Hi everyone, apologies for another post but I had a thought this afternoon and everyone on here is so helpful I thought I would ask if it was a possibility!.
I have posted a few times about my troubles with tolerating t3 but I am beginning to think it is caused by blood sugar issues - which I understand are themselves related to the adrenals. In the years before I got diagnosed I had terrible blood sugar issues - always hungry, tired and could eat everything but was never satiated and never put on weight and sometimes even lost weight. I was diagnosed with PCOS shortly after despite not fitting most of the checklist and was told about insulin resistance. I was also tested for diabetes by my doctor because of my issues but was ok. Last year as my hypothyroidism got really bad I lost a lot of weight gradually because of my struggle to digest and consequently I am pretty underweight right now. I also had a period about a year before diagnosis where I began randomly fainting - I was still conscious but I would lose my vision to black, fall and break out in a hot sweat and had to lay down until my vision returned and the hot sweating stopped - these periods would last a few minutes. It occured to me earlier that the problems that have began since starting t3 were incredibly similar to the hypoglycemic symptoms and I have practically every symptom of low blood sugar - I am extremely tired, shaky, spaced out feeling and have difficulty focusing my vision, get vertigo/dizziness particularly badly when I move and climb the stairs, occasional increased heart rate usually after eating, rarely palpitations again only after eating, head rushes/starry vision on standing, mild headaches, hungry-nausea that improves after eating, random periods of anxiety and periods where I get clammy/chills even though I am cold. I also have awful acne which I had previously with my blood sugar issues and has only returned recently. I know that some of those are hyper symptoms but I am not overmedicated and exhibit no other hyper symptoms - I am still constipated, tired, cold and I’m not losing weight even with a deficit in calories and have actually managed to gain a little. The symptoms also don’t correlate with when I take the t3 - I have periods where I feel better in the hours after taking t3 and frequently feel the worst issues after eating. As mentioned previously my diet the last 6 months has been bad due to the severe digestive issues hypothyroidism gave me and it is much better now but I still about 400 calories short and only recently started having two solid meals a day. I also noticed that the protein shakes I was having twice a day have a lot of sugar in them and my symptoms including reflux were worse after them.
As I have central hypothyroidism I am aware of the other pituitary gland malfunctions and that I am more likely to have adrenal issues too. I had one cortisol test done by my endocrinologist when I first saw him but I don’t believe it was particularly useful - (it was 241 with no range or units given) but was taken at 1.30pm after rushing around/not resting or fasting and I thought they were typically done at 9am? Is it worth asking my endocrinologist about this and telling him my previous issues and asking for proper cortisol testing or is it worth just trying to balance my blood sugar through diet and seeing whether being optimally medicated would sort it out? I would get a cortisol test myself but I rely on the kindness of my mum because my problems started young and I haven’t had a job so as such I don’t want to ask her to fork out more on this test if it isn’t useful. I am not sure if it is worth mentioning that my endocrinologist and myself predict that I was in my teens when this began as I had first signs and already severe iron/b12 deficiencys when I was only 16.
Thank you again for all your help!
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my situation is totally different from yours as i have only just found out i probably (very likely ) have hashimotos .
I have horrendous non diabetic blood sugar issues and have done most of my adult life ..(nearing the 50 mark now) with so many of the symptoms you are mentioning ..they are frightning arn't they !
I have been vegetarian for the last couple of years and recently a few weeks ago went pretty much vegan ..this has played total havoc with the blood sugar stuff ..and i think its partly because of the high carbs but also the amount of bread pasta etc ive been eating (gluten) i had no idea gluten could be a huge player until i came here ,now it all makes sense ..
A few years ago i followed a low GI diet for a good couple of years and found it helped balance my blood sugar issues to quite a miraculas level ,but i find it very hard to do now being vegie plus now having to cut out wholemeal would make it even more tricky .
I dont have much useful advice other than to suggest low GI if you havn't already tried it? but i really would recommend it if you havnt and are able to eat the things on it ...things like pasta etc is fine on a low Gi diet so its not massively limiting ..you just have to eat often and everything as close to its unprocessed form as possible.also some form of protein at meals i find seems to help stave off some of the awful blood sugar drops
Im on day two of gluten free .I am so interested to see how and if things change !
Ps just re read through your post again and the sugar in the protein drinks could well be making you feel awful causing nasty fluctuations... highs and then huge crashes..the shakes will probably high GI and definitley highly processed ...hope you manage to find a solution x
Thank you so much for your response! I'm sorry you've been through the same thing! I'm definitely going to try switching the shakes for some more balanced solid meals - hopefully my digestion has improved enough for me to tolerate it! I wish you luck with your journey too! x
Not at all ..just sharing some of my experiences have a look at Rick Gallops (though i think a lot of it has been updated through the years but the princeable is the same ) low GI ..its not a "diet" just a way of eating that balances blood sugar ..it does help lots .
