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Boderline underactive thyroid?

Katey14064

Member
Messages
23
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Hi all
I got.my HBA1C test back at a 45..Which on my letter she says this is excellent? No idea what this means

The next part of the letter shows said that my bloods show a Boderline underactive thyroid and I am to have tests for this in 6 weeks and then a meeting with my consultant. Does anyone else have this? How does it effect diabetes and your life? If im put on thiroxin what are the side effects etc??

Thanks in advance :)

Katety
 
I got.my HBA1C test back at a 45..Which on my letter she says this is excellent? No idea what this means

A hba1c of 45 is excellent. It is equivalent to an average blood sugar of 7.4. The target for type 1s is to keep hba1c under 48.

Here's some info on hba1c - http://www.diabetes.co.uk/what-is-hba1c.html

I don't have thyroid issues. I think @Snapsy might be on thyroxine? My understanding is that under active thyroid can be cause be an autoimmune disease and once you've got one (type 1) you're more likely to get another. So there probably will be a few type 1s with helpful experience to share.
 
A hba1c of 45 is excellent. It is equivalent to an average blood sugar of 7.4. The target for type 1s is to keep hba1c under 48.

Here's some info on hba1c - http://www.diabetes.co.uk/what-is-hba1c.html

I don't have thyroid issues. I think @Snapsy might be on thyroxine? My understanding is that under active thyroid can be cause be an autoimmune disease and once you've got one (type 1) you're more likely to get another. So there probably will be a few type 1s with helpful experience to share.
Ahh thanks for this!! I guess it make sense for 1 thing to trigger amother! And the hba1ac thing was super helpful..Thank you
 
I have been on thiroxin for over 10 year, if you have an under active thyroid then thiroxin will most likely have no side effect. It tends to give you a bit more energy and speed up your body metabolism as well as making it easier to lose weight. Unlike insulin, thiroxin tablets for most people with an under active thyroid work just as well as a "normal" thyroid would work.

But there is more then one type of underactive thyroid, and different types of thiroxin hence it is good that a consultant is dealing with it rather then your GP. (Insulin has a part in how the body uses thiroxin.)

Unless you are unstable and in hospital, thiroxin is started with a very low dose, increasing it very slowly until the test results shows the dose is OK for you. Then a few years like it is likely the done will need increasing more.

Sorry I can't say how thiroxin effects Type1 as I have Type2 and have not had it for that long.
 
Hi all
I got.my HBA1C test back at a 45..Which on my letter she says this is excellent? No idea what this means

The next part of the letter shows said that my bloods show a Boderline underactive thyroid and I am to have tests for this in 6 weeks and then a meeting with my consultant. Does anyone else have this? How does it effect diabetes and your life? If im put on thiroxin what are the side effects etc??

Thanks in advance :)

Katety
I'm in exactly the same position as you are. My thyroid has been borderline for a couple of years now. I spoke to my Practice Nurse at my local Diabetic Clinic on Friday and she thinks that I should speak to my GP as I told her I am now getting some symptoms of an under active thyroid, hair loss and fatigue.
 
Hi @Katey14064 and thanks for the tag, @catapillar .

I'm on Levothyroxine and have been since having my thyroid gland zapped with radioiodine after suffering Graves' thyrotoxicosis 15 years ago. I produce absolutely none of my own since then. Like the diabetes it's a bit of a balancing act, but not in such an immediate fashion (it takes a while for medication changes to take effect, not like the glucose/insulin rollercoaster we deal with on a daily basis).

It's important to get the dose right. This is why:

As you perhaps are already experiencing, an underactive (or undermedicated) thyroid can have symptoms - among others - such as feeling cold, sluggish, fatigued, weight gain, hair loss and depression. Conversely an overactive (or indeed overmedicated!) thyroid can give you hot flushes, excessive energy (mania, in my case), palpitations and/or very very fast heart rate, increased hunger, weight loss, and in extreme cases full-blown psychosis.

It's great that they've picked it up. There is a whole condition called - ironically - 'subclinical hypothyroid' which in my opinion is a 'hmmm, you have an underactive thyroid, and we know that, but we are not going to treat it'. I have friends with this, and it breaks my heart, because they are really struggling without thyroxine.

I am tested regularly, and the things they look at most closely with my tests are TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone, which is produced by the pituitary gland, and is high if you are not producing - or taking - enough thyroxine), and T4 ('free thyroxine'). I feel my best when my TSH is very low and my T4 is right up at the high end of the ideal range.

