Hashimoto's: Hashimoto's Who can help and tell me... - Thyroid UK

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Hashimoto's

auraelya profile image
17 Replies

Hashimoto's

Who can help and tell me if I need more thyroid hormone (I take Euthyrox 25 mcg/day, no T3), please? My numbers are:

Ft4: 1.02 (0.89-1.76)

Ft3: 3.73 (1.8-4.2)

TSH: 23 (it was 17, not long ago!)

anti tpo: > 1000 (<35 UI/ml)

anti thyreoglobulin: >3000 (<40 UI/ml)

I am continually gaining weight, I have rapid heart beats 80 or 90, and high blood pressure (140/80), I get short of breath very quickly and I am depressed, what can I do? I no longer have faith in endos, they don't know or don't care! Thank you!

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auraelya profile image
auraelya
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17 Replies
Saggyuk profile image
Saggyuk

Hi there, there are others who can help you better than me but since no one has replied yet lol! Your Tsh would suggest you are undermedicated for your thyroid and you are on a low dose - have you just been diagnosed or has this been going on for a while? If just diagnosed, it often takes a while for them to get dose right so will increase every six weeks. Your thyroid antibodies seem high so you probably are autoimmine and have something called hashimotos which can be a bit all over the place at first. Are they treating you based on tsh and antibodies which has only just been spotted or were you're T4/t3 levels lower previously?? I went Gluten free which reduced my thyroid antibodies and many other autoimmune diseases in general and made me feel heaps better so might be worth a try?

Your heart rate is quite normal for many people. Your blood pressure is a little high although not classed as dangerous just yet. When my heart feels like it's racing even though it isn't and get out of breath, I am normally aneamic - have you had ferritin etc looked at alongside others like vit d, b12, folate etc?

Saggyuk profile image
Saggyuk in reply to Saggyuk

Although I should note, that 80-90 heart rate is brob more normal for those of us that don't do much exercise (like myself) lol - It would prob be healthier if lower ;-)

Saggyuk profile image
Saggyuk in reply to Saggyuk

If this is high for you and you normally exercise a little more and you are normally lower, then treating a vit D deficiency brought my heart rate completely down strangely??

Saggyuk profile image
Saggyuk

And I just realised that you already mentioned hashimotos so you already know you are autoimune - apologies!

auraelya profile image
auraelya in reply to Saggyuk

Well, thank you so much! The endo said I should raise the amount of T4, but I'm afraid to do that, as I know T3 increases the rate of the heart and it seems T3 is enough in my blood, isn't it? I had vit D checked and it's optimum, I take 200 mcg of selenium, vit C, magnesium, L-carnitine, iron and B's are at a good level. Why the rapid heart rate? Too little thyroid hormone?! so, everybody's opinion is I should increase the amount of Euthyrox! I will and see how I feel. I'm not on gluten free diet... Thank you!

SeasideSusie profile image
SeasideSusieRemembering

auraelya Can you give us some more information please. When were you diagnosed? How long have you been on 25mcg Euthyrox? Have you been on a higher dose previously or is that still a starter dose?

Your results show that you are undermedicated. Your TSH is very high, the aim of a treated hypo patient is generally for TSH to be 1 or below.

As you have Hashimoto's, are you addressing this by trying to reduce the antibody attacks? Have you read anything about Hashi's?

Adopting a strict gluten free diet has helped many members enormously and their antibodies have reduced. Supplementing with selenium L-selenomethionine 200mcg daily also is supposed to help reduce antibody attacks, as does keeping TSH very low or suppressed.

Some reading about Hashi's:

stopthethyroidmadness.com/h...

stopthethyroidmadness.com/h...

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/about_...

Information about gluten/thyroid:

chriskresser.com/the-gluten...

By the way, your FT3 is very good, you don't seem to need T3 but an increase in Euthyrox would be a good idea.

auraelya profile image
auraelya in reply to SeasideSusie

Well, thank you so much! The endo said I should raise the amount of T4, but I'm afraid to do that, as I know T3 increases the rate of the heart and it seems T3 is enough in my blood, isn't it? I had vit D checked and it's optimum, I take 200 mcg of selenium, vit C, magnesium, L-carnitine, iron and B's are at a good level. Why the rapid heart rate? Too little thyroid hormone?!

Yes, I've read a lot about Hashi's, the problem is I was afraid to take more Euthyrox for the rapid heart rate, you know, on the other hand, there were periods when I used to take 100 mcg of Euthyrox...

SeasideSusie profile image
SeasideSusieRemembering in reply to auraelya

if you used to take 100mcg Euthyrox, how come you're on such a low dose now?

How did you feel on 100mcg? What were your results?

As long as you feel well, FT3 can be where it needs to be as long as it stays in range.

Are you gluten free? Those antibodies will continue attacking your thyroid, you should do all you can to try and reduce the attacks.

auraelya profile image
auraelya in reply to SeasideSusie

I was so confused, i don't even know how I felt, but now I can't take a few steps without gasping for air, and the heart rate...and BP... I will follow your advice and increase my Euthyrox intake, step by step, I'll start with 37.5 and then go to 50 and see how I feel. Thank for your quick reply, keep in touch, I'm so confused...no, I'm not on a gluten free diet, as I don't feel I am gluten sensitive, nor have symptoms, but if you say the elevated antibody number is a sign of gluten sensitivity, then I'll see what i can do, I don't have a wide range of choice for that...

