Gluten free query mask tsh results

[poppppy]

Hi can anyone kindly help with a query my sister has . She is coeliac and so gluten free for years . She has had tsh done recently again . And wonders if tsh result can be affected by being gf or having celiac antibodies etc

Basically can she trust the result .

Thankyou everyone

[Cooper27]

Are her coeliac antibodies still elevated, or are they normalised now?

If the coeliac disease is under control, it's unlikely that it's having any impact on her thyroid function now.

It is more likely that she has Hashimotos, and it might be that she needs to avoid other foods, like dairy or soya to help bring Hashimotos antibodies into line. Has she done anything to help heal her gut, following going gluten free?

[poppppy in reply to Cooper27]

Hi sorry I think my question was worded badly . She has not had tsh result yet . She is diagnosed coeliac . And just wondered if she was hypothyroid .as I am and she is tired and aching .

We just wondered if when on gf diet could the tsh result be affected .

Just in case she could then have right to say to doctor " you need to do my antibodies or t3 or t4 instead as tsh not accurate if gf or coeliac so cannot be relied on "

I will ask her though if her coeliac anti bodies are still high

This subject is so complicated

. Brain fogs I have dont help .

Thank you so much for reply .very kind of you

[Cooper27 in reply to poppppy]

When we recommend a gluten free diet to anyone with Hashimotos, the aim is to reduce their TPO antibodies, is that maybe what you're meaning?

A heightened TSH shows that the thyroid is struggling, but by the time it shows an abnormal reading, the damage has been done, and it's unlikely that dietary changes will make much of a difference. If it were to make a difference, the difference would happen when she went gluten free, not years later.

When was your sister last checked for coeliac antibodies? If she still has symptoms that could be coeliac related, the doctor should also test her coeliac antibodies again, and I think they should also test for vitamin D, B12, ferritin and folate. Did she ever have a bone density (dexa) scan after diagnosis?

[poppppy in reply to Cooper27]

Hi thank you for that . Very clear information that helps a lot . Yes she has had bone scan . And is now on calcium etc re density lower than norm . Has the other blood test . And just now again awaiting results. Thankyou for your time and good info and advice . Hope you are at your optimum health at present.

Popppy

[Cooper27 in reply to poppppy]

No worries! I hope the doctor has also prescribed vitamin D for her? She should be on 800IU tablets daily, until bone density is within normal ranges again.

[Fruitandnutcase]

I’m in remission from Graves - I went totally GF about three years after being diagnosed I did it mainly because I developed inflammatory arthritis and I’ve got a few other autoimmune conditions as well.

I’d say that my TSH results haven’t been affected by being gluten free - only my thyroid antibodies which dropped steadily from when I first started being GF.

Don’t know about coeliac antibodies but my CRP has gone down too and I’d say my IBS has improved no end.

Why does she feel she can’t trust her TSH and what are her other blood tests like?

Does she get her vitamins D and B12, ferritin, folate, T4 and T3 checked as well as her TSH?

[poppppy in reply to Fruitandnutcase]

Hi thankyou for your reply . Lot of food for thought thankyou . Sounds like her tsh wont be masked by her being gf .

Interesting that your gf years have lowered your thyroid antibodies . As unlike my sister I am ords disease hypothyroid. But i am not coeliac. And i have been gf for 4 years but have not my antibodies rechecked. Inspiring to hear someone say their antibodies are lowering .

So thank you

[Fruitandnutcase in reply to poppppy]

I had read that people with Hashimotos had seen good results but being diagnosed with arthritis was what made me do it in the end. Yet another autoimmune condition. I knew my thyroid antibodies were high because I had tested with Blue Horizons fingerprick test so I decided I’d try GF for a few months and see what happened. I did it myself because I don’t think the NHS will test more than once for antibodies - I get the impressin that once you’ve got them, you've got them.

Well my antibodies reduced after the first three months then steadily ever since and now nothing on earth would make me go back to eating gluten - not even a nice plump floury sultana scone from my favourite garden centre.