Hashimoto's and Graves?

[angelharley]

Can you have Hashimoto's and then get Graves Disease. I'm so confused now? I'm swinging Hypo to Hyper and back to severely Hypo with a 25mcg drop in Levo. I've now just had these tests results in and told to up my Levo from 75- 100 mcg which I was on in Jan when they said I was Hyper and reduced by 25mcg. I've had Hashimoto's for approx 4 years and now I'm not sure whats going on with my Thyroid Gland.

Blood test Results below April 2014

TSH 25.4mu/l Range 0.34-5.60

Free T4 4.2 Range 7.9-20

Free T3 3.1. Range 3.8-6.00

January 2014 Results

TSH 0.14 mu/l Range 0.34-5.60

Free T4 7.9 Range 7.9-20

Free T3 4.9 Range 3.80-6.00

Any advice would be really appreciated

Natalie x

[shaws]

I am sorry you are having problems, with hyper/hypo.

I have hypothyroidism but someone who has hashi's/graves will comment.

This is a link quite a few have said is very helpful and hope it's informative for you.

thyroidlifestyle.com/#!auth...

[linnet2014]

I have similar issues. 4 years ago was severely hyper, on carbimazole at a low dose became hypo. It was up/down for years. Never went on levo. Even when my bloods were in range I had wicked hyper symptoms. Heart,eyes,rashes,overheating, muscle loss. NHS said not thyroid now, must be something else !! As you know when you have had this disease it's pretty unmistakeable once you are first diagnosed.

Eventually went private and was diagnosed with Hashi ( this year) with sluggish but almost normal function. However I also either have a hot nodule, autoimmune thyroiditis or graves ( no graves antibodies, just Tpo)Can't afford tests privately to find out which !! The good news is I am now really well.

I take 4000mg of acetyl l carnitine every morning. This stops the hyper symptoms almost completely, takes a couple of weeks to work. It does not change thyroid output but stops the receptors taking in too much hormone. I also practice a paleo type diet, no gluten/dairy. I find it easy and not restrictive at all. If I have a flare up and my heart starts to get erratic I take 5mg Carb, only had to do that twice since 28th January this year.( in the first 3 weeks before carnitine kicked in) I have lost 2 stone and am so well !! I just can't believe it after all the years of getting nowhere. On Jan 28th I was totally defeated, battling the doctors and this disease. Was a nightmare !!! Keep having hope, there are solutions.

[MissCC in reply to linnet2014]

You mentioned overheating, is this hot flashes or , like me , you get very hot ( red , hot ears and face, fell awful for hours after any exertion ), or just by being in a warm area , and you can't stand humidity . I am five yrs. post menopause , and had been told I was hypothyroid and needed to go on pills for the rest of my life . Shortly after , seeing another fine dr., I was told my thyroid was fine , and I didn't need the drugs !

I've had so many symptoms over the last eight yrs. , starting with anxiety and some wicked panic attacks followed by years of feeling internal jitters and a slew of other symptoms .

I am now going to a homeopathic dr. who has me do in home blood spot and saliva testing for the thyroid , hormones / adrenals . My symptoms keep changing over time , and presently it's the heat issue that is bothering me . Any exertion or temps above 72* and the symptoms kick in ; they are debilitating to say the least. She just proscribed Black Cohosh and another woman's herbal , to see if this helps , if not it's back to more testing and possibly bio identical hormones or creams .

[angelharley in reply to MissCC]

My whole body heats up, I feel that I have a raging fever, then these severe headaches come. Can't sleep at night, jaw hurts, neck feels tight and swollen, Lymph nodes been up and down for over a year now. Tongue feels swollen and sore, mouth ulcers, generally feeling crap hun

[Ritaritarita in reply to MissCC]

I get that hot feeling too. My face turns bright red but my body temp was like 98 and I was burning up. I hate it, especially in the summer. It happened yesterday. So know how ya feel.

