other health conditions

[France92]

I see some one mention other health condition can be associated with Thyroid problems. Ive been having low immunglobin levels different ones last year and this year? Also my Dr called me about my cholesterol being 5.7 and how it's the level they advise starting statins which I declined and will review in a year.

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

France92

High cholesterol is a symptom of hypothyroidism. If you are undermedicated chances are your cholesterol will be raised, once optimally medicated cholesterol should sort itself out.

I can't help with immunglobin levels

[humanbean]

There are loads of problems commonly found with hypothyroidism. Some that get mentioned are (in no particular order) :

1) Nutrient deficiencies or levels that are low in range

2) Anaemia

3) Adrenal problems causing low or high cortisol

4) High cholesterol (I wouldn't take statins either)

5) Gut problems caused by low stomach acid e.g. indigestion, heartburn, SIBO, h. pylori

6) Gluten intolerance, coeliac disease.

7) Cramp, muscle spasm, tics, usually caused by the issues in (1)

8) Depression, anxiety

9) Plantar fasciitis

10) Insomnia, no dreams, or greater than normal percentage of nightmares

11) Poor oral health

12) Tinnitus and other ear and hearing problems

13) Dry eyes and other eye problems

14) Gynaecological problems including infertility

15) If someone has one autoimmune disease e.g. Hashi's, then other autoimmune diseases are more likely to occur than they would in someone who is completely healthy, such as Sjogren's Disease, alopecia, eczema, psoriasis and other skin conditions, pernicious anaemia...

There is a list of autoimmune conditions on this link :

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_...

but note that there is evidence (which I don't have handy) that certain autoimmune conditions appear in groups with others, so they aren't all equally likely just because you develop Hashi's.

Rather than list more and more things it would be easier to just link a couple of symptom lists.

thyroiduk.org/if-you-are-un...

hypothyroidmom.com/300-hypo...

Obviously sufferers don't all get every symptom!

[France92 in reply to humanbean]

thankyou I have many of the symptoms and illnesses🤦‍♀️ s

[Charlie-Farley in reply to France92]

Hi, some good responses above France92

But can I just add my voice to those so far re statins 😱 I will never take them-I think there is a far greater likelihood of complications if we take everything the doctor deems necessary. Thyroid hormones are necessary yet more than half do not fully understand this and the remainder???? 😱

Anyway statins are NOT good for hypos (if anyone). Even NHS flag risks of being given to people with hypothyroidism.

nhs.uk/conditions/statins/c...

And here is an extract, but I think (personally) the whole section is worthy of being read. Perhaps show your doctor 😊👍

“People at an increased risk of side effects

Statins should be taken with caution if you're at an increased risk of developing a rare side effect called myopathy, which is where the tissues of your muscles become damaged and painful. Severe myopathy (rhabdomyolysis) can lead to kidney damage.Things that can increase this risk include:being over 70 years old having a history of liver diseaseregularly drinking large quantities of alcohol having a history of muscle-related side effects when taking a statin or fibrate (another type of medicine for high cholesterol) having a family history of myopathy or rhabdomyolysisIf one or more of these apply to you, you may need to be frequently monitored to check for complications. A lower dose of statin may also be recommended.If you have an underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism), treatment may be delayed until this problem is treated. This is because having an underactive thyroid can lead to an increased cholesterol level, and treating hypothyroidism may cause your cholesterol level to decrease, without the need for statins. Statins are also more likely to cause muscle damage in people with an underactive thyroid. Read more about the side effects of statins.”

Also, bare in mind they have been gerrymandering with the thresholds which drags more people into (so called) needing treatment. Very dubious

[humanbean in reply to Charlie-Farley]

Also, bare in mind they have been gerrymandering with the thresholds which drags more people into (so called) needing treatment. Very dubious

I have a copy of a test result for total cholesterol for me from the 1990s. The top of the range was 7.5.

Then statins came on the market and the top of the range was reduced overnight to 5. This had the effect of making well over half the population of the UK have high cholesterol when they hadn't had it before. Making new customers for your products was as simple as changing a single number.

According to the graphs on this link :

drmalcolmkendrick.org/2012/...

overall mortality drops the higher cholesterol is, and the effect is particularly pronounced for women.

[France92 in reply to humanbean]

yes my Gp said they had lowered the level but she was totally happy I decided against taking statins at present

[Charlie-Farley in reply to humanbean]

humanbean oh you are a Star!

You have the actual evidence at the tips of your fingers 🤗

[humanbean in reply to Charlie-Farley]

[Litatamon in reply to humanbean]

Wow.

