Bloated belly linked to hypothyroidism?

[Koola]

Aside from the 14 pounds, I gained from hypothyroidism, my belly is very bloated. Tested for Celiac: negative / had an endoscopy: all okay. Now Doc wants me to do a colonoscopy. I strongly suspect all will be okay there too and that it might be related to thyroid, or lack of. I had radiation therapy 10 years ago. Have been on Levo. with test results varying for the past 3 years and feeling very poorly for the past one year and a half. My question: does any one also have the bloated belly issue?

Would like to try NDT but no Doc. here in Greece is willing to help out and I hesitate to just order it and take it unsupervised...

All help very appreciated and thank you to all who give time & advice on this page!

[BadHare]

Have you tried improving your gut health to reduce your bloating?

I've not had this issue, but have noticed considerably better digestion since adding this to my diet every day. It's available in most supermarkets in Greece as I buy it when I'm there shopping for T3, though the shop bought that only has lactobacillus bacteria isn't as live or as beneficial as home fermented kefir grains.

[Koola in reply to BadHare]

Hi BadHare, Thank you for your reply. Can you give me the exact name of the lactobacillus bact. you buy in Greek supermarkets, please? I do drink store bought Kefir but it seems to bloat me more.

[BadHare in reply to Koola]

I don't remember the name of it, I just buy & drink it as I can't undestand the writing other than kefir on the label, sorry. There are at least two brands available in most of the supermarkets I've been in, some natural & some with fruit. I only drink shop bought when I'm there as I ferment my own from grains fed on organic wholemilk at home. This has the benefit of good yeasts & streptococcus as well as lactobacillus, which makes it more resistant to stomach acid.

Kefir's not for everyone, but if it causes bloating, it could be that you have an issue with bad gut bacteria, leaky gut syndrome, or SIBO. Take a look at Chris Kresser's website for information about improving your gut health by eating better (more high fibre plants & wholefoods) & avoiding eating anything that's toxic to our good gut flora (artificial sweeteners, processed inflammatory oils & over processed junk). There are several books written about gut bacteria but so much free information available, I've not bothered to buy one.

[Koola in reply to BadHare]

Thank you!

[Nico101 in reply to Koola]

Could you have a problem with dairy, or is your kefir coconut-based?

[Darty3]

I am aware of my stomach, sort of bloated and if I bend over when I straighten up it is painful as if there wasn't enough lubricant for the guts to slide over each other.

But I was told by an endo. who commented that my gait was wrong, that stomach problems were associated with early Parkinson's. Having joined that site on here too it appears that many of the symptoms of early Parkinson's and hypothyroid are the same. Hence misdiagnosis, either way. Other sufferers have contacted me about difficulty in getting the right diagnosis. If you google 'T3 and Parkinson's' there is a study where a higher percentage of the Parkinson's group had T3 deficiency over the control group.

Good luck with finding a solution.

Darty 3

[Greekchick]

Hi Koola,

Have you had a pelvic exam recently? Don’t want to scare you but sometimes bloated belly can be a sign of other problems with ovaries (no matter what age you are). It may very well be your hypothyroidism - but I would get it checked for peace of mind. Wishing you all the best and good luck to you for finding an answer.

[humanbean]

My first thought was ovarian cysts rather than a digestive system problem. So ask for an ultrasound to be done.

if the problem is a digestive system issue then it could be caused by any number of things, but the top two are probably :

1) Low stomach acid - common in hypothyroidism

2) SIBO - healthline.com/health/sibo

You haven't mentioned any symptoms other than bloating, so we probably need a few more clues.

[humanbean in reply to humanbean]

I forgot ...

This link is the first of six related articles on the subject of gut health, sibo, bloating, GERD etc. Well worth reading them all.

chriskresser.com/what-every...

[Nico101]

Yes, I had it. I went LCHF and I also eat Kimchi and coconut yogurt, as well as raw veg for my gut. My belly went down after 2 weeks low carb.

[Koola in reply to Nico101]

what is LCHF?

[Hidden in reply to Koola]

It’s a Low Carbohydrate High Fat diet. I too have found that it has helped with my bloating. Health Unlocked have a

LCHF forum.

[Koola in reply to Hidden]

Thanks, Hydra.

[jgelliss]

Going gluten dairy free can be very helpful with the bloating . Personally I feel and it's just my hunch/observation with my own thyroid journey that being thyroid meds depended or not having our own functioning thyroids can set us up to food /nutrient /fillers allergies and air born allergies too . If your on any T4 thyroid meds you might want to switch your T4 brand and see if that resolves your bloating . Sometimes high doses of T4 meds can in some cause bloating . Lowering the T4 and adding some T3 /NDT can be very helpful too .

Best Wishes For Fast Resolutions .

[thyroidquest]

Try 'Symprove' and leave 16 hours between your evening meal and breakfast. I was constantly bloated and now I'm not. I'm much more comfortable and even slowly losing a bit of weight. Good luck

[sarosent in reply to thyroidquest]

I tried the Symprove - it really helped! It's expensive, though.

I took 1 Cup the first morning per the label, later saw on the label that 1 "cup" = 70 ml. Did they mean 1 Cap ??

[thyroidquest in reply to sarosent]

Yes..I think you're meant to take one full cap full, that's what I do

[sarosent in reply to thyroidquest]

But the label says "one full cUp (70ml)" not cAp, so that's I did, a cUp, but a U.S. cup is 250ml. so I wondered why I didn't have much left..

Anyway, it helped me so thank you.

[Hypothyro]

Hi Koola, yes absolutely 100% linked to bloated/ distended belly. I have an excellent Endo who confirms this. I had severe bloating & distension but is now gradually going down thanks to thyroid meds. I tried everything gluten free etc but only now am I seeing & feeling a difference. Good luck👍

[Koola in reply to Hypothyro]

Many, many thanks Hypothyro! I feel it "in my gut". all pun intended, that it's due to thyroid /meds. Unfortunately, I will have to wait to get an appointment with an endo. who's supposed to be excellent. Meanwhile I will try the expensive probiotics I just got, but I doubt that"ll do it. I"m gluten free, no celiac, no IBS etc. The big problem with thyroid issues is that nobody believes you, including foremost the run of the mill conventional endos, who do more harm than good! So your message was very encouraging, thank again