overactive now underactive

[Thyroidupanddown]

Hi I was first Diagnosed with overactive thyroid disorder in my Thirties.. took medication for a few years then was told to stop .. had about 10 years of being well then in my 40’s I had a relapse .. another few years on meds then stoped again .. Iam now in my late 50’s and started to feel poorly again .. bloods confirmed I now had Hashimoto syndrome.. took meds .. then was told to stop as repeated bloods where normal.. unfortunately I am now starting to feel unwell again .. my question is should I have stayed in the Medication ? Thanks

[Jaydee1507 Administrator]

Welcome to the group. If you could complete your profile it helps members understand your thyroid journey. Click on your image icon to start.

Do you have a copy of your latest blood results that you can share with us? You are legally entitled to a printed copy of your results, ask at GP reception. In England you can get the NHS app and ask for permission to see your blood results on that by asking at GP’s reception.

When your thyroid was overactive did they test your antibodies and which ones were positive? Sometimes Hashimoto's can initially cause the thyroid to be overactive which if your Endo isn't careful can look like hyperthyroidism.

What medication did you used to take?

Why is your doctor stopping your medication when your bloods are normal? They will be 'normal' if you are taking levothyroxine. You may need to find a different doctor.

When hypo we get low stomach acid which means we cannot absorb vitamins well from our food, regardless of a great diet. For thyroid hormone to work well we need OPTIMAL levels of vitamins. Have you recently or could you ask your GP to test levels of ferritin, folate, B12 & D3? Private tests are available, see link for companies offering private blood tests & discount codes, some offer a blood draw service at an extra cost. thyroiduk.org/help-and-supp...

Many with autoimmune thyroid disease aka Hashimoto's benefit from a gluten free diet. A smaller percentage of those also need to remove dairy from their diet to feel well. These are intolerances and will not show up on any blood test.

[PurpleNails Administrator]

Welcome to forum.

If you were hyper for a few years on two occasions & taking an antithyroid medication (eg carbimazole?) for years at an each time. Then you may have been assumed to have Graves ?

Were you ever told the cause of your hyper?  Or do you mean you were hypothyroid & on replacement? 

Often 1 of 2 autoimmune conditions can affect the thyroid.  

Graves cause very high continuous thyroid levels (low TSH & very high FT4 & FT3) it’s often goes into remission after months / years but relapses can occur.  

Graves is confirmed by being positive in either of two antibodies:

TSI - Thyroid-Stimulating Immunoglobulin 

TRab - TSH receptor antibodies

Hashimoto’s (or autoimmune thyroiditis) -doctors just refer to under active thyroid- is also diagnosed by positive antibodies.  This can cause transient hyper early on but ultimately hypothyroid.  

TPOab (Thyroid Peroxidase antibodies) autoimmune

TGab (Thyroglobulin antibodies) autoimmune 

BUT - TPOab & TGab appears in BOTH autoimmune conditions   

It would be unusual for transient hyper to last for years & occur over decades with Hashimoto’s, that more likely to be Graves. 

It’s is also possible to have both conditions going on.

After being hyper your TSH can become particularly unreliable and remain low, when it should rise to reflect low thyroid levels. - So it’s important to to see exactly what your FT4 & FT3 are doing. & what antibodies have been tested.

[pennyannie]

Hello Thyroidupanddown and welcome to the forum :

Do you have any blood test results and ranges that you can share with forum members ?

We generally need to see a TSH, Free T3 and Free T4 reading/range ?

It sounds as though you have an auto immune disease which tends to attack the thyroid - have Graves or Hashimoto's antibodies ever been run or been mentioned to you ?

If with Graves you stay on the Anti Thyroid mediation long term :

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/338...

If with Hashimoto's you should not be on the AT medication at all as the T3 and T4 fall back down into range by themselves but ultimately you will become hypothyroid and need to be prescribed T4 - Levothyroxine to support your failing thyroid function.

thyroidpharmacist.com

[Thyroidupanddown]

Thanks so much for reply .. iam having my bloods taken tomorrow so will let you know the results