SeasideSusie profile image
SeasideSusieRemembering in reply to auraelya

Gluten contains gliadin which is a protein thought to trigger antibody attacks, so it's nothing to do with you having symptoms or sensitivity, it's all to do with trying to reduce the attacks. If you read the links I gave you should be able to understand more about Hashi's, and you can do more research of your own.

Dr Isabella Wenz, Thyroid Pharmacist - worth looking at her site and maybe get her book:

thyroidpharmacist.com

Also there are many Hashi's specific posts under 'Topics' on the right hand side which might help you.

Have you had vitamins and minerals tested?

Vit D

B12

Folate

Ferritin

These all need to be optimal, not just in range.

auraelya profile image
auraelya in reply to SeasideSusie

Vit D is optimal; ferritin is about iron? if so, it's ok, B12 and folate, I don't know, but I take B complex everyday and I'm no longer tired, I don't have to sleep during the day as I used to!

auraelya profile image
auraelya in reply to SeasideSusie

I followed advice from people here and I raised (gradually) the amount of Euthyrox, from 25 to 50, and my heart goes like crazy, I can hear it in my ears. I cannot walk three to 5 steps and I have to stop because of shortness of breath. I've prepared my hormone for morning, 37.5 again and then I'm going back to 25. What if my TSH stays high? I take Selenium - L-selenomethionine 200mcg daily! plus B3, Zinc, D3, all B vitamins, C (2 g daily), magnesium chloride, etc. Whai is wrong with me?

auraelya profile image
auraelya in reply to SeasideSusie

Hi, there!

I have new blood test results:

TSH: 14,88 (0.38 - 4,31)

Ft4: 0.78 (0.82 - 1.63)

Ft3: 2.48 (2.10 - 3.8)

It seems that in comparison to my last blood tests, all three have decreased, which for the TSH is good. Between the two sets of tests I was taking 25 mg thyroid hormone (no T3) and because my TSH was high, I started to increase, gradually, the thyroid hormone. I feel now worse, after the increase, so I started going back on the thyroid hormone, I am on 25 again. Feeling worse in the sense that I was short of breath, worse than before. Otherwise, no daytime tiredness, but still gaining weight. My breath was never so bad as when on 50 mg of thyroid hormone, I'm desperate. Now I ordered naltrexone, which they say is good for Hashi's. I'll see what happens.

auraelya profile image
auraelya

The problem is I've read too much about thyroid medication, also that these pills destroy the thyroid totally, eventually, that's why I wanted to get rid of medication, gradually, it seems I wasn't successful. Yes, about pharmacist Wenz, too! everything I could lay my hands on...

Saggyuk profile image
Saggyuk in reply to auraelya

I do understand that atempt as also against meds as much as possible but there's no point reducing your meds unless you can reduce your antibodies as your body will still continue to attack your thyroid. having a low tsh can help reduce the amount of damage done but If you really want to reduce this immune system attack, then you need to try and figure out if anything is triggering your immune system to attack - things such as gluten free or anti-inflammatory diet, you could even go as far as an elimnation diet to cross off others such as dairy etc. I went gluten free and my t3 dose dropped from 60mcg to 40mcg in three months. I am now on 30 (no T4). It is probably too late for my thyroid as started twenty years ago so most likely dead tissue by now but doing these things helped dramatically - Basically everything is worth a try but you need to do it properly and for long enough to really rule it out or know for sure :o)

puncturedbicycle profile image
puncturedbicycle in reply to auraelya

It is the autoimmune activity that will eventually shut down the thyroid, not your hormone replacement.

A lot of us find we get palps when hypo. As soon as I was adequately medicated I didn't have them anymore.

When you say that thyroid hormone raises your heart rate, that is the usual way of things (hypothyroidism means everything is a bit slow and hyperthyroidism speeds things up) but there are exceptions to the rule. On the correct dose of meds your heart rate should be and feel more normal.

Your tsh is terrifyingly high for someone on meds. Mine was only a bit higher when I was diagnosed.

auraelya profile image
auraelya in reply to puncturedbicycle

Thank you! However, I succeeded to reduce my TSH from 27 to 17, meanwhile, it has risen again. I started taking the hormone with 1 gram of vit. C, in the morning (4 o'clock), after having found out about this by chance, on You tube, and I said to myself why not? when I had blood tests for TSH, that morning I hadn't taken the replacement hormone, as I had read one shouldn't take it when having blood tests, so yes, taking the hormone is crucial! the point is I wanted to reduce the hormone slowly, step by step to finally not to take any, as I had read it eventually destroys the thyroid, mainly if it is synthetic, like Euthyrox, Synthroid, etc. I was also afraid to try the desiccated pig hormone because it contains T3, which I don't need! and I'm also terrified about the palps, because I know they are a sign of hyper- not hypo! however, my other symptoms are for hypo! Oh, what a big problem! what is certain, my mom had this illness, too, so it's hereditary, in my case. And I don't have a leaky gut or candida, which are to blame in the case of Hashi's, as I hear/read. I've started to increase the amount of hormone, however, it's still the synthetic one! 37.5 for 2 weeks, then, I'll go for 50! see how I feel after that!

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