Hypo and the gut

[Jefner]

not posted in a long time, feeling worse than ever since I had those damn antibiotics back in November. Couldn't cope on my own any more and instinctively knew something was terribly wrong in my gut so had to consult with a Practitioner and spent a lot of money doing a GI Map stool test and another OAT test which was helpful is showing was what going on in the gut.

I have gut bacterial overgrowth and also low level H-Pylori. She could see the overall picture that I am not absorbing nutrients from my food hence a lot of weight loss and feeling much much worse. She has put me on a different digestive enzyme and a couple of other things and wants me having a higher intake of calories (which is difficult with the nausea and not wanting to eat) and started me on saccharomyces boulardii, which on a whole cap sent me straight into die off symptoms so I had to stop and restart on opening the cap and just having a tiny bit but it's still not suiting me

Anxiety and depression is absolutely debilitating, literally shaking all day and every day and am extremely frightened I am just not gonna make it, literally living on Diazepam to get through each day. Lots of fatigue so missing out on my well needed evening walks which is having a negative effect also.

After feeling so poorly most of last year with my T4 being over and having to sort that, this is all I needed to deal with but I had a feeling for a long time that my gut was out of sync and could maybe the root cause of a lot of the severe anxiety that returned back in 2015 when I tested and showed positive for candida overgrowth/SIBO and mold exposure. Even after months of treatment at the time I felt it never really righted itself because I ran out of money and could no longer afford to see my practitioner so never retetested. I am so frightened of all this I just don't know what to do with myself sat here all alone rotting in my own thoughts feeling physically unable to do a lot

Only tested my thyroid levels in December but had a thought about all the gut issues going on and discovered that a study found that being hypo and taking Levo, Levo was the strongest contributor of SIBO!! And being hypo usually causes changes in gut microbiome

H-Pylori can also impede absorption of Levo.

So armed with that info I feel I need to again retest my thyroid levels as they may need temporarily tweaking due to the gut stuff going on. Every time I want to attend to upping my T3 and trying to get that optimal, something crops up and sets me back, which it has AGAIN done.

Someone upstairs clearly hates me. How do I get through all this on my own, everything feels hopeless and this has been going on for 10yrs with no improvement in sight. I am literally hanging on by a thread with a strong feeling of no hope

[Buddy195 Administrator]

Thanks for reaching out to us Jefner. I’m so sorry you are having such a tough time. When you are very unwell, it’s hard to keep hope, but at least the gastric tests have highlighted what the issues are…the next hurdle is overcoming them.

Im sure members who have had similar experiences & knowledge of SIBO/H-Pylori will be along soon to advise.

[Jefner in reply to Buddy195]

last 10yrs have been the worst of my whole life and I just no improvement in getting rid of this anxiety. I don't have the strength or motivation anymore to try and overcome them, it's all too much for me now. It's going to take the rest of the year minimum and tbh I no longer have the strength or motivation to keep fighting a losing battle, which it is for me. I can't hold onto hope when there just isn't any

[Buddy195 Administrator in reply to Jefner]

Please keep posting and reaching out to members Jefner; you are not alone🦋

[Agitator23 in reply to Jefner]

I have felt like this before. It's really important to speak to your GP. It's possible to get through all this but it's such a slog, isn't it? At this point you really need extra support and your GP is your first port of call. Sending best wishes to you.

[Jefner in reply to Agitator23]

already did and after many months of messing me about I am supposed to start some crappy nhs therapy tomorrow, albeit cbt but my gp asked for long term psychology so I give up

[Agitator23 in reply to Jefner]

CBT is excellent. Give it a go but return to your GP if it's not helping. It's all about persistence I'm afraid. And at your lowest point sometimes it feels impossible, I know. It will get better. x

[GlowCoach Administrator]

I'm glad that you've come back to post Jefner.

What has your GP offered in the way of mental health support?

[Jefner in reply to GlowCoach]

after many months of so many people messing me about and chasing I am supposed to start some tomorrow, albeit it's cbt which is NOT what my GP asked for so I am not holding my breath

[GlowCoach Administrator in reply to Jefner]

CBT can be very helpful Jefner so I hope you can give it a good go.

Mental health services are very depleted in recent years. Do keep pushing your GP for what you want.

[Jefner in reply to GlowCoach]

pointless pushing her because she is crap and really doesn't care like most of them. I am just a number to her and not a person

[GlowCoach Administrator in reply to Jefner]

Do you have an interest or hobby that might take your mind of your situation? That sort of thing can really help.

[elaar]

Sorry to hear about your gut issues, I've really suffered with them too, so feel your pain.

Being hypo can/does destroy the gut. The gut microbiome is very finely balanced, and the regular dumping of stomach acid into the small intestine somewhat controls the levels of certain bacteria, and anything that disturbs the proper digestion of food means that certain bacteria can thrive on those components that remain.

The other aspect is the Thyroid controlling the metabolic rate, and the speed at which the food is pushed along the intestine. Bacteria that is normally confined to the Colon can also then proliferate into the small intestine.

However, having said that, you state "Levo was the strongest contributor of SIBO!!" I don't think that's correct, I haven't seen any evidence of that, it's simply absorbed into the bloodstream as a hormone. Maybe too much or too little can cause SIBO, but that's not the Levo itself.

[Jefner in reply to elaar]

levothyroxine sodium is mainly absorbed in the small intestine not the blood stream pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articl...

[elaar in reply to Jefner]

Yes, most of what we eat has to be absorbed in the small intestine to reach the blood stream, through the mucous membrane.

Levo can't cause SIBO, unless some of the fillers cause one/some type of bacteria to proliferate, which is unlikely.

Thanks for posting that study, it's an interesting read, but it's too generalised and not very specific regarding Levo. The sample size of the Levo with SIBO is a mere 30 people, and there's nothing that differentiates whether they had SIBO before taking Levo, or how much Levo they're on and whether they're properly dosed. There's also no comparison to other Thyroid treatments.

For something to be the main cause of SIBO, it has to be the direct cause of disproportional amounts of bacteria to form, and a hormone in a tablet can't do that.

We know all too well from this forum, that a lot of people on Levo are not on the correct dose. Too high or too low a dose will indirectly cause metabolic abnomalties, resulting in a deranged microbiome, but the Levo specifically isn't to blame.

[Wwwdot]

Hi Jefner

First lots of hugs. Secondly don’t underestimate CBT - in my eyes it’s an ACTIVE form of psychology and puts control in your hands. I was sceptical when it was prescribed for my son but I was impressed how it helped him cope.

I know the horrible SIBO/H.Pylori symptoms are horrid and they do mess with your mind and anxiety. Like you mine was so bad that I couldn’t take the supplements to correct it. The baddy bacteria were still in control. I went radical - starved them - removed all sugar from my diet, removed carbs too - replaced with gentle goodies like cos lettuce, cabbage, (white cabbage fried as a noodle still a family favourite!) broccoli, spinach, rocket etc and quality wild fish and meat - within a month I could tell the tide was turning and the good bacteria were increasing and the bad reducing. I started making kombucha and kefir and added that and it was only after about 4 months that I began to tolerate the bacterial supplements but again I built them in slowly.

You sound determined to get your quality of life back and you now know the root cause. As they say there’s only one way to eat an elephant - one bite at a time. Don’t give up .

🤗🤗🤗