Hashimotos, interpreting blood results anyone similar?

Tigermum9

What some other people said on here sounds right. Your symptoms really don't sound like you are hypo or hyper thyroid. I wonder if you can go to a different doctor and get complete blood work done. Have you seen an Endocrinologist? That might be the first step if you weren't seeing a specialist.

Yep, this is right on.

Also, OP, I believe someone mentioned this upstream, but have you looked into food intolerance? Prior to finding out I was intolerant to soy, which I had started using due to lactose intolerance, I thought there was something seriously wrong with me. The doctor did a complete work up and was stumped to find all my blood tests came back perfect.

I was tried, had aching muscles and joints, extremely tired, weight gain, (not from soy but from being too tired to put the energy into workouts I'd been doing for so long), aching in my ears, sleep problems,, and I basically felt like crap. Well, one day I picked up a book on food intolerances and there was a section on soy, and the list of symptoms sounds a lot like mine.

I immediately cut soy out of my diet and within a few weeks I felt better, and within two weeks I felt totally back to normal. When I told my doctor about this, he was tickled.

Remember, GP's generally do not have the experience of saying, "Hey, your blood tests are great so let's look into food intolerance," so that might be something you need to either explore on your own or ask for a referral to a nutritionist.

Yes, thank you I will look into this, but this began suddenly - can that happen?

SLLRunner

Lisa,

You can build up intolerances to food over time and it has been my experiences that they can seem to come up suddenly. Wheat, gluten, soy, and lactose are a few common foods people build up intolerances to. I'm sure there are others as well.

I'm not at all saying that's what your situation is, but given that the blood tests came back unremarkable, food intolerance is worth exploring. Also, please do go and get a second opinion too.

ChasingSweatandTears

Pp may not be a Dr, by what he is saying is very accurate. This is exactly how autoimmune thyroiditis works, and those antibodies indicate that she has it. As do I.

OP, you do need a knowledgeable endocrinologist or a functional medicine provider to assist you.

ChasingSweatandTears

Okay, yes, you have received an accurate diagnosis.
I have Hashimotos as well. And your blood tests are not"unremarkable". There is a war going on in your body, attacking and destroying your thyroid. Eventually, over time, your thyroid may become so damaged that it no longer functions at all and you may need a fill replacement dose of thyroid medication. Your tsh may be fine now, but in a months time it can indicate that you are hypo, which is why you should be on medication. It is not functioning at a stable level as indicated by your free t4.

When you have Hashimotos you can definitely have signs of food intolerance. I couldn't tolerate gluten until I started medication, then as my levels stabilized I could suddenly tolerate it again. Gluten proteins are similar in structure to thyroid tissue proteins, so The antibodies that attack the thyroid, are "aggravated" so to speak when you eat gluten. This can lead to chronic inflammation which is something you are already experiencing because of the Hashimotos. Chronic inflammation contributes to every single symptom you described. I have many of those symptoms as well.

You have quite a high number of antibodies and while I'm not a dr, I have spent the last several years of my life dedicated to learning how I can support my health while dealing with Hashimotos.
Here is what has helped me:
Low sugar, sugar contributes to inflammation.
Gluten free,
Vitamin d supplementation ( ask for a blood test first)
Iron supplementation ( ask for blood test)
Hashimotos patients are often anemic and vitamin d deficient.
Research has shown that Supplementing with 200 mcg of selenium a day can actually help lower anti tpo antibodies. I take this.
Turmeric supplements
There is new research into Sam e for hashimotos, so you may want to look into that. I'm not currently taking because I am breastfeeding.
Very little processed food and lots of rest, and staying as active as you can.

I am sorry you are dealing with this. It sucks, but it's manageable. The key is taking care of yourself and finding a good dr. Because you have a goiter, it needs to be monitored well. And you deserve the chance to see if medication will help you feel better.

ChasingSweatandTears

Just because her tsh is "normal" does not mean her results do not explain her symptoms.

All of the symptoms she listed are textbook symptoms of Hashimotos

ChasingSweatandTears

How can you people say her symptoms don't sound like she is hypo or hyper???????
They absolutely sound like hypothyroid symptoms.
Not to mention..........
SHE HAS A GOITER.

