Hashimoto's Flare?

[pennyrose]

Good morning all

After being on thyroxine for 5 months I felt like I was finally at a steady 80% on most days, which was amazing considering how low we can all get. With Hampsters help I've fought for a compromise on my low b12 and have an injection on Friday.

However, on Saturday night/Sunday morning I felt nauseous. I had an awful sleep waking up with headache and sickness (please note, I haven't actually been sick). From Sunday morning appetite was completely gone and I've had waves of nausea. It's now Thursday and I've barely ate (when I say barely I mean I'm managing food once a day, the most being half a bagel eaten over the course of 40 minutes) because of horrific indigestion: I get full as soon as food touches my lips, it gets stuck there for what feels like an eternity and then I burp a lot afterwards.

I was originally trying to pass it off as eating too much dairy on Saturday (scrambled egg/cheese toast for brunch, a glass of milk which I rarely have, and a cheesy Mexican dish for dinner). But a) I've had much more than that and been fine and b) if it was lactose surely it would have past?

The thing that terrifies me is that these are the exact same symptoms I had last April/May when I first got ill. Last year it came on just as suddenly (woke up one morning with no appetite/severe indigestion when I tried to eat). I went through the ringer, had invasive and extensive testing, and all they could see was low b12 and thyroid antibodies.

Sorry this is so long winded but I guess my question is three fold. Could this be a hashi's "flare? Is there such a thing? Or could it all be related to the low b12 that my doctors have failed to treat properly?

My last thyroid test had my tsh at 0.05 which is what my endo wanted, so they reduced my does from 200mcg to 175mcg/200mcg on alternate dates.

The earliest I can see my GP is Wednesday. I'm really struggling. If it isn't my thyroid, and not b12, I really am at a loss of what to do

Thank you all

[shaws Administrator]

I'm sorry you are feeling so ill but it could be due to the fact that your medication was adjusted. This is an excerpt :

The TSH level is not well synchronized with the tissue metabolic rate. (Probably most doctors falsely assume that studies have shown that the TSH and metabolic rate are synchronized. But despite my diligently searching for years for such studies, I’ve yet to find them.) Adjusting the T4 dose by the TSH level is like adjusting the speed of your car by a speedometer that's out of synchrony with the actual speed of the car. Adjusting the speed of a car by an out-of-sync speedometer, of course, will get the driver into trouble—either with other drivers who'll object to the car traveling too slowly, or with a police officer who'll object to the car going too fast. And adjusting the thyroid hormone dose by the TSH level gets most patients in trouble—almost always because their tissue metabolism is so slow that they are sick.

Read the answer to the question dated January 25, 2002

web.archive.org/web/2010103...

[Moggie]

It could be that you have a major gut problem that has not been diagnosed yet, such a coeliac, which is very common in hashi's patients. Have you ever tried going gluten free or had a coeliac test?

Some experts say that the auto immune illness starts in the gut before it ever hits the thyroid and you need to look at sorting the gut as well as the thyroid.

Moggie x

[pennyrose in reply to Moggie]

Thanks Moggie

They did a test last June which came back negative. For a while they thought I had some form of IBD but colonoscopy (great) and endoscopy (even more great) came back negative x

[Moggie in reply to pennyrose]

I am due both these tests next month - tell me EXACTLY what they were like please, and no holds barred.

I am not going to be sedated as I have no one to stay with me for the four hour requirement after I get home so am just going for the numbing option!!!!! - really not looking forward to this one bit.

Moggie x

[pennyrose in reply to Moggie]

Hi Moggie - to be honest the colonoscopy isn't bad. I cant even say it was uncomfortable, I didn't really notice anything! The nurses and specialists are always really nice and talk you through it and you can look at the screen and ask questions.

The endoscopy....that's a different story. SORRY! Like you I had no sedation. They spray the back of your throat with a numbing spray which tastes horrid. They ask you to try and swallow it down and relax but it's bad. There isn't pain but your entire body tries to fight it and you feel like you cant breath and you just want to rip it out. If I ever needed that again I wouldn't even ask for sedation, I would want full general anaesthetic!

I genuinely have a high pain threshold and can tolerate most things (such as an appendix rupturing) but the endoscopy really isn't a nice experience.

Can you not stay in hospital for a bit and have the sedation?

Also - this was just my experience. Maybe others didn't think it was that bad? Maybe I went in thinking it was going to be easy so I wasn't prepared?

Sorry sorry! xx

[Moggie in reply to pennyrose]

After reading that maybe I will go for the sedation and tell them that I have someone at home. My daughter is taking me but it is the Saturday before xmas (21st) and I didn't want to bother either of my daughters with having to look after me.

Wonder why you have to have someone with you for four hours? I'll google it and see what I can find out.

Thanks for your reply - I was sedated last time I had one (over twenty years ago) and all I can remember is a nurse telling me not to fight. Although the consultant told me the tube that goes down your throat is a lot smaller now I still don't like the sound of it.

Moggie x