# Can hyperthyroid aggravate blood sugar?



## themainemom (Oct 9, 2009)

I have not yet been diagnosed with hyperthyroid, but strongly suspect that I am. I have also had hypoglycemic feelings most of my life. Again, not diagnosed as my number never go low enough. But, believe me, I have the feelings and they are real. Seems that my blood sugar "issue" has been more sever over the past year, and now the thyroid symptoms. Do you know if there is a connection between the two???


----------



## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

themainemom said:


> I have not yet been diagnosed with hyperthyroid, but strongly suspect that I am. I have also had hypoglycemic feelings most of my life. Again, not diagnosed as my number never go low enough. But, believe me, I have the feelings and they are real. Seems that my blood sugar "issue" has been more sever over the past year, and now the thyroid symptoms. Do you know if there is a connection between the two???


Hi there!! Yes; indeed!! All this endocrine stuff is tied in and often it becomes a cascade effect.

Thank goodness, I don't have diabetes but I do have insulin resistance which means my glucose is high in the range but not over the range.

Have you ever had a glucose test to check for diabetes? If not, that may be a good idea.

Here is some info for you re the relationship between thyroid disease and diabetes........

http://spectrum.diabetesjournals.org/content/15/3/143.full

Let me know what you think and what you have decided to do.


----------



## themainemom (Oct 9, 2009)

Yes, I've been tested several times, it always is in the normal range. I have a glucose meter too, but it never registers a "low" reading when I'm feeling bad. It's usually somewhere in the 90's. My best guess is that maybe it was higher like 130 or so, then dropped quickly into the 90's, thus the bad feelings. But that's just my "theory". I'll discuss it with the endo when I get there.


----------



## chopper (Mar 4, 2007)

130's to 90 in a fairly short period of time sounds perfectly normal to me - that's what insulin's job is.

What is your fasting morning glucose level?

How high does your glucose get after a big meal - peak 25 minutes or so after you eat?

How high is your glucose 1 hour after the same meal? 3 hours?

Have you ever had an A1C test? If so, you should get a baseline if you suspect glucose issues.


----------



## themainemom (Oct 9, 2009)

Thank you for these suggestions. My fasting is usualy high 90's or low 100's (I think it's supposed to be under 100, so that's why I like ot keep an eye on it.) I have never been instructed how to check after a meal. I will try your suggestion today and check 30 min, 1 hr, & 3 hrs. What numbers should I be looking for? Thank you for your help!


----------



## chopper (Mar 4, 2007)

Don't forget to take it just before the meal too so you have a baseline to compare it to.

Im not a doctor so can't tell you for sure, but in my own testing (and I don't have diabetes) you may see something like this:

Pre-meal: 89
30 minutes after meal: 135 - 170
1 hour after meal: 95 - 110
3 hours after meal: return to baseline 89 - 105

These are just ballpark numbers of course. It will depend a lot on what you eat. If you finish off your meal with a big bowl of ice cream, expect higher numbers.

The key is that the highs are not that high. A diabetic may go into the 300's 25 minutes after a meal and will stay there for a much longer time.

A healthy person will peak, insulin will kick in and start lowering blood sugar usually within an hour or so of a meal. If you peak at 250 and you are still in the 200's 1.5 hours after a meal, it could indicate a problem.

Additionally, if you drop like a rock it could also indicate a problem. If your sugar peaks at 160 30 minutes after a meal and then 1 hour after the meal your sugar is 60, that too could indicate a problem.

An A1C test is a good test to have because it takes a 3-month "snapshot" of your overall blood glucose. It's good to have a baseline if diabetes runs in your family so you can tell the doctor, well 3 years ago my A1C was only 4.9 and now its 8....which would indicate a possible problem. Do a google search on A1C and you'll see how the test works.

Here's a decent link explaining it: http://www.diabetes.org/type-2-diabetes/a1c-test.jsp


----------



## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

themainemom said:


> Thank you for these suggestions. My fasting is usualy high 90's or low 100's (I think it's supposed to be under 100, so that's why I like ot keep an eye on it.) I have never been instructed how to check after a meal. I will try your suggestion today and check 30 min, 1 hr, & 3 hrs. What numbers should I be looking for? Thank you for your help!


Well; if you are using a home glucose testing kit, I think anything over 140 is cause for concern and it also depends on whether you have just eaten or not. Please read the instructions that come with the glucometer. Fortunately, there is no diabetes in our household.

As I said, I do have insulin resistance and I suspect you do also for the glucose range is pretty standard. Anything over 100 (we are talking professional labs here) is confirmed diabetes. If it is high in the range, like in the 90's, that is IR (insulin resisitance)and headed for diabetes.

Please let me know; I am concerned and would love to see you feeling better.


----------



## chopper (Mar 4, 2007)

Once you start getting into the 110 area fasting you need to be concerned, particularly if it runs in your family.

Some docs will tell you "pre-diabetes" is anything over 100, others will say 110 and above. I've seen plenty of non-diabetics with 108 fasting. It will also fluctuate a bit. If you wake up and pull a 140 then its a concern.

