Hypothyroidism :: Autoimmune Attacked Thyroid
Jan 23, 2016
For the last 6 months illness has progressively become worse. Having been tooing and froing the doctors, yesterday i had the diagnosis of Autoimmune attacked thyroid. I know nothing much about the illness. I've been given 50ml dosage of Levothyroxine to take daily. The question i have is this. For the best part of the last 6 months i have been unable to walk properly or without pain 80% (thereabouts) of the time. I spend most of my time being asleep. Im in chronic pain with my joints (been tested for various arthritis, but nothing showing in tests) Is there any possibility the the pain and exhaustion are connected with the Thyroid issue? My doc said i should start to feel a little better soon, but seems perplexed by my exhaustion and chronic pain.
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I'm 25 and over the past 6 years I've been diagnosed with 4 pretty serious autoimmune conditions. When I was 19, I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis which is often crippling, even now. I was told this was an autoimmune condition. Shortly after, I was diagnosed with Coeliac Disease, another autoimmune condition. The Arthritis and symptoms of the coeliac disease when I hadn't controlled it obviously made me feel unwell and I often felt lethargic and unhopeful due to a lot of pain and stuff going on in my body.
I managed to go on a clinical trial which allowed me to have a new and powerful arthritis drug which dramatically improved the condition and I managed to cut gluten out of my diet. I also lost a bit of weight - this helped.
However, after the trial, my symptoms of arthritis gradually came back but was usually kept under control with the exception of a few flare ups.
When I was 23, I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes after getting a very quick onset flurry of symptoms (another autoimmune condition) - I find this very difficult to manage.
I've recently moved cities and transferring all of my specialists and treatments left me with no arthritis medication, and a long wait until I see a diabetes specialist to adjust insulin levels. As you can probably imagine, I've been in an awful lot of pain and been feeling very down, tired and lethargic. I'm very upbeat although having so many conditions and I don't let it bring me down, even though I work a full-time job 8 til 5 everyday. I've been having problems with blood tests, platelet counts, that kind of thing.
I was aware that I had the antibodies for Hypothyroidism as I had the test for that about a year ago and I knew it was just a matter of time before I developed it. Upon my most recent blood tests, my TSH level was 47.7 - ten times the top end of the normal limit. I've literally just started levothyroxine but, as you can imagine, I feel completely overloaded with health issues and like my head is going to explode and quite down about it all.
I'm sorry to give you my life story but I was just wondering if any one else has any of the other conditions I have and how they manage with all of them?
Also - how should I have been feeling with a TSH of 47.7? Should I have been feeling VERY different because, like I said, I always feel fairly tired and down due to the combination of illnesses. Any advice at all would be appreciated - I feel massively alone with this.
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I am a normal, healthy 28 year old with a beautiful 8 month old daughter - I was born without a thyroid (picked up on the heel prick test introduced in Wales 82) and have been monitored all my life and also have been on different dosages of thyroxine throughout my life so far! My daughter is absolutely perfect and has thankfully not got CH. I was fine at school (a bit of a daydreamer and a bit forgetful) but I still came out the other side with 11 GCSE's, 3 A-levels and a degree! We are no different to any one else, as long as we are on the right dosage and judging by the way that I've been monitored, this shouldn't ever be a huge issue!
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I have hypothyroidism and for some time have felt this presence deep in my throat, sometimes it aches and it's Definitely hard to swallow dry foods. My doctor sent me for a scan where these nodules were discovered and they attempted a biopsy.this proved awkward as the larger nodule is beside the carotid vein. However the scan results were sent to the doctor who has made an urgent referral to surgical. The biopsy results aren't back yet. Anyone know what I should expect.am I possibly looking at cancer/ surgery?
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During a routine blood test in August I was diagnosed with underactive thyroid. I wasn't feeling ill so was quite surprised when I read the symptoms. I've been on Levothyroxine for 3 months now and I feel terrible. I'm so drained and exhausted, angry and frustrated, bloated, fat, stomach pains and unhappy, I keep going back to the doctor but she just pops me more pills and I don't feel she is very understanding or sympathetic. I didn't feel this bad before I started the medication so I'm going to stop it. I was placed on 50mg and two weeks later my blood tests were normal and have been since so for such a small dose does it really matter? I'm so low, sometimes it's all too much I want to have a paddy and a tantrum and smash the place up and if anyone gets in my way then they'll get it too.
The doctor wants me to try CBT self help courses to understand what troubles me. When I'm not having some kind of flip out I know what troubles me - things are a struggle and I hate being ill and I want to be better.