[Blearyeyed in reply to humanbean]

Excellent summary , so glad I saw this reply

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Looking at previous posts

Ft4 levels going up over range briefly and then down - suggests Hashimoto’s

High cholesterol levels - suggests Hashimoto’s

Low ferritin - suggests Hashimoto’s

Negative Trab antibodies - confirms NOT Graves’ disease

Negative TPO and TG antibodies - do NOT rule out Hashimoto’s

Have you had ultrasound scan of thyroid?

If not suggest you get one done - £100 privately

thyroiduk.org/help-and-supp...

20% of Hashimoto's patients never have raised antibodies 

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

 

Paul Robson on atrophied thyroid - especially if no TPO antibodies 

 paulrobinsonthyroid.com/cou...

[France92 in reply to SlowDragon]

thankyou I'm so confused by it all I have all symptoms of hyperthyroidism badly I've an appointment with endrocolgist on Mon. Is my ferritin low at 60?

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to France92]

You need full iron panel test

ferritin goes up with inflammation …..when you can in fact have low iron

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

Ferritin is an acute phase reactant and as such, inflammation increases ferritin independent of any true effect on iron stores. Therefore, ferritin is most likely to be spuriously normal in the setting of inflammation.

Medichecks iron panel test 

medichecks.com/products/iro...

Have you had GFR kidney function test

Low GFR linked to hypothyroidism

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

The GFR is reversibly reduced (by about 40%) in more than 55% of adults with hypothyroidism[40] due to several reasons.

Interesting that Nitrofurantoin not advised in low GFR

gov.uk/drug-safety-update/n...

[France92 in reply to SlowDragon]

yes my kidneys and liver are checked regularly as I'm permanently on antibiotics and all are good

[SlowDragon Administrator]

There’s over 300 Hashimoto’s symptoms …..fortunately we don’t get them all !

What other health conditions you have/suspect

sarahwilson.com/2014/07/300...

UTI very common when hypothyroid

[France92 in reply to SlowDragon]

thats interesting about uti I had this one over 3 years and now all these other symptoms and been very poorly. Main symptoms bad tachycardia low grade fever with sweats all the time aniexty day and night with adrenlin lost weight hair thin losing eyebrows tremors .

[Blearyeyed in reply to France92]

Have you had your Serum B12 / active B12 test , Vitamin and Folates checked with a blood test?

If not , ask the Endo at your appointment to have these included on your blood test form . Explain your most common and newest symptoms and that you are concerned that it could be linked to a deficiency that has not been checked yet by your GP.

There is a common link with Vitamin B 12 deficiency and changes in thyroid symptoms , The symptoms you describe are very common to Vitamin B 12 deficiency anaemia or Pernicious Anaemia, and these issues can trigger worse thyroid symptoms. It is a bit like a vicious circle with these conditions.

Vitamin D and Folate deficiency are also common when you have thyroid problems and they can make your usual symptoms worse too.

As well as palpitations, dizziness, inflammation of joints , stiffness , Fatigue , insomnia , loss of thinking skills , loss of coordination, numbness and tingling in the muscles , B 12 , specifically can also cause heart pain , breathlessness with little to no activity , continuous migraine , stomach pain and IBS blood pressure swings , slurred speech and vision problems . It can also cause tremors , the symptoms of blood sugar imbalance when we don't test positive for Diabetes , changes in weight and where we hold fat on the body , high cholesterol, recurrent infections and shrinking if the muscles in the arms and legs.

You probably already have a good diet and may already take supplements or drink enough water but when we have a chronic health problem are body uses up far more nutrients and water , as it floods the system with vitamins and minerals in its effort to heal. Often , even the best diet and a general daily supplement alone still aren't enough to stop us getting low or deficient in nutrients that we need to reduce our symptoms

[France92 in reply to Blearyeyed]

my levels are all good did medicheck as advised on here thanks for the advice

Dull colour

[Blearyeyed in reply to France92]

Agree with the other advice you have had on statins.

They always jump on the statin route before checking if your chronic health condition could be the cause , and that the cholesterol will balance out once your chronic condition is well managed.

They jump on the ' pop a pill ' option straight away because they either don't have the knowledge , they don't trust the patient to make diet changes , or just don't have enough time to give you the advice on the option to try diet and exercise before a statin.

You could try diet , things like Benecol and getting your thyroid treatment to the best managed level for you before going down the statin route.

[HashiFedUp]

I’d be cautious about the use of statins with hashimotos - your cholesterol will lower naturally once your hashimotos is adequately treated.

Also, patients with thyroid disorders can experienced problems with muscle weakness when put on statins, particularly in the legs.

[France92 in reply to HashiFedUp]

thankyou I won't be taking them I've seen many people who can barely walk on them. I see what happens with my thyroid and being stricter diet wise