If you are hypo, it only makes sense to "feel better" from a rush of sugar. For me, my "sugar" is tobacco. I dip smokless tobacco. I know its a disgusting habit but it keeps me awake and feeling better. Just as sugar may do for you.

Here's a good piece from wikipedia:

Despite widely variable intervals between meals or the occasional consumption of meals with a substantial carbohydrate load, human blood glucose levels normally remain within a remarkably narrow range. In most humans this varies from about 80 mg/dl to perhaps 110 mg/dl (4 to 6 mmol/litre) except shortly after eating when the blood glucose level rises temporarily up to maybe 140 mg/dl (7-8 mmol/litre) or a bit more in non-diabetics. The American Diabetes Association recommends a post-meal glucose level less than 180 mg/dl and a pre-meal plasma glucose of 90-130 mg/dl. [1]

It is usually a surprise to realize how little glucose is actually maintained in the blood and body fluids. The control mechanism works on very small quantities. In a healthy adult male of 75 kg (165 lb) with a blood volume of 5 litres (1.3 gal), a blood glucose level of 100 mg/dl or 5.5 mmol/l corresponds to about 5 g (0.2 oz or 0.002 gal, 1/500 of the total) of glucose in the blood and approximately 45 g (1½ ounces) in the total body water (which obviously includes more than merely blood and will be usually about 60% of the total body weight in men). A more familiar comparison may help - 5 grams of glucose is about equivalent to a small sugar packet as provided in many restaurants with coffee or tea, with people using typically 1 to 3 packets per cup.


----------



## noblez (Aug 26, 2009)

Oh my gosh, I just finally found a doctor who told my my low blood sugar (I was fainting, especially after exercise, even if it was light exercise and often dizzy upon standing etc) was due to the graves. For about 6 months I had been testing own sugar levels whenever I felt faint and all the other docs just kinda ignored me....even with blood sugar levels of 47 

So now until I get the graves under control I check my blood sugar before a workout and make sure its at least 100. I also carry glucose tablets and if my monitor says its low I take one or two tablets and feel almost instantly better.

According to my doc our bodies are just running really fast and will burn up sugar faster (especially with exercise).

Mind you, I'm not a doc. just my experience.

Good Luck!


----------



## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

noblez said:


> Oh my gosh, I just finally found a doctor who told my my low blood sugar (I was fainting, especially after exercise, even if it was light exercise and often dizzy upon standing etc) was due to the graves. For about 6 months I had been testing own sugar levels whenever I felt faint and all the other docs just kinda ignored me....even with blood sugar levels of 47
> 
> So now until I get the graves under control I check my blood sugar before a workout and make sure its at least 100. I also carry glucose tablets and if my monitor says its low I take one or two tablets and feel almost instantly better.
> 
> ...


Not a surprise; I had a similar situation. My glucose would just take a huge dive every day and I simply had to eat something or else I would get very difficult.

I am sorry for this but I know we all appreciate your sharing your experience w/ us as a heads up to everyone. Get that glucose checked!!!!

Sadly, many other health problems are co-morbid to thyroid disease.


----------



## themainemom (Oct 9, 2009)

I find that I have to keep eating to keep from feeling hypo. Although, I am far from hypo becasue even though I have those horrible hypo feelings I am in the 90's. So basically I just keep eating so I don't "feel" low. Still losing weight though... gee... do you think it's Gaves?!?


----------



## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

themainemom said:


> I find that I have to keep eating to keep from feeling hypo. Although, I am far from hypo becasue even though I have those horrible hypo feelings I am in the 90's. So basically I just keep eating so I don't "feel" low. Still losing weight though... gee... do you think it's Gaves?!?


Not necessarily Graves' but I do believe you are hyperthyroid by all means.

For Graves' you must "clinically" present w/ Thyrotoxicosis, Goiter, Pretibial Myxedema and Exophthalmosis. 3 out of the 4.

Here is info on Graves'..............

http://www.thyroidmanager.org/Chapter11/11-frame.htm

W/ Hashimoto's, you could be in hyper phase also. And there are other etiologies.......

http://www.thyroidmanager.org/Chapter13/13-frame.htm

How is your heart? Having palps/arrythemia? Are you hot, cold?


----------



## themainemom (Oct 9, 2009)

No palps right now. I'm usually cold, but I think you're supposed to be hot with hyper.


----------



## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

themainemom said:


> No palps right now. I'm usually cold, but I think you're supposed to be hot with hyper.


Symptoms over lap and don't always hold true. A lot of us have low ferritin also which is the protein that stores your iron for cellular uptake. If your ferritin is way low, you could be very very cold in spite of other things going on.

Medical science is most challenging. One must not have tunnel vision. Plus, no 2 persons are alike in how they might or might not respond to any given thing.

Even though I am now doing exceedingly well; my thermostat is permanently broken. I can't take extreme heat and I cannot even take a day like today here in Ga. where the temp is a "damp" 50 degrees. My hands and feet, my nose and my core are freezing already and it's not winter yet.

My brother lives in Windham, Maine. I have never been but I know it gets mighty mighty cold up there and that's from a woman who grew up in Ohio where we used to have to dig out through the basement window wells w/ snowshoes in hand to get to school each and every day. No snow days in those days!


----------

