[mamabear]

#1075246

Welcome!!!
Are you sure you don’t mean Reynaud’s Syndrome?
To be simple, yes you can have more than one autoimmune disease. BUT just because you have one doesn’t mean you will get another. OR just because you have one doens’t mean that your kids or grandkids will get what you have, they might get it or they might get a different autoimmune disease if they get any at all.

Do you take meds for your indoor/outdoor allergies? If not then why? If yes then good, keep it up because allergies will make you feel miserable and can cause you to be more prone to getting a cold and once you get a cold if your sinus’ are already screwy with allergies your cold can become a sinus infection. Again not saying it will but saying it might.

Watching your diet is key, you might still gain weight but you need to make sure you aren’t contributing to the weight gain of the meds or from just being hypo. No junk food, drink plenty of water, stay away from caffeine in any forms, eat dairy/meats/fruits and veggies daily. It is hard to readjust your thinking but it is key to becoming healthy. I have never been hypo but I have heard that once your levels become normal you will be able to loose weight. I don’t know if this is true or not but that is what I heard.

Your hair is important to your self image, everyone feels that way, please see Thyroid issues skin/hair treatment it might help you with your hair.

There are several people on here that can help you better with what you are going through and know more medical terms than I do so I will leave all of that up to them. I just wanted to say hello and welcome you and give you the little info that I did have.

[hzta]

#1019954

Hi,

I’m new here, and hope to find some helpful advice or at least smart questions to ask my doctors. I have been pretty sick for 7 yrs without a proper diagnosis until this year – Autoimmune hashimoto’s and Graves’ Disease. I was also later diagnosed with Reynalds Syndrome (where your fingers and toes turn blue when cold). I had a total thyroidectomy as I had compression problems with my thyroid and couldn’t swallow solid foods for a long while. The surgeon pulled out a 10 cm. growth with tons of little nodules. For whatever reason, that didn’t show on my uptake scan. Wierd. Anyway, I AM feeling better than I was prior to the surgery, but am still having some big issues. Firstly, I get this wierd breathing problem – shortness of breath – I had this prior to the surgery when I was hyperthyroid. Now, I’m hypo – my TSH is 38. The doctor has been upping my dosage of Levoxyl gradually. I was on thyroid meds prior to the surgery and after. I’m very allergic to Synthroid – I break out into hives, itch, and have trouble breathing.. So, I’m on Levoxyl. Everytime the Levoxyl dosage gets upped, my breathing gets worse. Are there other alternatives?

My breathing problem starts at the same time every day – after dinner. Celiac disease was mentioned as a possibility so I’m going to get tested. Do most or many Graves’ patients have problems with other autoimmune diseases and allergies? I have a lot of allergies to pollens and medications. I’m also going through the massive hair loss and weight gain. I’m having trouble getting help with all of the above and feel frustrated. I just want to live life normally again.

Kristen

[Bobbi]

#1075247

A comment on being allergic to the replacement hormone: all of the replacement hormones have exactly the same active ingredient (levothyroxin); they vary in the inert ingredients used to turn the chemical into pill form. Allergic issues arise due to these inert ingredients: the active chemical is identical to the body’s own thyroxin. Usually, allergies are due to the dyes/food coloring material, put into these inert ingredients. Some manufacturers DO make a replacement pill that contains no dyes. So, if it is determined that there is a problem with the current brand you are trying, you could ask your doctor abour prescribing one without those dyes.

I know it seems to take frustratingly long to get oriented to the replacement, but hang in there. We do indeed get well again, over time.

Happy Thanksgiving.
Bobbi — Online Facilitator

[Ski]

#1075248

Hi Kristen,

Well, you are certainly being pulled through the wringer with all of this, I am so sorry!

Where to start? First, mamabear is right about the autoimmune stuff ~ the tendency to acquire an autoimmune disease is what we start with, then add to that a particular vulnerability in the body, and some kind of external trigger, and there we go. Science is only just beginning to learn the details, but that appears to be the sequence of events. Given that, some people have many vulnerabilities, other have few. Some people will experience external triggers that throw their body into a disease state, others will not. So, what the doctors will say is that once you have one autoimmune disease, you have a slightly higher chance of developing another. That’s all they really know for sure.

As for your shortness of breath, I think that’s one of the symptoms that can occur in either extreme (hypo or hyper). In addition, changing your thyroid hormone dose (even if you’re already hypo) can trigger a kind of "seesaw" period, where we have periods of feeling hypo and then hyper in the first few weeks. It should even out.

Another thing that may contribute to shortness of breath is just the fact that your body is fatigued, and that you may have lost quite a bit of muscle mass. This may be a good time to hook up with a physical therapist and take some measurements on your strength and endurance levels, then put together a sensible exercise plan. You may be surprised to find out how much damage has been done, and without professional help it’s easy to overdo.

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