Any men suffer from hashimoto's on the forum

[Johnljc]

Hi , just wondering if any men are on this forum who also suffer from hashimoto's....... it would be good to compare symptoms and what / not to do .

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK]

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[wsenior]

Hey John,

You still around?

I'm a 49.5 year old male who has suffered with Hashi's for 10+ years.

I was a VERY active fit man prior to being diagnosed. I loved doing hill sprints, track sprints, bike riding, gym, swimming, playing with nephew's for hours, etc....I would say exercise was how I dealt best with my problem of anxiety.

I will say I fought Hashi's tooth-and-nail, but little by little my quality of life was taken away. My most annoying symptoms were: exaggerated muscle soreness after exercise, exercise intolerance, stiffness, joint/tendon/muscle pain, muscle spasms, and easily injured, fatigue, brain fog (short term memory greatly reduced), and hair loss. Infertility has also reared its ugly head (can't prove that Hashi's caused it....but it is listed as a male symptom)....might also be because I have been taking testosterone for years (highly likely).

I took all the vitamins, selenium, vitamin-d, low dose naltrexone, etc.....I tried T4 mono-therapy, T3/T4 therapy, and even T3 Mono-therapy to no avail. I took testosterone replacement which will help you some of you are low. In general, my blood levels were normal in every aspect which made me wonder why I still felt like shit. Well, it's because Hashimoto's is an Autoimmune disorder that causes many other problems....not just hypothyroidism (which is just 1 of the symptoms)....I was euthyroid (because taking meds) and had no glaring issue per blood tests (for everything you can imagine).

Let me tell you that you should NOT view yourself as less-than because you are ill or can't do what you used to. Being ill for 10+ years taught me to value other things, not just exercise and fitness....friendships, relationships, pursuing a career that you have a passion for, my relationship with Jesus Christ, and so I tempered my suffering with an eternal perspective. I found humility and courage. Life is short...even if you live to 100. There is nothing we have that we have not been given.

Advice: Sure, get your bloods taken, find the mix and dose of T4/T3 that serves you best, take your vitamins, eat healthy, sleep well, but remember that this is not a cure, and the other symptoms that are making your life miserable will not go away. Antibodies like to roam and might dabble in attacking your joints, muscles, tendons, brain, etc.... As of now the only cure for Hashimoto's is a Full Thyroidectomy. Do not fall into the torturous game many play here on this website of asking what this or that blood level should be....even if you had everything perfect you would still be losing your quality of life.....I'm sure Dr's and Lab Companies would love it you sent them a check every 2-weeks for the next 10 years.

Do you have TPO level's above "0"?....if so you will suffer....it's a losing game. Sure you can always feel worse if you don't take good care of yourself.

5+ years ago I read this article which changed my perspective (can't find original):

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/308...

It makes sense, fighting an autoimmune disorder is a losing battle, in a way it is a blessing that it is an organ like the thyroid and not your blood

My advice (I am no Dr.) is to play-to-win. If you have Hashimoto's a full thyroidectomy is the cure. I would advise doing it sooner rather than later, why suffer the losing game for even another year? Either way you will be taking thyroid for the rest of your life. Why not get rid of the symptoms that won't resolve with any medication/vitamin?

I just got my thyroid taken out 2 days ago, here is an article from the Dr. who was my surgeon:

thyroidcancer.com/blog/top-...!

I had no health insurance and paid a pretty penny to get this done, but I'm glad I did. Honestly, who wants to manage a sinking ship/losing war?...fight for complete victory!!

Show your Dr. these articles (there are a couple more out there as well) that show the Quality of Life increase in hashimoto's patients who've had a full thyroidectomy. Don't be afraid to change Dr's if they are hard-headed.

Just my 2 cents,

Best,

Walter