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I wanted to let everyone know that I saw a thyroid specialist today. Based on my bloodwork, he did diagnose my with a very mild case of hypothyroidism, which he says MAY (in rare instances) affect bowel habits and cause constipation. He's putting me on a thyroid medication ASAP.

It's good news that you have been put on medication to get your thyroid levels back in order. Constipation is a common condition associated with hypothyroidism. Do a board search for all the posts on hypothyroidism. There have been many. There is also an excellent forum on about.com with helpful research and message boards.

Of course, he's also basing his diagnose on my constant complaint of fatigue and depression. Although the case is mild, he says he has seen people who are severely affected by the condition. Absolutely! I was one. And while he doesn't know if the medication will help my constipation and IBS, it's possible that it could help.

The other good news is that after a few months of this medication, I can start tapering of my anti-depressants. The main reason I was on them was the crushing fatigue and inability to deal with daily life caused by fatigue. If it's all a thyroid condition, stopping antidepressants might help the C, too. Maybe, since AD's do contribute to constipation, but it is more likely to help the fatigue, that is if your body is converting enough T-4 to T-3 which is what affects the fatigue and mood. If not, he can add a low dose of T-3, Cytomel, to see if that helps when you are off the AD's, if you still have the symptoms.

I don't know if any of this will work, but I have some better hopes today. I don't think I'll stop the parts of the diet that work for me any time soon, because they definitely have me eating healthier than I did before. I will keep you updated on the thyroid medication, in the hopes that perhaps the stuff I am experiencing might help other folks find some relief, too.

I've been hypothyroid for nearly 20 years but have had IBS for only 2 1/2. For me, one has not affected the other, since hypothyroidism is an autoimmune disease, IBS is not. Unfortunately, one autoimmune disease begets another, so it wise to be tested for all the other more common ones too. Kandee

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