Experience with Covid and hypo/hashis

[Littledancingtiger]

Hi all,

I’ve been quite stable for a number of years now. I was on NDT and doing ok but not perfect, adding a small amount of Levo to my NDT at the end of 2019 made me feel really well, pulling my FT4 up in the range a bit made a big difference.

At the beginning of May this year I thought I caught a cold, got over it but then fell sick immediately again. All in all I was sick for around 2- 2 and a half weeks then seemed to recover ok. Everyone in my workplace was coming down with Covid at this time.

However at the back end of May I severely crashed. I suddenly started to feel adrenaline like symptoms “wired tired”, palpitations, stomach ache and dehydrated/ needing to drink a lot, struggling to sleep. In the past that’s always been a sign of over medication for me and usually means my FT3 has gotten too high. I’m very sensitive to FT3 changes. Once it goes much above 6 in range I begin getting hyper symptoms. So I have a very fine “sweet spot”.

I immediately tested thyroid levels but rather than FT3 being raised it had fallen. I was totally puzzled. I stopped vitamin supplementation (I usually take b12, folate, b complex, vitamin d) and this seemed to help dial back the adrenaline symptoms for some reason and curb the stomach aches but I know I struggle with keeping vitamin levels up myself so this isn’t a permanent solution… none of my vitamin levels are particularly high either. Vitamin D has actually fallen down quite a bit despite consistent supplementation. My B12 is always high due to injections (pernicious anaemia).

Anyone experienced the same after Covid? The symptoms are confusing as these aren’t symptoms I would usually get without being over medicated. I am quite sensitive to changes in FT3 levels but never normally feel “hyper” symptoms when it drops, just tend to eventually feel more hypo so this is confusing. I normally feel most well with FT3 between 5.6-5.8. At last test it was 5.6.

Interestingly though my FT4 has moved up from 16 to 17.3 without me changing anything is there any clues anywhere in here? Antibodies had been on a downward trend since adding in levo but had raised slightly on tpo during this time too up from 36.9. The TGAB had fallen from 298.

TSH: 0.008 (usually always suppressed due to T3) range: 0.27 - 4.2

FT3: 5.1 range: 3.1-6.8

FT4 17.3 range: 12-22

THYROID PEROXIDASE ANTIBODIES

Range: 0 - 34

42.5

THYROGLOBULIN ANTIBODIES

Range: 0 - 115

162

FERRITIN 70.1 range: 30 - 169

VITAMIN D 118 range: 50 - 250

Any thoughts or if anything similar has happened to anyone would be grateful, very much struggling to balance back out again at the moment and odd symptoms are continuing. I’ve kept my thyroid dose the same as clearly I’m not over medicated.

[HEA72]

I'm just wondering if you have high reverse T3 and not cleared the infection out completely? Have you done a covid test to check? Mind you, from my experience, you can still have it at a low level after the acute phase, that the LFT doesn't pick up. We get high reverse T3 with flu and covid (ref: stop the thyroid madness website). If so, I'm wondering if this could be causing the low T3 and slightly raised T4? And the crashing. Just an idea.

I presently have covid and it's tanked my energy. It feels like I've got high reverse T3 at the moment (extremely hypothyroid). It's also upsetting my nervous system. I can easily get wired and heart thumpy.

I was watching an interview with a gynaecologist, who said covid can cause stress in the hormonal system.

[greygoose in reply to HEA72]

High rT3 doesn't cause low FT3. Poor conversion - for whatever reason, including infections - causes them both. rT3 is inert and doesn't cause symptoms.

[HEA72 in reply to greygoose]

It's my understanding that in times of a strong infection T4 is converted into higher levels of RT3 (rather than T3), via the type 1&3 deiodinase pathway. This is so the body conserves energy. Resulting in less T3 being converted from T4. Which is why we can feel more hypothyroid with these strong infections.

[greygoose in reply to HEA72]

Put that way, that is correct. But the way you explained it above it sounded as if you were saying that the rT3 itself was responsible for the low T3, instead of just being the by-product.

[Hedgeree]

Hi Littledancingtiger,

When I was still seeing my endo surgeon after a partial thyroidectomy I unfortunately got Covid. She said she had seen a number of patients in her clinic that had got Covid and then struggled with their thyroid hormone levels afterwards as they had dropped.

Did you test positive or just assumed that you'd got Covid? I was really annoyed (apart from being ill) as I was titrating up my levo as I had not long been prescribed it.

[Littledancingtiger]

Thanks everyone, I’m usually a fairly good converter so was a shock to see lower end FT3 (for me) with the symptoms I was having. But I notice more now as the days go my symptoms are becoming mixed. Sometimes struggling to get up in the mornings, yawning a lot at night which is more hypo but sometimes waking at 4am and feeling adrenaline first thing which is more my over medicated symptoms. My body seems very confused right now.

Can this effect from Covid go on for quite a while or is it all a bit of an unknown?

Struggling to know whether to do anything about it or if I just have to wait it out.

I do still feel a bit off balance with electrolytes somehow too like water isn’t quite quenching me enough. Ordered some rehydration sachets to see if that helps.

[Ganggywaller]

Hi littledancing tiger, all the symptoms you have i fit with the same. I had covid twice and thought nothing about my thyroid . But recently had t3 done and it is very low compared to t4. I too thought i was overmedicated. I am seeing endo next week hoping to introduce t3, he has recently lowered my levo, so il await results and let you know, i do feel awful at the moment .