thyroid medication and alcohol

[Ari3]

hiya . Wanted to ask you about alcohol consumption and thyroid medication and how it affects its function and strenghts … I recently been binge drinking every other day and have realised I have gained weight and my medication isn’t working as it used to . What is the relationship between alcohol or a link how it affects thyroid medication can it affect how it works if I drink quite often ? Any links statistics or advice would be appreciated !

[PurpleNails Administrator]

Alcohol doesn’t affect how Levo? works.  (or other replacement).  

Assuming that you take your replacement with water only (away from foods, any drinks, medication & supplements) this helps it absorbs well.  

Do you have any recent results? 

When not optimally replaced many find their alcohol tolerance is lowered. 

When drinking it can also worsen existing hypothyroid symptoms & lower nutrients which has a further knock on effect. Low nutrient may mean replacement / conversion is effected. 

[bagpuss61]

when the body absorbs toxins such as alcohol it has a major impact on the liver.

And when the liver is under stress, your whole body will feel weaker and struggle to function properly.

[Ari3 in reply to bagpuss61]

makes sense thanks

[tattybogle]

This suggests alcohol use does have an effect on thyroid hormone levels : ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl... Relationship Between the Thyroid Axis and Alcohol Craving

My brain refuses to be still enough at the moment to read it carefully enough to understand what it's saying... and it is a study of people not taking any thyroid hormone .. But it's interesting anyway.

[tattybogle in reply to tattybogle]

Similarly , this one : ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl... Thyroid Hormone and Alcoholic Fatty Liver: The Developmental Input

( which i haven't even attempted to read , lol)

i found them by putting " alcohol thyroid conversion in the liver" into a search engine. there's lots more.

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

Ari3

I recently been binge drinking every other day and have realised I have gained weight and my medication isn’t working as it used to .

What makes you say your medication isn't working as it used to? What are you basing this on? Do you have test results to compare? If you're thinking the weight gain is because your medication isn't working it's more likely the drinking causing the weight gain.

[Blissful]

I recently been binge drinking every other day

Oh dear, what are you drinking and also "why" are you giving your liver a hard time? Alcohol can certainly appear to relieve stress (and there's a lot of that about everywhere).

Something like A.Vogel Milk Thistle Complex Drops (a mix of bitter herbs) should help the (inevitable) inflammation in your liver. Or you could incorporate any of the bitter herbs into your daily diet - e.g. chicory, coriander, dandelion, endive, mint.

[Ari3 in reply to Blissful]

thank you I am cleansing liver yes dandelion tea and capsules of bitters too . My mom died last year and I escaped domestic violence so I feel very isolated and alone no friends now . It’s like an empty hole I need to fill in lost interest in everything since mom died …. I am also seeing this guy and he brings alcohol and smoked drugs so iam trying to stay away from it . I have increased alcohol during past few month and have realised my thyroid function has been affected due to this and I don’t absorbe med as I used to anymore . I am on NDT . I have stopped drinking less than a week ago and trying to be sober as long as possible . I know I have addiction possibly due to trauma and it’s kind of a coping mechanism. I have spoken to alcohol and drug team and having my first appointment next week to help me out . Iam not alcoholic I don’t drink everyday but in a long run it has made an effect on me and now I need to heal myself from inside and outside . There is a big link between thyroid med absorption I guess and alcohol specially binge drinking it will affect liver in some ways we want it or don’t want it ! Thank you so much for at least suggesting me some herbs and asking what is my root cause of drinking .

[pennyannie in reply to Ari3]

Just be aware that with NDT different batches ( generally printed on the bottle / tub ) can be slightly different in strength - there's a tolerance within which the NDT must be but I've had to adjust up and down by 1/4 grains on certain batches of the NDT I self source.

No thyroid hormone works well until your core strength vitamins and minerals - those of ferritin, folate, B12 and vitamin D are up and maintained at optimal levels.

NDT is mostly converted in the liver so the less stress your liver is under the better it should work at T3/T4 conversion :

[Blissful in reply to Ari3]

Big hug Ari - losing a parent, particularly the mother perhaps (because she carried you and gave you life) is very distressing). Any abusive relationship (physical and or mental abuse) will have also taken its toll on your well-being. I agree with the suggestion that talking with someone should be helpful - best wishes for your appointment next week.

[arTistapple]

It seems to me the fact that you are taking NDT shows that you are willing to go above and beyond to help yourself health wise. That is very good. Now it looks like (after what you have been through) you would benefit from talking to someone about it all. In my area I got free counselling from a group of professional counsellors called, collectively “Talking Therapies”. I got the info from my GP surgery but you can find similar online or phoning your local Samaritans. I got someone really sensible and helpful. I wish the same for you.

[Hsaw]

I also binge drink regularly and rely 100% on levo as I had my thyroid completely removed. I haven’t really noticed any changes in my tolerance etc