Hi everyone. I have Hashimoto's.

[JD138]

I'm post menopausal but still having night sweats. Blood tests have been no help. I have a high level of thyroid antibodies, other thyroid tests are 'normal'. Has anyone dealt with this? Looking for a 'Biodentical' doctor in UK.

[pennyrose]

Hi JD

I'm not sure I can help as I'm not sure what a Biodenitcal doctor is however you should push to see an endocrinologist. I was first sick in April 2012. They did an antibody test in the August and did nothing with it even though they were in the thousands and I was still sick. In February 2013 my voice started to go and i developed a strangling pain around my neck. Seen an endo in the June and he diagnosed and treated me right away.

Do you have your recent blood test results. How are you feeling?

With Hashi's you can go hyper (which I believe I did before I was first diagnosed) x

[JD138 in reply to pennyrose]

Thanks so much for your reply. I have seen several endos with NO help forthcoming. I have had the same problems with my throat as you. I'm looking for a doctor who works with biodentical hormones as an imbalance between oestrogen and progesterone seem to cause sweats. I can only find a London doctor who does this.

[crimple in reply to JD138]

You could try going gluten free. I did amd my TPO antibodies came right down from120 to 13. I also tried lacto free a couple of months after gluten free and now I stick to a gluten and lactofree diet and feel better for it. I had been diagnosed with food intolerances including wheat some 16 years ago, before I was even diagnosed as hypo.

[mremeadows in reply to JD138]

I watched a documentary on animal proteins being bad for our systems

[Krickets in reply to JD138]

Hi I was just wondering if you found or started the biodentical?

[JD138]

Dear Crimple,

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply. I started seeing a nutritionist 2 years ago and she has been wonderful. No more acid reflux or IBS and I have been gluten free since I started with her. Lots of areas of my health have improved but the night sweats are killing me. Once again, thanks for taking the time to respond.

[JD138 in reply to JD138]

Try giving up dairy. I had horrendous night sweats and when I eventually pinned it down to a food intolerance these horrific sweats stopped. Good luck.

[greygoose]

Hi JD, do you have the actual figures for your thyroid tests? Or did you just take your doctor's word for them being 'normal'. Actually, there's no such thing as 'normal' when talking about thyroid. I expect he just meant 'in range' but 'in range' is not the same as 'optimal'. If they're not 'optimal', then you are likely to feel bad. Let us have a look at them - with the ranges - and we'll tell you what we think.

And have you had your vit D tested?

Hugs, Grey

[JD138 in reply to greygoose]

Hi Greygoose,

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply to me. You are quite right about questioning 'normal', which I haven't done for a long time. It took a change of doctor to get someone to believe I really had a thyroid problem. Like many of us with this problem it's awful being treated like a hypochondriac. I suppose if we're being pedantic they are right because my autoimmune system is the problem. This time, however, the blood results were fine but they did the wrong test for my antibodies so I just had it redone yesterday. I've been on a long journey (10 years) with this . I was doing really well but these horrible night sweats are the last bit needing sorted. I have been taking a good quality Vit D for 2 years as well as Omegas with Krill Oil. I'm thinking of trying 5HTP. Once again, thank you for your interest.

[greygoose in reply to JD138]

But you still haven't told me what the results were, just that they were 'fine'. lol Why are you so certain that they are fine? Not being nosey, just wanting you to be more precise both with yourself and us.

[JD138 in reply to greygoose]

Hi there,

I get printouts of my results after every set of blood tests and know what the accepted parameters are for TSH etc. I also know how I feel when these tests are done and I don't always follow the norms. Last summer I was feeling great and my doctor felt my TSH was far too low and he agreed that my blood levels don't always give him all the information. I was lucky to have Dr Skinner as my thyroid doctor for a short time, before he died, and he said that blood tests only give you part of the picture and that what the patient tells you is far more valuable in diagnosis. Sadly I haven't been able to find another specialist like him. Sorry to say God broke the mould when he made him.

[greygoose in reply to JD138]

Oh! He sure did!

OK, so there we are. lol The problem we have here is that if people say 'my bloods are fine' we think 'ok! Another idiot doctor who thinks that bloods scrapping along the bottom of the range are 'fine'.' We've all been there. 'Fine', 'OK', 'normal' are all words that ring warning bells. Sorry for the interrogation. lol

[JD138 in reply to greygoose]

I really appreciate your help and interest. I just hope that I may be able to help someone else. Thanks again.

[greygoose in reply to JD138]

Is your TSH suppressed? Because suppressed TSH often lowers antibodies. If the gland isn't working, the antibodies Don't attack. So that helps some people. Although I know most doctors throw a hissy fit when they see a suppressed TSH, I learnt from doctors that didn't care and admitted that the TSH was unimportant.

[JD138 in reply to greygoose]

I always ask for a printout of results. Doctors don't always have time to track your results. My best tip is for you to find a really good nutritionist. I believe that all this trouble starts in the gut. Good advice is to give up gluten and dairy. It helped me. Good luck.

[greygoose in reply to JD138]

I think this reply was intended for the OP, rather than me, no?

But, you do realise this thread is 5 years old, don't you? I expect people have moved on since then.

Speaking for myself, I'm always rather wary of nutritionists. They tend to have some strange ideas. Also, gluten-free doesn't help everyone. It did nothing for me.