@A DiabetesTeam Member the thyroid has a major effect on blood sugar levels but on the insulin production and use side of things (as opposed to the release of stored sugar which the adrenals mess with).

With your thyroid "removed" that will have a detrimental effect on your level of insulin "production" (so less insulin in your system) and you will be missing a hormone or two that helps with absorption of glucose into the cells.

So that second one being "kinda like" insulin resistance but in that case caused by lack of activity from the Thyroid.

What I am totally unaware however, is if at least on the production side, if the pancreas can recover it's function to some degree with the Thyroid missing (similar to how your liver can step in a bit to replace the function of the gallbladder after it's removal) - no clue there though - that IS one of those questions for an Endo to answer or at least give advice if the (missing thyroid) can somehow be mitigated.

But with my limited knowledge on the matter around the Thyroid, I do know that both overactive and underactive (or totally missing) absolutely "really messes" with blood sugar but by "messing with" the insulin side of things as opposed to the sugar side.

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@A DiabetesTeam Member I will try and keep this to the point but Fasting numbers fascinate me and for a little over two year I tried to find a method of (regulating) them to the point of where I could "predict" (not necessarily control) what they would be.

It really is a complicated subject and there has been tons of studies trying to get a good grip on them. The answer seems to be that it is so "complex" that it is just beyond what we understand right now.

There is hundreds of (in our own body) factors that effect our fasting sugar number but of course, it's only really of concern to diabetics.

They know the source - the liver. The liver synthesizes and stores sugar (called hepatic sugar or glucagon) to feed all the cells in the body when (we) are not putting dietary sugars in our body (glucose).

It is our Biorhythm that greatly controls what our fasting number will be.

If we get a (perfect) nights sleep - about 7 hours - experience the REM sleep, don't wake up, don't toss around etc, not even a "pee break" then about 2 hours before we come to consciousness (body clock picks that time) then our system starts to power up - heart rate increases, respiration increases, organs start to "wake up" and it's caused by the release of hormones (adrenaline and cortisol primarily but there are other).

Depending on which hormones and in what quantity are present, the Liver release X amount of sugar - so more cortisol (or any of them) = more sugar.

If you have broken sleep - or get up for a pee - then your system has to "pump out some hormones" to "wake you up before scheduled" - that causes "extra sugar" to be released.

If you have a nightmare - adrenaline gets released = more sugar

And there is dozens if not hundreds of (influences) that can end with a call for "some sugar".

So if you were 80 today and you are 120 tomorrow it's tough to put your finger on "what happened"...

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@A DiabetesTeam Member here is the opening sentence from a medical (paper) talking about Thyroid dysfunction and Type 2.

Diabetes mellitus (DM) and thyroid dysfunction (TD) often tend to coexist in patients. Both hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism are more common in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients than in their nondiabetic counterparts.

So yes - Diabetes can be a "symptom" of a number of Hormone Disorders (including the Cushing's that I used in my example).

It's not so much that one causes the other, but since these issues are connected "metabolically", it is not uncommon to see more than one if we have messed up our metabolism (either on purpose, through genetics or whatever the cause).

At least we are lucky that Cancer and Heart Disease are not metabolic disorder although some cancers can cause metabolic disorders

I believe that Type 2's should be encouraged more to try and improve their entire metabolism instead of narrowly focus on blood sugar, we would be healthier and better manage our diabetes while potentially preventing a number of other problems.

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Lol, this soooo describes me. I so want my FBG to be under 100!!!! It’s hard to see others with low numbers but the reality is some are on meds and I’m not so I need to be content with my progress and really it’s only been 2 1/2 months since diagnoses. Still learning what works what doesn’t, what foods cause spikes etc. Then there is the voice of reason aka your spouse to keep you in line.

@A DiabetesTeam Member so "facts"

Unless you are over 140 (7.8) you are "not doing damage"

While it's pretty "sweet" to BREAK 100 (just like golf) there is no "health value" to that - it's simply the Bragging Right that "my FBS is a non-diabetic number".

(that would be under 5.5 for us millimolians - I made up that name) 😄

Even from a diagnostic view as long as your FBS is under 126 that is considered "normal for a Type 2" - AND is not hurting a single thing - it's a perfectly fine, never gonna cause damage number.

But I am the same way - I'm "irritated" if I'm over 100 and almost mad if I'm over 110 (but still well under 126).

That's just the nature of (us) who constantly strive for near perfect control.

Sometimes when I'm "muttering" about my fasting number my Wife will chime in "you do remember you have Diabetes, Right??" 🤣

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A Diabete...