"Hyperthyroid?"… "Hypothyroid?" IS IT HASHIMOTO'S THYROIDITIS?

[taylrrae]

➡I wanted to blog. I have some thoughts, and, more than anything, I just want to voice them out. I don't

like keeping things of this nature in my head. I'd rather write them out or vent them to someone else just

for the sake of getting them out of my head so that they don't take over my thoughts.

Anyway, it's troubling me how I have more hyp-O-thyroidism symptoms than I do hyp-ER-thyroidism symptoms.

Particularly - the fact that my hands and feet are painfully, painfully itching and burning right now. And how over the

weekend I couldn't get out of bed for two days.

Knowing, now, that I have blood hormone levels that would indicate an overactive thyroid, it puzzles me that I

would have any bouts.

It's weird. I really do go back and forth - think about it.

I did some research and I found out that:

[taylrrae]

☛ a) You can have both Hashimoto's and Graves' Disease (just an example; read on) at the same time.

✩ That's rare and HIGHLY improbable, and I may have neither (in all likelihood). I just wanted to

point that out - it's that whole "confounding variable" aspect, which you need to remember in medicine. If you

have two disorders one/both may confound the data of the other/each other.

[taylrrae]

☞ b) Hashimoto's Thyroiditis is a condition typically associated with hypothyroidism, but people with

Hashimoto's can have acute periods of overactive thyroid (hyperthyroidism) amid more chronic bouts of

hypothyroidism.

✩ So that makes me wonder if we should consider the possibility of Hashimoto's or something that

could mimic it's effect on the thyroid that is maybe less dire or chronic.

[taylrrae]

(couldn't fit it all in one post)

[galathea]

I have hashimotos and was diagnosed almost 30 years ago. I spent a couple of years going back and forth to the doc feeling tired and low but no suggestion of what might be wrong..... Then I went hyper. A two minute visit to the doc and she knew immediately what the problem was..... She said I was hyperthyroid and sent off or thyroid testing. The tests came back as hypothyroid which totally confused her so I was sent to an endo and it was confirmed that I had hashimotos.

The hyper phase was very real and quite scary buti am very glad I wasnT just bunged a load of carbimazole or other anti thyroid drugs. You have to be so careful that the docs are giving you the correct treatment.

What are your antibody tests saying?

[taylrrae in reply to galathea]

I have felt bursts of anxiety - like unwarranted anxiety attacks, and bursts of almost like manic highs… but i'm usually tired and i have raynauds, aches and pains… etc.

I've gotten one thyroid test (entire metabolic panel, too) and the results came that I had elevated thyroid levels (hyper), and that I had slightlyyyyy elevated liver enzymes (43 on a range of 0-40) - but not enough to cause concern.

I have to make a followup appointment with an endocrinologist before I can get further testing.

But the result of hyperthyroidism really surprised me. I had thought for sure that I could have a thyroid problem - but I thought it would be hypo for SURE, if anything.

[taylrrae in reply to galathea]

It's just confusing. My symptoms are so back and forth

I just feel like everything is being affected - aches and pains everywhere, myalgias, impaired sleep, impaired energy, impaired cognitive function, joints, muscles, you name it - i'm probably having problems with it.

My weight keeps bouncing back and forth, but I've had that problem for more than a year - I will fluctuate by ten pounds in 2 days sometimes. I pretty thin, and I try to stay in shape - lately, though, I don't have the energy.

[taylrrae in reply to galathea]

Oh and another weird thing: I had mass amounts of ketones in my urine on and off for over a month. I'm not diabetic, and I didn't have any sort of unusual dietary restrictions. It was so weird.

Could a thyroid issue explain that?

[galathea]

Thyroid issues can explain just about everything...... If the central driver goes wrong the whole of the body goes wrong...... When you had the metabolic panel done, how hyper were you?. Was the free t3 up in the 20's or 30's or was it just over range? Mine is currently just over range and I am fine with it. My doctor is unhappy but my job is not to please my doc.

What about antibodies? You need to know if its graves or hashimotos, it makes a difference. I have had the elevated liver stuff, but next time it was checked it was ok.....

