Hello,
My husband has had Type 1 for 23 years. He has always been uncontrolled. He switched doctors 4 months ago. They tested his thyroid and found out he has hypothyroidism. He has been taking Synothoid for about a week and a half. His numbers are almost normal although he is sometimes on the low side. Could he have had thyroid for 23 years? Won’t have the thyroid stopped?
Thanks!
BDsell
Thank you Jen.
I guess I was just wondering because my husband’s numbers have always been all over the board. The doctor he saw for 23 years wasn’t too concerned about anything. I’m not sure if he was checking his thyroid or not. I thinking surely it couldn’t be the thyroid all of these years. I have thyroid disease and my doctors told me my thyroid would eventually quit working all together.
The only other thing that he has done differently, is he is now wearing a continuous monitor to keep track of what his sugar is doing.
I’m not sure what is going on. I don’t think he has ever had numbers so coincident.
Thanks again!!
Yes he could have for sure. I have hashimotos and I started levothyroxine 3 weeks ago at 25mcg so far. I think I have had symptoms on and off for years- with H you can go in and out of hyper and hypo for a long time before you go clinically hypo when you have almost no thyroid gland left.
My numbers aren’t out of range yet but I have all the symptoms and other things going on. When your tsh is above 2 and t4/t3 are at the bottom range your thyroid gland is already struggling and it can make bg control a lot harder. I tested positive for elevated antibodies last June I think- when I tested positive and discussed this with my father he diagnosed himself as hypo also, went to his doc and his tsh was 14 with almost no t4/t3. I insisted he get antibody testing and his were much higher than mine.
He has been on levo for about 3 months now at 50mcg and tsh is half of what it was. We can’t figure out when the last time was that he had thyroid testing done, if ever!, in spite of treatment for prostate cancer and many other health issues and symptoms of thyroid problems. We are sure the undiagnosed and untreated thyroid issues have caused and or contributed to many of his issues such as afib and anemia.
Adequate levels of t3 converted from t4 is crucial to all of your organ systems, and all other functions, so it affects everything. The best rule to follow is to stay on the dose of meds that make you feel ok, and not adjust them to blood work if you feel ok with the current dose.
I don’t think a week is long enough for it to affect bg control since it supposedly builds up over time and takes 4-6 weeks to see a significant change, but who knows for sure, everyone is different so I hope that continues for him. I felt a little better in terms of energy and brain function the first few days and so did my father… my bg control may have been a bit better so far also but it’s still hard- yes the cgm helps a great deal I’m glad he has one 
One reason his previous doc might not have ever checked the thyroid function, is that your husband is male.
Really, take a look at the synthroid.com site or the textbooks. The mental model - and the synthroid marketing - always assumes that hypothyroidism happens to women, not men.
I’m male for 48 years, and T1 for 34 years, and hypothyroid and taking synthroid for 30 years.
i will take, a look, at synthroid.com, i do have some thyroid, Problems, had them since i was 15,.
that site have help me out.
Hi Jen, I’m so sorry you went through that it must have been awful. I don’t know as much about Grave’s even though my paternal grandfather had that- he did the radioactive iodine treatment and then he was on synthroid. He never said a word to me about it. A friend also has Grave’s- she ended up in the er like you with a rapid heart beat etc. She said a bunch of interns were trying to tell her she must be having an anxiety attack if you can believe it. I don’t remember if she said she had a thyroid storm but what she described was kind of like some pre dka symptoms with being very hungry and thirsty and not feeling full while losing weight etc. I remember that feeling well, just being in disbelief that this was real.
I think Graves symptoms tend to come on very rapidly compared to Hashimotos, you have to be severely hypo before you will end up in the er I think, but my limited knowledge so far may be missing a lot of info. The damage it does to your body over time is very bad. I wonder if there are other symptoms that people with Graves may overlook, I couldn’t find anything about that yet. I definitely have had hyper vs hypo periods.
