New here, introducing myself and have a question

[Kalicocat]

Hi, I just joined this site a little while ago and been doing lots of reading and learning, thanks!! Just wanted to introduce myself and ask a question if that’s alright.

I started off with Hashimoto’s about 5 months after my daughter was born back in 2000, my TSH was 79 and my thyroid ultrasound was heterogeneous consistent with inflammation, I felt like I was on death’s door. I was started on 50 mcg of levothyroxine. My TSH ran between .83 and 1.56 while I was on medication.

In 2011 I was diagnosed with fatty liver and about 1 ½ years after that I was diagnosed with diabetes, osteopenia and a femoral hernia. Around this time I had gone on a very healthy diet with loads more exercise and also had my hernia surgery. All of this caused me to lose too much weight so I went off of my levothyroxine to try to help stop the weight loss. I got down to around 104 lbs, but have slowly made my way back up to 115 lbs. and seem to be maintaining that. I was able to stay off medication until 3 weeks ago. My TSH during this break from medication was floating between 2 and 2.5 so not bad, and I didn’t really feel hypothyroid, or maybe I did, but always blamed it on my diabetes/fatty liver. My antibodies were in the normal range whenever we remembered to check them.

Now that I’m coming to the end of perimenopause (I’ll be 55 in October), my antibodies (Tg Ab only, not Anti TPO) have risen again:

April 23, 2015:

TgAB: 236 (Range < 40)

TSH 1.84 (Range .3 – 4)

July 7, 2016:

TgAB: 189 (Range < 40)

TSH 3.96 (Range .3 – 4)

My doctor started me on 25mcg of Synthroid on August 10th.

I felt much better after the first week, but am still feeling tired and draggy a lot, sometimes it feels like I’m getting the flu. Although I definitely have more energy than I did and my shortness of breath is gone. But my joint pain, especially my hips, is killing me. The joint pain is what got me to ask for more thyroid tests in July. I’m getting my blood tested again tomorrow, hopefully that’s not too soon, to see if we can bump it up to 50mcg.

I have a question though, I got my daughter’s thyroid tested due to her having a lot of my symptoms and she also has Raynauds:

TSH 4.28 (Range .3 – 4)

TgAB 13 (Range < 40)

Anti TPO <10 (Range < 35)

And a blood test earlier in the year flagged anti-SSB: 2.0 (Range < 1.0), which is specific to Sjogren’s and Lupus.

So, her doctor and my doctor both think her thyroid is not underactive because her antibodies are low, but I think she needs levothyroxine. We’ve been working on her Ferritin, it’s now 33, but I don’t know her folate, B12 or D3 yet. We have another appointment next month and I will ask for those tests.

Sorry for the long post, but was wondering what everyone thinks? Thanks for any suggestions you can give me and for getting to the end of this post.

[Treepie]

Unlike you your daughter has not got Hashimotos thyroiditis but her thyroid is struggling .She should first have her ferritin ,folate ,B12 and D3 tested as deficiencies can affect the thyroid.

[greygoose]

Well, I have to say, one negative antibody test does not prove that she doesn't have Hashi's, because antibodies fluctuate. As you found yourself.

And those doctors are a pair of dumbos! Of course she can be hypo without anitbodies!!! There are many, many reasons for becoming hypo, not just antibodies. And, once your TSH hits 3, you are hypo. What do they learn in med school these days?!?

You need to keep a close eye on her thyroid from now on.

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Do you have also test results for your own Vitamin D, B12, folate and ferritin

These are often too low, we need very good levels of all four for thyroid hormones to work

Vitamin and minerals levels are very important, but standard NHS thinking, doesn't at the moment seem to recognise this.

You will see, time and time again on here lots of information and advice about importance of good levels of B12, folate, ferritin and vitamin D, leaky gut and gluten connection to autoimmune Hashimoto's too.

drgominak.com/vitamin-d-hor...

vitamindcouncil.org/tag/aut...

Might find interesting reading "immune system recovery plan" by Susan Blum

Leaky gut/gluten intolerance seems often to be a route of lots of immune disease

Raynaud's is autoimmune, like Hashi

[Kalicocat]

Thanks for your comments and opinions. I had b12 checked almost a year ago now and it was on the high end of the range but I had been supplementing with 1000mcg of b12 for years. I stopped because it was over range. I'm also on 4000 iu of D3 per day. My ferritin always floats between 30 and 40 so too low but I have a tough time getting my ferritin into the appropriate range. And I've never gotten folate checked so that's on my list the next time I go in.

Also I don't eat grains as I'm diabetic and they really affect my glucose.

So my problem is probably from falling estrogen levels.