Hypothyroidism, allergies and intolerances

Hormones
1

In this post, I'm going to identify what is fact and what is my thoughts, so that everyone can question whether I've come to the right conclusions.

In my case the underactive thyroid is caused by my immune system attacking my thyroid (fact: confirmed by blood tests for anti-bodies against thyroid). Once a person has one auto immune disease, they are more likely to get another (fact: confirmed by research).

Allergies and interolerances are the immune system identifying the wrong thing (the allergen) as a problem and attacking it, causing all sorts of allergy symptoms such as bloating, diarrhoea, nausea, swelling, muscle pains, hives, excema etc (fact - look up 'allergy uk' website).

I'm not medically qualified, but here is what I have worked out...I'm hoping that by cutting out the things that are a problem for say 6 months, then very slowly re-introducing each food one at a time, I will be able to get my immune system to settle down. The problem I've got is that there are rather a lot of things I'm reacting to. I have a histamine intolerance, wheat inolerance and milk intolerance, so I keep accidently eating something that makes me react. Fact: there are no reliable tests for intolerances. So it's a matter of excluding a suspected allergen (i.e. food) and seeing if the symptoms abate. I discussed this with an allergy consultant and he advised me to exclude the foods I suspected in this way. Since I saw him 3 years ago, the number of foods I'm reacting to has increased and the reactions I get worsened. I've now been referred by my GP to another allergy consultant to see if medical thinking has changed in the last 3 years. I've also had it confirmed that I'm allergic to cats, dust and oranges and slightly allergic to tea and red pepper. Though the RAST tests for intolerances are inconclusive (apparently they often are).

By the way I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism 24 years ago, but recokon I had it for 15 years before I was diagnosed.

What are other people's experiences? Am I the only one with allergies and intolerances, or are there other people battling them too?

2

Hi Barbara,

We sound very similar. I have thyroid issues and other autoimmune issues, including celiac disease (undiagnosed for many years). I also have a severe histamine intolerance (or maybe a mast cell activation disorder) that necessitates a pretty restricted, whole foods diet (I follow one similar to those out there for autoimmune issues). I am a bit better, though not cured on the diet. Still pondering how to heal further. The worst of it is that I react to a huge list of foods and medications with sensitivities and allergies. This has been going on for years with me, and luckily there is more info about it appearing online these days (in fact, there is an interesting looking summit on it coming up and the link between our gut health, food sensitivities, and autoimmunity--I could private message you with the link if you like). I've had lots of allergy and autoimmune testing over the years too, though have found my own tests of food sensitivities to be most reliable. First I established a baseline of functioning on only meats, veggies, and some fruits until feeling better, then I tried reintroducing one food at a time. So far, my list hasn't been very long of the additional foods that I can tolerate. There's a woman who runs a website for histamine issues online who says that we should eat whole foods and add regular small amounts of higher histamine foods back, but only if they are healthy foods (like avocado or liver). In this way, she believes that we can heal. Anyway, sorry that you sound like a kindred spirit. I know a bit about how hard all this is--not only with feeling bad and feeling different than others, but also with problems traveling and eating out! --Suzanne

3

hello barbara 

i read your post with interest..

i am borderline underactive thyroid .. TSH 3.61

infact just had many many blood tests and received results 

i am also post menopause ( no HRT) age 50

during peri meno this is when all began..

my tests revealed low low blood sugar Hypoglycemic ( non diabetic hypoglycemic) this explains my feelings of weakness, aches, severe flushing, trembles etc and hunger pains of late

( i have a good diet and always eat little and often) 

also I am Vit D insuffient so need Vit D putting right 

i was also tested for celiac and it was negative ..

jay x

4

HI Suzanne, Thank you for your supportive and informative reply. I really appreciate you taking the time to reply. I'm really sorry to hear you are battling too, though it is nice to know I'm not unique.  Yes please to the link to the allergy summit. How do we go about private messaging? 

Barbara

5

Hi Jay, Is you doctor amenable to monitoring the thyroid every 3 months so that you spot how it changes over time?

6

By the way, my celiac test was also negative, but I get hives, excema, muscle pains and stiff fingers (from slight swelling) when I eat wheat/gluten/yeast (not worked out which yet).

7

Hi Jay,

Also try eating brown rice, bread, etc as it has a low glycemic rating.

Barbara x

8

Hi Barbara 

i dont live in UK so i pay ..

so can have tests when ever i wish 😃

yes i get monitored and have regular tests .. 

Had two TSH, T4 and T3 tests in 12 weeks 

Jay x

9

Thankyou barbara

i do eat brown bread, and almonds, fruit, 

very healthy diet .. Live in southern spain 

have to eat little and often to stay upright

I am at the doctors on. Monday with all my latest test results

thanks again 

 

10

Oh dear

they do a test here called A200 

intolerances to 200 foods 

havent had it as not necessary for me 

jay x

11

That's interesting. They don't do anything in UK. Think I need a holiday in Spain!

Barbara x

12

😎

i find them veru good here barbara 

i have a full well women check every year, great Gyno, 

get the lot checked, Smears, 3D breast Scan, Transvaginal Scan, Colposcopy, and Gyno advice .. ( post meno)  150€ 

i am from UK but dont miss the waits and the basic tests given there .

i can see a doctor here straight away and costs me 20€ 

That includes any prescription, which i then fetch from farmacia and pay very little for  

jay x

13

Sounds great! To pay privately for stuff here costs a fortune (as you probably remember).

I've got to go now as sitting at a computer is causing me aches and pains so I've got to do some physio exercises and go swimming to combat them.

