HASHIMOTO'S HELP..PLEASE!

sommerrosee2
sommerrosee2 Posts: 31 Member
edited January 2018 in Health and Weight Loss
jf5wk4o2ew7w.png
okay, so i was diagnosed with hashi's in June of 2016, and i am currently on 100mcg of levothyroxine. my dr keeps telling me that my levels are fine, but i am finding myself still feeling like absolute dirt, with very low energy and lots of brain fog. i should point out that i also have some form of inflammatory arthritis that i take plaquenil for, which i know contributes some to the issue that i am having. In addition to this, like everyone else, i eat fairly well and exercise as much as i have energy for(i aim for atleast 3 times a week, if not more than that), and have lost no weight. I have gone to my primary dr. many times, have gone to see an endocrinologist, and they all basically tell me that i am fine, and my only option for weight loss at this point is to have surgery, which i do not want. I am 24 years old, and i do not feel like at this point that is a viable option. But i feel like i keep getting shut out everywhere i turn. I am inserting a picture of the last test results i recieved, hoping someone can help me determine if they are "normal", and possibly offer up any additional suggestions to help me start losing weight?

«1

Replies

  • lili200
    lili200 Posts: 200 Member
    In Hashimoto’s the problem is the scale is for everyone (young,old, pregnant..), so even if you are within scale doesn’t mean it’s the best dose.
    I don’t know what your health options in your area but some hospitals offer groups for health habit change for people who need to loose plenty of weight or before surgery (if it’s your condition).
    My other suggestion is to meat a pro nutritionist and monitor each and every bite you take. It’s hard but gives the best results
  • SbetaK
    SbetaK Posts: 380 Member
    Your lab tests are all in the normal range so it appears your Hashimoto's is currently under control. I agree with the post above, see a nutritionist to get you started in the right direction. Also, if you do not exercise, start walking (or some other form of mild exercise) to begin a path to a healthier life. You are here on MFP, keep going!
  • ronjsteele1
    ronjsteele1 Posts: 1,064 Member
    Find a functional medicine doctor. Also, use armour thyroid instead of synthroid. Armour has all of the thyroid hormones in it. Synthroid has only t4. The problem is, if your low in selenium your body won’t convert t4 to t3 efficienctly leaving you feeling like garbage. A functional medicine doctor will treat your symptoms and use better thyroid meds. I find I feel better with my TSH at no more then .45 which is considered low by some doctors. But when I hit .50 I feel like crap. So micro adjusting sometimes has to happen. Check out the website stopthethyroidmadness.com. You will learn a ton! And look for a functional medicine doctor in your area.
  • SeptemberFeyre
    SeptemberFeyre Posts: 178 Member
    My daughter has Hashimoto's and she read Hashimoto's Protocol by Izabella Wentz. She followed the diet, tho it is hard, and is feeling good again.
  • rheddmobile
    rheddmobile Posts: 6,840 Member
    Even with low thyroid, which you don't have, you can lose weight successfully. You just need to eat fewer calories. "Eating fairly well" is not the same as tracking, measuring, and logging.
  • TWRUNNER32
    TWRUNNER32 Posts: 62 Member
    I've tried to respond to this a few times but my phone hates me, so here's one last try.

    I have Hashimoto's and psoriatic arthritis. And I totally feel you. My dosage has been bounced around since I got diagnosed almost 10 years ago, and the last time they dropped it, I wanted to cry bc my test results were exactly the same as they had been, and I was SURE they were wrong to drop it. I was sluggish and fatigued, and miserable, and I was absolutely certain before they tested me that I needed my dosage increased.

    Add that in with the fact that my fingers and toes are so swollen it's literally hard to walk, and the general misery that comes from winter in a cold place, and I needed a quick fix. I just recently changed my diet, trying to cut as much processed food out as I can and add in more produce, in addition to a B complex vitamin (liquid, delivered under the tongue), and it made me feel quite a bit better.

