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Hashimotos?

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Thyroid Disorders
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veromia333
Veteran Member
Joined : Mar 2009
Posts : 674
Posted 8/5/2009 9:35 PM (GMT -8)
They think i have it. My tests are in process i get the needle biopsy at 11 today we will see. the blood work was done today . Get that in a week. I had an ultra sound showing nodules and enlargement. I am in extreme and rapidly increasing pain everyday. And i am afraid.
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jujub
Elite Member
Joined : Mar 2003
Posts : 10424
Posted 8/6/2009 5:58 AM (GMT -8)
Veromia, I don't have Hashi's, but there are a number of people here who do, and are being successfully treated. In the meantime, here's a link to some information:

http://mayoclinic.com/health/hashimotos-disease/DS00567

I think a number of our Hashi's people also have Lyme.

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Tavish
Veteran Member
Joined : Jul 2003
Posts : 2272
Posted 8/8/2009 12:33 PM (GMT -8)

I was dx'ed with Hashi's last year, dx'ed by a blood test. I asked about the test because I was being worked up for a nodule and enlarged thyroid, and had learned that my 2 cousins have Hashi's. Simple blood test confirmed it.  It should be nothing to worry about, easily treated with hormones. The nodules may or may not be related to Hashi's, so best to do a biopsy to check it out.

Waiting for test results is always frightening, but the thyroid area is very treatable. Hang in there!

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ditzi
New Member
Joined : Aug 2009
Posts : 10
Posted 8/16/2009 6:10 PM (GMT -8)
I also have Hashi's. I was diagnosed in 2004. My thyroid is still functioning at an acceptable level so I am not on medication.
I have thyroid testing every six months.
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minerals
Veteran Member
Joined : Jul 2007
Posts : 943
Posted 8/18/2009 10:31 AM (GMT -8)
I was diagnosed with Hashi's 2 1/2 years ago. My doctor made the mistake of keeping on too low a dose of armour for too long. That resulted in my getting all severe symptoms back and then some along with a 35 lb. weight gain in only four months. I did not figure this out until one month ago when I went on a thyroid web site and an Armour web site. Now I am doing so much better- but taking 3 times the amount of Armour that I was on which is supposed to be on the lower side of a therapeutic dose.

Once the meds are worked out you will feel better. Hashi's creeps up slowly so it is hard to tell when symptoms began. Another thing I lerned is that the test numbers are not always reliable so one needs to find a doctor who will treat symptoms not just tests.
Blessings
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pemmy
New Member
Joined : Aug 2009
Posts : 1
Posted 9/17/2009 7:47 AM (GMT -8)
ditzi, Could you please tell me more about your hashi's diagnosis and lab numbers, etc.

I was diagnosed last year. I was seeing an endo surgeon and endo dr for hyperparathyroid disease-high calcium and pth in blood. I had thyroid blood tests. My antibodies are in the 200 range. My endo dr is not concerned as they are not in the thousands. I had parathyroid surgery last Feb to remove one bad parathyroid gland. The surgeon removed some extra thyroid tissue that was biopsied and showed thyroiditis. My last tsh was 3 point something in April. I don't have my labs in front of me. I had FT4 and total 3 done. Endo dr does not do Ft3. I last saw my endo in April and go back to see her next April.
I am concerned as should I be on some thyroid med?

Thanks.
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Keah
Veteran Member
Joined : Nov 2003
Posts : 7314
Posted 9/21/2009 7:45 AM (GMT -8)
Hi Pemmy. I also have Hashimoto's and it was discovered by accident. I was very sick but my docs and I all believed that my symptoms were caused by the two other autoimmune diseases that I have, Crohn's and Spondylitis. An MRI was ordered to asses the level of arthritis in my C-spine and calcified thyroid nodules were reported. Luckily, I knew a lot about Hashimoto's because my sister had been dx with it years earlier. Her thyroid eventually got so bad that half required removal.

Anyway, I insisted that along with the Ultrasound, my doc order thyroid antibodies and he indulged me. The results for both tests were >200, which is the highest level the lab we used will report. My T3, T4 and TSH were all in the normal range, but the T4 was only 0.8 with that being the lowest "normal" level in a reference range of 0.8-1.8, so he referred me to an Endocrinologist.

She reviewed my results, did a complete history and physical and told me that not only did I have Hashimoto's, but I was in the early to mid stage of thyroid failure and needed to start on Synthroid immediately. In only a few days, I felt amazingly better. In fact, I felt like I had been sleep walking for the previous few months and was suddenly awakened.

Over the course of the next year, we increased my dose twice and I was much improved. Since I still suffer with other active autoimmune diseases, I can't honestly say that I felt great, but there was a remarkable improvement.

about 6 months ago I switched from Synthroid to Armour. I was having increased problems that I thought might be thyroid related and so I began doing some research. My sister had switched to Armour about a year before and she kept telling me that she was doing so much better on it. As it turns out, synthroid (levothyroxine) is essentially T4 and the body must convert it to T3. This works out just fine for most people, but some do better with a combination therapy of T3 and T4, which Armour is. Since the switch, I am doing well but to be honest, I haven't seen any real difference and the problems I had hoped to resolve or at least improve, especially the excessively dry skin are unchanged. Somehow, they must be caused by one of my other diseases.

Although most labs and docs consider the TSH reference range of 0.5 - 5.0 to be normal, there is a great deal of controversy about it. More and more are now using 0.3 - 3.0 in general and many try to keep it even lower in patients with thyroid antibodies. My TSH level stays below 1.0 now.

The thyroid antibody tests that are used to Dx Hashimoto's are Thyroid peroxidase antibody (TPOAb), reference range 0-12* and Thyroglobulin antibody (TgAb), reference range 0-34*.  If your antibody levels are in the 200s, they are way too high and you should be being treated with some form of thyroid hormone replacement. If your Doc is not treating you, you should seek a second opinion.

*NOTE: The reference range for any test will vary from one lab to another. I wrote the levels used by my lab.

I hope this info helps.

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