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922048 tn?1387942584

Biliary Dyskinesia/Thyroid connection

Hi Dr.,

Thank you for taking the time to respond to our questions on this site. I am a 42 y.o. female. I have been sick for almost 6 weeks now with diarrhea, abdominal pain, low grade fever, uncontrollable weight loss, nausea, fatigue, malaise/body aches, severely weak, etc. I have had every test there is (except for HIDA scan which is this Friday), which have all been negative (including colo/endo). Within the last week, my abdominal pain became more focused in the URQ area. By Monday, I realized that I could no longer tolerate eating fat. (severe URQ pain afterwards and occasionally stabbing pain between my shoulder blades) I am now eating as close to 0 fat as possible. I did have a similar previous episode like this 4-5 years ago, but all tests including HIDA were normal.

I have two questions for you: 1.) What are your thoughts on any possible connection between biliary dyskinesia and Hashimoto's/Hypothyroidism (which I have had for several years)? My logic being that the gallbladder is a gland which needs T3 like the rest of the body does, so if one has very low Free T3 levels, couldn't that contribute to a poorly functioning gallbladder? I have a very strong family history of gallbladder disease on my mother's side. My mother, her 3 siblings and my grandmother all had gallbladders removed. But they all also have thyroid issues. There is not alot of info out there on this, but do you think there could be something to it?

2.) I began to be severely underweight about a year ago and have some mid abdominal pain which I mistakenly attributed to being stomach ulcers, since I had a history of those. At this exact time, I also stopped having periods. When my body fat was measured it was below the normal range. I had more than one dr tell me that the reason my periods stopped was due to the lack of body fat. Assuming that I may indeed have biliary dyskinesia, could that affect my body's ability to metabolize fat? For a year I have tried and tried to eat as much healthy fats (avocado, coconut oil, almonds, olives, etc.) as possible but I could never get into the normal range for body fat %. I'm afraid of staying this thin much longer. (Normal weight 112. Current weight 100.) If biliary dyskinesia is dx'd, will gallbladder removal allow me to gain back all this lost weight? And potentially have enough body fat to get back monthly periods?

Thank you very much in advance! (Sorry to write so long!)

:) Sherri
Best Answer
Avatar universal
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Hello and hope you are doing well.

You could post the query in the expert forum too. You periods irregularity could be due to your thyroid problems. Have you had a recent thyroid profile done? Repeat them every three months to know the status. Gallbladder dyskinesia can cause fatty food intolerance and problems with digesting fat. Research studies show that there is evidence linking hypothyroidism to biliary dyskinesia or low-functioning gallbladder, as there is delayed emptying of the biliary tract in hypothyroidism.

So, wait for the HIDA scan results to plan for therapy. In the meantime eat well balanced meals to promote your health.

Hope this helped and do keep us posted.
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922048 tn?1387942584
Oops! Thought I was posting in the Ask a Doctor area. But would of course love input from anyone with experience in these areas. Thanks!!!
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