I am absolutely at my wits end with my thyroid issues. In my opinion, all my symptoms are due to some problems with my thyroid but two of my doctors I have seen, both think that what I am feeling, is normal for a new mother, 18 months post partum. Let me give you a little run through of my situation;
I was diagnosed with post partum thyroiditis about 3 months after giving birth. Was put on medication and that dipped my condition from hyper to hypo. Wasn't treated for hypo with any meds whatsoever. Ever since, now over a year after, I have not been feeling well, physically or mentally, just so off and not like myself. I am so so tired all the time, I have memory issues, my joints&muscles hurt, feelings of sadness, occasional skin issues, etc. List goes on and on. But apparently, this is normal. I want a diagnosis so I can rest and not worry about these issues constantly and guessing what is going on on my own.
My recent blood results were as following;
t4 16.8 (10.0-19.0)
tsh 2.18 (0.5-4.00)
t3 4.9 (3.5-6.5)
Antithyroid peroxidase 118 (below 60)
Anti-Thyroglobulin 409 (below 60)
My doctors told me that it is normal to have antibodies in you and it's nothing to worry about. But I have noticed that they just keep on going higher and not actually lower. I asked is there a way to reduce those antibodies and my doctor seemed baffled and asked why would I want to get rid of them? I felt quite stupid afterwards.
My question is, is it normal to go from post partum thyroid issues to hashi? Or is this all in my head? Maybe I am, what my doctors are saying, just experiencing motherhood. I was also diagnosed with gestational diabetes and as for my genetics, my mom has hypo & alopecia, 2 of my cousins have thyroid issues, auntie has celiac disease and the females from my dad's side all grew goiters. Is it just a coincidence or am I going mental here?
Cheers xx
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het1234
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Definately Hashi!! Your GP is talking nonsense -it is not normal to have antibodies so high out of the ranges! Does he/she not take notice of the ranges? He is the stupid one! Of course you want to be rid of them so your thyroid is not attacked!!
It is NOT in your head!! Or normal as a new mum!!
Unfortunately for you though your GP will not treat you until your TSH is over 10 or your thyroid hormones dip below the ranges. In many countries treatment is given when the TSH is over 2 or 3......
A gluten free diet can help to lower the antibodies and slow down the attack on your thyroid. In the end the antibodies do kill of the thyroid and then you will need medication.
He should also be taking account of the history in your family which clearly shows autoimmune conditions.
I would ask him to check your folate, iron, B12 & vitamin D as these typically run low in Hashi and hypothyroidism. I woild also ask him to check you for coeliacs as its in your family.
Am afraid you will need to read up and become a patient expert as typically Hashi and hypothyroidism is often under treated as GPs are not well trained in this area. You will also get lots of good advice on here as there are some very knowledgeable people.
Thanks for your response. It is quite discouraging to know that even if I complain about my symptoms, they wont give me a diagnose, meds or any sort of support or help. Makes me feel alone with my issues. Im so grateful for this forum for all the help and support I get.
"my doctor seemed baffled and asked why would I want to get rid of them? I felt quite stupid afterwards." You shouldn't be the one feeling stupid here, your GP should feel pretty stupid asking questions like that!
Other's on this forum know a lot more than I do, so I'll leave it to them to advise on your levels, but it is possible to get your antibodies lower again. I'm reading through some books by Izabella Wentz at the moment, she suggests making some dietary changes. This is a starting point for you:
With such a high prevalence of coeliac disease in your family, have you ever been tested? People with Hashi's seem more inclined to have coeliac disease. Even if not coeliac, you may benefit from a gluten free diet, as many find that brings antibodies under control.
Thanks for the response. I have not been tested for celiac but will be tested for rheumatoid arthritis. Might have to ask to get tested for it. Thanks for the tip & the link. X
RA is auto-immune - as is Hashimotos. Now you can tell your Doc why you want anti-bodies reduced as you want to protect against further Auto-immune issues. Healing the gut has to be a priority - took me years too to wake up to its importance
You can be gluten sensitive without being a coeliac - many people are.
Keep asking lots of questions and people here will be happy to answer and you will be well in no time.
Do not forget the tests for B12 - folate - Ferritin - VitD - good levels needed for your thyroid hormones to work well and for you to feel top dollar !
Thank you for your reply. I need to switch into gluten free diet and see if that helps with my symptoms.
