Hashimotos unusual symptoms

[crw2ddd]

I seem to have rather unusual symptoms for a person with Hashimotos and because of that doctors are always shoving me off to various specialists for them to figure it out, but haven't gotten anywhere. Hashimotos is still my oy diagnosis to date. Here are my various symptoms that have ebbed and flowed for the last two years since diagnosis.

Body aches

Muscle stiffness

Fatigue

Tingling in hands and forearms

Loose bowels

Lack of appetite, especially in the morning

Afternoon crashes on T3 meds

Panic attacks before medicated

Depression when undermedicated

Burning tongue

Choking sensation like lump in throat

Sore throat - especially at top

Irritated and light sensitive eyes

Swollen and itchy eyelids

Dark bruises on legs

Massive hair loss

Weight loss during times of stress

Unwanted hair growth on chin and upper lip

Occasional air hunger

Cold all the time

Nausea - especially during ovulation

At least 35 days between menstrual cycles and heavy flow for 3-4 days -- periods lasting 8-9 days sometimes.

Occasional chest pain

Almost constant sinus/nose pressure with no mucous -- just inflamed feeling

Occasional brain fog

For about a month I've had stomach pain in the middle of my gut that won't cease.

I just switched up medication ...I take 50 Synthroid at night before bed and 30 mg Armour in Am and 15 mg Armour in afternoon) Is it possible to have both hypothyroid symptoms yet feel over medicated?

Tried various vitamin routines but I'm not consistent. I don't want to really want to aimlessly supplement. I'm thinking about shelling out for Micronutrient testing. Also thinking about a GI map test, SIBO testing or a saliva cortisol test. I just don't know anymore.

[greygoose]

So, which are the unusual symptoms?

I'm not being funny. As thyroid hormone is needed by every single cell in your body, if you are low on T3, anything and everything can go wrong. It's just that doctors don't learn about symptoms in med school, so have these rather weird prejudices about symptoms.

As for having hypo symptoms whilst feeling over-medicated, that's perfectly possible. That thyroid hormone you're taking doesn't get shared out equally, you know. So, some cells can be getting too much, and others none at all.

That said, a lot of your symptoms could be due to low nutrients. And, you're right, you really shouldn't be supplementing aimlessly. You should know exactly what you're doing and why. Nothing is going to help if you don't need it. So, yes, it would be a very good idea to get those nutrient tests done. Then you can slowly build up a tailor-made supplementing routine just for you. With our help, of course.

[crw2ddd in reply to greygoose]

Thank you very much for affirming that my symptoms could in fact be thyroid related. After so many doctors scratching their heads and telling me my numbers shouldn't warrant all these symptoms so it must be "something else" it's nice to hear a single person say that no, actually it's probably the mismanaged hashimotos. I think I will get the Micronutrient test. My husband just got me a 23 and me DNA test. My new endocrinologist says she could read the raw data and it can reveal my predisposition for certain vitamin deficiencies and other problems. So, I guess that's a starting point. It feels hopeless sometimes when I make small improvements and then for one reason or another take a giant leap backwards and even more symptoms appear. It's so hard to nail it all down. It is the meds or the supps or food sensitivities or adrenal problems or another disease. All the trial and error is as exhausting as the disease itself.

[greygoose in reply to crw2ddd]

It certainly is! But, it's the only way to find what works for you.

But, do your doctors even do the right tests? If you are taking T3, the number to go by is the FT3, and so many doctors refuse to even test that.

[crw2ddd in reply to greygoose]

Yes, my new endocrinologist did a much more thorough job of testing: These were my results on 75 mg Synthroid and 4 mcg of SR T3 compounded. After this appointment she switched me to 15 mg Armour in AM and 15 mg Armour in PM and brought down the Synthroid to 50mg taken at night. A few days ago increased to 30 mg Armour in AM and 15 mg in PM with 50 mg Synthroid before bed.

Tsh 0.55 iUU/mL (.450-4.500) {3.79 6 weeks ago}

T3 Free: 1.9 pg/mL Range (2.0-4.4). {3.0 6 weeks ago}

Reverse T3: 36 (6-24)

Thyrotropin antibody <0.5 IU/mL (0.00-1.75)

TSI <0.10 iu/mL (0.00-0.55)

Free T4 1.42 ng/dL (0.82-1.77) {1.62 6 weeks ago}

TPO 190 IU/mL

[greygoose in reply to crw2ddd]

Strange bundle of tests. Your FT3 is very, very low - especially for someone on T3. But, that could be because it was SR T3, with unreliable absorption. That rT3 is very high, but nothing in those tests accounts for it. Did you have some sort of infection when the blood was taken?

And why do TSI? There's nothing to suggest Grave's.

[crw2ddd in reply to greygoose]

That's an interesting question about the infection -- the day before I had these bloods drawn I had a fever and felt very nauseated. But it was gone by the next morning. I guess I could have had some kind of 24 hour virus and that could account for the low T3. My kids are sick frequently. Taking the slow release felt like it was doing like half as a good a job as straight T3. I don't know why she checked TSI.