ChasingSweatandTears

Sorry, I've been hitting reply instead of quote.

OP, feel free to message me if you have any questions. There are lots of people who like to be completely dismissive of thyroid issues. People like this will only make you feel worse.
The fact is your Dr diagnosed you with an autoimmune thyroid disorder, along with a goiter, yet is refusing to give you even a low dose of medication to help you feel better, just because of a single number which, when you have Hashimotos can change very often.

You need to find a dr who will listen to you and do what you can to reduce chronic inflammation in your body, through diet, supplements and gentle exercise. As that inflammation settles down, you will start to feel better. I hope you can find a good endocrinologist to work with .

LKArgh

Just because her tsh is "normal" does not mean her results do not explain her symptoms.

All of the symptoms she listed are textbook symptoms of Hashimotos

For Hashimoto's to cause some of the symptoms, like extreme fatigue leading to weight gain, she needs to be hyporthyroid. At the moment, even if she does have the antibodies, she is not even marginally hypothyroid. Depending on the dr, she could find someone who prescribes a very small dosage of levothyroxine, as prevention, not to treat any symptoms, since they are not explained by her lab results. The same symptoms could be explained by 100 different causes, which we cannot know, since we are not drs.

SLLRunner

Sorry, I've been hitting reply instead of quote.

OP, feel free to message me if you have any questions. There are lots of people who like to be completely dismissive of thyroid issues. People like this will only make you feel worse.
The fact is your Dr diagnosed you with an autoimmune thyroid disorder, along with a goiter, yet is refusing to give you even a low dose of medication to help you feel better, just because of a single number which, when you have Hashimotos can change very often.

You need to find a dr who will listen to you and do what you can to reduce chronic inflammation in your body, through diet, supplements and gentle exercise. As that inflammation settles down, you will start to feel better. I hope you can find a good endocrinologist to work with .

I agree that it's strange she's been diagnosed with this disease and is not being treated for it. Several of us in this thread have already advised her to go to another doctor.

The reason I pointed out food allergies is because it was not clear to me from the original post that she was actually diagnosed with Hashimotos, since she wrote this:

The doctors will not entertain me at all or give me any medications because apparently the guidelines say they cant due to the TSH being normal.
I have had a scan on the goiter which showed no nodules,abnormalities to lymph nodes and the thyroid was appaently measuring normal size, the antibodies were causing the swelling.The goiter is causing problems with swallowing and feeling tight. I have seen 2 different doctors and apparently the rules in the UK for everyone is that whilst the TSH is in normal range nothing can be done, I have to wait 3 months for another blood test - then they will consider referring me to a specialist

Later in the thread I saw that she actually was diagnosed, which does change the picture.

However, it is my understanding that an enlarged thyroid gland does not always mean Hashimotos. http://www.thyroid.org/what-is-a-goiter/

Tigermum9

Im sorry guys for being a pain

moonbutt9155

I wanted to reply since I just recently started taking thyroid supplements for hashi's. my tsh would be 2 to mostly high normal and then creep up high between 5 and 9 with fluctuating antibodies. i went to several drs for 2 years watching my levels change.
and trying to fix my health with diet, vitamin d ( which was low as well). everyone wanted to wait and watch my thyroid die.
all of your symptoms i had. with hashi's your levels can be normal one day and then the next not.
not sure if you had a second blood test but i would.
i also work with a naturopathic dr. as well using glandular supplements that did work for a while & going gluten.
i suggest reading The root cause http://www.amazon.com/Hashimotos-Thyroiditis-Lifestyle-Interventions-Treating/dp/0615825796
today, i am 3 weeks on natural thyroid replacement. the weight loss hasn't started but my brain is out of the fog, my energy and focus is better. i don't have my crazy mood swings and i can walk farther and not want to lay down and go to sleep.
so....not being a dr or expert, i can just share my experience. it's your body, you know how you feel. gather info, document your blood work and physical patterns and take that to as many doctors that you need if you need.
finally....no matter how much medicine you take, food and diet is very important with autoimmune thyroid disease.
we need to address the inflammation as our number one plan of healing attack.
good luck God bless

kcvance

OP, I was in a similar situation to you and was also told by my doctor that it couldn't possibly be my thyroid, as I was taking levothyroxine and my TSH was at 3 (no actual thyroid hormones were measured during my initial treatment). I still had ALL the symptoms of hypothyroidism, and was so, so, miserable.

