Hypothyroidism and Inflammatory Bowel Disease

While no direct link has been established, is it plausable the two are related in as much that if you have inflammatory bowel disease you may be at risk in developing Hypothyroidism?

Thanks for the reply. Is it safe to assume that as long as you have any form of auto-immune disease, the meds available will only treat the symptoms and not the underlying cause and consequently, one would be at risk in getting other forms of auto immune diseases?

excellent subject.   I have several autoimmune diseases, Raynaud's, Hashimoto's, ITP, and I am Hypothyroid.  I also have skin issues as well.  I recently went to my regular family doctor regarding some concerning tummy trouble I've been having over the years that just simply will not let up.  He sent me to a GI doctor and the GI doctor feels pretty strongly that I may have Celiac Disease.  He was pretty concerned about seeing all the autoimmune disorders that I have as unfortunate as it is.  He did lab work last wednesday.  I'm waiting to hear back on those results.  I'm scheduled for a colonoscopy as well.  after doing some reading on the celiac disease it totally sounds like me.  There is a lot people don't realize that go with these autoimmune diseases.  The reason I waited so long to really bring it up, is because it's so hard to tell if the symptoms are something new or related to something that you already have.  What took me to the doctor was a rash that I had developed that simply wouldn't go away with anything I tried.  The GI said it could most definately be part of Celiac Disease as well.  All we can do is take it one day at a time, like you said you can't help how God made you.  I do sometimes wonder why he made me this way.  Even though our illnesses are a lot of the time not visible to anybody we still deal with a lot of unexplained symptoms and new symptoms that pop up.  I guess this Celiac Disease will just be another piece of my puzzle.  Maybe though if I can get this figured out I can truly start to feel better.  I'm on levothyroxin currently but still just don't feel good most of the time.  I mentioned my tummy troubles off and on to my Endo doctor and he didn't seem to think anything of it which concerns me a bit to say the least.  My lab work always came back in the normal range when he would check my thyroid levels so I guess he didn't seem to think my tummy troubles needed to be investigated at the time.  all i know is this rash is not normal for me and since I couldn't get it to go away that's when I'd had enough and went to the doctor.  best of luck to all...

JRBear, I read you post and you and I have a lot in common. I've had to take thyroid since I was a child. Also when I 1st had problems my DO said it was IBD and there was nothing I could do, but try to stay away from stress. Well that didn't help and I finally went to GI after having lots of tests done that showed nothing. The GI did more tests, but none of my tests or the 2 colonoscopy, many blood tests, scans, could find anything, and no one could explain my constant diarrhea..up to 15 times a day for 5 years at that time...it lasted another 2 years. I was home bound for 6 of those years (had to be near the bathroom and when I went out, we also kept close track of where the restrooms were)On my last vist to my GI I asked him "is it possible that I could have Celliac disease but "flying" so low that I was under the radar of the tests?"...his reply YES.That's when I strated trying to find what info I could online and that's what's how I found this board. Many here helped me a great deal.Now I'm on a gluten free diet and live pretty much a normal life...and can out of reach of a bathroom for several hours. I came here because I have ringing in my ears all the time and it's getting louder and I do have patches of skin here and that the sort of dry up and form a crust....that has not worried me so much as it's not bad but the ringing in the ears is pretty bad. Also, thyroid problem. I take 75mg of Levothyroxin ever morning at 4am and go back to a sound sleep for the next 3-4 hrs. Now after reading here I know know I may have several autoimmune problems, but where do I start to fix them (or is there any fixing them?) and which one do I start with. Is there any treatment for autimmune problems as a whole or just individually for some, like my thyroid. Does any one have any suggestions about what I could not for the constant hi pitched ringing my ears? (I take lots of vitamins and herbs a day. I did try Liquid B complex but it did nothing for me. Thanks for taking the time to read this long post. Jannet

JRBear, I know just how you feel. I wake in the morning and very gently move each joint before I sit up in bed. That way I know which joints or tendons are inflamed that day and need to be taken care of as I move around.

I always say my life is an ongoing health adventure.

Jannet, for your tinnitus (ringing in the ears) I think there are some medications they can use. You should start with an ENT doctor and a good hearing test, as we can also get autoimmune hearing loss. I have "crickets" in my ears, and as the day goes on they get louder; sometimes they try to drown out the TV in the evening! Most of the time they don't bother me that much, so I just ignore them. In my hierarchy, something has to be causing me constant severe discomfort before it becomes any kind of priority.