Good day! I’ve not posted in a while, I’ve fortunately been stable with my thyroid for over a year. I did however, get diagnosed with glaucoma and after being asked by two doctors if I was diabetic, I pushed my PCP to test A1c. Turns out it was high and gives me a diagnosis of pre diabetic.
I guess I’m curious if and how these two conditions affect each other? Is it common to have both?
This does shock me, I eat very low carb, very minimal sugar, like maybe a serving a week! I’ve actually lost 10 pounds this year. I exercise almost daily. I am overweight but not obese. Still working on dropping more pounds but as we know, it’s not easy. (I am 53 years old)
It is easy to predict what my PCP will say and maybe they will suggest I see an endocrinologist. I can actually go see one without a referral. But doing some quick checking, I’m looking at an appointment in March 2025 at this point. I may just schedule it in case. lol
I know this is a forum for thyroid but I know there are some bright minds here. So like to see about any connection between the two conditions.
Thanks in advance!
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Tiff567
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Have a read up on berberine supplement. I believe this helped me to very, very slowly lose a little weight but help regulate and reverse all my iffy bloods.
Berberine has worked well for me. I stopped taking it for 5 months when I went on a very low carb diet on the instruction of Sarah Myhill. Disaster! My HbAc1 shot up 5 points, 1 point under diabetic. So low carb didn’t protect me but then recent research shows that eating red & processed meat raises the risk of diabetes & of course, I ate more meat on a low carb diet. I also take T3 only as T4 doesn’t help me & that has been linked to raised blood sugar.
I have also had possible glaucoma diagnosed & been asked if I’m diabetic. I was given drops to relieve eye pressure, which they did. I’m now waiting 6 months to see if I need the drops again & permantly.
It was scary being sent to the eye department as an emergency by my local optician., maybe Berberine doesn’t prevent eye problems. I don’t know yet. I’ve been offered Metformin as a preventative medication. I might try it as Berberine isn’t recommended very long term.
I have read some mixed reviews on taking that supplement but I do also prefer to know the WHY before taking anything. It appears I do need a referral from my PCP to see the specialist so will see if I get fought on that.
The glaucoma I don’t feel is in anyway related to my thyroid. It was actually first brought up to me in my late 20’s. Though they do see a connection to diabetes which is why I was asked that. I was also asked if I had migraines, raynoids syndrome and if I ever had head trauma. Yes to all those. There are many types of glaucoma also.
If your Hypothyroidism is due to your immune system (e.g Hashimotos), then there's a strong link with other autoimmune diseases, and one of those is Autoimmune diabetes mellitus (T1DM). Your endo will likely order a antibody test to rule that out, it may be completely unrelated, idiopathic, and can improve with certain lifestyle changes.
The HBA1c test is often distorted in people with Hypothyroidism. It can show higher results if Thyroid medication isn't optimal, suggesting people are pre-diabetic when they're not. A much more reliable test is fasting glucose/tolerance.
Thanks, I do know I don’t have Hashimoto’s. I am still waiting for the doctor to message me about the blood test results so not sure what her plan is. At this point I really prefer to see an endocrinologist though.
My HBA1C was at top end of prediabetic before thyroid treatment and has dropped to near normal now.I found a continuous blood glucose monitor useful for 2 weeks helped me see response to foods and show I was ok.
Hi! I have Hashimotos Thyroidis (autoimmune) and was diagnosed prediabetic based on HbA1C biomarker last year. I am seen by an Endocrinologist. Additional blood tests for pancreatic function included: mean blood glucose, Homa IR, glucose in serum, insulin/c-peptide, IA2 and zn T8 (latter two tests check for antibodies). I did not take a glucose tolerance test (GTT) which involves drinking a ‘sugar syrup’ although did also take a urine test. Meanwhile, I completely overhauled my entire diet and lifestyle as was quite ‘shocked’ by the diagnosis. I now wear a self-financed CGM and eat small, regular low carb meals; also am gluten-free. The HbA1C has reduced from 6.0 to 5.4 in 1 year (ie no longer prediabetic range) but still an issue for me.
I have read dozens of research papers on biochemistry/pathophysiology/endocrinology to understand the pathways. In my case, I understand the situation is autoimmune driven as there is a concept called polyautoimmunity (Autoimmune clusters) and Hashimotos can result also in dysglycaemia.