I had a big blip last year when I was not absorbing the medication, and then when goalposts were moved I was unintentionally massively overmedicated and I totally lost my even keel (in psych terms, I mean).......... All well now, I feel, but I'm due another test to make sure. This blip was a curveball and was simply down to me taking the tablets wrongly (you need to take them on an empty stomach - I was taking mine with my daily cod liver oil and other tablets - oooops.

As far as diabetes control is concerned I don't notice massive changes from being on thyroxine.

I am pleased to hear that you have been told you are 'borderline' hypothyroid, as this may well mean you need the support of a fairly small dose of thyroxine.

There are other thyroid hormones which are important but which have never been flagged up for me as being out of range - I gather T3 is an important part of the equation for some, as it is that which converts thyroxine to T4. I don't know much about T3 but I know it's an issue for some on here.

I think @ewelina and @ickihun are on thyroxine too.

Sorry for the long-winded post - hope it is helpful!

:)
 
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I'm in exactly the same position as you are. My thyroid has been borderline for a couple of years now. I spoke to my Practice Nurse at my local Diabetic Clinic on Friday and she thinks that I should speak to my GP as I told her I am now getting some symptoms of an under active thyroid, hair loss and fatigue.

Hair loss? That's literally been happening to me!
 
@Katey14064 am I having a mad five minutes or are there two threads the same? Can't see my reply to your post on here - must be on the other one!

:)
 
I got.my HBA1C test back at a 45..Which on my letter she says this is excellent? No idea what this means
If your HBA1C is 45 that's brilliant. I hope you can now have success with getting your thyroid sorted.
 
The blood test most used for thyroid is the TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone), which comes from the pituitary gland and it goes up when the thyroid gland isn't putting out enough hormone. If it's just a little high they won't prescribe Synthroid, they'll just watch it. It has nothing to do with diabetes. When it gets over 10 they usually start the drug.
 
The blood test most used for thyroid is the TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone), which comes from the pituitary gland and it goes up when the thyroid gland isn't putting out enough hormone. If it's just a little high they won't prescribe Synthroid, they'll just watch it. It has nothing to do with diabetes. When it gets over 10 they usually start the drug.

as well as TSH T3 should be tested in combination and I think the guidelines are a little different over here although memory is preventing me from remembering what!
 
Yeah I have 2 tests on my form
Oh so they're not linked..Just a coincidence
They did full bloods when I had my hba1ac and got the letter. Will see what happens in 6 weeks!!
 
as well as TSH T3 should be tested in combination and I think the guidelines are a little different over here although memory is preventing me from remembering what!
But we're talking HYPOthyroid here not HYPER.
 
Yes, that's also what I'm talking about as I'm also HYPOthyroid
Then the TSH should be elevated. You run the T3 when you strongly suspect hyperthyroid (low TSH) and the T4 comes back normal. Another commonly run blood test is the T3 resin uptake (T3RU). As I recall they refer to the T4/T3RU panel as a "T7".
 
Then the TSH should be elevated. You run the T3 when you strongly suspect hyperthyroid (low TSH) and the T4 comes back normal. Another commonly run blood test is the T3 resin uptake (T3RU). As I recall they refer to the T4/T3RU panel as a "T7".
No because you can have a 'normal' TSH (less than 10 as you stated but over 5) with a low T3 - basically T4 conversion isn't happening at the required rate as it happened in me. I had all the symptoms but it wasn't until they ran a T3 they realized something was wrong, my TSH was about 6/7 I think.
 
No because you can have a 'normal' TSH (less than 10 as you stated but over 5) with a low T3 - basically T4 conversion isn't happening at the required rate as it happened in me. I had all the symptoms but it wasn't until they ran a T3 they realized something was wrong, my TSH was about 6/7 I think.
Gotcha. I may have had it backwards.
 
Sorry I think my phone posted it twice. I belive they have been merged now. Sorry about this!
Thanks for all the info guys..Was a bit of a shock being told by letter with a blood test form just being told to come back in 7 weeks wit no one to ask about it.

Hopefully we will know soon and ill get what my body does or doesn't need! Feels crazy being just diagnosed as type 1 then getting this too..But the symptoms make a lot of sense.

Thaks for the help you lovely lovely people
 
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