Yep, I have Graves’ disease. I was diagnosed T1D in 1994, then with Graves’ in 2010. I did the RAI-131 treatment twice (once in 2012, then the second in 2013) and am now taking thyroid replacement pills. From what I understand, it’s somewhat common.
I’m both type 1 and have Grave’s. Diabetic since 1983, Grave’s since 2014. I used to have hypothyrodism and was discovered as the opposite when doing my regular bloodwork for beeing hypo. I was high (T3 and T4) and since I wasn’t overdoing my meds they rechecked and checked for antibodies which was sky high. The antibodies was so high that my doc called me late at night to alert me. He told me to stop my meds for hypo immediatly and get on meds for Grave’s. Have been on meds for Grave’s since and can’t do the radioactive treatment because I’ve developed the eye disease that comes with Grave’s (protruding eyes). My antibodies get checked every three months and is still high, my THS, T3 and T4 gets checked every four weeks.
Advice: Get your antibodies checked.
I am curiuos why your antibodies get checked so often. Is there some sort of treatment for them?
I’ve had Graves’ for coming up on three years and have only had my antibodies checked twice, once at diagnosis and once about a year and a half after starting treatment to see if they were still positive (they were). My TSH and free T3/T4 I get checked every three months.
I have T1D and Hashimotos. I have found it to be a fairly common pairing. Definitely get tested.
So Hashimotos can cause thyroid cancer? I know someone that started having overactive thyroid and they removed the thyroid glands and found cancer. I’m guessing if I do have issues that they are autoimmune. I have Type 1 Diabetes and Autoimmune Inflammatory Arthritis.
Thanks for all your responses. I will definitely get my levels checked again next month. My doctor didn’t seem too concerned when I called them. I asked the nurse at my doctors office if there are any signs that it’s getting bad if I do have it and she said you can tell if you gain weight suddenly. I thought that was funny. I’m not sure I they really knew much about thyroid issues. I have noticed more low blood sugar this past few months. So I am glad that I have my Dexcom to monitor that type of thing.
1 Like
I think they go hand in hand. If you are susceptible to autoimmune problems you will eventually get more than one. My hypothyroidism was diagnosed after my son was born but I’ve also inherited the condition known as vitiligo, that is lack of melanin in your skin. It appears in patches and often after a wound has healed you will see that it remains white in colour, no melanin at all. My grandmother had it too, and was also an undiagnosed diabetic. Whilst my Diabetes was only diagnosed about eight years ago, type one, no c peptide function at all, it probably arose because I had gall bladder disease diagnosed at twenty two, skinny me only 105 pounds in weight at the time, but had my first attack at fifteen. Internist said the bile acids leaking from my fully engorged gall,bladder probably ate away at the pancreas which hastened the onset of my diabetes. I think all diabetics should have blood tests for autoimmune diseases, just in case.
I don’t think that Hashimoto’s and papillary carcinoma are related. I also think that although there is a relationship between Hashimoto’s and T1 diabetes there is no such relationship in papillary carcinoma.
1 Like
Agreed.
The Children’s Hospital which we were diagnosed at runs antibody tests for Celiac and Thyroid for all newly diagnosed T1 children as a standard practice.
We hit positive on all of them. Better to know and treat then not know.
@Jen my antibodies are checked every 6 months. Since starting low-dose naltrexone they’ve decreased significantly.
My daughter with T1 tested positive for antibodies for the first time last November. She’s been swinging between hyper & hypo since (labs every 3 months). She’ll be starting naltrexone next month.
According to the studies I’ve read, the jury is still out.
Hashimotos is one type of hypothyroidism. It is often related to T1D but I do not believe that Hashimotos has a causal relationship to cancer. Certainly the noduals that often are present in a Hashimotos affected thyroid should be monitored and, if deemed suspect, biopsyed.
I am curiuos why your antibodies get checked so often. Is there some sort of treatment for them?
Not any treatment that I know of. They say it´s to keep an eye on the antibodies to see if it´s going up or down. It sure makes it easier to adjust my meds (Neo-Mercazole) which I adjust frequently.
Are you sure you don’t mean TSH instead of antibodies tests?
Every 6 months or every 3 months is a very standard interval for monitoring TSH.
(Although Naltrexone is a less than conventional treatment for thyroid problems, it is documented in the literature.)
The sad thing is that TSH is very very limited in what it can actually show thyroid wise, but doctors continue to rely on it often almost exclusively. It can diagnose simple hypothyroidism, but becomes very unreliable for diagnosing other more complicated forms.