I definitely will ask more questions on this forum since you all have been more helpful than my doctors. I almost feel like they dont take me seriously and only tell me it is because of motherhood. If they find something wrong with me , an actual medical diagnosis, for my symptoms, I will make sure I will never ever go to those doctors. 😁
het1234 Your antibodies are NOT normal - they are over range. Which means you do definitely have Hashimoto's Thyroiditis.
Antithyroid peroxidase = 118 (Need to be below 60)
Anti-Thyroglobulin = 409 (Need to be below 60)
My heart goes out to you. I went hyper then severely hypo when my son was 8 months old. He's now 37 years old! We all have a different journey, & our bodies are all different. But - Hashimoto's is caused by (or causes) inflammation in the body & now thought the brain. To be absolutely frank with you - (& Hashimoto's makes one very frank) and if you want a speedy way through it all without having to research for hundreds of hours, change your diet drastically and take vitamin & mineral supplements.
Eat the Paleo Diet, cutting out all grains (most only cut out glutein - that didn't work for me), all cow dairy (eat goat yoghurt, cheese etc), drink only bottled water even in tea/coffee etc. Do not eat any Soy, or modified fats, only eat virgin olive oil as the hydrogenated oils/fats are mega bad. Basically by drastically cleaning up the food/drink you put into your body. Only eat/drink what your great grandmother would recognise.
Regarding vitamins/minerals - you need to be testing your Vitamins B12 & D3, folate & ferritin; also the CRP in your blood which shows the level of inflammation. All the thyroid blood tests are important but the FreeT3 is vital as T3 is the usable thyroid hormone.
Also supplement with :
high doses of Omega 3 (do not take omega 6 - western diets are high in it),
high doses of Vitamin C (water soluble) - 2,000mg a day
high dose of Vitamin D3 (if you live in the northern hemisphere we don't get enough)
vitamin K2 - works with vitamin D & magnesium
Good quality Multi B vitamins - there are 8 x B vitamins, all vital for brain function. You can start with a Multi B tub but I have had to buy individual B vitamins to take high doses. Water soluble so can't over dose. Perhaps research all the B vitamins.
400mg a day of Selenium (vital for conversion of T4 into T3)
Magnesium - (not recommended to take any calcium supplements) western diets have more than adequate amounts of calcium. Calcium & magnesium are antagonists so we need to take Magnesium.
Zinc - many of us are deficient in zinc due to poor soil etc.
It's a long list but Hashimoto's depletes the body of its nutrients. If you change your diet, eat less but foods with high nutrients your body will stand a better chance of recover.
That lot is only the beginning really! I completely understand that with a little one there is not much spare time & energy. Keep on posting questions & read as much as you can. Good luck x
Thank you for your very detailed response, much appreciated! The more I read about Hashi, I have come to realize that diet does play a huge part with all the additional supplements added to it as well. I am going to start taking steps changing my diet to gluten free, as I honestly just do not feel well at all.
I've found a saved document today - the Autoimmune Paleo Diet (AIP) which takes things right back to basics. That will need to be my own next step now.
Hi Joanneconnor It's great to know that the AIP diet works. I'm stuck at the mo - I've struggled to stay with it & have had bad symptoms again today. It's the cutting everything, then waiting 5 days before adding anything back in. How long did it take you to discover your poisons?
I cut out everything for 2 weeks just ate veg and meats the first week was hell the second week was great then after about 18 days I added the least culprits in first like peppers bit of tinned tuna fish left all the biggies till last dairy and gluten!
You need to do it for atleast two weeks so your body has a rest from it and recovers then when you do add it back you will know straight away by how you feel, if you don't do it for 2 weeks you won't notice the reaction because your body is used to it, if that makes sense
I just did my blood tests and wanted to give you an update on my thyroid progress.
Currently;
T4 15 (ref range 10-19)
TSH 2.03 (0.5-4)
T3 4.8 (3.5-6.5)
Thyroid Peroxidase 162 (ref under 60)
Thyroglobulin 384 (under 60)
ESR 8 (under 20)
CRP 16 (0-10)
Ferritin 37 (Ref 15-165)
Sodium 141 (135-145)
I do have a comment under my full blood examination saying that I have a mild neutropenia since my white cell counts & neutrophils and MCHC are under the ref range.
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