Celiacs/ Cushings/ Hashimoto's question

[Squishyleo]

I've been thinking I might have Cushings and am currently being tested for it. The first blood work came back positive for tissue transglutiminase and gliadin antibodies. So I'm wondering if celiacs can present like Cushings or if it can trigger Cushings or if there's any connections?  I also have Hashimoto's hypothyroid, sclerosis, and vitiligo, btw.  I heard that celiacs can lead to Hashimoto's - does anyone know if that's true and if so, what is the process?

[Red_Star]

I have had a buffalo hump for around 12 years myself. My waist basically vanished a few years back. I found this info to explain why i have normal insulin levels with insulin resistance symptoms: "Insulin resistance is defined where a normal or elevated insulin level produces an attenuated biological response."

[Squishyleo]

Yes, I have latex allergy, too.  Thank you for the info about the insulin resistance. That's still a possibility for me as diabetes also runs in the family. My cushings-like symptoms have been around for a decade or two, (only started realizing I wasn't "just fat" in September or so)  and I'm tested every year for blood sugar and diabetes due to my family history. It didn't show much elevation until this year along with all the autoimmune conditions. I don't know much about latent insulin resistance, but I'll read up on it. I know that a lot of what I thought was fat was edema, because when I went on levothyroxine (.50)  I lost 20+ pounds in 4 or 5 months without changing diet or anything. (Not positive ot was caused by the levo)  So I'm trying to piece together what possible cause that and my symptoms might have and how all these things might interact with each other.

[Red_Star]

While you may actually have Cushing's disease, the odds are far higher that you have insulin resistance mimicking Cushing's disease.

My insulin resistance symptoms (had extensive testing to rule out Cushing's disease) include a very prominant buffalo hump, high hip waist ratio (slightly improved and is currently 0.94 - should be 0.8 or less for women and 0.9 or less for men), and acanthosis nigricans (a skin disorder in which there is darker, thick, velvety skin in body folds and creases).  

Despite normal insulin labs, the decades of untreated magnesium deficiency and hypothyroidism have caused insulin resistance symptoms.  Some of my hypothyroidism and magnesium deficiency symptoms also mimicked Cushing's disease. A few examples include a rounded face and swelled abdomen due to hypothyroidism and excessive thirst and high blood pressure due to magnesium deficiency.

Association of vitiligo is seen with autoimmune diseases such as Hashimoto's thyroiditis, Addison disease, pernicious anaemia, and type 1 diabetes mellitus.  Celiacs have 4 times the risk of developing autoimmune thyroid disease.  

The DQ8 gene (DQB1*0302) associated with celiac disease is connected to many other diseases. The various diseases that are found in increased frequency with the DQ8 gene: celiac disease; scleroderma; rheumatoid arthritis; autoimmune thyroiditis; pemphigus; lupus; pemphigoid; focal myositis; multiple sclerosis; myasthenia gravis; insulin dependant latent autoimmune diabetes of adults and adult type 1 diabetes; type 1 juvenile diabetes; sjogren's syndrome; addisons's disease; complex regional pain syndrome with dystonia; latex allergy.

[Barb135]

Cushings is an adrenal issue, caused by too high cortisol levels, while celiac is an allergic reaction to gluten.

The connection is that all of the conditions you mentioned are autoimmune and once a person has one autoimmune, the chances are greater that they will get another.  One doesn't cause another, but they can all happen together.