32 year old female here with coeliac & under active thyroid. Underactive thyroid first flagged up when I was 15 and put on T4 levothyroxine at age 21. Steady dosage of ~150-175 mcg per day. I have thyroid antibodies. I am vit D deficient (working on).
Two years ago TSH levels jumped from 0.5 (steady for 6 yearsish) >>over 8. Was exhausted, falling asleep after meals, weight gain, heart palpitations from adrenaline/stress of trying to survive job (I'm a teacher) etc. No apparent reason. All I can think of is:
a. Had changed from Cows to plant milk 6 months prior. Once started having cows milk again everything went back to as it was.
Consultant had no explanation and shrugged his shoulders when suggested this.
b. Had nexplanon (pregeaterone arm implant) fitted several months before TSH went crazy.
Anyone have any ideas? I feel unsettled that never had explanation though episode it lasted 9 months (creeped up) then at least another year to feel better again.
I've tried reading about iodine but all seems very confusing! GP wanted me to seriously ramp up T4 - I did gradually and never went over 175. Back to alternating 150/175 (gone full circle).
Thanks
Grasshopper
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grasshopper_89
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was it soya milk ? soy and thyroid hormone isn't a good mix , i cant remember the science , but this could be partly responsible for your TSH going through the roof.
Added . i think it's unlikely to be iodine related .. as you are getting lots of iodine in the form of the Levothyroxine dose
Soy impedes the uptake of thyroid hormone at the cellular level, so you can have good levels of thyroid hormone in the blood, but still be hypo.
What it would do to the TSH is debatable. Some say that the TSH would be high, because if the thyroid hormone can't get into the cells, it won't get into the pituitary, either, so more TSH will be produced.
Others say that the pituitary cells are not the same as cells in other parts of the body, so the hormone would be taken up by the pituitary as normal, and the TSH would be low.
Not "the same as" - a bit more complicated than even being a constituent.
Summary
Isoflavones are a class of phytoestrogens — plant-derived compounds with estrogenic activity. Soybeans and soy products are the richest sources of isoflavones in the human diet.
Thanks - I think!...bit too complicated for me. I asked Q because I am using a skin patch for bladder probs (I also have hypo) patch ingredients has soy isoflavones listed but not how mutch
That's a very good question - wish I knew the answer! lol
No, seriously, it seems to me that reaction to soy lecithine (phosphatidyl choline) is a very individual thing. It does have a negative effect on some people. But, it doesn't have any effect on me, even though things like soy protein and flour - and even soy sauce - have a pretty bad effect on me. But, I've no idea why that should be. Maybe it's something to do with the quantity one ingests. Perhaps the small amount you find in a bar of chocolate, as an emulsifier, doesn't have the same effect as taking it in a pill as a supplement. You might have to experiment to find out how it affects you.
Having said that, whatever effect it might have, I'm not sure it would have the same absorption-blocking effect as whole soy does. But, I don't know for certain.
I think it’s more likely to be something to do with your implant. Although if you have Hashimoto’s then weird fluctuations are all part of the joy of the condition.
Going back to the effect of birth control on thyroid, this article raises some interesting points: hypothyroidmom.com/what-doc...
As coeliac it’s essential to regularly retest vitamin levels
How much vitamin D are you currently taking
Are you taking any other supplements
For full Thyroid evaluation you need TSH, FT4 and FT3 plus both TPO and TG thyroid antibodies tested.
Very important to test vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12 at least once year minimum
Low vitamin levels are extremely common, especially with autoimmune thyroid disease (Hashimoto’s or Ord’s thyroiditis)
Low vitamin levels common as we get older too
Recommended on here that all thyroid blood tests should ideally be done as early as possible in morning and before eating or drinking anything other than water and last dose levothyroxine 24 hours before test
This gives highest TSH, lowest FT4 and most consistent results. (Patient to patient tip)
Private tests are available as NHS currently rarely tests Ft3 or all relevant vitamins
It is interesting that you mention iodine, as it is commonly assumed that in the Western world few are deficient, whereas in other areas iodine deficiency can be the root cause of thyroid issues. However, recent discoveries are that many of our younger generations, in particular those who are consuming a dairy-free diet, are lacking in iodine, as one of our main sources of iodine comes from milk. If you had a lowish level of iodine already, switching away from dairy milk may have caused your level to drop, exacerbating your thyroid symptoms. Supplementing with iodine is only recommended if you actually need it, as too much is as harmful as too little, so I would get your iodine level tested to see if that could be the issue.
Thank you - yes I think with me may have been more to do with the change in iodine consumption. The literature on iodine looks pretty confusing - reluctant to start taking supplements as don't want to "lock" myself into protocol which have to maintain rest of life.
Yes. I'm finding it confusing myself grasshopper_89.
I've been reading up about iodine as I've found recently that I'm very deficient. Also I've had symptoms of thyroid issues for many years but have also eaten a plant based diet for a long time also.
So I'm not sure which came first as I'm still not diagnosed with any thyroid problem but I have an endo appointment in January next year.
My money is on the nexplanon. That stuff messes up your hormones and since it is all a chain that would def mess up thyroid hormone. If it were me I’d consider getting off that and see how you do. Personally I had a horrible experience on it.
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2nd Endo appt.
Medical records, surprises
Thyroid levels 
Confused over blood work 