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This is my lab results:
TSH = 2.91 (0.45 - 4.5)
T4 = 3.0 (4.5 - 12.0) -- low
Free T4 = 1.05 (0.82 - 1.77)
Free T3 = 2.6 (2.0 - 4.4)
Rev T3 = 8.2 (9.2 - 24.1)
I have all the hypothyroidism symptoms like fatigue, cold hands & feet, losing hair & eyebrow, brain fog. I was tested for thyroid antibodies (TBA & TPO), and they are all negative. Recently I have increased my carbs intake and felt much better. I believe I also have adrenal fatigue as my daily cortisol cycle are inverted so I wake up several times during sleep.
My question is do I have subclinical hypothyroidism? Why my reverse T3 is low? Or I have iodide deficiency?
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I have been diagnosed with WG and am on the usual medication.
WG attacked my nervous system. My feet are swollen and movement is painful. At night the swellings subsided but the moment I get up and move around the swelling flares up.
My hands have also been affected. The fingers are dead, no feeling and no muscle movement possible - cannot use the left hand at all. The right hand I can still use but the skin feels numb.
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I had an ultrasound today and it says that there is "a homogeneous appearance to the echotexture of the thyroid gland. Bilateral thyroid nodules are observed. There is evidence of a complex cystic and solid lower pole right thyroid nodule measuring 1.8 x 1.0 x 0.9 cm. Within the left thyroid lobe there is evidence of a hypoechoic midpole left thyroid nodule measuring 0.6 x 0.4 x 0.7 cm. Bilateral thyroid nodules. Dominant nodule is a complex cystic and solid lower pole right thyroid nodule measuring up to 1.8 cm. what does this mean?
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I have 3 thyroid nodules and 1 cyst. I have been advised to have a thyroidectomy. I do not want to go this route yet and am searching for some natural remedies. I have heard of using iodine but to be careful do to the fact that that might enlarge the nodules. I recently found out that I am very iodine deficient from a lab result. I have heard of iodine trapping, whereby the iodine taken in when their is a severe deficiency is immediately 'trapped' and held in the gland in order to preserve some iodine for the use of the thyroid. I would like to proceed with caution and try the iodine therapy.
Does anyone on this board have any experience with successfully dissolving or at least reducing the nodules/cysts?
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It wasn't long after I moved to an area within 10 miles of a nuclear power plant that I was diagnosed with an enlarged thyroid with nodules. And after a surgery I had, I became extremely depressed and I still am, this was three years ago. Also a feeling of not being myself.
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I am new to this site. I have been diagnosed as Euthyroid (antithyroid antibodies with a fully functioning thyroid) and I also have Anti-nuclear antibodies - Speckled 1:640.
I don't have Lupus as have been tested for that.
I am currently undergoing IVF and have had 2 failed rounds. I have been put on Aspirin (100 mg), Prednisolone 7.5mg a day and CoEnzyme Q10, folate and Vit B12 with no success.
I am desperately looking for anyone in my situation that can offer any sort of guidance, maybe a drug regime you are on or just anything at all. I desperately want children but it isn't looking too good. I'm terribly sad about the prospect of never having children.
Ive been trying for 3 years now and was pregnant once and miscarried at about 5 weeks back in 2011 and have never been pregnant since indicating a problem but I don't have any other issues except a low egg reserve which is from these other issues
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I am male and so likely have had less severe autoimmune manifestations than females since they seem to have stronger immune responses. However, I have had some difficult times with autoimmunity. It started in 1972 with antiphospholipid antibody syndrome which caused deep vein thromboses in both legs. I started taking coumadin at this time but the dosage was not high enough to prevent some further clotting and a number of the clots travelled to my lungs causing pulmonary hypertension. Eventually, in 1994, this became severe enough to cause heart failure and the clots were removed via a pulmonary thrombo-endarterectomy. Subsequent to this, I developed lupus symptoms and lost both my adrenals and thyroid to it. The other lupus manifestation was regular pleurisy attacks. Also by this time, despite the coumadin, I was getting regular small blood clots on the skin on my feet and ankles, many of which subsequently turned into painful ulcers. In 2006, after reading an article on the internet by a doctor in charge of a hospital ward who was giving his patients 5000 units of vitamin D3 to prevent them getting sick, my wife and I started taking 5000 units of D3 ourselves hoping to avoid colds and flus. The vitamin D3 worked in stopping the colds but, in my case, it had another even better effect. The blood clots on my feet stopped and I have had none since.
