Should i see a gastroenterologist?

[Fliptopfish]

Hi, i have autoimmune thyroid disease (atrophic i think). The autoimmune side of things is causing me serious problems, i react to most foods and i react to thyroxine, ive also started reacting to a pig thyroid treatment that was working really well, as i react to pork anyway im not sure if its thyroid hormones or the pig causing problems.

Either way i can't take treatment at mo and my tsh levels have previously been in the 70s causing some grevious symptoms so i am extremely worried. I was told by an allergist many years ago that i have autoimmune reactions to foods but not technically allergies and that i really ought to see a gastroenterologist, ive requested my dr send me to one but she doesnt seem to know what im talking about with regards to the type of reactions i have or sending someone with my symptoms.

I have an appt with the endocrinologist in 6 months but i dont think they'll be interested in the immune side of things. Am i asking for the right specialist in a gastroenterologist or should i ask to see someone else, i just don't know but i cant manage this on my own anymore.

[jimh111]

You need to clarify in detail what you mean by 'react'. If it is an allergy a gastroenterologist wouldn't be much help. Was the 'allergist' you saw a doctor trained in allergy or just an 'alternative' allergist? It is very difficult to get a referral to an allergy doctor as there are so few but it does seem that they would be the correct speciality to see.

[Fliptopfish in reply to jimh111]

It was an nhs allergy dr more than 10 years ago long before i was diagnosed with thyroid problems. Allergy is a very specific diagnosis and only refers to people who respond to skin patch tests, however i have an immune reaction to foods similar to someone with celiac disease though not to gluten. My diagnosis was a sentence rather than a name, from the research ive done and the blood tests ive had confirming my thyroid condition is autoimmune, im pretty certain im not going to get it under control until ive dealt with my digestive problems but my condition seems so far gone that i think i need some sort of intervention. Honestly i feel pretty lost.

[Cooper27]

Have you been tested for coeliac disease?

The current line of thought is that all autoimmune disease starts in the gut, so even if you aren't coeliac, you do need to work on cutting out trigger foods and healing your gut. An auto-immune paleo diet could be worth a try, complimented with plenty of gut healing supplements, like probiotics/kefir. The Hashimotos Protocol by Izabella Wentz may be of benefit to you.

[Fliptopfish in reply to Cooper27]

Completely agree and have been working really hard on it for the last couple of years with some success, also the pig thyroid helped when thyroxine didnt until i started reacting to it, but my condition is still spiralling and im at the end of the things i can do without specialist help. I cant afford functional medicine and i fear i might be beyond their help anyway but every time i google something like nhs help with autoimmune i get gastroenterologists up so it makes me think back to what the allergist said.

[jimh111]

It sounds like you have a gastrointestinal condition a bit like coeliac. It's beyond my knowledge but if it causes gastrointestinal symptoms then it makes sense to see a gastroenterologist, they might be able to prescribe some sort of medication like they do with Chrohn's.