Diabetes and Hypothyroid?

Dodger

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Hi All, does anyone know if having hypothyroid (on thyroxine) have any effect on blood glucose results?
I'm sure I've seen somewhere that this gives incorrect BG results, but can't remember where or how it effects them.
Any info regarding this would be appreciated. :?
 

timo2

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Hi Dodger,

Thyroxine will tend to raise sugar levels. I'm not aware of it causing "incorrect" BG readings.
But hey, everyday's a school day.

Regards,
timo.
 

a_hilton

Member
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Thyroid hormone is responsible for the 'turnover' or metabolism of protein, carbs and fat.

If you are hypothyroid, you tend to have low energy and to store excess energy as fat, rather than burning it off.

This would suggest either low BG levels, or an inability to process carbs within the muscles themselves.

Either way, assuming that your thyroid levels have been normalised through administration of exogenous thyroid hormone (thyroxine) then there should be little conflict or interaction between the two conditions.

However, I did say "assuming". Basically, you need regular bloodwork done to accurately asses your T4 and T3 (thyroid hormones) level in the blood. Without this insight, it becomes a guessing game to a certain extent.

Here is an article which seems to state that blood glucose is unaffected by hypothyroid. It's a long, dry read though :?

Here is the most relevant paragraph for you:

"Typically, blood glucose levels are unaffected by hypothyroidism because insulin sensitivity is not altered. In fact, in patients utilizing exogenous insulin, there may be a decrease in insulin requirements from reduced insulin degradation.8 Therefore, typically, glucose remains stable or improves while a person is hypothyroid. Once thyroid treatment is initiated, patient education and close observation is vital because normalization of the thyroid may potentially lead to higher blood glucose levels and loss of diabetes control"

All the best,
Alex
 

totsy

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hya,
ive an underactive thyroid and diabetes,my consultant on diagnosis did say that my thyroid levels could fluctuate on a regular basis which in turn would affect my diabetes,
im sure it does as i do get symptoms ,hope this helps :D
 

xxxleonadxxx

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Hi there,

I too have an under active thyroid with diabetes and take 200mcg daily of levothyroxine, I have to admit I wouldn't have thought it would have affected my bloods ...... so far I haven't seen it have an effect.
 

a_hilton

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totsy said:
hya,
ive an underactive thyroid and diabetes,my consultant on diagnosis did say that my thyroid levels could fluctuate on a regular basis which in turn would affect my diabetes,
im sure it does as i do get symptoms ,hope this helps :D

I think the key word here is 'fluctuate'. If your thyroid levels are all over the place, then so will your metabolism be.

Since metbolism is directly affected by and directly affects blood glucose, fluctuations in metabolic rate, caused by variations in thyroid hormone levels will (to my mind) cause fluctuations in blood glucose.

Basically, fluctuations in thyroid = fluctuations in BG.

Alex
 

a_hilton

Member
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xxxleonadxxx said:
Hi there,

I too have an under active thyroid with diabetes and take 200mcg daily of levothyroxine, I have to admit I wouldn't have thought it would have affected my bloods ...... so far I haven't seen it have an effect.

As long as your thyroid is stable, it would seem that BG levels will be stable too. All other things being equal of course.

Alex