    I can't get in to see my Dr for another couple of weeks, but these changes definitely make me feel like I'll last that long.
  • sommerrosee2
    sommerrosee2 Posts: 31 Member
    okay, so i should probably be more clear. i track, log and weigh EVERYTHING i put in my mouth. I also work out atleast 3 times a week if not more, it just purely depends on the energy i have for that day. according to MFP, to lose 1 pound a week i need to consume 1650 calories, which i get close to or meet, and when i do have exercise calories i try to eat back SOME of those. i have been working very hard over the last few months, and not much has changed. I only joined MFP to have a digital way to track, as i was logging everything on paper before. I have also seen multiple different drs, all of which tell me i am fine now that i am on medication, and i have asked about other medications multiple times, and each time have been told that i do not need to change anything. I feel that this is wrong because i honestly do not think i would still feel this crappy if everything worked the way it was supposed to. i understand entirely that some of how i feel is coming from my other issues, but regardless it is none the less frustrating.
  • sommerrosee2
    sommerrosee2 Posts: 31 Member
    edited January 2018
    Even with low thyroid, which you don't have, you can lose weight successfully. You just need to eat fewer calories. "Eating fairly well" is not the same as tracking, measuring, and logging.

    okay, so i should probably be more clear. i track, log and weigh EVERYTHING i put in my mouth. I also work out atleast 3 times a week if not more, it just purely depends on the energy i have for that day. according to MFP, to lose 1 pound a week i need to consume 1650 calories, which i get close to or meet, and when i do have exercise calories i try to eat back SOME of those. i have been working very hard over the last few months, and not much has changed. I only joined MFP to have a digital way to track, as i was logging everything on paper before. I have also seen multiple different drs, all of which tell me i am fine now that i am on medication, and i have asked about other medications than levo multiple times, and each time have been told that i do not need to change anything. I feel that this is wrong because i honestly do not think i would still feel this crappy if everything worked the way it was supposed to. i understand entirely that some of how i feel is coming from my other issues, but regardless it is none the less frustrating.
  • sommerrosee2
    sommerrosee2 Posts: 31 Member

    SbetaK wrote: »
    Your lab tests are all in the normal range so it appears your Hashimoto's is currently under control. I agree with the post above, see a nutritionist to get you started in the right direction. Also, if you do not exercise, start walking (or some other form of mild exercise) to begin a path to a healthier life. You are here on MFP, keep going!

    okay, so i should probably be more clear. i track, log and weigh EVERYTHING i put in my mouth. I also work out atleast 3 times a week if not more, it just purely depends on the energy i have for that day. according to MFP, to lose 1 pound a week i need to consume 1650 calories, which i get close to or meet, and when i do have exercise calories i try to eat back SOME of those. i have been working very hard over the last few months, and not much has changed. I only joined MFP to have a digital way to track, as i was logging everything on paper before. I have also seen multiple different drs, all of which tell me i am fine now that i am on medication, and i have asked about other medications than levo multiple times, and each time have been told that i do not need to change anything. I feel that this is wrong because i honestly do not think i would still feel this crappy if everything worked the way it was supposed to. i understand entirely that some of how i feel is coming from my other issues, but regardless it is none the less frustrating.
  • Fuzzipeg
    Fuzzipeg Posts: 2,297 Member
    edited January 2018
    I'm wondering about your autoimmune markers. They can be off the scale and do not seem to have been tested this time, the antibodies are how Hashi is identified and it at the outset Hashi ALWAYS presents with normal numbers, it is probably this which is your bugbear. If you look into the autoimmune protocol, this helps many. I needed private testing to identify my personal dietary issues. There are issues common to most Hashi persons but its not true of each and ever other Hashi person so private allergy/intolerance testing can be a good way to get a heads up on what is triggering your personal antibodies.

    You could look into leaky gut, with an over or under active digestive tract the semi permeable membrane becomes more permeable than it was intended, joints become slack, so food particles of a larger size can enter the blood stream and set up the autoimmune response where particles are mistaken for our own cells, the primary one's are in the thyroid gland. The problematic digestive tract tends to indulge the least helpful digestive microbes and the most helpful ones do not thrive. Medications such as pain relief, antibiotics and the contraceptive pill can all make life more difficult for out most beneficial microbes. I have taken a British product, to counter the effects of antibiotics and achieved good results but its not a one time fixes for all times. I have made many dietary changes too.