[MissCC in reply to Ritaritarita]

I go to my naturopathic in a week, have to see what she will prescribe next. I do know that the hypothalamus gland is responsible for regulating body heat. So if that is out of balance then this heat problem is most likely related to hormones. Oh this aging process is such fun ! Keep in touch !

[angelharley]

Sounds promising Linnet....I feel I'm running on adrenaline only, in the Fight or Flight mode and gonna crash anytime soon. I'm gonna see my GP tomorrow to see if he's got any suggestions. I'm working full time, single, have 3 dogs to walk and I'm struggling big time! GP's normally pretty good, lets hope he comes up with a decent plan of action! Thank you for your support xx

[wombatty]

Hashimoto's and Grave's can occur together. You can have antibodies to TPO and TG (characteristic of Hashimoto's) and also have TSH receptor-activating antibodies (hallmark of Grave's).

However, you also may have only Hashimoto's and be suffering the consequences of waves of autoimmune attack on your thyroid. The immune cells kill off part of your thyroid, which then can't make enough T4; reduced T4 in the blood causes the pituitary to release TSH (whose blood level then rises). The thyroid responds by trying to regenerate the lost tissue and increasing its T4 output, sometimes overshooting the mark and causing hyperthyroidism. TSH then drops, but the thyroid's activity brings on a new wave of autoimmune attack and the cycle recommences. This can continue until the thyroid has been destroyed. There was a time when doctors tried to keep the TSH suppressed in Hashimoto's so the thyroid would essentially remain dormant and not attract the attention of the immune cells. Unfortunately, Hashimoto's is now treated as simple hypothyroidism, without consideration of its autoimmune etiology.

I may be going through the same thing. TSH went from 5.4 to 0.1 in six weeks; now that my levothroid dose has been reduced by 12 mcg, I'm curious to see whether the TSH goes up or down at my next test.

[angelharley in reply to wombatty]

I've always felt Hypo symptoms but for the past 4 mths or so, I have nothing but Hyper symptoms. I'm never cold, totally the opposite and itch at night where my skin is overheating. Anxious, headaches, palpations, resting heartrate gone from 70's to late 90's. I've never had high blood pressure but it's now gone up to 146/84. I saw an Ophomologist in Dec and had both tear ducts widened by 3 snip and he's told me I have stenosis of the lacrimal gland and need major surgery to stent...not sure if there's any connection. All I know is my TSH has gone up to 25 by a small decrease in meds. Do you know if my Free T3 and T4 results being under range is a hyper stage? Many thanks x

[galathea in reply to angelharley]

Free t4 and freet3 under range, with raised tsh is a hypo stage. If you are too hot and restless it could be that your adrenals are taking up the slack and you are running on adrenalin. This is horrid and makes you feel tired and wired........

[galathea]

Although hashimotos and graves can happen together, you can swing from hyper to hypo with hashimotos. It happens when the thyroid comes under attack and in an effort to defend itself it makes more hormones, the other version is that the destroyed thyroid releases its hormones..... The trick is to take enough thyroid hormones so that your tsh is low and the thyroid doesnt hav ve to do anything. Destroying thethyroid can take a few years...... I still had antibodies of 1800 after 20 years.

[angelharley in reply to galathea]

So if I up my meds like the Gp said will that put my Free T3 and FreeT4 back up as there below range and then bring my TSH back down.....Is that the theory? Thank you for your help

[galathea in reply to angelharley]

Yes.

[Banjogirl]

Best to be treated with NDT. That way when you have a hashi attack and feel hyper, by not taking your t3 containing NDT for a couple of days you instantly lower your hormone levels as t3 levels reduce quickly whereas synthetic t4 takes days/weeks to reduce and will keep you hyper for longer as you suffer an attack.

[tishr99]

Yes, I'm the same. Swing from one to the other. Been like it for years now, totally exhausted and now getting eye problems too. My endo just seems baffled.