And thankyou kind of you to say ..it is going to be another journey thats for sure ....good luck to you too x
Yes I am so grateful that the t3 has helped me to eat more because I know the low calorie diet was doing nothing to help! It was a case of just trying to get as many calories in as I could in a day but I made sure to check they had no soya in - definitely high in sugars though!
You are so right greygoose I feel extremely unwell any time ive tried to "diet" never understood why i do and other people dont seem to .
Thank you for writing that extensive post - I was nodding along as I read it finding that I shared many of the symptoms . I don’t have the energy of head space to write anymore just now but I’m looking forward to seeing the responses you get.
I too have central hypothyroidism. It does indeed seem to effect the cortisol levels and most certainly the blood sugar levels.
I have had the most awful blood sugar problems my whole life, including never being able to put weight on in my younger days and always feeling hungry even after a good meal.
6 weeks ago I cut out ALL bread, pasta ,rice and potatoes and the difference in my blood sugar has been astonishing. Not to mention I am far less hungry.
I used to crave any form of carbohydrate but since cutting it out, this has stopped. I have far more energy too,
I eat plenty of vegetables and fruit, salad and fish and meat.
I’m now focusing on cutting out milk in order to get rid of the milk sugars ( lactose) out of my diet.
It really is worth a try.
I have had to up my dosage of T3 slightly since starting this regime.
Thank you for the reply! That's so interesting especially as we both have central - my mum and sister called me a dormouse growing up because I was ALWAYS going to the kitchen to get food haha! I'm glad that the lower carb is working for you! I was low carb before back when they thought I had PCOS but I am definitely the type that needs some carbs as I felt bad without them - I think my low protein/higher sugar liquid 'diet' recently has been a factor in this and I am hoping my digestion is improved enough that I can try more balanced meals and see if the symptoms improve. T3 is the only reason I have been able to start eating more but I think with that is coming the increased metabolism and that + my diet causing blood sugar stress on adrenals is why I am getting these symptoms! I know I need another increase in the t3 too but I think I need to try and get a little handle on the blood sugar first because its definitely making it harder to tell when I am at my optimum dose!
Sorry you are going through so much. When I took T3 last year, after a few weeks I broke out in a face full of acne. I’m 60 and although I have had skin issues I have never had such bad breakouts. It cleared up once I stopped taking it but it left marks.
Sorry to hear you had it too! I had this previously alongside the blood sugar issues back before diagnosis but I think it's definitely hormonal and of course t3 can have a big impact on the adrenals so I think there is a definite link with the acne!
When I saw Dr Peatfield he suggested Ndt. I had been really unwell for few years. First thing he said was any T3 would highlight weak adrenals and to take nutrition adrenal extra(NAX) for 2 weeks before starting Ndt. I had exhausted adrenals which have never really recovered.
My 4 point saliva test all too low and nhs 9am blood test very low at 95 (150-550) cortisol should be at its highest early morning and it decreases throughout the day. At 241 you are within range but I don't know enough about it to say if optimal. You can buy NAX in uk if you feel you need adrenal support. I use protein shake as often don't feel like eating snd I am low carb. The whey protein I use does not have high sugars. For extra calories and fats I soak chia and linseeds over night, I add them, peanut butter, banana when I need potassium. Berries if I fancy fruit. Whey powder just on its own is not a meal replacement. Cinnamon helps keep blood sugar steady but not supermarket stuff which is from India or China and is toxic to your liver. You need proper Sri Lankan cinnamon I use in smoothie, coffee, chia seed pudding.
Thank you for all the info! I do think it all seems adrenal! I didn't know that about cinnamon either I always assumed the supermarket stuff was a blood sugar balancer so thank you for that!
I had always got my cinnamon at local organic shop but it closed, so just picked it up in supermarket. I had annual bloods and my liver ALT had gone from 25 to 137 my Dr freaked as that was a severe case of non alcoholic fatty liver, over 70=serious. I joined a fb group as it frightened me Iv been teetotal since 1997. I have kept food, mood, meds journal for years. The only thing that had changed was the cinnamon, I sourced proper cinnamon online and 6 months later ALT back to 27. Cinnamon was 2nd on the list of NAFLD causes. Tbh it should come with a health warning the cheap stuff. Had it not been for that test that alerted me could have been bad.
Your cortisol is on the low side of what it should be, although I don't remember exactly the range (about 200 - 700?)