    It is probable that most Hashi persons will have various vitamin defficiencies because the digestive tract is less able to aid their absorption, in other situations areas of the semipermiable membrain loose the vital cells which "capture" for want of a better their specific item. Vitamin b 12 is often found to be low in many with Hashi, this is one instance of these cells being deminished at best or you are not making the required enzymes to take it from the mouth to the gut. Other b vitamins can be low, as can d and e as well as minerals too.

    Choosing lower carb but maintaining or increasing your fibre intake may help you. Insulin Resistance can go hand in hand with Hashi. I was reading a book written by a dentist which was saying all added sugar and refined flour can reap havoc on our systems. Sugar in fruits can be an issue because to generalise modern fruits are different from those our ancestors ate and contain more sugar.

    The best advice I would offer is, if you are in the US, find a differnt doctor who actually listens, probably one from the Functional side of the profession, they are not tied to the standard, this is what works! They look to everything which feeds into the "healthy body" and advise accordingly. If you are in the UK like me you have little hope of achieving good answers to your issues. NICE the body which says which treatments work best say Levo t4 only is good but in many, including me it works for weeks, could be months but then stops. There can be reactions to the fillers/binder or preservatives which no one considers either. Think of the people who are genetically predisposed not to make the conversion they are up the creek without a paddle.

    (edit to add, going private may help but again a functional practitioner is best if you can find one. A BANT registered nutritionist will go a long way to help you too, one has helped me)

    I hope some of this helps. Hashi is a personal adventure, its very much finding out what works for yourself. There are so many ways the thyroid gland works in the body which makes so many systems also decline. The thyroid also reacts to over or under activity in other endocrine glands.

    Sorry if one need to have an ilness, I would say find something other than Hashi, Groves, or anything thyroid. (very tiny giggle.) Its so much more complicated than the general public think. Many of us get hung up on the weight we can not shift but we forget our share of the 300 other possible symptoms it can cause, the best one is the menstrual cycle is always painful and the rest, no, with a good endocrine balance its blink and you'e miss it.
  • staraly
    staraly Posts: 54 Member
    You should also have your iron and Vitamin D levels checked as it's not uncommon for these to be low when you have Hasimotos. Low levels of either could cause the lack of energy and brain fog you describe.
  • sommerrosee2
    sommerrosee2 Posts: 31 Member
    staraly wrote: »
    You should also have your iron and Vitamin D levels checked as it's not uncommon for these to be low when you have Hasimotos. Low levels of either could cause the lack of energy and brain fog you describe.

    i am on 2000iu of vitamin d because of the arthritis(my official diagnosis was undifferentiated connective tissue disease, which is a whole bunch of symptoms from different illnesses like RA, lupus, fibro, etc) and i also take selenium as well as a multivit that has iron in it as well.
  • sommerrosee2
    sommerrosee2 Posts: 31 Member
    Fuzzipeg wrote: »
    I'm wondering about your autoimmune markers. They can be off the scale and do not seem to have been tested this time, the antibodies are how Hashi is identified and it at the outset Hashi ALWAYS presents with normal numbers, it is probably this which is your bugbear. If you look into the autoimmune protocol, this helps many. I needed private testing to identify my personal dietary issues. There are issues common to most Hashi persons but its not true of each and ever other Hashi person so private allergy/intolerance testing can be a good way to get a heads up on what is triggering your personal antibodies.

    You could look into leaky gut, with an over or under active digestive tract the semi permeable membrane becomes more permeable than it was intended, joints become slack, so food particles of a larger size can enter the blood stream and set up the autoimmune response where particles are mistaken for our own cells, the primary one's are in the thyroid gland. The problematic digestive tract tends to indulge the least helpful digestive microbes and the most helpful ones do not thrive. Medications such as pain relief, antibiotics and the contraceptive pill can all make life more difficult for out most beneficial microbes. I have taken a British product, to counter the effects of antibiotics and achieved good results but its not a one time fixes for all times. I have made many dietary changes too.

