Link

[Jake123-]

Do people' with thyroid disorders more prone to diabetes

[jezebel69]

I have heard that this is true. I have tested borderline for type 2 on a few occasions. A lifestyle clean-up sorts it out but it would appear we are less tolerant of high living

I'm sure someone who knows will enlighten us both.

[Heloise]

A little technical but shows an association. It looks more the opposite...diabetics may be more prone to thyroid.

Insulin resistance/diabetes/metabolic syndrome/obesity

As with leptin resistance, it has been shown in numerous studies that insulin resistance, diabetes, or metabolic syndrome have associated significant reduction in T4 to T3 conversion, an intracellular deficiency of T3, and an increased conversion of T4 to reverse T3, further reducing intracellular T3 levels (91,100,92,94,147,184-193,235). Additionally, the elevated insulin will increase D2 activity and suppress TSH levels, further decreasing thyroid levels and making it inappropriate to use the TSH as a reliable marker for tissue thyroid levels in the presence of elevated insulin levels as occurs with obesity, insulin resistance, or type II diabetes (91-99,233).

Pittman CS et al. found that normal individuals had a 77% conversion of T4 to T3, while diabetic individuals had a 45% conversion of T4 to T3 and increased T4 to reverse T3. Improvement in glucose levels only slightly increased T4 to T3 conversion to 46% (93).

Islam S et al. investigated the T4 to T3 conversion in 50 diabetic patients compared to 50 non-diabetic controls. There was no difference in TSH and free T4 levels, but the diabetic individuals had significantly decrease free T3 levels (p = 0.0001) that averaged 46% less than controls. The FT3/FT4 ratio was 50% less in diabetic patients versus controls. The TSH failed to elevate despite the fact that serum T3 was approximately half of normal (92). Saunders J, et al. also found that diabetics had approximately a 50% reduction in T3 levels and significantly increased reverse T3 levels and decreased T3/reverse T3 ratios (94).

In the International Journal of Obesity, Krotkiewski, et al. published the results of their investigation of the impact of supplemental T3 on cardiovascular risk in obese patients to partially reverse the reduced T4 to T3 conversion seen with obesity (53). Seventy obese patients with “normal” standard thyroid function tests were treated with 20 mcg of straight T3 for six weeks. While the dose was not high enough to completely reverse the reduced T4 to T3 conversion seen with obesity, there was a significant reduction in a number of cardiovascular risk factors, including cholesterol and markers for insulin resistance. There were no side-effects in any of the patients. The authors conclude, “T3 may be considered to ameliorate some of the risk factors associated with abdominal obesity, particularly in some subgroups of obese women with a relative resistance to thyroid hormones possibly dependent on decreased peripheral deiodination of thyroxine (T4) (53).”

Thus, replacement with timed-released T3 preparations to normalize the reduced intracellular T3 levels is appropriate in such patients despite so-called “normal” levels while, on the contrary, T4-only preparations do not address the physiologic abnormalities of such patients and should be considered inappropriate replacement for obese patients or those with insulin resistance, leptin resistance, or diabetes, as they do not address the physiologic abnormalities in this group.

nahypothyroidism.org/deiodi...

[GERALDDAVID in reply to Heloise]

This is just the thing I need to show my doctor who was telling me I only need t4, and the TSH level is all you need, when I asked if he had my free t4 & t3 on my bloodwork. Hes a nice guy, a cardiologist as well as my gp. I let him know I wasn`t buying it, and that made things easy for doctors, he was having trouble keeping a straight face, almost funny. I`m not sure what he really thought. I take 10 mg t3 to go with my levo, 150mg. 5mg twice a day. works for me. Take calcium twice a day so work around that, time release would not work for me because calcium blocks thyroid meds. The endo`s that use t3 won`t take medicaid or medicare so its about money, at least around here. I feel I`m lucky to get t3 at all, only because weight ballooned from sleep apnea. No rim sleep for years. Needed oxygen for 6 weeks now use the c-pap mask. Weigh/t fell off a lot, legs were swollen, much better now. Had laser ablation on them. Of course the weight caused type 2 diabetes to kick in, well controlled with metformin only and diet. Had heart by pass 6 years ago so keep my ldl cholesterol under 70. Would like to lose some more weight cause it hit 360 but lost 80 lbs in 6 months with t3 and the c-pap breathing mask so now get rim sleep. Blood pressure is good with meds. Thanks for the info.

[Heloise in reply to GERALDDAVID]

Gerald, this is why I have urged people to get their own thyroid meds if they have been given a complete run-around. Believe me, if you are overseeing your own treatment, you will NEVER allow under treatment or over medication. It looks as if one mistreatment led to another. It is simply awful and look at what you had to go through.

The link to the full document is great also and includes the research and you could access those I think.

[Marz]

The pancreas is part of the Endocrine system - like the thyroid. When one is under par then the other glands are affected....

[Jackie]

Yes, it is one of the annual tests for thyroid disease. They are both hormonal and autoimmune with similar symptoms.

Jackie