Curr Opin Oncol. 2015 Jan;27(1):21-5.
Association of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis and thyroid cancer.
Noureldine SI, et al.
PURPOSE OF REVIEW:
The association of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis and thyroid cancer remains an active focus of research and controversy. Since it was first proposed in 1955, numerous studies have explored the epidemiology and etiology of these concurrent disease processes.
RECENT FINDINGS:
The lymphocytic infiltration of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis is frequently encountered in thyroid glands resected for a neoplasm. The most frequent association is noted with papillary thyroid cancer. Several recent studies performed on patients undergoing thyroidectomy with coexisting Hashimoto’s thyroiditis report an increased prevalence of papillary thyroid cancer, with a favorable disease profile and an improved prognosis, particularly in women. Conversely, some population-based studies using fine-needle aspiration biopsy data report no linkage between serologic Hashimoto’s thyroiditis and thyroid cancer, yet they are limited by the lack of definitive pathology. On the other hand, the significantly increased incidence of primary thyroid lymphomas in patients with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis strongly suggests a pathogenetic link between this autoimmune disorder and malignant thyroid lymphoma.
SUMMARY:
The lymphocytic infiltration of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis is frequently associated with papillary thyroid cancer and may indeed be a risk factor for developing this type of cancer. Nonetheless, a pathogenesis linking these diseases remains unclear. The relationship between thyroid lymphoma and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis appears to be well established.
Quite sure. TPO started at 947. Last check showed TPO at 112.
TSH is included but not the test we rely on. I don’t convert T4, so meds (Nature Throid) are adjusted based on symptoms & Free T3. I feel better than I have in years. ,
In contrast, T1 diabetes is associated with lower incidence of pancreatic cancer. But T2 is associated with a higher risk of pancreatic cancer. The relationship seems to be, the more insulin the pancreas actually produces, the higher the risk.
If you tried to apply this model to the thyroid, I guess that hypothyroid folks would have lower thyroid cancer risk, and hyperthyroid folks would have higher cancer risk. But this doesn’t seem to apply the same way. There is a relation between hyperthyroid and thyroid cancer but it seems to be that the tumor causes hyperthyroid and not the other way around.
I suspect that the generally elevated risk for cancer in diabetes is the result of the higher inflammation level, which also contributes to the characteristic complications. For information about the higher cancer risk see:
Diabetes Care, 2015 Feb;38(2):264-70.
Cancer risk among people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes: disentangling true associations, detection bias, and reverse causation.
Harding JL, et al.
OBJECTIVE:
Evidence indicates an increased risk of certain cancers among people with type 2 diabetes. Evidence for rarer cancers and for type 1 diabetes is limited. We explored the excess risk of site-specific cancer incidence and mortality among people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes, compared with the general Australian population.
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS:
Registrants of a national diabetes registry (953,382) between 1997 and 2008 were linked to national death and cancer registries. Standardized incidence and mortality ratios (SIRs/SMRs) are reported.
RESULTS:
For type 1 diabetes, significant elevated SIRs were observed for pancreas, liver, esophagus, colon and rectum (females only [F]), stomach (F), thyroid (F), brain (F), lung (F), endometrium, and ovary, and decreased SIRs were observed for prostate in males. Significantly increased SMRs were observed for pancreas, liver, and kidney (males only), non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, brain (F), and endometrium. For type 2 diabetes, significant SIRs were observed for almost all site-specific cancers, with highest SIRs observed for liver and pancreas, and decreased risks for prostate and melanoma. Significant SMRs were observed for liver, pancreas, kidney, Hodgkin’s lymphoma, gallbladder (F), stomach (F), and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (F). Cancer risk was significantly elevated throughout follow-up time but was higher in the first 3 months postregistration, suggesting the presence of detection bias and/or reverse causation.
CONCLUSIONS:
Type 1 and type 2 diabetes are associated with an excess risk of incidence and mortality for overall and a number of site-specific cancers, and this is only partially explained by bias. We suggest that screening for cancers in diabetic patients is important.
1 Like
Thanks for all of the information. I guess I wasn’t being paranoid. I went to my doctor and she did notice my thyroid looked swollen. The good thing is she didn’t feel any huge lumps when doing the exam. She said it was just swollen. So now I am supposed to have an ultrasound to rule out certain Thyroid issues. She also did a ton of blood work. So I wouldn’t doubt if I have Autoimmune Thyroid. The scary part is she mentioned that a lot of people in my area have been diagnosed with Thyroid cancer. I have 2 other autoimmune diseases so I am guessing it’s something like AI Thyroid but I will have to just wait and see what they said.