pregnancy at age 39.
    I have several friends who take synthroid.  It is g.f., but unfortunately it
does contain a tiny bit of lactose.  Nothing they can do about that but put up
w/ it--no other options in this case.

2.  Hypothyroidism isn't a big deal, unless you _don't_ take the medication
you need. :-)

3.  I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism a few months before the celiac disease
loomed large in my life (I had no symptoms of it; a blood test exposed it);
many
people feel there is a connection.  I've been taking Synthroid, first at .050
mg. and since then .075 mg.  This med. is GF, and I have no trouble with the
med.  You definitely want to take it every day, at roughly the same time every
day, and do heed the warning to either (1) take it 1 hour before eating
anything; or (2) take it 3 hours after eating anything.  This is necessary to
make sure the food/beverage isn't interfering with absorption of the hormone -
a significant issue for celiacs.

If left untreated, hypothyroidism can have serious effects on your heart, so it
is something to take seriously.   I haven't noticed any side effects at all from
the Synthroid, but then, I didn't notice any hypothyroid symptoms, either
(fatigue, dry/brittle hair and/or nails, unexplained weight gain, etc.).

4.  There have been a number of postings on this which you can probably
find in the archives. The short answer is it's not that bad (I have it
too). Synthroid, what they usually prescribe, is GF. Once the hormone
levels are back to normal, you should feel pretty normal and there's not
really anything to watch out for except maybe antacids (the synthroid info
tells you what these are, I haven't paid that much attention because I
don't take them). There are also great thyroid and hypothyroidism sites on
the web.

5.  Synthroid is gf. I have been taking it for years. Thyroid hormone
replacement is easy - just one pill a day. As long as the dose is correct you
will not have any problems. I do still get chilly more easily than most
people, and I seem to need more sleep. But that's about it. Much easier to
deal with than cd.

6.  I have been diagnosed with celiac sprue and am on a gluten free diet for
about 6 years.  Three years ago I was diagnosed with hypothroidism.  The major
symptom was just being "tired".  There was no indication from the physician
that the two are related.  He prescribed Levothroid, initially at .10 mg.
After blood tests indicated that it was necessary he increased the dosage to
.15 mg.  That dosage has been stable for around two years.  I have periodic
blood tests to verify the validity of the dosage.  As to long term impact, I
was told by the physician that the effect of the medication is to eliminate
the function of the thyroid gland and to replace it with the chemical in the
meidcation.  Thus you become functionally dependent upon the medication and
must take it for "life".

I did some reading on the general literature on thytoid  and bought a book to
better understand it.  If you want the name I can give it to you.  They
pharmacy programs for the computer give a good run down on the drug - impact,
side effects, and so on.  If you want the names of the ones I use, I can also
send them to you.  However, they do not cover the impact on celiacs or whether
particular drugs are GF.  My physician  told me that the drug he prescribed
would be OK and I have had no adverse problems from taking it.

7.  Synthroid is GF.  As long as you take the proper dosage, which will be
known from your yearly blood tests, you'll be fine.

8.  Check out.     http://thyroid.miningco.com/

9.  Ialso have hypothyroidism,.....your thyroid gland is underactive.no
biggy,,just take the prescribed medication,and have regular blood test to
check that medication is correct dose!  i am celiac and have no problem with
the drug SYNTHROID.

10.  I do know that cabbage in any form interfers with the thyroid.

11.  I was diagnosed many years ago (23) with Hashimotos hypothyroidism & am
now taking "Levothyroid".  About 3 years ago with Celiac Sprue.  Would you
mind summarizing the results of your question or letting me know how things
come out.

12.  Someone at the mining site has a thyroid mailing list - looks like they
know what they are talking about.  I was on it for a time last winter.

Good luck.  You just might feel better with your thyroid levels higher.  Do a
search for Armour Thyroid if you want your dr. to put you on it.  I just saw
something very, very interesting about their formulation being assimilated by
the body better than synthroid - doesn't have to be converted from T-4 to T-3
(or the other way around) like for synthroid.  Armour has T-3 and T-4 in it I
believe while synthroid has only one if my information is correct.  They also
have had problems with synthroid being stable.

13.  Now that you mention it, I remember hearing that eating grapefruit is a
no-no as well.

14.  Their are several substances that can interfere with thyroid med.
absorption.  These are iron, calcium (many antacids have calcium), soy, and
veggies from the cabbage family.  There are a few different things you can do to
prevent this being a problem:

1) Don't take iron or calcium supplements within 4 hours of taking your
thyroid meds.
2) Take your meds on an empty stomach, first thing in the morning, for the
best absorption, then wait an hour before eating.
3) Once your correct dosage is established, if your eating habits *change* a
lot with respect to the above food groups/nutrients, have your TSH redone.
The idea is that if you have a fairly constant level of the food groups (say,
over a week's time) then your thyroid levels will be fairly stable.  If you
suddenly change, up or down, like you become a vegetarian and are suddenly
eating more soy, or go the other way, again, try to keep a fairly constant
level and have your dosage checked.
4) Cooking the cabbage-family veggies is said to kill the enzyme that can
cause the problem.

