Hypothyroidism…don’t feel well. Please help!

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abbyk_xoxo
abbyk_xoxo Posts: 2 Member
in Motivation and Support




Hey everyone, I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s 11 years ago in 2013. For the longest, I avoided medication or doing anything about it really. In 2018, I went gluten free which helped so much. I either have Celiac or a severe gluten allergy. I get severe bloating and all over body swelling when I eat it. My antibodies dropped significantly after going gluten free (1,000+, as high as 3,000) all the way down to the 200’s, at the time. Now they’re in the 100’s. It seems like my thyroid numbers normalized for a little while after going gluten free. I was able to exercise, and put effort into my appearance, hair and makeup. But it was short lived. I guess before more damage was done to my thyroid? And because I waited so long to go gluten free.

In 2021, I started thyroid medication. I began taking Levoxyl starting with 12 mcg and very slowly working up to 50 mcg. Every time I increased the dose, I would feel good (not great) for a couple days and then I would go right back to how I was feeling before.

These are my current labs. I feel terrible. I have EXTREME debilitating fatigue, hair loss, weight gain, extremely dry skin and hair, constipation, those are the main symptoms. These labs don’t seem to look that bad to be feeling so bad.

TSH - 1.88 (0.45-4.5)
Free T3 - 3.2 (2.0-4.4)
Free T4 - 1.12 (0.82-1.77)

Help please! I don’t know what to do at this point. I don’t know what to do to feel better.

Answers

  • MargaretYakoda
    MargaretYakoda Posts: 2,303 Member
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    I strongly suggest you discuss this with an endocrinologist.
  • sollyn23l2
    sollyn23l2 Posts: 1,604 Member
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    abbyk_xoxo wrote: »



    Hey everyone, I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s 11 years ago in 2013. For the longest, I avoided medication or doing anything about it really. In 2018, I went gluten free which helped so much. I either have Celiac or a severe gluten allergy. I get severe bloating and all over body swelling when I eat it. My antibodies dropped significantly after going gluten free (1,000+, as high as 3,000) all the way down to the 200’s, at the time. Now they’re in the 100’s. It seems like my thyroid numbers normalized for a little while after going gluten free. I was able to exercise, and put effort into my appearance, hair and makeup. But it was short lived. I guess before more damage was done to my thyroid? And because I waited so long to go gluten free.

    In 2021, I started thyroid medication. I began taking Levoxyl starting with 12 mcg and very slowly working up to 50 mcg. Every time I increased the dose, I would feel good (not great) for a couple days and then I would go right back to how I was feeling before.

    These are my current labs. I feel terrible. I have EXTREME debilitating fatigue, hair loss, weight gain, extremely dry skin and hair, constipation, those are the main symptoms. These labs don’t seem to look that bad to be feeling so bad.

    TSH - 1.88 (0.45-4.5)
    Free T3 - 3.2 (2.0-4.4)
    Free T4 - 1.12 (0.82-1.77)

    Help please! I don’t know what to do at this point. I don’t know what to do to feel better.

    See your endocrinologist. That being said, given your blood work is on point, it's probably time to look at something else as being the culprit behind why you don't feel well. Sometimes we get hyperfocused on one thing (thyroid) that we forget there are a million other things that can go wrong.
  • abbyk_xoxo
    abbyk_xoxo Posts: 2 Member
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    Thank you. I have talked to my endocrinologist. He acknowledged the fact that I was feeling much better when my Free T3 was around 3.6 and Free T4 was around 1.3. That’s where my numbers were right after going gluten free. That’s when I was able to exercise and put effort into my appearance. I started feeling better again. He said there’s no way to push the Free T3 and Free T4 up that much without the TSH getting too low.

    Sure there are other things that could go wrong, but every single one of my symptoms, all the ones I listed, are all hypothyroidism symptoms. So it makes sense for that to be the culprit.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,100 Member
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    Second opinion time, maybe?

    I recently changed PCPs (my old one retired). Both the former PCP and the current one are fine with my TSH being right at the bottom of the normal range, sometimes even a little bit below the normal range, because (1) I feel best there, and (2) I have zero hyperthyroid symptoms at that level.

    My last reading was TSH at 0.564 UIU/ML (reference range was 0.350-5.500), T4 was 8.30 UG/DL (reference range 5.00-10.90). T3 wasn't tested this last time, as it was routine monitoring, not diagnostic. (I get re-tested every 6 months.)

    TSH has been as low as 0.277 within recent memory.

    I'm not saying that's right, and being overmedicated does have risks . . . but some doctors feel differently about the numbers than your endocrinologist does, it seems like.

  • MargaretYakoda
    MargaretYakoda Posts: 2,303 Member
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    I second the second opinion suggestion

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