    It is probable that most Hashi persons will have various vitamin defficiencies because the digestive tract is less able to aid their absorption, in other situations areas of the semipermiable membrain loose the vital cells which "capture" for want of a better their specific item. Vitamin b 12 is often found to be low in many with Hashi, this is one instance of these cells being deminished at best or you are not making the required enzymes to take it from the mouth to the gut. Other b vitamins can be low, as can d and e as well as minerals too.

    Choosing lower carb but maintaining or increasing your fibre intake may help you. Insulin Resistance can go hand in hand with Hashi. I was reading a book written by a dentist which was saying all added sugar and refined flour can reap havoc on our systems. Sugar in fruits can be an issue because to generalise modern fruits are different from those our ancestors ate and contain more sugar.

    The best advice I would offer is, if you are in the US, find a differnt doctor who actually listens, probably one from the Functional side of the profession, they are not tied to the standard, this is what works! They look to everything which feeds into the "healthy body" and advise accordingly. If you are in the UK like me you have little hope of achieving good answers to your issues. NICE the body which says which treatments work best say Levo t4 only is good but in many, including me it works for weeks, could be months but then stops. There can be reactions to the fillers/binder or preservatives which no one considers either. Think of the people who are genetically predisposed not to make the conversion they are up the creek without a paddle.

    (edit to add, going private may help but again a functional practitioner is best if you can find one. A BANT registered nutritionist will go a long way to help you too, one has helped me)

    I hope some of this helps. Hashi is a personal adventure, its very much finding out what works for yourself. There are so many ways the thyroid gland works in the body which makes so many systems also decline. The thyroid also reacts to over or under activity in other endocrine glands.

    Sorry if one need to have an ilness, I would say find something other than Hashi, Groves, or anything thyroid. (very tiny giggle.) Its so much more complicated than the general public think. Many of us get hung up on the weight we can not shift but we forget our share of the 300 other possible symptoms it can cause, the best one is the menstrual cycle is always painful and the rest, no, with a good endocrine balance its blink and you'e miss it.

    my official diagnosis was undifferentiated connective tissue disease, which is a whole bunch of symptoms from different illnesses like RA, lupus, fibro, etc. this came along with the diagnosis of hashi's after seeing a rhumetologist because my PCP just originally thought i had lupus. so basically they dont exactly know what's wrong, they just know i have a bunch of different symptoms from different illnesses.

  • collectingblues
    collectingblues Posts: 2,541 Member
    It's possible that for you, that TSH level *isn't* a good level.

    I'm dealing with the same thing: docs who looked at the TSH and tapered my dose, only to have me gain 12 pounds since May -- and have the TSH keep climbing -- while eating in a meticulously logged calorie deficit. I finally screeched at him that no, this is *not* normal even though it's within the "normal" range -- and that I was higher than I'd ever been, and he needed to fix this *now*. He finally agreed to allow me to taper back up to where I was before everything got screwy.

    If you are doing *everything* you can to be in a deficit and you still keep gaining/not losing, go back to your doctor and demand a dose increase. Your T4 and T3 are pretty much in the middle of where they should be, which means there is room to increase the dose if you're not feeling OK. Make sure your logging is tuned in first -- weigh and measure *everything*, get an accurate activity tracker (AKA, not MFP), do RMR testing if you can, and make sure that you are meticulous. If, after six weeks or so, you see that you're still not getting what you would expect, take your logs back to your doc.

    Physicians treat by TSH alone because it gives them an easy cookie cutter approach and they don't have to actually think about patient needs. You can refuse TSH testing (I hope -- that's what I'm going to tell my endo I want to do at my next appointment) and request that they adjust your dosage based on symptom management instead.
  • collectingblues
    collectingblues Posts: 2,541 Member
    SbetaK wrote: »
    Your lab tests are all in the normal range so it appears your Hashimoto's is currently under control. I agree with the post above, see a nutritionist to get you started in the right direction. Also, if you do not exercise, start walking (or some other form of mild exercise) to begin a path to a healthier life. You are here on MFP, keep going!

    No, that's not true. There are people who feel better/their bodies actually *act* normal when they have a more suppressed TSH. That doesn't mean that there isn't room for improvement if the OP isn't currently logging correctly, but it's simply not true that in-range means "under control".
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    I found switching to a medication with T3 helped with my hypothyroid symptoms (low body temp, thinning hair, dry skin, fatigue) that continued even when my labs were within the normal range. For me, T3 (in a natural desiccated thyroid) was a great help.

