[Notcrazy]

#1059705

I have seen much discussion on Hashimotos and encephalitis but very little on a connection with Graves.
Over the summer, I developed encephalitis but the doctors could not find a cause. My throid levels were showing a slight over medication and my antinuclear antibodies were very high. My medications were adjusted and showed to be in the normal levels but I still felt very over medicated. I was having palpitations, my eye began to bulge, I had to have a cold cloth on my head and a fan in my face all of the time and I dropped 15 pounds. As soon as I started steroid therapy, these symptoms slowly went away. Fast forward four months and I’m back at work only to suffer a relapse. Along with the symptoms of encephalitis, I am again having the palpitaions and the eye bulge. My TSH levels are normal but my Graves disease antibodies are very high. My PCP sent me to a cardiologist who thinks the palpitations are related to the Graves. The Endo does not think so because my TSH levels are normal. I think they are all related but I can’t find any literature to support what I believe to be true. Any ideas?

[Kimberly]

#1176920

Hello and welcome – Hashimoto’s encephalopathy is a fairly rare condition, and there isn’t a ton of information out there. Here’s one piece that might be of interest:

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http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17850170

I’m not 100% clear if you have been treated for Graves’ or Hashi’s. Eye involvement is quite common in Graves’ disease, but more rare in Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. Either way, if you are experiencing any eye symptoms, it’s best to get in to an experienced ophthalmologist for an evaluation. This site has a good search function for referrals:

http://www.asoprs.org/custom/directory/?pageid=3657&showTitle=1

As for the palpitations, hopefully, the cardiologist can shed some light on what is going on. It might also be helpful to test Free T4 and T3 in addition to TSH to see if that can give you some additional insight.

Take care!

[Author]

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