icon-nav-help
Need Help

Submit your question to our team of health care professionals.

icon-nav-current-questions
Current Question

See what's on the mind of the community right now.

icon-conf-speakers-at-a-glance
Meet the Team

Learn more about our world-renowned team.

icon-nav-archives
CWD Answers Archives

Review the entire archive according to the date it was posted.

CWD_Answers_Icon
July 1, 2002

Thyroid

advertisement
Question from Scotland:

I was recently diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and hypothyroidism so I take insulin and thyroxine, but the symptoms of the hypothyroidism have not reduced after three months of treatment. Can insulin reduce the effectiveness of thyroxine?

Answer:

From: DTeam Staff

Some diseases are more common if you have type 1 diabetes. Celiac disease, Addison’s disease, and thyroid disorders, are examples of so-called autoimmune disorders.

Because type 1 diabetes is in part a disease with genetic predisposition to autoimmune disfunction, it is also more common both for the person with diabetes and other family members to have other autoimmune diseases. However, if the symptoms of hypothyroidism have not reduced after three months of treatment with daily thyroxine this is not due to insulin, but it might be due to an inadequate dose of thyroxine. Ask your doctor for a referral to an endocrinologist.

MS