I'm writing here on behalf of my girlfriend to try to help her figure out what's going on with her thyroid problems. However, I don't have a thyroid condition, so I don't know a lot of the more technical things about the testing.
She is 25, and she was diagnosed with Hashimoto's Thyroiditis a few years ago, when she had an ultrasound that showed nodules on her thyroid, and her blood tests came back with high antibodies (I think she called them anti-tpo antibodies). Anyway, apparently her doctors said there wasn't much to be done about it, and she has struggled with issues ever since.
The biggest problem is that she has episodes of feeling dizzy, numb, short of breath, and having heart palpitations and tingling in her limbs.
She has gone to the doctor when she's had these symptoms, but they test her hormones (I believe she said tsh, t3, t4), and apparently the results are normal, so they send her home.
She has gone gluten free, and apparently it helps somewhat. However, the heart palpitations and dizziness are scary, and it freaks me out that it happens and that doctors don't do anything. It kind of sounds like her problems are more similar to hyperthyroidism, overall.
She has developed anxiety since this has started happening, which is understandable to me, but then it seems like it's easy for doctors to blame symptoms on the anxiety, which I do not think is right. She also hasn't had a regular doctor for a while, so she sees different doctors who don't know her and seem not to take her very seriously.
Is there anything she can do? Why does she have problems when the hormone levels are normal? Is it possible that something else entirely causes these problems? How do you find a good doctor who won't brush off these issues?
Thank you!!!
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jessicafallible
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A website I found this morning I think every woman/ man with a thyroid problem should look at is called Endocrineweb.com! What you don't learn on Thyroid UK you'll certainly discover on .endocrine.com!
What are her thyroid levels and what thyroid medication is she on? Make sure that there is NO iodine in any supplements she is taking since she has Hashimoto's. Some foods have a lot of iodine too, like egg yolks and dairy. She sounds overmedicated and possibly on the wrong type of thyroid medication. Her story sounds very similar to mine, and I am doing much better now on WP Thyroid 2 grains a day (1 grain am w/ water and 1/2 a grain 2 times a day sublingually 5 hours apart each).
I agree with Jose, some of her symptoms sound very much like low B12. Tell her to ask her doctor to test :
vit D
vit B12
folate
iron
ferritin
These are very often low when one is hypo.
The first step to taking charge of one's own health is to always always get a copy of lab results for every blood test taken. Doctors may say things are 'normal' when they often aren't - mainly because they know little about thyroid - and that is an international problem! If you and your girlfriend aren't very sure about interpreting the results, just post them on here, and someone will help.
'Normal' means nothing when one is hypo. It just means 'in-range', but the ranges can be vast, so it can't all be 'normal'. You need to know the actual figures.
Doctors love to blame symptoms on 'anxiety' or 'depression' or 'your age', or anything else rather than diagnose and correctly treat hypo. So, the patient has to know as much as she can in order not to be fobbed off with antidepressants etc. The reason for this is that Big Pharma make more profit out of treating the symptoms than treating the disease! So, be savvy, and Don't let them get away with it!
Thanks! I think she takes vitamin D supplements. Not sure about B12. Anyway, thank you! Maybe we can try posting her results on here when she's back home.
Jessicafallible, ask your friend for her recent thyroid results and ranges (figures in brackets after results) and post them in a new question for advice. Hashimoto's progressively destroys thyroid tissue and eventually causes hypothyroidism. From your friends symptoms it sounds as though her TSH may be elevated and FT4 low but they may not yet be at the levels where doctors are prepared to make a diagnosis and commence treatment.
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