Does Hypothyroidism Affect The Adrenals

[PR4NOW]

Lorraine at Scottish Thyroid Petition posted a study which attempts to shed some light on this question. The full PDF is available free. PR

"Adrenal function might be impaired in patients with primary hypothyroidism....In conclusion, patients with different degrees of intensity of primary hypothyroidism had improved cortisol response after reaching euthyroidism. The incidence of adrenal insufficiency was 6.7–18.3% and more than 50% of the cases had a normal cortisol response after L-T4 therapy."

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

[cc120]

But does adrenal fatigue bring on hypothyroidism?

[PR4NOW in reply to cc120]

cc120, that is an excellent question but off the top of my head I can't think of a study that answers it. In my mind there is no question it is a two way street, the thyroid and adrenals affect each other. I'm sorry I can't give you the science. PR

[cc120 in reply to PR4NOW]

Hi PR4NOW, here is a link to a chart comparing Adrenal Fatigue versus Hypothyroidism symptoms. Underneath the chart Dr Lam talks about primary or secondary hypothyroidism. He goes on to explain that secondary hypothyroidism is due to low thyroid function caused by malfunction of another organ system. One of the most frequently overlooked causes is adrenal fatigue....

drlam.com/articles/adrenalf...

[swmartin]

It is possible that people with autoimmune hypothyroidism (Hashimoto's) could also have autoimmune adrenal disease - Addison's. This is known as Schmidt Syndrome or Type 2 Polyglandular Autoimmune Syndrome. This also commonly comes with Type 2 diabetes and/or a host of rarer / less-known autoimmune diseases. Get the autoantibodies checked. In my experience, VERY difficult to do on the NHS.