Obligatory Post: Thyroid & Gallbladder Sitting in A Tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G

So, this has been the question on my mind lately: Are thyroid disorders and gallbladder disorders related? 

http://uvahealth.com/services/diabetes-and-metabolism/conditions-treatments/11762

So I looked it up. I didn't find too terrible much.


The article "The Relationship Between The Thyroid and the Liver" was interesting because of this quote:

"There is also evidence that hypothyroidism may directly affect the liver structure or function. Hypothyroidism has been associated in a few case reports with cholestatic jaundice attributed to reduced bilirubin and bile excretion. In experimental hypothyroidism, the activity of bilirubin UDP‐glucuronyltransferase is decreased, resulting in a reduction in bilirubin excretion."

Also, the liver needs the hormones the thyroid produces to do it's job.

Another study, Association Between Thyroid Function And Gallbladder Disease, says:

"For decades, there has been a discussion, whether thyroid disorders could cause gallstone disease. Particularly, there are several explanations for a possible relation between hypothyroidism and gallstone disease. These explanations include the known link between thyroid failure and disturbances of lipid metabolism[1] that may consecutively lead to a change of the composition of the bile. Recent studies[2] also demonstrated low bile flow in hypothyroid subjects."

But the study concluded that only men were at a higher risk for having thyroid problems and gallbladder issues than women. This is possibly because women are at a higher risk for hypothyroidism and might be diagnosed sooner than men. So...in my opinion, kind of an inconclusive study.

From an e-zine article:

"While gallbladder disease could be the result of simply leading a sedentary lifestyle with lots of fast food, it also could be caused by hypothyroidism, a condition that means that the thyroid is not producing enough of the right thyroid hormones. Since these hormones affect many of your bodily processes, an insufficient amount affects everything from digestion and bowel movements to the speed of your ability to process thoughts."

The author lists 'gallbladder problems, including gallstones and delayed emptying' as a possible side-effect of hypothyroidism.

Chris Kesser, a guy I've quoted before who is an acupuncturist and practices integrative medicine, says that:

"...a sluggish gall bladder interferes with proper liver detoxification and prevents hormones from being cleared from the body, and hypothyroidism impairs GB function by reducing bile flow."

In any case, these are the only articles and quotes I felt worth publishing. There were a slew of web sites with info about the thyroid and gallbladder disease, but I didn't think they were very reputable. The few legitimate studies on the topic weren't super convincing. I will say that it does seem like having a shortage of thyroid hormones floating around appears to affect the amount of bile one has, which might be something!

You've Got Some Gall!

So something weird happened to me this past week. I had been having sharp pains in the my 'right quadrant', right under my rib cage, sometimes in my lower back. It occurred to me that it might be my gallbladder getting angry at me. Another voice (most likely the voice of Satan) chimed in to remind me that I was probably getting autoimmune hepatitis and would die shortly.

Once I had successfully told the Voice of Crazy to go f*** itself, I realized several factors that made it likely my gallbladder was the culprit:

*The pain was always after I ate and was worse after I ate something yummy, AKA something fatty.

*It got worse until it eventually gave me the Big D and nausea. Nausea is my worst enemy.

*My mother, my grandmother, and both my grandmother's sisters have all had gallbladder problems. Subsequently, they no longer have gallbladders. I don't know any more specifics (gallstones, blocked ducts, dysfunctional gallbladder, so many options...), except that my grandmother's gallstones were shaped like dice and she was glad to be rid of it.

*My mom and my grandma both warned me it would happen to me eventually.

http://iheartguts.com/gall-bladder

Anyway, I had been having these sharp pains on that side of my ribcage for....let's say four days or so. Then one fateful night, I decided to have avocado. For those of you who know things, you know that avocados are all fat. A healthy fat, but all fat nonetheless. Your gallbladder doesn't differentiate between healthy fat and bad fat. The pain got more and more frequent until, in the middle of a grocery store, I felt simultaneously like going to the bathroom and puking. Pleasant combo. Anyway, I booked it home. All I felt like doing was curling up in a ball on the bathroom floor. Eventually I started to feel better and I did myself some Googling.

Here is the most relevant info to myself:

"Chronic gallbladder disease (chronic cholecystitis) involves gallstones and mild inflammation. In such cases the gallbladder may become scarred and stiff. Symptoms of chronic gallbladder disease include the following:

        *Complaints of gas, nausea, and abdominal discomfort after meals; these are the most common symptoms, but they may be vague and difficult to distinguish from similar complaints in people who do not have gallbladder disease.
         *Chronic diarrhea (4 - 10 bowel movements every day for at least 3 months)."

