I have been diagnosed with post patrum thyroiditis but have positive TPO. I have been taken off meds 16 weeks now and they are with in range. But my cortisol is now at the higher end. I have attached my thyroid scan but don't understand much. My worry is that I now have this like a lump that comes and goes all day. I am sure it was less like this when I was on levothyroxine. Correct me if I am worng but I've been told a groite is a sign of thyroids not functioning well and I need to be on levothyroxine? Please can someone guide me.
Also I know I am feeling so so low as well as I've been stuck in the house since as I am not able to walk due to a major ankle surgery. So feel really low as well.
My blood test are below as well:
12th November - (5 weeks no medication)
Tsh 2.73 range 0.3-5.
T4 14.4 range 7.9-16.
T3 5.7 range 3.8-6
11th Dec- (9 weeks no medication)
Tsh 2.85 range 0.3-5.
T4 13.8 range 7.9-16
T3 5.6 range 3.8-6
29th January 21 (16 weeks no medication)
Tsh 2.30 range 0.3-5
T4 14 range 7.9-16
Cortisol 527 range 185-624
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Ela_peraj
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i'm afraid i can't interpret the ultrasound report , but your TSH and fT4 do seem to be staying stable and after 4 months of no Levo you would perhaps expect TSH to be rising if thyroid was not managing. So perhaps, if you don't feel dreadful , PPT has indeed gone away like it did after first pregnancy, and has not become permanent.
I'd keep an eye on thyroid results occasionally in future though if you don't feel right, since you did have TPOab quite high at one point.
The question really is 'do you still feel better now than you did when you were on Levo ?'
I think you said you did in a previous post.
If so , i would try not to worry, If your thyroid gets worse again they will put you on levo , but they won't do so until your TSH is much much higher than it is now , so there's not much you can do about it anyway.
Compared to before to now I am definitely better then being on levothyroxine. I am worried abt this lump sort of thing I have when I swallow. It comes and goes. Is that a groite or could it because if the swealling of the thyroids?
A goitre is a swollen thyroid. But, it doesn't always swell at the front. Sometimes it swells behind the thyroid and presses on the oesophagus, causing difficulty swallowing. And, the ultrasound report does say that there is slight anterior swelling - i.e. thyroiditis. Whether that is due to PPT or Hashi's, remains to be seen. So, as tattybogle says, keep an eye on it and see how things transpire.
Oh thank you so much for educating me. I feel so silly not understand these things. So maybe hold fire before I put myslef back in levothyroxine as long as my blood tests are within range? Can stress do that as well make the thyroids sweall? Also is there a cortisol connection to this?
No reason to feel silly. Why should you know these things if you've never needed to know them before.
At the moment, you don't need levo. Not because your results are 'in-range', but because they are quite high in-range - the FT4/3, that is - so you don't need to add anymore T4 (levo). However, a TSH over 2 does suggest that your thyroid is struggling to maintain those levels. So, you need to keep an eye on the levels to make sure they don't deteriorate.
I think the swelling is more to do with your thyroid struggling to make hormone than anything else. If you have Hashi's, then that causes the thyroid to swell. There is a thyroid/cortisol connection, yes. But, I don't think it would make your thyroid swell. I'm afraid that, now, it's just a question of seeing how things evolve.
Thank you so much for you time. What's the relationship with cortisol and thyroids? My cortisol is at the higher end of within range. When I was using levothyroxine it actually went the other way round. It was at the lower end of the range.
Well, when the thyroid is failing, the adrenals take up the slack by producing more cortisol to keep the body functioning. I don't know exactly how it works.
I never had one, my thyroid just packed up after 2nd pregnancy without getting a goitre , not everyone gets one . By the way 'Goitre' just means 'Swelling of the thyroid' (yours is noted on the reason for referral part at top of your ultrasound report as'
"H/O (History /Of) thyroid diagnosed (dx) in pregnancy, slight ant neck swelling (ant = anterior ie. front), abnormal TFT (thyroid function tests ie. blood tests )"
It is just the thyroid getting bigger and bigger to try and make more hormones, and so yes, when you take levo they can get smaller again.
(Not many people actually get a big 'goitre' in the original sense of the word nowdays , really big ones used to be common but now thyroid is treated long before they get to a noticable size on the neck)
Oh wow. Thank you for your help. That does make sense. My worry is now what to do regards medication if I should restart levothyroxine or hold up a little more? Can the groite go away of my thyroids work again, like stable?
You own thyroid working and making T4 and T3 and regulation itself naturally every day is much much MUCH better than replacing that intricate system with just Levo (LT4) which is like a trying to build a beautiful flower out of Lego in comparison !So if you can manage without replacing it with Levo , stay that way , for as long as you possibly can,
Honestly i'd try just forgetting about it and getting on with life , You know it's nothing worrying like a cancer. If it ever becomes a problem that you need to take Levo for i'm sure you'll know about it because you'll feel dreadful.
But hopefully someone who's felt it will be able to reassure you better than i can.
Thank you so much for your time. Yes thats what I'd like to do is not take medication unless I really have to. That's the last thing I want for sure. Thank you xxx
Hello, I wonder if you have heard of of a phenomium called Globus Hystericus ? My doctor explained that this is what the lump in my throat that I was noticing on and off at a time of extreme worry . Perhaps this is what you are feeling too.
Do Google it and she if the description fits - I hope this will be reassuring .
You might need a test by an endocrinologist (refer from your GP) for adrenal fatigue (synacthen test). Also get your cholesterol levels done (fasting) because I was super high after my post partum diagnosis. Years on I’ve had to educate myself as medical profession really just do TSH and I had private postal finger prick test for antibodies TGO with a naturopath so therefore I had Hashimoto’s thyroiditis and went immediately gluten free. Felt different within the week. Also join Thyroid Trust Facebook page also Thyroid Care Group Facebook group which is run by naturopath. Also Izabella Wentz book on Thyroid protocol (she’s a pharmacist using nutrition and non meds) Great advice and community. You’ll get there but rely on yourself and how you feel rather than what the GPS want to test which is TSH
I am gluten free and have been for over 2 years as well. I will ask what is going on. My Gp stated today I don't need levothyroxine based on blood tests. I explained to her I have a lump, hairloss ect and she kept repeating the same thing and she could do nothing. I have asked to be refered to an endo urgently as something is going one with me. This lump especially.
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