For me, managing (stable) blood glucose is now part of my daily consideration additional to managing Hashimotos symptoms. It’s tough…;).
I'm over active thyroid and I've been diagnosed the same (pre diabetic). I'm only on Carbimazole now to as they put it. Put the brakes on going over active.
I now feel like I keep going under active as I sometimes put a bit weight on. I'm seeing my endo on the 7 next month so I'll see if I can drop down to just one 5 mg tablet.
When you say your thyroid is stable, what do you mean by this? I had a look at the levels you have posted 9 months ago, your TSH was 1.8 (most people feel better with levels around 1), your T4 was in the bottom third of the range and your T3 was quite low as well. Have these results changed since? If they are still similar, I would say you are under medicated - and this is why you are getting into the pre-diabetic range. Thyroid hormones are key to an active metabolism, if you have too little hormones in your system, you cannot adequately deal with or metabolise glucose (hence the higher levels), and can also include cholesterol (some people may also have higher levels). Diet alone will not influence this.
Once your hormones are optimised (e.g., increased), the body will be much better at dealing with glucose and you may come out of the pre-diabetes range. In the old days, hypothyroidism was diagnosed on high glucose or cholesterol levels and treated until they were in range. These days, there is an over reliance on TSH tests, and if the values are somewhere within the ranges, the GPs job is done. If you have not had a recent test, I would check your levels and see where you are. If your TSH is still above 1 and your T4 and T3 in the bottom half, you will most likely need an increase in your medicines.
I have always wondered how many diabetes and pre-diabetes diagnoses could be avoided, if hypothyroid patients would just be treated optimally....
Tsh is currently 1.3 but I’ve not gotten the other blood work as that needs to get done on my own as the PCP won’t order it. I do still take the low dose of levo and I take a supplement for thyroid. It wasn’t till I took the supplement that I actually began to feel good. Right now it’s a matter to see if I can see an endocrinologist and if not, I will get those other bloods done on my own.
I agree very much with your last sentence. Our healthcare is rarely about getting to the root cause, they just throw some meds at us and hope for the best.
I wonder if Hashimotos Hypothyoidism and it’s connection with autoimmunity is the final word on this? Diabetes is a problem of metabolism. Anything metabolic is affected by hypothyroidism no matter its type. Whether Pituitary or Hashi in source, it’s likely to affect other issues of metabolism. Hashimotos I am sure is not the only consideration in developing diabetes. It’s one of the recognised Co-morbidities of hypothyroidism.
However I have become a bit suspicious of the HbA1c test. I wonder how accurate it is or even how ‘timely’ it is. It tracks over a three month period before the test. Well it’s my experience with hypothyroidism that tracking any blood testing over a period and averaging it, is inherently lacking in precision. It’s a snapshot. With HbA1c whilst it allegedly covers and averages over three months, I can’t help wondering about the dynamism of the testing period. Potentially anything that averages over any period of time takes in very low and very high periods, which indeed could be ‘normal’. You could have say two highs in the period which puts up the numbers. A following period might produce two lows affecting the result.
You don’t say what the result actually was.
Same with 24 hour blood pressure testing. The highs could be very high and the lows very low. However the average is what is accepted. Averages are false levels really. So again not sure it’s particularly helpful to know the average. It is an indication that something is happening though. It could be a purely autonomic levelling that your body is perfectly capable of dealing with itself.
We can see this dynamism in our hypothyroidism. Some days you can feel much better than others. We don’t know why, especially if our meds are regular and even if not optimal. So I wonder about the real accuracy of this testing. I myself was on the ‘cusp’ of diabetes for many years. There was a jump when I went briefly on T3. Others report similar on the Forum. When I stopped T3 it reduced again.
Sometimes our bodies are just naturally responding to other processes (I think) when things look out of place with lone blood tests. Frankly an uptake in thyroid hormone itself can mean an improvement in efficiency in body workings. Good thyroid treatment may be allowing more glucose into the bloodstream than when more hypo. With hypo it’s kind of stuck in the body (fluid retention and mucin) but occasionally safely released.
Basically if you feel well and continue to be in charge of your diet, this is not necessarily an issue. Just a settling of metabolism. A Catching up. Another test may provide more information for you. Not one test on its lonesome.
