Help!

[NomadicBoo]

Hello,

My first post here and looking to see if anyone can share some perspectives or stories (as a side note, I do have a Doctors appointment to follow up in late March so not trying to diagnose myself here).

Backstory:

Radiation therapy in 2011 to head and neck due to lymphoma. Last two years I have had significant digestive issues, throat problems, neck swelling etc. Accompanied by extreme fatigue and brain fog.

Current:

Awaiting results on neck MRI (a follow up to one done in 2022, which if all ok will likely mean referral to a neurologist). Simultaneously, just had test results on blood back from my gastro and my TSH is at 5.96 (range 0.6 to 4.8) and T3 at 6.8 (range 3.5 to 6.5) - T4 seemed fine albeit at the lower end (15.3).

I have been sub clinical hypo for about 3 years (last test had a TSH of 4.92 / T4 of 13.8 back in 2021 but without treatment.

I'm now wondering if some how these different issues have the same source. I have a nodule on my right side, neck discomfort, constant fatigue, thinning eyebrows, cold hands and feet, heart palpitations etc. So all the classic symptoms alongside my gastro and throat issues.

My specific question (as I am rambling here) is has anyone who has been diagnosed as either hypo or Hashimotos has elevated / increasing TSH but also increased T3? They seem from what I've read to be apposed to each other with high TSH indicating hypo and high T3 indicating hyper so I am now somewhat confused!

Anyway, I will follow up with both MRI and Gastro in due course but welcome any thoughts, experiences or avenues of research as I try to learn more.

Thank you!

J

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK]

Rising FT3 is not uncommon in Hashimoto's (or other causes of hypothyroidism).

The body does everything it can to maintain T3 levels even in the face of falling T4. It is the imperative to ensure enough T3 for as long as possible.

Indeed, I suspect this is why some people seem to be amazingly unaffected until they suddenly cannot continue. Their bodies have maintained T3, though low T4 have its own negative effects such as in those peripheral tissues which largely manage their own conversion of T4 to T3. But when that T3 falls, they collapse. With nothing to fall back on.