Long term food intolerance and diet

[BenHall1]

Hi Y'all,

Its me ... the newbie back again with more questions .... this time about food.

BACKGROUND.

Long story very short. I was diagnosed with paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation in January 2010 - within a year I found that my AF events were food related. Symptoms emerging were .... (not in any particular order and not all at the same time) - loud anti social intestinal gurgling, diahorrea, massive and painful bloating and burping. Saw GP who sorted blood tests for IBS and Coeliac Disease ... all clear. Only the massive and painful bloating would trigger an AF event.

I then consulted a Nutritionist who put me on a course of Probiotics and got me to go gluten free, wheat free and oats free. Over the years that followed this new food plan was widened and now includes a range of vegetables too and other dry grocery foods et al. The plan was to calm the vagal nerve which, in an aggravated/inflammed state was the direct cause of my AF events.

JULY 2023

QUESTION TIME AT THE ZOO ...... can an aggravated/inflammed vagal nerve make any contribution to Thyroid issues ? ( Suggest you Google schematic diagram of the Vagal Nerve).

Could my food plan (along with Blood Pressure medication and Bisoprolol) which controls my AF, actually aggravate my Thyroid. Can't remember when my last AF event was ... at least 18 months ago. What about the booze ? I also take the anticoagulant, Warfarin (Coumadin).

Lets get away from all these damn numbers and tests I've drowned in over the last few days .... lets be more down to earth - are there any known triggers for Thyroid issues .... I am 78 by the way. Anything from medication to age to lifestyle over many, many years. TBH, it seems to me as a newbie its not much value in me focussing on all these test numbers/values (lies, damn lies and statistics comes to mind) as they seem to reprsent a look at the horse after its bolted. I'm more interested in an alleged low blood test result and its cause. I'd rather not take any more medication if the Thyroid direction is the way I'm heading ... rather treat the cause rather then be lumbered with the condition and yet more medication, if you see what I mean ? Which in turn brings into pl;ay another thought ..... if I end up on medication for Thyroid, will that disturb the medication I'm on for AF.

Thyroid issues and Atrial Fibrillation and the tendency to strokes only exist on my fathers side of the family line. I might add that this Thyroid glitch was only discovered by accident in the course of a full range of blood tests for something else.

My apologies and thanks in advance.

John

[greygoose]

Given that we don't even know what your thyroid problem is, it's difficult to comment. You really need full thyroid testing - which you probably won't get on the NHS!

To get the full picture you need:

TSH

FT4

FT3

TPO antibodies

Tg antibodies

vit D

vit B12

folate

ferritin.

In your last post you said that your TSH - I imagine it was your TSH - was low. That could either mean that your thyroid hormone levels were high - FT4 and FT3 which weren't even tested by the sound of it - or it could mean that your pituitary is not functioning correctly. But just testing TSH on its own gives you very, very little information.

You also said that you're taking a statin. So, I imagine that your cholesterol is high. High cholesterol is usually due to low FT3 - so it would have been low for quite some time - which is hypOthyroidism, whereas low TSH suggests hypERthyroidism. However, it could be Hashi's, which swings between the two. Hence the need for antibody testing to see what's really going on.

If you do have Hashi's, it could very well have been triggered by something in your diet - like excess iodine - or one of your medications. But, treating the source is not easy because there's no guarantee that if something caused it, stopping that something will reverse it. Besides, if it is Hashi's, by now it will have damaged your thyroid so badly that it will never function correctly again. Thyroids cannot regenerate. So, you would need thyroid hormone replacement for life.

The only other thing I can think of is the beta blocker you're taking could be affecting your conversion of T4 to T3. But that would make you hypO not hypER.

I'm afraid you can't get away from the numbers. They have a story to tell. You cannot always rely on symptoms to tell you what's wrong because they can be deceptive. And, when you post on here, people are always going to want those number - results and ranges - to be able to help you. We're used to them. You'll get used to them if you have a thyroid problem, you'll have to, I'm afraid.

[radd]

BenHall1,

'can an aggravated/inflammed vagal nerve make any contribution to Thyroid issues ?’

Absolutely! Also to your AF.

Any form of unwanted inflammation is bad for the body. Long standing low grade inflammation (that years of gut issues can induce) causes spread of inflammatory substances/chemicals affecting other systems resulting in systemic inflammation and dysregulation of the autonomic nervous system. Also negatives change to the deiodinases (thyroid enzymes) behaviours, meaning they function less well or in a negative manner.