    My labs are a bit better too. Free T3 and free T4 are in the 60-70% range of the normal range. My TSH is ridiculously low (~0.01) but I feel good with no signs of hyperthyroidism, and my actual hormone levels are good.

    Could your symptoms be from your other autoimmune issues? I find losing weight much harder when I am not feeling well too. Perhaps look into the other issues more?

    Good luck.
  • Fuzzipeg
    Fuzzipeg Posts: 2,297 Member
    So sorry you have such a complicated situation. RA, Lupus, Fibro are all autoimmune conditions, meaning they have antibodies, so you are not battling one autoimmune presentation but several, unfortunately it is not uncommon for them to hunt in packs, you have such a heap and at a young age too. Your situation is amplified because, if I understand things properly, there are as you say symptoms which cross reference but not enough in accepted groups to put you into one or several specific boxes, pitiful. And they see no point in reducing antibodies.

    I'm wondering which of my ideas went down even less well with you. I was really trying to be supportive and helpful. My untrained instinct is, you have vitamin/ mineral deficiencies because your system is compromised by your autoimmune responces, magnesium, manganese for starters, as suggested by the fibro. For what its worth, its only since I started reducing my autoimmune responces by discovering my personal triggers, that I have started to have a life worth living. I'd been consulting General Medicine for upwards of 50 years and I did not fit any of the the boxes they provided and then they shut the door on me saying there was no treatment at all for me in the NHS! They would not have it that I was made more ill by the filler in the pill form of t4, nor by the preservative in the liquid. I though outside the box for self preservation, I had to. I have a better life than I had any hope of, I intend to live well for as long as I have, at 68, I could be said to be on borrowed time, my husband is no longer a carer. My body is still repairing itself, all I know is my life is better, more healthy than it was when I was 40. I can do more.

    Supressed or low tsh levels can be indicative of either adrenal or pituitary insufficiency, I can't remember which. I realise these are conditions which "do not exist" in general medicine unless one has a diagnosed condition such as Cushing's or similar, strikes me as funny that, there is no degree of diminishment in these organs till they are not functioning.

    I noticed you do have scope for increasing your t3 levels. Some of us function better with much higher leverls than the average, needing to be at the top of what is referred to as, "top of the normal range" . It was only after reading in, Stop The Thyroid Madness, that I realised the test numbers we are all held to are floured! They were derrived from unneeded remains from all the blood tests test take/drawn in one hospital in one period and these samples were devoide of simple information such as, did the donation come from someone with a diagnosis of a thyroid complaint, or is someone in their family have a diagnosed thyroid condition, had they the donation come from someone with symptoms of thyroid conditons or related health problems, these days I believe the paramaters of the information relating to the samples would void the resulting outcome. This is also the view of other charatible organisations where I have discovered similar references. Organisations who work for the better understanding of related thyroid conditions and Autoimmunity in general as well.

    The principal criticism of STTM, is that it is pro descicated thyroid products, but when so many fail to respond to synthetic t4 and the fortunate ones who are provided with synthetic t3 also do not respond, I believe it is nothing short of criminal not to try the natural product.

    I deeply hope you discover something which will really help you. No one needs to be this compromised. All the very best, keep on taking care of yourself, no matter how long it takes to find the answers which help you. In this situation, its YOU who really matters and what helps you.
  • NJGamerChick
    NJGamerChick Posts: 467 Member
    I had perfect levels and still felt like dirt on levothyroxine (T4) until I was switched to Armor Thyroid. If I go the synthetic route, I need to have liothyronine (T3) as part of my therapy for the symptoms of hypothyroidism to go away. I'm not saying that this is part of the solution for sure, but it sure can be an avenue to explore with your doc. There is a variety of minor thyroid hormones that can also affect how you feel as well as vitamin and mineral deficiencies that can happen concurrently.