I think it takes a while to recover from something like that, I’m glad you’re feeling a bit better. I hope the medication helps you with your bg, I have a feeling it will… A couple of people told me it is better to treat Hashimotos early if you have Diabetes, so after a lot of research and then another related diagnosis I started the meds. It’s also supposed to help stop the antibody attack in Hashimotos. You might want to check out the UK Thyroid site, there is a lot of great info there on just about every thyroid disorder. Many people with Hashimotos find a gluten free diet helps them, It may help Graves too.
Could have been. I had a similar situation. My complaint was that I was having difficulty controlling BG levels, and not feeling as vital as I thought I should. So, the doc prescribed this…then that…etc until he decided I should be on some other medication (which I had just learned, that very morning, had been recalled by the FDA due to causing serious kidney damage) For the first time in my life I told the doc he was FIRED. Went to another doctor and he did a couple of, what he called, "routine diagnosis tests"and found that thyroid problem. Prescribed a generic synthroid and, bingo! felt better ever since.
Thank you everyone for the great advice! He has had diabetes for twenty three years but we have learned so much since he switched doctors. You have all helped me to learn even more.
Thanks!!!
Keith, type 1 diag when 17, now 63 for last 30 years t3/t4 has been borderline, endo and gp says i don’t need to bolus it yet. Basel temp is 35 (should be 37) (C not F) ms since the 80’s (rr type not the progresive) ra since early teens, atrial fib ocasionaly (on hi doses beta blocker since 78), how do i get them to listen 2 me ???.
I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 1984 and Hashimoto’s in 2014. However, by the time I was diagnosed with hashimoto’s, TSH level was 86…so I think it’s very possible that I developed both at the same time or closely together.
What hypothyroidism directly impacts is metabolism. The slower the metabolism, the more insulin resistant…and that does impact blood sugars.
Another way hypothyroidism can impact blood sugar is that it puts a strain on the adrenals as they do they best to keep things going in the absence of thyroid hormone. Stressed adrenals do, very directly, impact blood sugar levels and vice versa. Adrenaline and cortisol stimulate the release of glucagon into the blood. And, reversely, high blood sugar causes inflammation which triggers the release of cortisol.
What a “merry go round,” right?
By the way, I found a doctor who would prescribe natural desiccated thyroid for me instead of synthetic in order to get the full range of hormone. There is lots of information on this topic at www.stopthethyroidmadness.com
Hi, I am Type1 since age of 16. I also have Hashimoto’s. I was on Synthroid for many years but also read Thyroid Madness and decided to look into it.
I went to an “integrative” doctor for close to a year and he first started me on Naturethroid but was experiencing hyper symptoms. He then switched me to Armour Thyoid.
When I went back to my endo and told him I was on Armour, he refused to take care of me, stating that I was ‘going to die’. Well, sure, we are all going to die; so be it.
I then found an endo who had patients on natural thyroid meds. I stayed with her for almost 2 years but felt as though (nice as she was) wasn’t focusing on my D needs.
I’m happy to say, that as of 2/5/16 found the most wonderful endo who ran a number of tests on me in his office and spent an hour or so talking to me and he stated that he did have patients on Armour thyroid, but he tries to have them switch back to Synthroid because he feels it is more stable.
Armour has t3, in addition to the t4. I feel it is a step up from Synthroid.
I hope you go into remission Jen, that would be the best. I have to say after everything that happened to me I’m not surprised at all that happened to my friend in the er, but yes the obvious thing would be to do blood work and not tell her it must be an anxiety attack.
I found out my tsh went up after being on low dose levo, I’m not sure what the t4 is now I will find out soon. I think that means I need more and this dose wasn’t enough at all. I just hope it didn’t suppress my own production because someone told me too low a dose can do that. I have a lot of those symptoms too, but not so exaggerated like for graves. That is too bad the diet didn’t help avoid this. Hopefully it will help control some of the symptoms maybe.
Reviving this topic, and looking for advice as always from this helpful forum.