Since you have some problems with symptoms after eating perhaps you have high Calcium levels? Ask for a parathyroid test. If you take thyroxine that increases calcium levels.
I get similar problems and have cut down on high Calcium foods which has helped. (e.g. milk cheese, nuts.) Even tap water and bread have high calcium. I also have low cortisol levels.
Thank you for the info! The cortisol test was done back in october before I even started levo and didn't have any of these symptoms and before I got so ill I couldn't eat so I imagine my cortisol has been further affected since then. Luckily I had calcium done on monday with my other blood tests and it was ok - mid-low in the normal range. I don't think I have allergies as its sporadic and meals I am previously fine with cause issues then are fine again. Do you do anything to help the low cortisol? I tried to eat more balanced meals today and ate more and I felt dreadful earlier today but feel better tonight!
I had typical low cortisol symptom, feels like a tuning fork humming through body, a real anxious feeling, especially bad in morning. I use 5-10 mg hydrocortisone on bad days to level it out. Dr Peatfield said poorly treated hypothyroidism often results in low cortisol. The adrenal glands are working over time to make up for lack of thyroid so just become exhausted and need support. Dr's and endos are bit useless re thyroid but even more hopeless on adrenals. My first 2 endos said 95 (150-550) was near enough 😮 when in fact dangerously low. For me it has all been trial and error.
That tuning fork description is so spot on I have always struggled to put it into words but that is absolutely what it feels like to me and when it is at its worse I get that sudden spikes of anxiety even when sometimes I consciously know the anxiety isn't 'real'. I also absolutely relate to the trial and error feeling! I can imagine my adrenal glands have been through a lot! I've been eating a bit more and more balanced yesterday and today and have felt better - hopefully because I'm putting less stress on the adrenals from spikes in blood sugar!
I am a water engineer, you can not absorb calcium from water as it is a dissolved rock mineral, eating stones will not increase body calcium in same way eating nuts and bolts would not help low iron. However if you suffer from calcification of bones the build up of unabsorbed calcium in hard areas will make it worse. I remove the calcium minerals from the water of several afghan hounds breeders as this breed suffers with calcification of the spine. Same goes for arterial calcium deposits.
Interesting, thank you. I notice that I get the hypercalcaemia symptoms when I eat high calcium foods and it took me a long time to realise it was the calcium and used to think it was some sort of allergy to food. I used to feel particularly sleepy after a meal.
It was after I started to take vitamin D that I realised it was the calcium that did it! (Vitamin D increases the calcium levels.) And strangely enough the same symptoms occur when I take levothyroxine. I did not realise that it too increases calcium levels.
I have to tell you that I know a (quite) bit about biology and health but did not know that the thyroid gland had such an influence on calcium levels!
There is a connection between cortisol levels, thyroxine levels, vitamin D and calcium. Probably one arises to balance the other. With me it was probably the low vitamin D levels and the allergies.
I get very cross when I think how I neglected vit D. I used to take cod liver oil which contains vit D but I stopped when I realised it gave me spots! And I was not one for outdoors (and I am from a hot country - from the Med.!)
No I don't take regular cortisone but I do take it when I get allergies but only very low doses.
During my “health journey “ I learned eating carbs at the end of a meal or after fat and protein part of meal is a good way of keeping blood sugar stable. Also a teaspoon of nut butter before bed helps keep blood sugar from getting very low overnight - which is one reason why people wake up at 3 or 4am as blood sugar is at its lowest. By taking a fatty snack before bed it helps.
waking at 3-4am is also adrenal, lack of cortisol produces an adrenaline surge, thats why some wake with anxiety early morning and can not get back to sleep for an hour or 2.
Thats very interesting - I ate more yesterday and today and added more protein and fats in and I have noticed an improvement in the symptoms. I also have noticed if I don't have a snack with fat and protein a few hours before bed I am more prone to wake in the early morning too - as endomad said I have noticed that I also get it as an adrenal thing but its usually accompanied by waking up sweating/feeling hot and with a faster heart rate too. Thank you!
The acne could be caused by your PCOS acting up. When my body had way too much testosterone, I began growing excess pubic hair, growing a mustache and chin hairs. From what I have read, acne is also common in this situation. Have you had sex hormones checked? webmd.com/women/guide/norma...
Interestingly my endocrinologist believes the PCOS may have been a false diagnosis and I'm inclined to agree - I have no periods but he believes that's due to my hypothyroidism and that they will return when I am optimally medicated and was originally diagnosed on that plus my lh being double my fsh but my testosterone is very low (almost nonexistent) and last time I was checked my fsh was low and was almost double the lh! I also never had any typical pcos symptoms like the excess hair, weight gain etc
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