Hypothyroidism?
 

I practiced Atkins for about 6 months and had great success with it until I had my general doctor's exam for the year and my blood test came with my thyroid at borderline low. That honestly scared me enough to add grains back into my diet. That combined with getting braces where I can't have nuts or seeds, and I feel off the diet altogether.

Gaining all the weight back has made me want to go back low-carb (Paleo this time). But I'm really worried about messing up my thyroid.

I've found various articles online, one saying that it isn't limiting the carbs that is causing the hypothyroidism but simply not eating enough calories. http://livinlavidalowcarb.com/blog/...e-experts/15305

Another article suggests that quitting carbs cold turkey can be too much of a shock to the thyroid and should instead be done gradually (but doesn't explain how). http://www.sarahwilson.com/2015/10/...thyroid-issues/

Another says that everyone is different and while many people have had great success on low-carb, others NEED to have carbs in the diet and should have about 150 grams of carbs a day.
https://chriskresser.com/is-a-low-c...ng-your-health/
https://blog.paleohacks.com/how-ket...l-your-thyroid/


I've seen a few articles suggesting that low thyroid isn't a problem unless you are experiencing systems because a higher thyroid is actually responding to all the carbs you intake, so naturally it would be lower with low-carb. https://www.dietvsdisease.org/low-carb-hypothyroidism/

I do plan on discussing all of this with my doctor (which I didn't before), but with so much conflicting information, I don't expect her to have more of an answer than I do. Though, hopefully, we can figure out some kind of plan to figure out what's causing the issue. Has anyone else experienced this problem?

I've been hypothyroid for many years, and it is almost unheard of for anyone in developed countries to develop thyroid problems from diet. There's a lot of misinformation on the internet about 'needing' carbs for your thyroid It's nonsense.

Seven of 10 cases of hypothyroid are due to Hashimoto's, an autoimmune disease (that's what I have). I have an excellent endo who knows I eat very low carb (and loves the fact that I do), and he assured me that eating low carb is very healthy--for me and my thyroid.

In fact, on some thyroid boards, women have mentioned that they've only been able to lose weight with low carb eating.

Well, that's great and all. But it doesn't change that my thyroid dropped after going low carb and returned to normal when I quit. I'm just trying to figure out why and hoping the answer my doctor swears by isn't adding carbs back in.

Correlation doesn't equal causation. How did you know your thyroid 'dropped'? You had labs done just before starting low carb and right after you added carbs?

I have no first hand knowledge, but I have read that the TSH can fluctuate without indicating a problem.

That is a possibility, I suppose.

I had labs done 6 months into the Atkins diet. From what I've researched, those on low carb who experience hypothyroid symptoms crop up 6 months to year into the diet.

I started adding carbs back in and in the labs 6 months later, my thyroid was back to normal.

That may be too spread out to form a specific correlation, but I still found it concerning. As you point out, it could be nothing. Something to discuss with my doctor regardless.

I live with only half my throid glands--due to pregnancy complications. Yes, pregnancy can mess with them. I have been low carbing snce before pregnancy... but OB doc focuses on thyroid because of pregnancy, not because of diet. So far no connection between LC and low thyroid. No low thyroid here.

I also make a point with cooking with iodized salts..... as well as sea salts.

If you have Hashimoto's thyroiditis the most commonn form of thyroid disease (I believe the last time I checked over 90% of hypo cases are caused by this) and is autoimmune your thyroid hormones will fluctuate with some people going hypo to hyper. You need proper testing to see your thyroid health. Pcps usually only test TSH. TSH=is produced by the pituitary gland not the thyroid. You need free T3 and free T4 testing to see the amount of unbound thyroid hormone your body is producing. TPO Antibodies test will tell you if you have Hashis. Carb count or ingestion of carbs has nothing to do with thyroid disease or testing.