In addition the pleurisy attacks almost ceased. With some additional experimentation, I found 10000 units of vitamin D daily (in split doses morning and evening, stopped the pleurisy attacks altogether. I remain free of the autoimmune effects since I started on the higher D3 dosage. I discussed the dosage with my hematologist and he felt up to 15000 units a day should present no problems in causing calcium over-retention (stones). I would recommend to anyone with auto-immune problems to try at least 5000 units a day of vitamin D3 to see if it reduces autoimmune problems. If you are concerned, you can discuss it with a doctor first but I have been taking 10000 units a day for several years now with no ill effects.
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I have recently completed 2 stool sample tests that have rendered the same outcome, positive for parasitic organisms but unable to identify. Now I have to complete the exam a third time. I have still not received any treatment and have experienced some serious health problems over the past few years, including an idiopathic cardiomyopathy a little over 2 years ago. Two years before this I was hospitalized for a serious virus that could not be identified. This involved a very high fever, diarrhea, vomiting, and the start of kidney failure, however I went to the emergency room at the right time. One month later, I had mono, then 4 months later, had a palsy in my left foot, then less than one year after, started experiencing chest pain, serious headaches, and extreme fatigue. The emergency room kept sending me home telling me it was a virus. Finally several months had passed after numerous visits to this ER, I went to a different hospital where they found a cardiomyopathy. My ejection fraction was 35%. I am only 37! Just after this, I noticed one day that I had experienced severe itching in the rectal area with several days of white discharge that had an odor of infection. I waited for a couple of months to see if things would get better, and they didn't, so I went to the ER. I told the doctor about the cardiomyopathy and previous mysterious illnesses, he completed a brief rectal exam, and said it was probably internal hemorrhoids. I asked if a parasitic infection was possible, and he said it was very unlikely because I hadn't been out of the country in several years. So he never tested my stool. Two years have passed, and I have had the same/similar problems since, and have reported this to the doctors over and over. For the past year and a half, I have developed new symptoms. Extreme fatigue, weakness, joint aches, headaches, constipation and diarrhea, greasy, yellowish stools, sweat that smells like ammonia, skin peeling out of my mouth, gas, burping, bad breath, weight loss and loss of appetite. In addition, I have mysterious skin rashes with hives on a daily basis, and started taking pictures of them to document this. In December of 2012, I tested positive for lupus with a positive ANA, and my doctor ordered the test because my eosinophil percentage had consistently been flagged on my blood reports as high. I still was not getting any answers, so I switched all of my doctors and have been going to the city. This is a world renowned hospital. Upon meeting my new doctors, they ordered a repeat of blood tests. This time the lupus was negative. The doctors quickly dismissed the lupus results prior, and said that sometimes people just test false positive, with no further explanation. Back in April of this year, my doctor informed me that my vitamin d level was very low, 12, should be between 30-40 he said, so I have been taking prescription vitamin d. I met with an infectious disease specialist a month ago, and she said she didn't think that I had parasites, but she would test because of my eosinophils. Bingo, I do have them, and now the doctors are trying to say they are parasitic but may not be causing my symptoms. For several months I have noticed that there is strange looking debris after blowing my nose into a tissue. Last night, I am about 99% certain that it was a small worm, certainly looked like one, and I was a teacher, so I am fairly well educated. I saved it in the tissue and put it in a ziplock bag. I don't know whether to call my doctor or not on Monday morning, as I don't trust him, and think he will once again be dismissive. I already went through the HIV phase with him, and told him I didn't have it, as I've only had 4 partners my entire life, have never had unprotected sex, I don't rim, and had an HIV test. I haven't been sexually active in about three years, so I knew I couldn't have it. I retested a couple of months ago to satisfy him, and it was negative once again. I have asked him if any of my past symptoms are connected, and he didn't think so. I disagree. The only diagnosis I have is another one of idiopathic nature, urticaria, (spelling) and says my blood work is fine, which it isn't, because my vitamin d was very low, and my eosinophils are still high. Any advice on what I should do? Prior to all of this stuff over the past 5 years, I was very rarely I'll. now I can no longer do many of the things that I used to, as I don't feel well enough, and I would really like to get some normalcy back in my life. Is there a doctor who can answer this without telling me that I am imagining things? The test results obviously indicate that I am not.
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I am a 29 year old female and I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's Thyroiditis at the start of the year. I have been having problems with my right eyelid in that over the course of the day it progressively becomes droopy and the only thing that relieves it is when I close it. When it becomes droopy it makes my eye feel like there's something in it and I end up rubbing it. It's only when I look in the mirror that it's droopy.
