Hashimoto's ???

[Justwannabemeagain]

I'm going to see a rheumatologist early April he had ordered some blood test before my initial appointment he ordered anti thyroid peroxidase which came back at 638.9 and a Anti thyroglobulin which is 107.1. I'm kind of scared seeing these numbers

[Charlie-Farley]

DON’T PANIC

(sounds like something out of Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy doesn’t it?)

It would appear you have a diagnosis! I’m presuming he did the thyroid hormones too, and TSH?

Hashimoto’s is the most common form of hypothyroidism if it is managed, and importantly, if it is diagnosed, we can move forward with some degree of normality, but you need to be on medication for the rest of your life. I did have a cry about this bit when I was diagnosed, but I have to say, I once the pills kicked in and I started to feel better, I soon put that to one side.

It is a bit of an adjustment though, there’s no getting away from it. If you click on my face, you will see my bio, and this is a case study, and it shows you how I got onto full therapeutic dose AND it will alert you to red flag treatment many of us get. This is why we have such a large forum - we have to self advocate and not rely on doctors to know this stuff - many simply do not.

[Justwannabemeagain in reply to Charlie-Farley]

I have been on levo for many years, very low dose 25mg. My tsh have been under 4 most of the time. Since Sept I have been feeling really bad, headaches so bad my head wants to explode. It's hurts behind my ears down my neck into my temples, I also get chest pain and skipped beats. These symptoms last all day every day. I'm at the end of my rope

[Charlie-Farley in reply to Justwannabemeagain]

😱 You are being grossly mismanaged. I can’t emphasise enough how important it is to read up on your condition so you can recognise when they don’t know what they are doing - and not submit to further mismanagement.

There is no way on this planet anybody other than an elf or a little baby could survive on 25 µg of levothyroxine and feel well. The person who is treating you thinks they are topping you up.

You definitely have to read my profile you will realise that this is a completely crazy situation and your TSH should be maximum about 1 when you are medicated and it’s not unreasonable for it to be lower than that.

There are very clear guidelines in dosing by weight of the person. Please don’t let this situation continue.

[Justwannabemeagain in reply to Charlie-Farley]

Thank you, I guess I have to wait until the 11th and talk to the doctor about it

[Charlie-Farley]

By the way your handle/nickname is exactly where I was nearly three years ago, then I got a diagnosis, then I got mismanaged, then I learnt about my condition on this forum and got some amazing advice, then I self advocated and now I feel better and I stay here to help others.

[tattybogle]

under 4 is not good enough.. TSH should preferably be under 2/ 2.5 at most.. many people need it under 1 to feel ok on Levo.

See this list of recommendations for GP's to keep TSH between 0.4/0.5 and 2/ 2.5 in patients on Levo.

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu....

This shoe size analogy might help you understand more :

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

25mcg is a tiny dose .. just enough to get your TSH back into range , but not enough to allow your body to work well.

In healthy people (not on Levo) , their TSH is most commonly around 1 ish.

Don't worry about the antibodies ..those level are not all that grim for TPOab .. i had TPOab of >3000 at diagnosis ... raised TPOab just means the cause of your hypothyrodism is your own immune system damaging your thyroid, (and therefore it isn't going to get better and wasn't jus a blip), so you will need thyroid hormone replacement for life ..... but once you are at the point of needing Levo , it doesn't really make much practical difference why it happened .

TPOab are not what is attacking your thyroid (your immune system is doing that .. lymphocytes infiltrate the thyroid gland and as a result , some thyroid peroxidase (which is inside the thyroid) gets spilled and ends up outside the thyroid ,, the thyroid peroxidase antibodies are just labels that fasten onto the spilled thyroid peroxidase , saying" clean this thyroid peroxidase up, it shouldn't be here" so that some other part of the immune system can identify it and clean up the mess .

[Justwannabemeagain]

Thank you