Did anyone else find that giving up smoking triggered thyroid problems??

[justina72]

Its been a few years now since i was diagnosed but here is how it came about...

I had been having symptoms for what seems like years but they were getting steadily worse it was the hair loss that prompted me to go to the doctors in the end,

I put up with the aches and pains the tiredness coldness constipation the list could go on but the hair was a step too far.

I had tests done in the september which coincided with me giving up smoking they came back satisfactory..

The tests were repeated in the Nov and came back as my thyroid was low.

It will be 3 yrs in Sep my symptoms have all but gone apart from the hair loss.

Ohh and did anyone else get a numb mouth??? I ended up going for a MRI scan which came back clear and was yet another thing that was attributed to my thyroid

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK]

My hypothyroidism only seemed to happen when I gave up smoking.

And this seems to have been observed by many:

thyroiduk.healthunlocked.co...

Have you had B12 checked?

Rod

[justina72]

I did and the first time it was low and then came back as ok and nothing was done

[TP26]

After I gave up it almost exaggerated it - after so many years of just knowing my thyroid was unwell but getting nowhere with GP's and blood tests "normal". I gave up in the September 2010 and had bloods take back in June which showed 3.1 but by February 2011 my TSH was 59.9.

[Hidden in reply to TP26]

Yep gave up smoking with in a month started getting really tired and cold was tested straight away turned out was really high so was put on 100mg levo.

[polly3]

Yes years ago......many people find their health worsens after stopping smoking....its so bad for you...glad I gave up. X

[shawj31]

Justina - your story is exactly the same as mine. Stopped smoking after having pneumonia and it was the right thing to do. Have been treated for underactive thyroid for 3yrs and now on 125 mcg Levothyroxine each day. Hair loss seemed to coincide with diagnosis/end of smoking which initially I put down to the pneumonia. However it has continued despite every treatment- iron, b12, epo, saw palmetto, nourkin, minoxidil, female hormones. Not one Dr or Endo recognises the hair loss as an issue. Now seeing a Dermatologist who'll be doing a scalp biopsy this wk. Can cope with the lethargy & tiredness but the hair loss is truly depressing.

[justina72 in reply to shawj31]

Snap I can deal with everything but the hair loss..I have learned to accept it more but i still hate looking in the mirror and i really detest sunny days as the sun shines and makes it more obvious and me more conscious..

I had a dermatology appt of which the outcome i felt i had been fobbed off..

There diagnosis was I had diffused alopecia!! nothing to be done..nobody listens and nobody cares is how i feel right now.

suffering with this has also made me aware of just how many women suffer with hair related problems as i'm constantly comparing my sparse mop with everyone i pass in the street!!

I mean Im 40yrs old i shouldn't feel like this in this day and age surely

[Clash]

Hi

Try this - you've probably seen before but it helped me understand the connection

thyroid-info.com/articles/s...

Chris x

[Clash in reply to Clash]

Forgot to say..doctor says it's not the nicotine, but the other chemicals in smoking, that cause the problem. Taking NRT does not stop thyroid problems from developing when you quit, as I know to my horror.

Chris