In January my endocrinologist ran an autoimmune profile (but not for every single antibody) and rheumatoid factor and these are the results of it:
Rheumatoid Factor - 9IU/mL (<20 negative)
HEP2 - Positive
Type - Speckled
Anti-DSDNA - 7IU/mL (<30 negative)
(Positive antinuclear antibodies but no significant disease association found)
ENA screen - Negative
Autoimmune profile
Antinuclear Abs - Positive
Anti-Smooth muscle Abs - Negative
Anti-Parietal Abs - Negative
Anti-Mitochondrial Abs - Negative
Anti-LKM Abs - Negative
Anti-Thyroid Peroxidase Abs (Anti-TPO) - 141 kIU/L (<34 negative)
I am posting here because I have a suspicion that I have Myasthenia Gravis. Not only have I got the problem with my eyelid but I tried to follow some physical tests for muscle weakness such as holding my arms out straight in front of me and deep knee bends.The results of these home tests I did:
Holding out arms stretched in front for 60 seconds - pain in both arms when it came up to the 60 seconds and left arm dropped slightly
10 deep knee bends - did all 10 knee bends but the last 3 made my legs feel weak and shaky
5 sit-ups (sitting from lying down) - could only manage 4 sit-ups
I have an appointment with my GP on Friday and since this has now appeared I'd like to mention my concerns to them.
My main concerns are :
Wouldn't my endocrinologist have tested me for Myasthenia Gravis if it's an autoimmune condition? If so what antibodies would she have tested and would any of the ones I had tested have shown I have Myasthenia Gravis?
Who do I need to request to see to get a confirmed diagnosis?
If it is indeed Myasthenia Gravis would it be because my current autoimmune condition made it worse? I have read that this is possible and I became very hypothyroid yesterday as I had very bad Reynaud's flares when out and about.
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So now I feel like a complete hypochondriac. Ladybud (who is fabulous, btw) has helped me tremendously. I am wondering if any of you have had your ANA patterns change. I am having muscle aches, dx with small fiber neuropathy and Raynaud’s, my RBCs and C-reactive protein have been low throughout the last 3 years. I now have been dx with a reactivation of the Epstein Barr virus and alopecia due to “granulomatous Dermatitis” (getting 2nd opinion later this month).
These are my titers and patterns over the years:
10/2011 ANA Titer: 1:320 Pattern: Homogeneous
11/2011 ANA Titer: 1:320 Pattern: Homogeneous
10/2013 ANA Titer: 1:320 Pattern: Homogeneous
5/2014 ANA Titer: 1:160 Pattern: Homogeneous
AND NOW:
6/2014 (AVISE SLE 2.0 TESTING (1st time with this test) ANA Titer: 1:80 Pattern: Diffuse fine speckled
Negative on all markers. I am HLA-B27 Positive, but negative for ankylosing spondylitis (AS).
Now my rheumatologist stated all my blood work appears to be normal and I have ZERO autoimmune positivity.
Huh? I feel like such a hypochondriac.
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Has anyone looked into treating the autoimmune part of sarcoidosis, if so, what was the outcome?
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Does that mean that we women are more susceptible to viruses, respiratory infections, etc.? Do most follow a certain diet ?
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Has anyone read or been told by their doc they should "not" take probiotics if they have Hashimoto's or other autoimmune illness?
I read somewhere that one with autoimmune problems should not take probiotics that it could cause systemic yeast infection. Now I can't find that article. Everything else I read states probiotics good for autoimmune disease.
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I have been living with AIH for 14 years, first diagnosed when i was 14 years old. Luckily I am fairly stable with the odd flare up now and again. I am being looked after by the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Bham and they are brilliant. Currently i'm on 50mg of Azathioprine a day and its brilliant with no side effects. I have been on Prednisolone in the past and i've not got on well with it. My doc keeps mentioning the possibility of me having to go back on it in the future but I don't like the side effects.
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What can I do while I wait to see what medication is going to help me. Predisone and hydroxychloroquine 200 mg
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I've just heard from my GPS surgery that my most recent blood test shows I have virtually no iron! As I have several autoimmune diseases including autoimmune hepatitis, rheumatoid arthritis, SLE (lupus), Raynauds, Sjogrens, acquired autoimmune hypothyroidism) , I'm rather afraid that this could be pernicious anaemia or hemolytic anaemia, as I've never had a low iron level until now. I was taken off methotrexate due to respiratory problems (side effect) and am on prednisone 25mg/day. Does anyone have any experience of sudden iron deficiency please?
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