Hi all,
I've noticed that since I went underactive, alcohol, even a few sips is giving me a headache.
I've been treated with 25mg Levothyroxine past 2.5 months, but these headaches have came back with a vengeance. I'm due to have a Blood Test with my GP before my next prescription.
So I've pushed away a glass of red as its started that same temporal type head pain.
Thank you!
Helly.
Alcohol intolerance is pretty common for us hypos.
Welcome to the forum
Firstly it’s 25mcg (not 25mg)
Standard starter dose of levothyroxine is 50mcg unless you are over 65 years old
Make an appointment with GP for dose increase in levothyroxine to 50mcg
What were your thyroid levels BEFORE starting on levothyroxine?
Bloods should be retested 6-8 weeks after each dose change or brand change in levothyroxine
Dose is increased slowly upwards in 25mcg steps over several months (retesting 6-8 weeks after each increase) until symptoms are improved, thyroid levels stable, TSH ALWAYS should be under 2
Most people when adequately treated will have TSH around or under one and Ft4 at roughly 60-70% through range
Always test thyroid levels as early as possible in morning before eating or drinking anything other than water and last dose levothyroxine 24 hours before test
Which brand of levothyroxine are you currently taking
ESSENTIAL to also test vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12
Have you had these tested?
Or thyroid antibodies tested?
Apologies….this isn’t your first post
Looking at previous posts
You have endometriosis
So it’s highly likely cause of your hypothyroidism is autoimmune thyroid disease also called Hashimoto’s
Important to test BOTH TPO and TG thyroid antibodies
Unfortunately NHS frequently refuses to test TG antibodies if TPO antibodies are negative
Significant minority of Hashimoto’s patients only have high TG antibodies
20% of Hashimoto’s patients never have high thyroid antibodies and getting ultrasound scan of thyroid can be helpful for diagnosis
healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...
Paul Robson on atrophied thyroid - especially if no TPO antibodies
paulrobinsonthyroid.com/cou...
Low vitamin levels are extremely common with Hashimoto’s as is gluten intolerance
But get coeliac blood test done BEFORE considering trial on strictly gluten free diet
Technically it’s Hashimoto's (with goitre) or Ord’s thyroiditis (no goitre). Both variants are autoimmune and more commonly just called Hashimoto’s
Hashimoto's frequently affects the gut and leads to low stomach acid and then low vitamin levels
Low vitamin levels affect Thyroid hormone working
Poor gut function with Hashimoto’s can lead leaky gut (literally holes in gut wall) this can cause food intolerances. Most common by far is gluten. Dairy is second most common.
According to Izabella Wentz the Thyroid Pharmacist approx 5% with Hashimoto's are coeliac, but a further 80% find gluten free diet helps, sometimes significantly. Either due to direct gluten intolerance (no test available) or due to leaky gut and gluten causing molecular mimicry (see Amy Myers link)
Changing to a strictly gluten free diet may help reduce symptoms, help gut heal
Before considering trial on gluten free diet get coeliac blood test done FIRST just to rule it out
lloydspharmacy.com/products...
If you test positive for coeliac, will need to remain on gluten rich diet until endoscopy (officially 6 weeks wait)
If result is negative can consider trialing strictly gluten free diet for 3-6 months. Likely to see benefits. Can take many months for brain fog to lift.
If no obvious improvement, reintroduce gluten see if symptoms get worse.
chriskresser.com/the-gluten...
amymyersmd.com/2018/04/3-re...
thyroidpharmacist.com/artic...
drknews.com/changing-your-d...
restartmed.com/hashimotos-g...
Non Coeliac Gluten sensitivity (NCGS) and autoimmune disease
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/296...
The predominance of Hashimoto thyroiditis represents an interesting finding, since it has been indirectly confirmed by an Italian study, showing that autoimmune thyroid disease is a risk factor for the evolution towards NCGS in a group of patients with minimal duodenal inflammation. On these bases, an autoimmune stigma in NCGS is strongly supported
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/300...
The obtained results suggest that the gluten-free diet may bring clinical benefits to women with autoimmune thyroid disease
nuclmed.gr/wp/wp-content/up...
In summary, whereas it is not yet clear whether a gluten free diet can prevent autoimmune diseases, it is worth mentioning that HT patients with or without CD benefit from a diet low in gluten as far as the progression and the potential disease complications are concerned
restartmed.com/hashimotos-g...
Despite the fact that 5-10% of patients have Celiac disease, in my experience and in the experience of many other physicians, at least 80% + of patients with Hashimoto's who go gluten-free notice a reduction in their symptoms almost immediately.
hypothyroidmom.com/how-to-l...
Eliminate Gluten. Even if you don’t have Hashimoto’s. Even if you have “no adverse reactions”. Eliminate gluten. There are no universal rules except this one.
Happy to say my alcohol tolerance is much better now my T3 is high in range.
I have no alcohol tolerance at all. I am medicated optimally but this intolerance began after my thyroid was removed.
I used to drink rather a lot but cannot drink at all now. It was hard at first, particularly seeing my husband still enjoying a drink! however it no longer bothers me at all. In fact I’m happy to go without it. 🤗
I went on a gluten free diet 4 years ago and within 5 days I felt so much better. I never missed eating bread, pastries, cakes, biscuits and as an added bonus I lost over a stone in weight over that time! I can only drink small amounts of organic wine.
Yes I’m also gluten and dairy free and feel better for it. It’s good to look for positives when being hypo!
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