14

A really big thank you for the private message. As you can see I haven't yet found out how to reply that way. A really big thank you for the link to the webinair. I've registered for the 12pm slot which will be 5pm GMT. I'lI have a look at the histamine intolerance site. I agree we definitely have the same sort of stuff going on. My mum had some intolerances, she cut out for 6 months all the foods affected and then slowly re-introduced them and is now able to eat anything. So there's hope! Barbara

15

Hi Barbara, I am an RN and live in USA.  Many thyroid patients hyper or hypo  have intolernces and mal-absorption problems with food.  Allergies also are common.  Both my sister and I have Hashimoto's disease and have a very hard time digesting dairy products.  Some people can't eat wheat made products  which we now know is Celiac disease.  IBS is very common in Thyroid patients. IBS can cause loose bowels and then constipation, back and forth.   I get it also.  Some of the causes believed to be are receptor sites in the body are damaged, some of these receptor sites are in the large and small intestines. Now as we age, our bodies change and some enzymes needed for food digestion decrease and in some in causes you to ferment food and then gas is produced.  Some people get cramps and loose bowels after eating a food and other people get bloated. These days gastrointestinal problems are researched more and if diet changes don not help, they have meds for GERD.  You can also see an MD who specailizes in the stomach/intestines called a Gastroenterologist.  Some of us have trouble with meds, and being able to absorb them also. Allergies can come later in life, it is a funny thing, but you may have been able to eat a food as a kid, and then later in life, you can't.  Avoid what upsets your body, is a good rule.  At least today they make food gluten free and peanut free etc....so you are not the only one having this problem.  I hope this helps.

16

That's great to hear about your mom's experience. Since the lining of our intestines regenerates regularly (every three days or something), it does seem that healing would be possible if we can find out what's causing the immune system to overreact to foods and other substances. Another theory is that growing the healthiest gut bacteria helps the healing, and that may be related to how the wrong bacteria have overgrown from antibiotics, poor food choices, toxins, etc. When we clean up our lifestyles, and stop whatever foods are triggering us, there may be an opportunity for the body to reset its responses. Anyway, you can see that I'm trying to figure all this out. Sara Ballentyne writes a lot about all of this and has a good book which explores the science behind autoimmunity. --Suzanne

17

Thanks Shelley, that helped enormously. Much of what you say mirrors my experience. I could eat anything as a child. Over the last 10 years I've become allergic to penicillin, oranges, cats and dust, and intolerant to milk, wheat and foods containing histamine and which cause histamine to be released from one's cells. I think I also have trouble absorbing thyroxin, hence the underactive symptoms and blood tests which suggest I'm being over treated (presumably if the thryroxine isn't being absorbed by the body, it stays in the bloodstream and leads the blood test to register a high level of thyroxine in the blood - which is interpreted as one being on too much thyroxine i.e. being overtreated.

18

Thanks for the tip on Sara's book. I'll have a look. Most of my intolerances do seem to stem from when I had a particular antibiotic that caused me to develop a penicillin allergy.

19

Hi Barbara,

I can relate to what you are going through, and I hope things are getting better for you.  I have also had some issues very similar to allergies, histimine levels as well, and thyroid levels being out of balance.

At one point my naturopath put my on some pills that helped to bring down my histimine, but before taking something like this, please be sure to get your blood work first as it may not be the problem.  I personally do not think that was the issue as I did not even finish the whole bottle.  I personally think my issues were brought on by poor diet (speaking from experience here), yo-yo dieting and at times restricting carbs, or not eating the right kind of carbs.

The one thing my naturopath has mentioned to me is that people who have hypothyroidism usually have Hashimoto's thyroiditis, which is an autoimmune disease brought on by people who have hypothryoidsm.  My levels of TSH and Thyroid Peroxidase Antibody hormone were off.  Hashimoto's can cause a lot of strange symptoms. The blood work for testing for Hashimoto's is: Thyroid Peroxidase Antibody and your TSH, which will generally tell you if you have Hashimoto's. My Peroxidase Antibody was the worse and very elevated.

As mentioned, certain things I have learned from my naturopath is that people who have hypothyroidism develop Hashimoto's, or generally end up developing it, especially by eating gluten.  Eating gluten makes the disease worse, so I have been advised to stay away from it.  Not saying that you do, but keep it in mind if you have never had it tested. 

Also something else I have found out recently, as I am reading a book and they state in their book that Low-carb diets are notorious for suppressing levels of T3 which is the thyroid hormone your body uses for all functions.  Extreme carb diets or carb restriction eventually drives up insulin resistance, which drives up inflammation, which drives up a host of other diseases.

I have learned this the hard way, but since I have been eating more gluten free foods and foods that are higher in fibre but on the low glycemic end of things, and limiting dairy, sugars (especially sugars), my thyroid hormones are back in balance once again and I am no longer getting those weird allergy symptoms.

Lastly I cannot remember the article, sorry, but you should be able to google and search this, but there has been some scientific study between celiac disease and those who have thyroid/hasimotos problems....interesting.

I hope this all helps....blessings. :-)

20

Barbara,

Sorry I made a mistake on what the book said, what I should have said was this: Low-carb diets are notorious for suppressing levels of T3, which is the thyroid hormone your body uses for all functions. 

While the thryoid hormones may indeed respond to carbs, this approach to overdoing carbs only brings destruction to the thyroid itself and in other areas of the body.  Weigh gain inevitabley happens, which drives up insulin resistance, which drives up inflammation, which drives up a host of other diseases.  Extremes are never the answer. 

Sorry, I just wanted to correct this, as I would feel bad to give misleading information.