Diabetes FAQ » Diabetes Q&A » I am 67 years old I have type 2 diabetes now for several years and I just found out that I now have a thyroid condition. Is this a complication of diabetes or is it something totally unrelated?

I am 67 years old I have type 2 diabetes now for several years and I just found out that I now have a thyroid condition. Is this a complication of diabetes or is it something totally unrelated?

Thyroid disease

Thyroid disease is a common disease that most people will suffer from and the risk of getting it does increase with age. You may have just found out you had it because your doctor, already knowing you have diabetes did a screening for it.

Hypothryroidism

There is hyperthyroidism which is an over active thyroid and hypothyroidism which is an under active thyroid. Hypothyroidism is the most common form of the disease and it is the most common among older women. Hyperthyroidism is rare, in the sense that it only accounts for 5 percent of thyroid disease. Hypothyroidism accounts for 95 percent of all cases.

Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis

Usually women over 40 will contract this immune system disorder. The immune system is responsible for keeping the body healthy by attacking and killing off foreign invaders, such as viruses and bacterial infection, but for some unknown reason, in Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, the body’s immune system attacks the thyroid gland with antibodies.

First the thyroid will become inflamed and then it will begin to loss cells. As the years go by the thyroid will loose so many cells that it is not able to produce enough of its hormone to support various body functions and that is when the symptoms of hypothyroidism appear.

There is a connection between genetic factors and autoimmune diseases. People with Hashimoto’s disease may also have Graves’ disease, pernicious anemia, vitiligo, which is a skin disease and juvenile diabetes mellitus.

People suffering from diabetes will be at a higher risk for contracting hypothyroidism. The reason for this is because people already having an organ disease (pancreas in diabetes) often contract other organ diseases. About 4 million people in the United States have hypothyroidism.

People who have had tumors removed or surgery for thyroid cancer can develop hypothyroidism. Hypothyroidism can also result from the use of radioactive iodine therapy used to reduce the signs of goiters. In rare cases, the pituitary gland does not produce enough TSH hormone to stimulate the thyroid hormone.

Symptoms of Hypothyroidism

The body does not produce enough thyroid hormone in this condition. The thyroid hormone is responsible for body metabolism, when there is insufficient thyroid hormone a person can exhibit the following symptoms:

• Fatigue
• Weakness
• Inability to lose weight or weight gain
• Dry and rough pale skin
• Dry and course hair, or hair loss
• Intolerance to cold (feeling cold from the inside)
• Muscle aches and cramps
• Constipation
• Irritability
• Sexual problems
• Changes (abnormal) menstrual cycles

Thyroid sufferers will have several of these symptoms but not all of them. Also many of these symptoms are already shared by person’s suffering from diabetes mellitus and so which disease caused what is often hard to distinguish. The effects of thyroid disorders on diabetes.

The biggest concern is that thyroid dysfunction can interfere with the control of blood sugar. Hyperthyroidism (over active hormone) can worse blood glucose levels and insulin requirements for type 1 diabetes and it can create a situation for insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes. This condition occurs when there is so much sugar in the blood that the sugar receptors can no longer accept as much sugar from the person’s diet and the whole pancreatic and sugar absorption system in the blood stream breaks down.

The situation of glucose intolerance will have to be controlled with careful monitoring.

There is a chance of increased cardiovascular disease such as Atherosclerosis, and heart problems with people who have type 2 diabetes and hypothyroidism. Hypothyroidism can also interfere and add to the risk of high cholesterol, which is often present in patients suffering from type 2 diabetes.

Hypothryroidism can also be misdiagnosed for existing diabetic conditions therefore it is important to have the proper blood test.

The good thing is that once a thyroid condition has been identified there is medication that will keep it under control.

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