[greygoose in reply to crw2ddd]

It was the high rT3 I was questioning, not the low FT3. I put that down to the slow release T3. An infection wouldn't have affected your thyroid hormone replacement.

But, the high rT3 has to be caused by something, and I don't think it was caused by your FT4 level. So, something else is up. And, it could have been an infection. Or are you on a low calorie diet? Taking beta blockers long-term? Low ferritin? High cortisol? That's something your endo should be questioning.

[crw2ddd in reply to greygoose]

Well...no, I'm not on low calorie diet, but I do suspect some malabsorption problems because I have pretty loose stools and I wonder how many calories are being absorbed sometimes. My reverse T3 back in February was 32.3 on the same scale, so it was high then and it's just gotten higher in April. So, I don't think it's a virus. Though, that could have made it even worse. Additionally, my appetite isn't always what it should be so sometimes I don't eat as much as I should I suppose. I'm only 100 pounds soaking wet. As far as cortisol - back in December 2017, It was 24 (6-18 range) and then in May 2018 it was 17.4 (6-18 range). Dhea was checked too but I don't remember the number right now, it was somewhere in the lower half of the range. My ferritin as of October 2018 was 41 ng/mL (15-150). Here are some other vitamins from back in October below. My Endo says that RT3 could be due to the automimmune process itself with increased inflammation - so she recommends gluthathione and Omega 3s as well as selenium to decrease the antibodies.

From October 2018:

Ferritin: 41 ng/mL (15-150)

Vitamin B12 413 pg/mL (232-1245)

Folate 12.3 ng/mL (range >3.0)

Iron 89 ug/dL (27-159)

Iron Saturation 26% (15-55)

From June 2018:

Vitamin D: 40.7 (30.0-90.0)

[greygoose in reply to crw2ddd]

Ok, well, it could be the low ferritin, then. It is very low, and that must be part of your problem. Or a combination of factors. But, not sure that one of them is inflammation. I'll have to check on that. And, I'm not sure either that a) TPO antibodies cause inflammation or b) that there's any way you can actually reduce them. I've never seen any proof of that that convinces me. But, still, taking selenium might help in some ways. But don't take it continuously for long periods. Also, I think it might be a good idea to get it tested, first.

Your vit d is also much too low. It should be at least mid-range.

As for the cortisol, what sort of test was that? Blood test?

[crw2ddd in reply to greygoose]

It was a blood serum test taken at 8 am sharp.

[greygoose in reply to crw2ddd]

OK, well, that's not always very reliable. A saliva test is better. It tests samples four times a day, so you really get a better picture of what your adrenals are up to. But, you can't get that on the NHS, I'm afraid. Details of private testing here:

thyroiduk.org/tuk/testing/p...

[galathea in reply to crw2ddd]

Well i went to sttm. stopthethyroidmadness.com/r... And put in your numbers. No matter what numbers i put in, because i didnT know what your rt3 Has been measured in, it appears that its too high all the time......

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Lots of symptoms suggest low vitamin levels, very common with Hashimoto's

Ask endocrinologist to test vitamin D, folate , B12 and ferritin

Are you on strictly gluten free diet?

Or tried it

Been tested for PCOS?

[crw2ddd in reply to SlowDragon]

I got a few labs back in October as follows:

Ferritin: 41 ng/mL (15-150)

Vitamin B12 413 pg/mL (232-1245)

Folate 12.3 ng/mL (range >3.0)

Iron 89 ug/dL (27-159)

Iron Saturation 26% (15-55)

From June 2018:

Vitamin D: 40.7 (30.0-90.0)

I dont think I have PCOS since I have had two ovary ultrasounds to check and didn't see anything. My periods are regular (even if heavy and long) and I haven't had any trouble conceiving. I am gluten free, but I've had some slips at restaurants and stuff on accident.

[momindenver]

Could some of your gut issues (eg stomach pain, loose stools) be due to a food allergy? For me, after a couple years on a low FODMAP diet, and trial and error, I discovered I did not tolerate tree nuts. It wasn't an anaphylactic shock (IgE-mediated) type of allergy, but a contact dermatitis (T-cell mediated), similar to poison ivy. If your gut has inflammation, your nutrient absorption is impaired, and this can worsen your hypothyroidism, as those nutrients aid in your conversion of T4 to T3, the active form of the thyroid hormone. Just something to consider. Best wishes!

[crw2ddd in reply to momindenver]

There's definitely some kind of gut component, I got a food sensitivity test that revealed a few moderate sensitivities like corn and garlic and random stuff like walnuts and ginger. I do eat that stuff sometimes, but just not everyday. Whenever I try an elimination diet, especially if I limit grains or carbs, I start losing weight, which I can't afford to do because I'm quite thin. So, I go back to eating rice and quinoa and sweet potatoes, etc just to maintain my weight. I also got an endoscopy and colonoscopy about 18 months ago, which revealed mild inflammation in my left colon and mild gastritis. I was also found to have H pylori which I erradicated with antibiotics last January. After that, I actually felt a lot better, but recently my gut problems have returned...urgency, loose bowels, nausea...I'm not sure what to make of it.