Also, if you haven't been on a GF diet very long, you will want to get your
TSH rechecked.  It is common for celiacs who go GF to need less thyroid
medication because they are absorbing better.  This happened to me, in fact.

15.  In my opinion, the best thyroid site on the web is Mary Shoman's site at:
http://thyroid.miningco.com/

16.  Important that you not take iron supplements several hours before or after
thyroid meds.  Your pharmacist can and should provide you with specifics.  Iron
will dilute effectiveness of thyroid med.  However, don't stop taking iron since
people with hypothyroidism tend to be slightly anemic and of course we all know
about the correlation between Celiac disease and anemia.

17.  Anti-acids interfere with your body's ability to absorb synthroid.  So
does iron supplements.  There is a news group on thyroid disease. It might be
helpful.  I went to the library and checked out books on hypothyroidism,
diabetes and CD since I have all three.

18.  Have you looked at

   http://www.thriveonline.com/health/bill.05-19-97.html

It is a question answer Dr.Bill. My Dr. has always recommended to me that I
take only the real thyroid meds. as sometimes the generic do not have a
consistant amount of medicine in each pill. In the real thyroid Thyroxin each
pill is created equal. When I have panic attacks and I go to the Dr.to have my
T4 taken it is usually either hi or low.  One Dr. says my thyroid is going out
of whack, causing the attacks , and the specialist says there is something
happening in my system to cause my thyroid to go out of whack. In the
meanwhile I have taken a diazapam (one half of a pill) each nite before bed
and done a lot of talking to myself to tell me I will be ok when I am having
an attack.  I may have them every day ,usually about 20 minutes after I drift
off to sleep or upon awakening in the morning.  It seems to be a certain state
of sleep I am in. I may go a year and no problem.  My most recent attack was
when I was coming out of anestethia after gall bladder removal. I went thru
about 2
weeks of feeling as if I could have an attack at any time day or nite after
that.  Then it went away and I have been ok since last November. When I have
these spells at nite I come out of the bed in a flash and I want to run maybe
for fresh air) take my clothes off (as I feel restricted).When it
happens during my awake time , my husband can tell because I become very
uneasy and wring my hands together, and pace the floor talking to myself to
calm myself. No wonder sometimes the Dr. thinks I'm a brick short of a load.
I also have pernicious anemia and I have read where panic or anxiety attacks
can be associated with this too.  I guess we have to listen to our own bodies
and fight for our rights to be treated for the real problems we have and not
what the Dr. thinks is wrong inside our heads. I do not talk about this even
to my friends as they really don't understand but I am always glad to tell my
story to someone else if I feel it will help,  When I was going thru this last
episode I contacted the Thyroid Assn. in London Ont. and the volunteer with
whom I spoke had gone thru a very  similar experience and
said the Dr. did not believe there was any association to her thyroid .  She
was very kind and I felt so much better just knowing I had someone who
understood.Maybe I wasn't too far gone yet. Thru all the time I was doctoring
before being diagnosed as celiac I had been told it was nerves maybe I should
see a therapist.  I knew I was sick and I continued to seek help.I was 5ft.
6in. and weighed 102 pounds and was still losing weight.

19.  In a 1997 issue of "Women;s Health Advocate" newsletter I read a an
update that indicated antidepressants may require an increase in their l-
thyroxine supplement.  This effect has been reported with Soloft and Prozac
and the tricyclic antidepressants.

20.  In my earlier response I mentioned that my physician prescribed
levothroid.  The pharmacist put a warning on the label and personally
instructed me on how to take it. It is to be taken on an empty stomach - no
food intake for four hours prior to ingestion - and no food intake for an hour
after ingesting to permit proper absorbtion.  I asked about aspirin, and was
told it was OK, if otherwise GF, but should not be taken during the first
hour.  He said levothroid  should be taken with a full glass of water.  As I
take it when I first arise in the morning I asked if I could have coffee
during the one hour set aside for absorption and was told that was OK.

21.  I take Synthroid for Hypothyroidism.  I called the manufacturer and was
told that it was gluten free.

22.  One book that I have on pills says that heavy soybean consumption
interferes with absoption of thyoid meds.  I have also read that heavy
consumption of pears does, too.  I have read about a few other foods that do
also.

Thank you all again.

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