Relapse of symptoms

[Gmanfooty]

Hi all sorry for the long post , I’ve been treated for hypothyroidism since early July this year and was doing well feeling better after each dose increase ,also found to be b12 deficient with loading doses starting late September coupled with an increase in levothyroxine to 100mcg was feeling great running / playing football again etc. 26th November had dose increased to 125mcg ,more at my request than the gp as my TSHwas 2.3 range (0.27-4.2) t4 17.5 (12-22) and had been feeling ok up until 2 weeks ago 16th December after stressful family bereavement had a sudden onset of back and abdominal pain , with nausea and fatigue coming a few days later and am still feeling unwell now although nausea has subsided. These symptoms are identical to my initial symptoms in April when I first began to feel unwell which tied in with my family member mentioned receiving their terminal diagnosis. I had been supplementing with folate, d3,k2, selenium/ magnesium and had gone gluten free which really seemed to help although the past 4 weeks diet has slipped due to hospital visits and haven’t been very good with supplements either. Been back to gp who is at a loss as I had all sorts of tests April/ May ct scans ultrasound even a colonoscopy until they finally tested my thyroid on the 28th June Tsh was 17.1. They are testing me for celiacs as I responded well to gluten free diet and will mention me at group meeting this week to see if they can come up with a plan. Is it possible to have a relapse of symptoms even if bloods are ok? Could I have now gone hyper with last increase in meds ? My antibodies are raised so I have hashimotos don’t know if the recent stress has atacked my thyroid further , any help or advice would be appreciated thanks

[greygoose]

It is possible that the stress and upset of a bereavement could trigger an attack on your thyroid, yes. But, even without that, just the stress and upset could make you feel bad. We had a death in the family beginning of November, and I felt so ill with it all. It's bound to affect you, and can take a long time to recover. But, doesn't necessarily mean it's affecting your thyroid. It's going to take you a while to get over it.

However, I very much doubt that the increase in your levo has caused you to 'go hyper' - or, more correctly, become over-medicated. You really needed that increase because your TSH was too high, and your FT4 was only just over mid-range. Pity they didn't test your FT3, because that is the most important number, and could be low, because Hashi's people are notoriously bad converters.

Are you still on a gluten-free diet? If so, there's no point in testing for Coeliac. You need to be eating gluten regularly to get an accurate result - although, even then the results can be false. If a gluten-free diet suits you, makes you feel better, I can't see the point of the test, to be honest. Just stick with the diet.

I think the best thing you can do is sit out the six weeks to your next retest, and be kind to yourself. Accept that this is a very distressing time, and there's not much you can do about it. See what your results are at your next test. But, I very much doubt that the increase was too much for you, so don't worry about that. Just see how you feel when you get your next results.

[Gmanfooty in reply to greygoose]

Thanks for the reply I’ve not been gluten free for a good few weeks now, was very strict before that just worried now that something else is wrong with me!

[greygoose in reply to Gmanfooty]

OK, well, of course, if you feel better on a gluten-free diet, and you go back to eating gluten, then that is going to make you bad. But, I don't see what the Coeliac test is going to prove other than that. Just go back to your gluten-free diet because you know it suits you. There's nothing that can be done about it, anyway, except a gluten-free diet.

[Gmanfooty in reply to greygoose]

Thanks for taking the time to reply having blood test for celiacs tomorrow so will star gf again then