Has any one else experienced this? Gastro says its due to the low stomach acid, caused by Thyroid.
Originally had severe stomach cramps. Now subsided, but living on Imoduim/Buscopan- due to constant Diaharrea.
Doctor has just prescribed Colofac and more imodium!!
Yep, low acid means the food rots in the gut instead of being properly broken down. Have you tried betaine hcl with pepsin? If not, its probably time you did.
I use the lamberts one fron amazon, but there are lots.
Heres some more info about low acid.....scdlifestyle.com/2012/06/hy...
X g
IBS is not caused by low stomach acid, IBS occurs in the smooth muscle of the gut, not the stomach. However, my IBS was indirectly caused by hypothroidism. It may sound contradictory but I suggest you take a magnesium supplement. Magnesium is known to cause diarrhoea when taken to excess, but you will be losing magnesium due to your diarrhoea, so I suggest you supplement. Magnesium blood tests are of no use, so don't bother wasting time or money on them.
Has your gastroenterologist ruled out other causes of diarrhoea, such as gluten intolerance?
jimh111,
I was diagnosed with IBS but found supplementing Betaine HCI with digestive enzymes and biliary support to be extremely beneficial.
Maybe I was misdiagnosed ? . Maybe Clare has been misdiagnosed ? /
We all know doctors think low stomach acid is high.
Flower
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Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional and this information is not intended to be a substitute for medical guidance from your own doctor. Please check with your personal physician before applying any of these suggestions.
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Flower007 - think the doctors label anyone ibs when they havent a clue whats wrong. Its a big badge they can stick on anything 
Clare,
If Gastro has said it is low stomach acid why isn't he prescribing you stomach acid to replace the low ?
Low thyroid hormone will slow up the digestive system and you may become low in stomach acid. Stomach acid is an essential part of the immune system and kills bacteria and other bugs that enter the body and prevents bacteria in the intestines from migrating up and colonizing the stomach. Not having enough will make you particulaly susceptible to candida, gut dybolsis and H. pylori infection.
You could try supplementing Betaine HCL with Pepsin when eating protein rich meals.
It is hoped that by supplementing Betaine HCI, it will encourage the stomach to produce its own as conditions become more favourable.
Some have found supplementing Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) or lemon juice with food to be beneficial. Digestive enzymes and biliary support are also important as is optimal Vit B12 levels that require an acid environment to be absorbed.
You also have Hashimotos and may benefit from a gluten free diet.
Betaine HCI is NOT the same as Betaine Trimethylglycine & should NOT be taken with NSAIDS. )
Flower
Hashimotos and stomach acid
hashimotoshealing.com/stoma...
Gluten & thyroid connection
chriskresser.com/the-gluten...
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Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional and this information is not intended to be a substitute for medical guidance from your own doctor. Please check with your personal physician before applying any of these suggestions.
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Flower007 wish you were my doctor!!! lol you seem to know more than my doctor does. Thank you x
All he gave me was Colofac tablets which didnt work. I have cancelled my follow on appointment, as initailly went as thought he may scan or run tests, but never. Have private medical insurance through work and would rather spent it seeing a Thyroid specialist. As thought i could get meds from my own doctor. But he seems to be lacking in basic thyroid knowledge. I do know he knows what T3 means, as i asked about it and said i heard it helped with eyesight and weightloss, he soon went a funny colour and defensive Haha £££££££
Lol.
Why did you say that Clare?
F
Laugh out loud. Humour xxx
Best not to "humour" a doctor.
They won't understand.
Made me laugh though. ! .
F
Haha, that's good. Thanks for your help Flower007. You make sense. Just baffles me that my doctor tried to make me feel as if im a hypocondriac to think thyroid and gut are not related. Aparently i need to be more patient with regards my symptoms. I'm not classed as a red flag so he's not prepared to do anything. Already had 3 imodium today as of 10 am. Surely that's not healthy long term. Considering it tells you to consult your GP if symtoms persist after 7 days on the box. Mines been 6 weeks and I seem to be the only one who gives a sh*t - pardon the pun!! xxx
Clare,
That is awful for you and may lead to malabsorption of nutrients and iron.
Gut inflammation can be caused by bad bacteria growth and infections such as parasites, yeast and fungi which encourage a porous intestinal barrier (leaky gut, IBS) letting undigested proteins and toxins enter the bloodstream leading to further gut and immune issues.