Adrenals could be causing you problems, hence the tired and wired bit. Been there, got the t shirt. Maybe have a look at taking plenty if b vits and vitamin c to give them some support? I eventually went and got a saliva adrenal test for £75 ish. And worked from there. I realise its all tests and money. It cost me about £450 in tests to sort myself out, I just put it on my credit card.... Was worth it because once I was well I was able to work to pay the card back.

[taylrrae in reply to galathea]

Well I've struggled on and off over the past year with iron deficiency anemia. Right now my levels are just below normal. But idk how hyper I was. Apparently my voice mailbox was full so they sent a letter with my results to my house and my dad has it as I am away at college.

[taylrrae in reply to taylrrae]

I also get swelling under my hyoid none sometimes and whenever I don't sleep enough I get swelling all over and on the sides of my neck- thyroid?

[taylrrae in reply to galathea]

But I don think there was anything else that was far enough away from normal to be alarming. I mean besides the ketones and thyroid, and a few weeks ago I got simple bloodwork done at a clinic and one of my white blood counts was abnormal but not the other. So they said I was probably just run down

[taylrrae in reply to galathea]

Idk what this means but these were my elevated WBC on my CBC. I'm guessin "lym" would be lymphocytes... Idk "ne". They're not even that elevated just a little. But that was back in march and I feel like I get exponentially worse every day.

NE# 5.04(scale: 1.80-3.50 x10^3/uL)

LYM# 2.44 ( scale: 0.80-2.30 x10^3/uL)

I thought I would be getting better from the mono months ago. Not worse and having doctors tell me they don't know what's wrong :/ sometimes I'm in so much pain it's ridiculous.

[taylrrae in reply to taylrrae]

And my monocytes were a little high too. But I mean I had mono earlier in the year. I was supposedly in the convalescent stage in January. So unless it caused organ cell damage it's weird that it's affecting me like this

[galathea]

Tayirrae, You post however you like, jumping around and putting in multiple posts is sometimes the way it goes, because that's how your brain is working..... Don't be put off from saying what you want!

The low iron probably means you have low ferritin levels too.... Ideally they need to Brie more than 70 or you can start losing your hair..... Without iron the thyroid meds aren't going to work proper

Ly either.

You need to take iron every day , pref along with vitamin c to help it absorb, and take it as far away from your thyroid meds as you can. Mayb best thing woud be taking thyrod meds at night and iron in the morning?.... Definitely don't take the two together.

Lack of thyroid and lack of iron are going to make you feel really tired. Make sure your tutors know about it as you might need an extended deadline sometimes. But try and avoid it because its horrible when the work backs up.

Can you get yor day to read you all the results over the phone? If so, do. If not, are you going home over any of the bank holidays?

G xx

[taylrrae in reply to galathea]

i will probably just look at them when i get home. Or i'll wait until the endocrinology follow-up. i just know that something isn't right, you know? I just feel like i keep getting worse.

Oh and my iron levels have improved. I take a multivitamin.

There's a chance this could all just be some acute thing right..?

[Boronia]

Have you had Throid antibodies tests done?

[taylrrae in reply to Boronia]

not yet. i made an appointment with an endochrinologist though.

[taylrrae]

i know a lot because whenever i have a problem i educate myself about it - ketones and high thyroid and etc in tests.... research time! And my dad is a doctor.

I just always get so scared and often under-exaggerate my problems in a hospital/clinic/medical-type facility because I'm scared they won't take me seriously. I know this is counterintuitive and it doesn't make it easy for them to figure out what's wrong with me. But i have so many problems that if i were to say them out loud the doctor would probably think i was a hypochondriac (and i'm def not - 3 knee surgeries and pneumonia i ignored and let get so bad i had to be hospitalized would suggest otherwise). I'm just scared to that it's in my head sometimes because so many tests have come back inconclusive (simple cbcs at student health) that i'm afraid that nobody will believe me if i do have something... and i just want empirical evidence backing my claims before i say i think i have something

That's why i like this site so much - i can just say what's bothering me without worry.

[taylrrae]

I take 1000 mg vit c and 1000 mg vit d3 a day and take a multi-vitamin w/ b-vitamin focus sometimes. but i do need better sleep. sometimes i just CANT sleep, though

[taylrrae]

Does it mean anything that i was diagnosed with raynaud's last year and again this year and have flare-ups of that all the time?