Can I just ask all of you kind people who have replied to me - is the fact that I’m currently unmedicated and symptomatic a serious issue? I mean, I look after my daughter, work a professional full time job and socialise when I have the time. I walk miles every day and I eat well. I’m very symptomatic and some days are so tough but others are great. The symptoms that terrify me are the heart palpitations, the breathlessness and the hypoglycaemia. These come and go over the month and are worse at certain times in my cycle.
I guess what I’m asking is am I in danger of just dropping down dead? Sometimes it feels like my body has to work so hard just to exist where as other days are so easy.
Written by
Paolatello
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
"All clear" doesn't necessarily mean there isn't a problem, hopefully there isn't for you but Drs are notoriously good at dismissing women with heart issues. I persisted and bingo there was/is a problem, so if your issues go on get onto it and demand further tests.
There isn’t any short term issue. The issue with being symptomatic and unmedicated/undermedicated is in the future. I truly believe that it leads to some serious future health issues.
Is there a reason why you are not medicated at present?
Very unlikely you will just drop down dead. But, the problem will get worse and worse.
According to your last post, your Frees are at the bottom of the range. Without the TSH to stimulate the thyroid, they will get lower. Eventually, they will drop below the bottom of the range. Hopefully, then, your doctor will take notice.
You cannot live without thyroid hormones. As they get lower and lower, all organs in your body will be affected one way or another. When they get too low - which, admittedly, could take some time, so you have time to deal with the situation - you will go into a coma and die. Those are the bald facts. There could be other complications. So, you must not give up on getting your thyroid tested, to see where your levels are.
You mentioned self-treating in your last post. That's a possibility, but not much of a solution. You need that diagnosis. The pituitary and the hypothalamus produce several other hormones. They could all be low. You need to know because they, too, will affect your health. You need them tested. I believe I'm repeating myself, here, but never mind. I need to get this message across. You have to do something, get help, get a diagnosis at some point.
Have you been researching Central Hypo, as advised in your last post? Have you been back to your doctor suggesting Central hypo? I know it's frustrating to keep nagging at them, but you cannot continue your train of life without thyroid hormones. It will get harder and harder as the levels get lower and lower. And, the only one that can do anything about it is you.
I’ve researched CH and booked an appointment with my GP. That’s in two weeks time as the wait is so long at our surgery. The issue I have at my doctors is that they say “you have Hashimotos- one day you’ll be hypothyroid but you’re not yet” this conclusion is based on the fact that my TSH isn’t out of range
Yes, I understand. But, what you've got to make them understand is that your TSH never will be out of range if your pituitary isn't working properly, Hashi's or no Hashi's. You have two different conditions working against each other at the same time. Or, rather, working against your thyroid. The Hashi's slowly destroying it, and the pituitary failing to raise the TSH to the required level.
Ok, so I could be permanently getting low TSH due to my pituitary? It does sound like you’re right because for all the years I’ve known about my hashis my tsh has always been between 0.25 and 0.75. It once (when I first got diagnosed) was undetectable but my free T4 was really high and they wanted me to be treated for hyper. I refused until they retook my bloods and at that point it had gone back to normal ranges. Since then I’ve had varying (within range) Free Ts but only ever a tsh of between 0.25 and 0.75
It's amazing that doctors are so ignorant that they can diagnose Hashi's, and then want to treat for hyper! How can they not know that you weren't hyper, just having a Hashi's 'hyper' swing, which is not the same thing at all.
But yes, if you have an under-performing pituitary, your TSH will always be low.
I don't have Hashis antibodies, but my TSH has never even reached 0.7, even when my free t4 was 10.4 in a range that started at 12, so, yes, you can get low TSH because of your pituitary (or hypothalamus)
Thank you. That’s really interesting. Last time my vitamins were checked my ferritin was quite near the bottom of the range, my B12 was 300 and my vitamin D was fine but that’s because you have to take vitamin D whilst pregnant so I’d been supplementing for almost a year. Vitamin D and omega 3 seems easy to take but sometimes when I have taken other vitamins in the past it seems to worsen my hashis symptoms. Even vitamin C can do this to me. Is that common?
Sounds like you have central hypothyroid. I was reading recently about the pituitary, and the broad categories of areas that can be affected are: Thyroid (as we already know), skin pigmentation, sex hormones, liver, pregnancy and breastfeeding hormones*. It's possible I've missed one, going from memory!
I put an asterisk* because this is how a forum regular with secondary hypothyroid identified hers, by having a very high prolactin test. Approximately 40% of pituitary tumours will produce excess prolactin, so it's a very useful indicator. All I could find out is that tumours in different regions of the pituitary will have effects on different hormones, but that might mean TSH and prolactin are close together and associated.
However, central hypothyroid isn't necessarily caused by the pituitary, it can also be caused by the hypothalamus, which gives the pituitary a signal (TRH) to make TSH. It's a bit of a Chinese whispers situation! That would be tertiary hypothyroid, and the umbrella term central hypothyroid covers both.
I believe an MRI is one way to prove for certain there is a tumour.
Unfortunately I don't know what the usual route of diagnosis is. It might be that there isn't a usual route as doctors seem crap, and I believe the guidelines are extremely vague.
The prolactin test, and I believe some other hormones can also be diagnostic. The forum regular I mentioned had prolactin enormously high, something like 10x the top of the range. But of course you need to be lucky, as not all pituitary tumours impact it, and a problem with the hypothalamus is a whole separate thing.
Even more than with hypothyroid in general, this is a situation where you have to educate yourself and be your own advocate.
I got testing after weight gain (2.5 stone in 6 weeks), memory loss, vomiting, back and stomach aches, headaches and dizzy spells (with fainting). That got me a short synacthen/ACTH test, which was abnormal and got me a referral for the rest. I think they were expecting Cushings and were quite nonplussed when I had very low cortisol. I assume the weight gain and memory loss was hypo and the rest was low cortisol
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
question to those who have stopped using estrogen
Has anyone else experienced this 
Who else has Hashimoto's with heat intolerance?
Regarding my 'Blood results' for anyone who has read Music 1
