It could be a big red flag for thyroid issues
Gastroparesis
Matt Cook here, and gastric emptying is the process by which the stomach releases its contents into the small intestine.
Gastroparesis is the name given to slow gastric emptying.
Gastroparesis can cause nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and bloating.
These are very common symptoms even in people who don’t have a diagnosis of gastroparesis.
The condition is said to be caused by various things, including nerve damage, diabetes, autoimmune disease, and medication side effects.
Many people don’t know that this condition is also affected by thyroid status.
Low thyroid hormones [hypothyroidism] slow down gastric emptying and can cause a whole host of gastrointestinal problems.
The human research was carried out at Ondokuz Mayis University in Samsun, Turkey. This paper was published in the European Journal of Gastroenterology & Hepatology.
Gastrointestinal problems are ubiquitous in people suffering from hypothyroidism.
“Symptoms due to slowing of gastrointestinal motility constitute an important problem in most patients with primary hypothyroidism.”
This research was designed to see how long it takes for the stomach to empty its contents in people with hypothyroidism, compared with healthy individuals.
“The purpose of this study was to calculate gastric emptying time in patients with primary hypothyroidism using a radioisotopic method.”
The researchers recruited 15 hypothyroid patients for their experiment.
“Only patients who had been recently diagnosed and had received no previous therapy were included in the study.”
Those participants were compared against a dozen people in a healthy control group, those without thyroid or gastrointestinal problems.
(Euthyroid means thyroid labs are normal.)
“Twelve healthy and euthyroid people with no detectable gastrointestinal pathology were examined as a control group.”
The rate of gastric emptying was determined by tracking the movement of the meal through the digestive system.
The meal had a radioactive component which allowed the researchers to track its progress.
“Patients and control group received a semisolid meal containing 1 mCi technetium-99m sulphur colloid and measurements were made from the epigastrium.”
It took 26% longer for the stomach to empty its contents in people with low thyroid.
“Mean gastric emptying half-time was 112 minutes in hypothyroid patients and 57 minutes in the control group.”
The research shows that hypothyroidism is likely a major cause of gastroparesis, leading to symptoms like nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and bloating.
This condition and the symptoms are often blamed on other things.
“Gastric emptying time of the hypothyroid patients was significantly different from the control group.”
Thyroid status is often determined by the TSH.
TSH is not a thyroid hormone, but it is involved in a feedback mechanism with blood–thyroid hormone levels.
The TSH is seen by many doctors as a gold standard – but it’s not always reliable.
You need to take into account multiple factors when assessing thyroid status, this includes TSH but also the things like the thyroid hormones themselves.
The researchers did look at TSH but didn’t look at thyroid hormones.
They found no relationship between gastric emptying time and TSH.
“There was no correlation between gastric emptying time and serum thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels.”
Thyroid hormones affect all aspects of human health.
There have been numerous studies looking at the role of thyroid hormones in gastrointestinal health.
Thyroid hormones don’t just have a role in gastroparesis; they are also involved in SIBO, IBS, and inflammatory bowel diseases like Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.
If you have a health condition and it’s not immediately clear what the cause is, you should probably check your thyroid and get full comprehensive labs.
Otherwise, you could be sent on a wild goose chase for years, costing you a fortune in money and lost time.
You should always consult your healthcare practitioner for guidance on medical diagnosis and treatment.
—-Important Message—-
Get an All Access Pass to my work for personalized help with any health problem
Worried you have a thyroid issue, even though you’re being managed for it on meds?
Having gut problems that won’t go away with traditional solutions?
You can work with me on all of your health issues, on your schedule.
All you need is an All Access Pass and you get unlimited access to all of my discoveries, my masterclasses, and protocols.
Things that are locked away only for All Access Pass holders.
Just go here to get one and find your all-in-one health buddy with tips you can try on your own terms
———-
