Is it mainly Hashi sufferers who are unable to convert T4 into T3?

[marigold22]

I have been wondering today if the faulty thyroid gene (DIO2) tends to cause Hashimotos Thyroiditis instead of Hypothyroidism. I guess there must be Hashi sufferers on here who are happily taking Levo (T4).

[greygoose]

I don't think so, no. Hashi's is caused mainly by gut problems, it is believed. But, can be triggered by other things, like excess iodine. In any case, it's a problem with the immune system. Conversion problems are an entirely different thing.

Hashi's people do tend to have conversion problems, but not necessarily because of a faulty gene. More likely to be because of low nutrients.

And, it's the Hashi's that causes the hypothyroidism, not the other way around.

[Hidden]

Interesting question! I have two colleagues who have had a total thyroidectomy after being diagnosed with cancer. They were put on levothyroxine immediately after the operation, so never had time to live with hypothyroidism for years, unlike many with Hashimoto's...they have always done well on T4 only; one take 100 mcg daily, the other 125 mcg daily. I, on the other hand, needed 200 mcg daily just to feel remotely human; yet, it never did much more for me than keep me alive...I do so much better on NDT.

I have also speculated that, for some reason, Hashi sufferers in general are poorer converters than other people with hypothyroidism, but I could not explain why...I theorize that, since we often live with low metabolism for years before being diagnosed and properly treated, many develop adrenal fatigue during that time (I did), and that, too, can affect how T4 is converted to T3 in the body...

[mourneadventurer in reply to Hidden]

Perhaps it’s time to go deeper and look at EBV and even deeper to PEMT?

Dr Ben Lynch is doing an online course on Dirty Genes prior to the launch of his new book of the same name at the end of January.

Best Wishes

[Canis2017 in reply to mourneadventurer]

Do you mean Epstein-Barr virus? Is there a connection between EBV and bad conversion T4 to T3?

[mourneadventurer in reply to Canis2017]

If you Google your question you'll come up with some enlightening answers. The HypothyroidMom article Hashimoto's Disease: "The Infection Connection" by Dr. Nikolas R. Hedberg is particularly helpful.

My understanding is that anything that causes inflammation or stress will block the conversion of T4 to T3 and create more reverse T3.

[Gambit62]

Hashimoto's is an autoimmune disorder in which your body creates antibodies that attach and eventually destroy your thyroid.

DIO2 is the gene that affects conversion of T3 to T4

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/testin...

it isn't involved in the development of hashimotos or generation of antibodies.

The causes of hashimotos appear to be very complex. It does seem to run in families but there seem to be a lot of genes involved and it hasn't been possible to properly identify all the genes/combinations that might be involved.

One known risk factor is excess iodine intake.

There is also a high correlation with Autoimmune Gastritis - possibly because the cells in the thyroid start off from the same cells as the gut so antibodies that affect the gut also affect the thyroid.

[marigold22 in reply to Gambit62]

I've got both - Hashi's and the faulty gene.

[Gambit62 in reply to marigold22]

I'm not saying that isn't possible but just that d102 does not cause hashis

[SilverAvocado]

I've got a good friend with congenital hypothyroidism that has a conversion problem. It's unclear whether he's had this since birth. He was on Levo only until the age of about 30 and seemed 'fine', but actually had a history of mental health problems and other weird bits and pieces.

[SilverAvocado in reply to SilverAvocado]

People with congenital hypo hardly ever turn up on the forum, and Hashis sufferers are by far the largest group on the forum, so it's hard to assess some of the differences.

Thyroidectomy patients are probably the second largest group, and of course are quite varied, having had Graves, cancer (but there are several types of thyroid cancer), and occasionally Hashis or an obstructuve nodule. So these different groups have had a different long term medical history and different causes.