Again most doctors seem to have no idea of the breadth or severity of symptoms of hypothyroidism. Why ask about diabetes? Well they probably know something about diabetes and statistically diabetes would be the top guess. Better to look intelligent and suggest diabetes than appear the dimwits they probably are.
My experience is that you firstly have to persuade a GP that you are not sitting on a sofa all day and eating donuts so that they can look at the causes and do other tests. The initial 'treatment' is usually diet sheets as the NHS appears to believe that everyone who is pre-diabetic is overeating sugar and carbs . Go with lots of information. Also have a look at polycystic ovary syndrome causing insulin resistance which can be more of a problem post-menopause or as female hormones decrease, testing sex hormones can rule that one out. You need to know why before considering supplements and other treatments. Good luck.
I very much want to know the why! But tell that to the doctors, it’s cheaper (maybe) to just throw some pills my way and hope for the best. As for the polycystic ovary syndrome, that would be very unlikely. I’ve literally never had issues with my cycle, periods, ect. My time here in the menopause stage is fairly non eventful. I am still not past a year without a cycle though because at the 10 month mark, I had a little period. Now I’ve restarted my clock. 😫
Again good luck. And I never had problems with my cycles either, all the problems started as female hormones decreased all down to that naughty Testosterone.
I knew I could count on ya’ll to make me think super hard on this and give me some great info. Please give me some time to reply and answer your replies!
Yes I have both hyperthyroidism and diabetes, the latter diagnosed 24 years ago. Gp waited over 2 years before treating the thyroid problem as in Uk the TSH has to be 10+ despite symptoms. You seem to have been on a tiny dose of levothyroxine ( 25 mcg), if any, so it’s a bit hard to believe your hypothyroidism is ‘stable’. But from personal experience the two diseases go hand in hand, even after so long ‘controlled’. My Gp decided 5 weeks ago that my levothyroxine was ‘overmedicated’ and for the first time in decades reduced the dose from 100 to 75 ( I do take T3 too initially through a private endo, but Gp doesn’t understand that): within a few days I had to up the insulin base dose by 10+%, and more/ frequent short insulin doses per day. I’m not sure whether Abbott are still offering their 2-week free trials of a Libre 2 continuous blood glucose monitor ( or any manufacturer offering theirs) in the US but worth using for 2 weeks to see how your body reacts to certain foods and when they are eaten, or combinations of these with others…a tiny difference in how you eat can make a big difference to HbA1c.
I have Hashimotos and my HbAc1 test March this year was 42 so considered pre-diabetic. I too was shocked as I have cut out so much sugar in the last year not to lose weight, just because its not that healthy.
My GP enrolled me on a Pre Diabetic course which lasts 9 months. I immediately cut out my one small teaspoon of sugar in 3 teas a day and a couple of other very minor adjustments.
I couldn't make out how this could happen so spoke with my Endo who tested me in June for just about everything relating to Diabetes and all my results were at the lower end of normal. I am pleased to say my HbAc1 test showed a drop from 42 to 37 so now in range.
I asked my Endo if Thyroid Disease has anything to do with sugar level increases and she said yes it can do but only a little bit.
I was surprised at looking at some food labels just how much sugar was included and I swapped for less sugar and also change white bread to brown.
A few small adjustments can make a big difference.
I couldn't read all the replies but I may go back and read some more. This is a very popular and interesting subject. According to Dr. BERNSTEIN on the internet 93% of thyroid patients have diabetes. It's on YouTube.
I suffer from Hashimoto desease and since I had tests confirming my desease, I was diagnosed pre-diabetic. I embarked in an extreme diet but I was really surprise because I do not have a sweet tooth and never put sugar in my drinks, plus not drinking fizzy drinks. I did a strict diet and then they performed another tests that account not for how your sugar was in the day of the test, but in your last two or three months. Ask for this test. And then they told me I am not pre-diabetic anymore. For my surprise, now they told me that now my cholesterol is a bit high. I Believe that Hashimoto produces an effect of irregularities in all the body. I said that I would do a diet before taking medication, hoping that my cholesterol improves in two months. I am not a great meat eater, perhaps I like a glass of two of wine, so now I will cut alcohol and cheese (with the pre diabetes diet I ate more cheese with my salads). Also they told me my creatinine was a bit higher so I am drinking more water. Do not worry too much, do diets before taking medication, and accept that our thyroids play nasty tricks with al our body. Good luck.
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