Long standing gut issues form a vicious circle encouraging further conditions such as low gastric acid (impairing iron/nutrient absorption, reducing panaceas digesting enzymes, allowing infection), leaky gut (inviting further intolerances), dysbiosis (producing fermentation, eg excess wind/diarrhoea/constipation),etc. The list is endless and inhibits any recovery.

Thyroid issues and AF are common as a consistent supply of T3 is essential for good heart function. Sometimes it’s not the amount of thyroid hormone that’s wrong but the way our body is utilising it. When there is nothing wrong with the thyroid gland per se, it is known as ‘non-thyroidal illness’.

If you don’t want to address the whole shebang of all ailments/conditions, I would suggest concentrating on healing the gut as other conditions might then improve anyway. If you’ve been g/f and taking probiotics, your issues could point to another intolerance such as other grains or dairy, and/or infections such as H. Pylori, SIBO, parasites, yeast, mould, fungi, etc), which won’t get better unless treated.

GP’s aren’t always knowledgable on these gut problems as don’t have the resources available to functional practitioners. Therefore, you might need more help from your nutritionist in removing the source of aggravation and restoring gut health.

[BenHall1 in reply to radd]

Hi radd,

Many thanks for your comments. I don't say my gut health is perfect (of course it wouldn't be at 78 years of age) however my feelings are ... it is pretty damn good.

Why do I say that ...because in the first 12 months of being diagnosed with AF I placed my trust in a nutritionist and not my GP or the NHS. The Nutritionist did some tests, put me on a course of Probiotics and a diet. I abandoned products with Gluten, I also went wheat free, oats free. Over the years I widened the scope of the diet to include a range of veggies. Some foods I abandoned years ago I can return to in small quantities.

Now, 12 years down the track my gut doesn't give me problems and my AF is now non existent. BUT, I daren't move away from the diet. I might add, I would never consult a GP for my gut health .... never ... always a Nutritionist.

Personally, I do not believe I have Thyroid issues per se ! I think there maybe wanderings that from time to time take me to being the high range of normal, borderline Thyroid .... and I might add, borderline Prediabetic. My main complaint is tiredness but hey ho! that could even come from my dose of Bisoprolol, a nice dirty drug.

What a pity there isn't a device like diabetics use to test for blood sugar or my Warfarin (INR) testing device, whereby one drop of blood gives one unambiguous result.

John

[radd in reply to BenHall1]

BenHall1,

If you can’t move forward introducing new foods, the original cause must still be around.

Impairment of good vagus nerve function comes about when inflammatory cytokines pass from the intestines to the brain through the blood brain barrier affecting the autonomic nervous system, which in turn affects gut motility. Another vicious circle.

SIBO commonly causes painful bloating. An easy detection method is to adopt a low FODMAP diet and see if symptoms improve. If infection has been completed eliminated you could consider stress levels as high cortisol impairs the immune system lining the GI tract. Another vicious circle as the inflammation is a stress in itself.

Otherwise analyse which foods you still can't eat. Proteins indicate low gastric acid that reduces as we age (easily replaced with HCL + pepsin). Starches/fiber indicates lack of pancreatic enzymes. The trigger for these enzymes release is gastric acid so deficiencies usually go together. Fats indicate poor gallbladder function (easily replaced with bilary support such as ox bile or supplements that thin thick sludgy bile).

[ERIC107]

Hi BenHall1 - I'm guessing you've maybe already read up on all things related to the vagus nerve, since you referred to it in your question, but have you tried any of the suggested approaches for "toning up" the vagus nerve? It certainly does seem that a more lax/non-responsive nerve is linked to feelings of tiredness.

Some of the suggestions, e.g. regularly drinking a glass of iced water, splashing your face with ice cold water, and finishing your shower with a blast of cold water on your head and neck seem like pretty simple things to try in the general hope of gaining a bit of "perkiness". In fact, just typing this has prompted me to go and get myself a glass of iced water! 😊

Good luck with your quest for less tiredness... I can definitely relate.

[BenHall1 in reply to ERIC107]

Hiya Eric107,

Thanks for your comments. Must say I haven't tried the cold water trick .... yet ! I'm probably my own worst enemy in that I've just assumed that in solving my gut issues (by diet), which in turn calmed the vagus nerve in terms of minimising my heart arrythmia ... the VN was suitably calmed and stable. Not realising of course that its all a game of balance. In solving one issue may well have triggered another.

Will try this suggestion. Thanks again.

John