I’ve been type 1 for 33 years, pretty good control and never hospitalized. HGB right around 7, MDI. My weight has averaged about 195, with some ups and downs as diets come and go. Two years ago, I went through a bad summer of anxiety and depression, which led to a 2-week leave of absence from work and medication that helped bring me out of the funk. My weight went down to 184 (187 at the doctor’s office). Gradually feeling better with meds, about a year later the weight started to come back on, and on, and on. At first I thought it was the meds, but I kept gaining weight, up to 225. I was also tired, sluggish, not feeling like exercising, and having worse BG control. Finally in June, my Endo walks in with test results, and my TSH was 4.3, after a 2.6 reading 6 months earlier. “That explains the weight gain” he said somberly as he wrote a scrip for 25MG of Synthroid. He said we’d have to monitor and find the right amount of Synthroid. I’m due for a followup in a few weeks, but still don’t feel much better and have continued gaining weight. I’m up about 45 pounds from my depressed low.
My question to the board: has anyone experience this type of weight gain going hypothyroid? I assume once I get on the right dose, weight and control will get better, but now I’m having real trouble with insulin sensitivity, etc. Any help and suggestions would be appreciated for a thyroid newbie.
Hi Bigmo,
I can’t advise, I can share. I’m on a very strict diet (due to a complication of gastroparesis). I’m also gaining weight at a steady rate. My TSH has been all over the board, from 2.5 to 4.3 but no anti-bodies and normal thyroid ultrasound. I have ALL of the symptoms of being Hypothyroid. I am on the same amount of medication as you and my TSH reading is still above where it should be (especially for taking medication). All in all, I’m apparently having to increase and we had to validate that I had SYNTHROID and not generic as the Endo doesn’t like them. My Endo has classified me as hashimoto regardless of the anti-bodies because of other blood work and symptoms
I also gain with increased insulin, which I’ve had to do as well. You may be experiencing both some weight gain from the insulin and not having the right amount of thyroid in your body…but again only speaking from experience
Hi @bsell, @bigmo1234 and @mskdka
I am 55 and recently diagnosed T1
At the same time diagnosed slightly hypothyrodic
20 yrs ago I was severely hyperthyrodic but managed to level it out very well with Tapazole.
Endo says not unusual for a woman in 30’s to be hyper, then turn to hypo in 50’s
Now taking the 25 mcg synthroid generic
So I find The thyroid med consistently lowers my BG, every morning, from between 10-30 points.
I take readings before I take synthroid (70-95)
And an hour after (60-80)
So I use it as a regimen to keep within range. I’m not eating until at least an hour after I take it, so it can give me a little wiggle room at breakfast.
Now I will say this much about weight gain.
Insulin makes me gain, and Metformin makes me lose.
Walking gently keeps me in range, so does the combo of insulin and Metformin
And I’m not bolusing-- yet.
I lost too much weight from being undiagnosed for way to long. To the point my family sat me down to intervene.
They thought I wasn’t eating (I was!!! Like a pig)
What I’m trying to say, is, whether you are T1 or T2, there are now studies which show the health benefits of Metformin. It can also attribute to some weight loss. It’s probably why I still lost weight after going on insulin, until I needed to increase my basal insulin.
Now, about weight gain and synthroid:
if synthroid is supposed to increase thyroid production, then it stands to reason that it alone would not be the cause of weight gain?
YDMV, and your hypothyroidism may vary too.
A small handful of my patients over the years (against my medical advice) actually obtained generic thyroid hormone replacement medication without a prescription through a Canadian mail-order pharmacy in order to lose weight. So in answer to your question, no, medication to treat hypothyroidism in, of, and by itself would not be the cause of weight gain.
Those “Canadian” mail-order pharmacies are so shady to me. Thyroid medication without a prescription? I’m pretty sure that’s not legal even within Canada.
The last time a patient told me she was doing this was quite a handful of years ago, so it may not still be possible.
On the bright side, with every mail-order shipment, they included a complimentary Nainamo bar! (JK) 
I still have that low-carb (and dairy-free) Nanaimo bar on my to-do list! 