I wish that someone had told me that gallbladder problems can cause chronic diarrhea. Maybe these last two years would have been a little easier if I had mentioned that to one of the many doctors I have seen. It also might explain why there were four incidences around when my daughter was born that I was inexplicably sick, with similar symptoms. I'm ashamed to admit this, but one time it was right after I binged on Cheetos and Oreos, both of which are chock-full of yummy fatty goodness. :)

Anecdotally, I have been testing this theory and there's no pain when I don't eat any fat. My good friend says my body has successfully taken all the fun out of eating. BUT I STILL HAVE SUGAR!

I go to the Doc today to see if I'm just a crazy hypochondriac or if I should go get an ultrasound. Sigh. Any personal, similar experiences with gallbladder issues would be appreciated.

About Face

The other day my husband said to me, "You never really hurt before, did you?" I keep thinking about these words. His observation must mean I'm a whiner and a hypochondriac now.

The answer is that I didn't hurt. Before my daughter's pregnancy, I had never really hurt. I have never broken a bone, gotten into an accident, or suffered from any chronic healthy problems.

The worst things that had happened to me physically were needing glasses and twisting my ankle now and then. I did split my bottom lip open three times in my childhood, but that ended up being a good thing because I'm convinced it has created a fuller, plumper bottom lip. :) My payment for free cosmetic enhancements was eating through a straw for a while.

As a result of my mostly pain-free life, I have been less than sympathetic with those around me who suffer. The biggest and best example is my husband. As a Type 1 Diabetic, the guy is perpetually feeling less than stellar. He is very good at managing his blood sugar levels, but even a slight increase or decrease from the norm causes discomfort.

I have asked what it feels like to be 'high' and to be 'low'. To be high feels heavy, sluggish, sick, tired, kind of like you're slogging through sand. This might be because his blood is literally filled with 'extra' sugar that he can't use for energy. To be low feels dizzy, light-headed, still tired, kind of dazed and loopy (but happy), and insatiably hungry. He tried to eat his hat once.

For the longest time, I had a sort of faux sympathy. Since making sure his blood sugar is on-line takes priority, he always checks if before anything and everything. Sometimes we were late because he had to eat, sometimes we couldn't be intimate because he was low, sometimes he was just plain cranky because his blood sugar was high.

Sometimes I was less than understanding. I like to think most of the time I understood that he could DIE or at least be admitted to the hospital without regulating his blood sugar, so I afforded him time to figure it out.

I wasn't understanding when there were Things To Be Done. I come from a very task-oriented, To-Do-List making, ball-breaking sort of family. We're German. When I wanted to Get Things Done and my husband just wanted to lay in bed and sleep off a low/high blood sugar, I wasn't as nice as I could have been.

In the last two years, God has really done a number on me. My daughter's no-so-great pregnancy, to an unwanted surgical birth, to semi-depression, to constant diarrhea, weight-loss, thyroid problems, autoimmune problems, doctors appointments...

I can't tell you how many conversations we've had where I'm saying, "So, is this how you feel when your blood sugar is high? It sucks! No wonder you just want to lay in bed all day. That's all I want to do." And guys, this wonderful husband of mine was already attuned to health woes. So instead of telling me just to buck up and get going, he has always let me take the time I needed to recuperate and rest. Now I make sure to afford him the same courtesy. Now I know how fragile we all are.

And remember the Big D!? One of my DH's favorite sayings is:

"Respect the pooping."

Now I get it!

Anyway, I hate to admit it, but if God's sole purpose for all this health-hardship (and I'm sure it's not, I'm sure there's much more going on...) is just to make me a more caring, sympathetic, and empathetic then....okay. He knows what He's doing.

From the devotional Streams In The Desert by L.B. Cowman:

"The Lord longs to be gracious to you...'Blessed are those who wait for him!' (Isa. 30:18). The Lord watches over us all in the difficult places, and He will not allow even one trial that is too much for us. He will use His refining fire to burn away our impurities...Do not grieve Him by doubting His love."

And:

"If only we would recognize every difficult situation as something God has chosen to prove His love to us, each obstacle would become a place of shelter and rest, and a demonstration to others of His inexpressible power."