    Whatever it is that you end up doing, I hope you feel better.
  • SeptemberFeyre
    SeptemberFeyre Posts: 178 Member
    These are some of the same things that are discussed in the book link I gave above by Izabella Wentz. A diet for an auto-immune condition can work wonders. I have seen the number of antibodies go down from diet alone on the lab results. The Dr. Was impressed. Not to mention a huge reduction in Hashimoto's symptoms--some go away completely. It's a shame that uneducated people come along and press the little woo button and don't really understand the whole concept, isn't it?


    Fuzzipeg wrote: »
    So sorry you have such a complicated situation. RA, Lupus, Fibro are all autoimmune conditions, meaning they have antibodies, so you are not battling one autoimmune presentation but several, unfortunately it is not uncommon for them to hunt in packs, you have such a heap and at a young age too. Your situation is amplified because, if I understand things properly, there are as you say symptoms which cross reference but not enough in accepted groups to put you into one or several specific boxes, pitiful. And they see no point in reducing antibodies.

    I'm wondering which of my ideas went down even less well with you. I was really trying to be supportive and helpful. My untrained instinct is, you have vitamin/ mineral deficiencies because your system is compromised by your autoimmune responces, magnesium, manganese for starters, as suggested by the fibro. For what its worth, its only since I started reducing my autoimmune responces by discovering my personal triggers, that I have started to have a life worth living. I'd been consulting General Medicine for upwards of 50 years and I did not fit any of the the boxes they provided and then they shut the door on me saying there was no treatment at all for me in the NHS! They would not have it that I was made more ill by the filler in the pill form of t4, nor by the preservative in the liquid. I though outside the box for self preservation, I had to. I have a better life than I had any hope of, I intend to live well for as long as I have, at 68, I could be said to be on borrowed time, my husband is no longer a carer. My body is still repairing itself, all I know is my life is better, more healthy than it was when I was 40. I can do more.

    Supressed or low tsh levels can be indicative of either adrenal or pituitary insufficiency, I can't remember which. I realise these are conditions which "do not exist" in general medicine unless one has a diagnosed condition such as Cushing's or similar, strikes me as funny that, there is no degree of diminishment in these organs till they are not functioning.

    I noticed you do have scope for increasing your t3 levels. Some of us function better with much higher leverls than the average, needing to be at the top of what is referred to as, "top of the normal range" . It was only after reading in, Stop The Thyroid Madness, that I realised the test numbers we are all held to are floured! They were derrived from unneeded remains from all the blood tests test take/drawn in one hospital in one period and these samples were devoide of simple information such as, did the donation come from someone with a diagnosis of a thyroid complaint, or is someone in their family have a diagnosed thyroid condition, had they the donation come from someone with symptoms of thyroid conditons or related health problems, these days I believe the paramaters of the information relating to the samples would void the resulting outcome. This is also the view of other charatible organisations where I have discovered similar references. Organisations who work for the better understanding of related thyroid conditions and Autoimmunity in general as well.

    The principal criticism of STTM, is that it is pro descicated thyroid products, but when so many fail to respond to synthetic t4 and the fortunate ones who are provided with synthetic t3 also do not respond, I believe it is nothing short of criminal not to try the natural product.

    I deeply hope you discover something which will really help you. No one needs to be this compromised. All the very best, keep on taking care of yourself, no matter how long it takes to find the answers which help you. In this situation, its YOU who really matters and what helps you.

  • SbetaK
    SbetaK Posts: 380 Member
    SbetaK wrote: »
    Your lab tests are all in the normal range so it appears your Hashimoto's is currently under control. I agree with the post above, see a nutritionist to get you started in the right direction. Also, if you do not exercise, start walking (or some other form of mild exercise) to begin a path to a healthier life. You are here on MFP, keep going!

    No, that's not true. There are people who feel better/their bodies actually *act* normal when they have a more suppressed TSH. That doesn't mean that there isn't room for improvement if the OP isn't currently logging correctly, but it's simply not true that in-range means "under control".

    I agree with what you have said. I guess Im going from personal experience, as I have Hashimoto's. My own personal feelings of wellness coincide with my own labs. When they are good, I'm good, but that does not necessarily apply to everyone. We are all different, and respond in different ways. As can be seen by all of the different suggestions being posted.