A healthy stomach has parietal cells that produce hydrochloric acid allowing us to digest and absorb our food (particularly proteins) and produce intrinsic factor which allows absorption of Vitamin B12 and folic acid.
With low stomach acid we can't digest nutrients and the body slips deeper into a state of deficiency and fatigue. Folic acid helps keep homocysteine in check as high levels can disrupt thyroid metabolism by blocking T3 from binding with a helper enzyme.
A stool sample will detect any infections or gut dybiosis.
Don’t supplement the Betaine HCL if you think you might have stomach ulcers.
Flower
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Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional and this information is not intended to be a substitute for medical guidance from your own doctor. Please check with your personal physician before applying any of these suggestions.
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Very helpful information, Flower - thank you
My long-standing "IBS" is hypothyrodism, plain and simple. When I am optimally medicated I get no symptoms at all. IBS I'm afraid is something they tell you have when they really do not know what is wrong with you. A bowel consultant once said to me "what is IBS"?
Have you any thyroid blood test results to post.
Foreversummer
Hi Foreversummer, the only results i have are the TSH levels of 0.62mu/L 0.40-4.90mu/L. Also had Antibodies test come back positive @ 53iu/mL
Not really sure what it all means yet, Newbie still wet behind the ears lolx
It's weird though as every time i went to the doctors prior to seening the Gastroenterologist. They all looked at me as if i was going mad to actually think they were connected. just feel im losing a battle just to get properly diagnosed correctly ;-(
It is very probably that hypothyroidism can cause digestive problems. The gastro is 'spot on' saying low acid.
I too take Betaine with Pepsin before meals (the max on the make I take is 3 times a day). We can also take Apple Cider Vinegar in water or juice too which is very helpful too with every meal. I have used ordinary ACV but a good one but I have read that the the one with 'mother' is best: i.e. link below. It might be an acquired taste:
amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_no...
The link to Amazon if you order anything is an Affiliate link which gives Thyroiduk a small commision for everything ordered.
healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...
I've found both good and have no problems since. Whatever the doctor gave me caused severe pain.
So what if instead of diarrhoea the symptom is constipation lasting days and a ever expanding stomach?
Constipation comes first Treepie.
Low thyroid hormone will slow everything up. Eventually when food had putrified long enough and you have gut dysbiosis and infections and IBS, etc, etc, the diarrhoea will follow.
I found pysillium husk to be beneficial when I was at that stage.
Flower
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Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional and this information is not intended to be a substitute for medical guidance from your own doctor. Please check with your personal physician before applying any of these suggestions.
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Flower, This was a query re my wife who is not supposedly hypothyroid,although always cold! I had noted that IBS sufferers and remedies seem aimed at diarrhoea not constipation .Indeed I was surprised to find constipation is a symptom if indeed her problem is IBS. Standard remedies including psyllium husks have not worked. Just been prescribed Laxido and happily is starting to work but of course need to find a better solution to stop the build up.
Oh poor her.
I fluctuated for years between constipation and diarrhoea and it was miserable.
Physillium Husk worked well for me in either situation as is a fibrous stool binder. Did your wife take it stirred into a glass of water, followed by more water and more water ?..
It needs lot of water otherwise it will block you up even more.
Prunes worked well too although I needed quite a lot of them.
Sometimes I added them chopped to muesli and sometimes soaked them the night before and ate them with yogurt .
Flower
Lots of water certainly. I love prunes but she is the opposite!
Underactive thyroid?
Well I am borderline low thyroid after having most of it removed many years ago. Recently saw a doctor who has commented on my low stomach acid and following her suggestion I now drink a glass of hydrochloric acid with my meals. I know it sounds rather bizarre but you can buy some low concentration food grade stuff from Amazon and I have 10 drops in a glass of water.
I had ulcerative colitis for 15years which started when I started taking thyroid meds. I was very sick with diareah off and on. Thyroid and the gut are related. And like you I took many things to releave symptoms and nothing worked long term. 2years ago a friend suggested I try a really good probiotic.
It is called prescript assist. In 3 days I was much better! I continue to take it every day and rarely have any problems with old symptoms of diareah a d also bleeding. It is very important to have the micro flora of your gut/intestines in balance. Many drs do not understand this. But some are finally figuring it out! Blessings to you! I hope this helps.
Try homeopathic' Colocynth ' for IBS.
Vitiligo triggered by over dosing T4?
Confused about Thyroid and IBS tablets??
Thyroid and MS 
Is this really down to the Thyroid?