Please visit http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com for a wealth of information on this condition and how to get correct treatment.

I know it is difficult, if not impossible, to get on natural dessicated thyroid in the UK - but I firmly believe that it saved my life. Please send me a friend request if I can help in any way.

SLLRunner

Im sorry guys for being a pain

You aren't being a pain at all. When it comes down to it, the only advice you might want to follow from any of us is to go to a different doctor and to read any informational links provided.

mzjuicypink

I have hashimotos hypothyroidism..its a pain in the a**...Im learning to deal with it, I've had it for at least 5 years now, medication helps but not all the symptoms ever go away, I'm not dying so I'm thankful, but yes the weight issue is up n down for me, trying to do better!!

Psychgrrl

Kaiser's normal range for Free T4 is 0.8 - 1.5 ng/dL. If the same standard of measurement is being used, your number is really high.

You have every right to advocate for yourself! Just because you're in the "normal range" which differs from lab to lab, doesn't mean that number is "normal" for you. (Said my old doc--she's AWESOME!)

Mary Shomon is a thyroid patient advocate. She's mentioned in this article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/08/health/08hypo.html

The article also shows how divided the medical community is on treatment.

Her site also has a state by state directory of Endos with patient ratings of them.

Hang in there!!!!

ashleyjohnstonn1

My mom has Hashimotos. When I was a little kid (and she was about 19) she gained almost 100 pounds in less than 5 months. Her whole life she has been very sick and tired all the time. Nothing seems to help her (except when she got prescribed adderral she lost a bunch of weight, for obvious reasons, but it came back.) It is best to get it in check as early as you can. My moms thyroid is almost nonfunctional and it took her forever to find a medication that worked for her, and it still doesn't work too well.

mjudd1990

Goiter =/= hypo or hyper. It's simply an enlarged thyroid gland. You can have a low/non functioning goiter like in Hashimotos or iodine deficiency or a hyperfunctioning goiter with toxic adenomas/carcinomas and autoimmune conditions like Graves' disease. The mix of your hypo and hyper symptoms could be from the intial phase of a chronic hypothyroidism in which case your gland gets attacked and releases preformed thyroid hormone. Another possibility is Graves' disease which typically presents as hyperthyroidism but can show intermittent bouts of hypothyroidism due to occasional production of antibodies similar to those seen in Hashimoto's thyroiditis.

Tigermum9

Goiter =/= hypo or hyper. It's simply an enlarged thyroid gland. You can have a low/non functioning goiter like in Hashimotos or iodine deficiency or a hyperfunctioning goiter with toxic adenomas/carcinomas and autoimmune conditions like Graves' disease. The mix of your hypo and hyper symptoms could be from the intial phase of a chronic hypothyroidism in which case your gland gets attacked and releases preformed thyroid hormone. Another possibility is Graves' disease which typically presents as hyperthyroidism but can show intermittent bouts of hypothyroidism due to occasional production of antibodies similar to those seen in Hashimoto's thyroiditis.

I was actually googling for a long time last night the symptoms for hyper...I DO have symptoms for hyper too! I read somewhere than when the antibodies are up that the thyroid overproduces and underproduces, which is why the docs cant give me medication? I understand that, but does this mean then that if thats the case i have to wait for my thyroid to die?

Oh and good news, I saw a different GP in the practice this morning and she said to me 'cant help' I said Im not leaving this chair until you refer me...AND SHE DID! I am seeing an endo on the 29th april...feeling good xx

PoohHugs2

I have been hypothyroid for many years with frustrating dr's visits. Many GP's believe you're fine if you're in the normal range. NOT true. See an Endocrinologist! They are in in-tune with modern practices for treating the disease. I good Endo will listen to your symptoms and treat you accordingly while monitoring levels. I would also suggest being tested for Lime Disease. So many of the symptoms are the same and early detection is your best bet for a total recovery. Hang in there and advocate for yourself, no one else will.

Tigermum9

I have been told that diet changes are good for Hashimotos...Im seeing equal information for both Paleo and Gluten free...oh Im so confused!