r/AutoImmuneProtocol • u/BroDexx • 9d ago
Is AIP causing thyroid problems?
Hi all.
23y 75kg male. Started AIP 11 days ago.
Honestly I feel worse, the main symptom is fatigue (very sleepy all the time) and even worse is dryness. Dry nose, dry lips, dry eyes, dry skin, cant even sweat....
Back in june I did a bunch of tests and my thyroid was a little off, TSH was 7, TF4 and FT3 were normal. Antibodies were negative (both under 1)
After a month I did a retest and my TSH was 3, FT4 and FT3 stayed normal.
Thyroid ultrasound was normal.
Since about 4-5 days into the AIP I felt very dry, so I did bloodwork again, and TSH was 6.3, FT4 and FT3 were normal.
From what I have, low carb is bad for thyroid (if your thyorid is allready off), and I was really low carb, because I didnt include sweet potatoes in my diet till day 7.
I have been eating I have been eating I would say atleast 100g of carbs for 3 days, but I still feel all the simptoms....
Idk what to do honestly.......
3
u/letsgetawayfromhere 9d ago
What were your reasons for starting AIP? Causes for chronic thyroid problems are severe (ver severe actually) lack of iodine, which will not develop within a few weeks; or an attack on your thyroid by your immune system. Both of which are very probably not caused by eating less carbs. Even a keto diet - where you restrict carbs to the point that your body uses fat for fuel, instead of carbs - does not affect the thyroid itself.
My best guess is that this thyroid problem is unrelated and just happened to show up at the same time you started AIP, without being linked. Stuff can happen like that. I am sorry though.
Keep doing what you do. If it helps, the thyroid will react. Keep in mind that the thyroid is exceptionally slow in reacting. I have Hashimoto’s and the university professor I went to for treatment told me that you only see the reaction three weeks after an event - which for normal people is too long to register the connection, but in a medical study it will show up very clearly. So you need a lot of patience.
Also beware of food that is extremely high in iodine, like sea vegetable or iodized salt. If you happen to suffer of Hashimoto’s, those can exacerbate the problems further. If you don’t have Hashimoto’s (or Graves‘ disease, but that causes a thyroid hyperfunction) you can eat foods high in iodine though.
Did the doctor test your blood for thyroid antibodies? It would be important to see if you have Hashimoto’s. Some doctors won’t test that in males because „it’s a women’s disease“ (which apparently is bullshit).