Thyroid resistance

[zebady]

Does anyone know if one could suffer from thyroid resistance and have all normal lab results after thyroidectomy and doseing?

Thanks in advance.

[humanbean]

Yes, I think you can.

In people who have thyroid resistance, my understanding is that they need higher levels of Free T3 than usual to feel well.

If a person with thyroid resistance was restricted to having levels of Free t3 within the reference range then they (I'm guessing) would feel under-medicated.

[Saggyuk in reply to humanbean]

Just to add, I used to be quite resistant to thyroid hormones, I could not do anything with T4 and I had to keep my T3 levels much higher at 7-9 to keep my tsh from being raised - docs didn't mind this as only concerned about tsh lol! I had a lot of inflammation and other health issues but they all disappeared after going gluten free and my T3 dose went down dramatically and no longer needed it to be over range and actually started having hyper symptoms when they went over.

However, it would be good to post your levels as often what the docs say is in range and okay is often not. I'm assuming you're asking as still having symptoms? Have you had your vit B12, folate, Vit D, and iron (ferritin) checked as many of us are deficient and symptoms can be similar. Again, post any results you have.

Dealing with any ongoing stomach issues is also worth doing.

[SilverAvocado in reply to Saggyuk]

SaggyUK, thanks. This is useful information as I'm in a similar situation to the OP. As a thyroidectomy patient (mine for cancer) some things are different than most forum members who have Hashimoto's, so I don't know whether gluten free can help.

Do you have antibodies, or do you think being gluten free helped for other reasons?

[Saggyuk in reply to SilverAvocado]

Personally for me, I believe it was the cause of my thyroid issues in the first place and antibodies. The gluten issue caused me many problems - many of them small at first, since I was a kid and thyroid came later in my teens with worsening problems as I got into my late twenties/thirties. Going gluten free rid me of all of it and all that had been untouched by thyroid meds or anything else before.

I don't think I have thyroid antibodies any more as no longer have a functioning thyroid as was too late for this by the time I went GF but I am going to get them checked soon just to be sure lol - did used to have them though but before I gave up gluten so antibodies and the effects of gluten on them is very unlikely to be the reason for why I couldn't effectively use the meds. However, gluten was also proven to directly effect my thyroid, as when put through four six-week gluten trials, my tsh rose to 30-50 each time and took three months after to revert to normal with no changes to meds. This is unlikely to be simply absorption issues, as having been gluten free for quite a while before the first one and stomach was good and my tsh rose so quickly that I don't think there would have been enough time to have damaged my stomach to that extent again or much else in that time. Plus, it was clear that the meds were getting into my blood, I was just unable to use them for some reason.

Other issues it caused were nutritional deficiencies, fatigue, unstable sugar levels, failing adrenals, sleepiness and insomnia, slow digestion, blisters, pain in bones and joints, water retention, teeth issues, digestive issues - but not as obvious as many coeliacs report - just very slow and not nice lol, more spots that I never grew out of, high crp, and so on. The biggest problem was the extreme fatigue and sleepiness though.

My daughter, whom we caught early, had simply eczema, a cough at night, bloated belly, not so nice poops either lol, and sore knees.

I don't know exactly why it caused resistance, but I suppose anything that creates inflammation in your system wont help. I think if you have an issue with gluten affecting your immune system, it would simply be pot luck as to which bits gets damaged first or what if directly effects - coeliacs for example, have many associated issues and other autoimmune diseases with each person having different symptoms. Thyroids certainly tend to be the most sensitive I think though.

Your situation is certainly different with no autoimmunity so i suppose it depends on whether you had any minor issues before the cancer one that might or might not have been caused by something else or something that wasn't quite right anyway. Also, if you are genetically susceptible, it can trigger at any time so always worth a look.

Removing anything from your system that it doesn't like is always going to improve your health even if only a little bit so everything is worth a try of everything even if only for a few months to rule out maybe?

[SilverAvocado]

Mikepassword, I'm considering a similar question about myself. I had a thyroidectomy due to cancer 4 years ago, and have been mostly in bed ever since.

We got my blood tests to look perfect on T4 + T3, but I felt only a tiny bit better than no thyroxine at all. I'm now self medicating with NDT, and that was a big improvement, but only translates into a small improvement in terms of energy, although I can now move around my home with little trouble. Btw, I felt much better with terrible results and TSH of 100!

I am sure it is something to do with transport and use in the cell that is my problem. For a while I was thinking hormone resistance, but the only journal articles I read about this seem much more severe and that you will have developmental abnormalities, learning disabilities etc. Also it is more common to have a TSH that doesn't reduce when the frees increase. But also I am definitely very unwell, and its unusual to see people as immobile as I am on the forum.

It's important to make sure vitamins are optimal, as I'm sure lots will mention. If you don't have them, Blue Horizon do a pack that includes all the usual vitamins.

I'm also treating my adrenals again. At one time they were very low, and I got improvement by working on them, but now they're very high.

With the NDT I am now increasing over the reference range for freeT3. I've continued to get improvement, and I do think the recovery I've had is consistent with being considerably better once my number is 2 or 3 over. I've actually just seen my NHS consultant, and she supports me in that increase, just because I've had cancer.

[SilverAvocado in reply to SilverAvocado]

There are also two known genetic tests for hormone resistance. I wonder if anyone here has had them, or knows how to get them.

Another thing is that it's very inheritable. I've got two siblings who are very sleepy people, just as I was before my cancer treatment. Ironically, I am not sleepy in that way while on thyroxine. I sleep well but only 9-10 hours per night. Before I would have been 10+