[Ski]

#1062324

Hi Sheila, and welcome! We’re glad you found us too, I certainly hope you’re feeling better soon!

Just a quick comment for you ~ it would seem that you are one of the "lucky" patients who have antibodies from BOTH autoimmune thyroid diseases, Hashimoto’s and Graves’. This can be a very tough road, because the antibodies from one or the other may be "dominant" at any given time (as you’ve seen). For that reason, many doctors will recommend removing the thyroid through either RAI or surgery in order to keep you from constantly moving between one extreme or the other, which can be just as debilitating as continuous imbalance in either direction. If you don’t have a thyroid, the antibodies have nothing to affect, so you reduce the complications of maintaining normal and stable thyroid hormone levels.

You’re still free to choose your course, I just wanted to point that out so you’re not surprised if one of your doctors brings it up.

Do let us know how it’s going for you!

[sillymom]

#1018033

Hi! I can’t tell you how happy I was to find this board. My name is Sheila, I’m 38, married with two kids. I have been dealing with thyroid issues for about 15 years. I was originally dx as Hashimotos Thyroiditis in 1996 and had been taking Levothyroxine/Synthroid since then. I had TSH level done in Oct. 2010 and I was definitely hypo. I had been having some trouble with LBP, light headedness, passing out spells, and tachycardia for a couple of years. Had worn Holter monitor and an even montior and even did a stress test. Cardiologist was thinking it could be POTS. January 2011 my TSH was 0.02 so my GP took me off the Levothyroxine. At this point I was having tremors so bad and my BP was all over the place but on the high side and my HR was usually about 120 -125 at rest. In early March I caught a nasty bug and was pretty sick for several days with a fever, sinus anddiffuse telogen effluvium type hair loss upper respiratory stuff. Come Monday 3/7 I was hit with a really bad bout of depression. I couldn’t eat, I cried ALL the time, I wasn’t able to care for the kids, I felt "heavy" and just couldn’t get it together, and lost about 12 lbs. My GP did another TSH and it was 0.01. That was off the meds. I knew then something was up. Saw the endo last week and she did the thyroid workup and it shows GD. Antibodies are very high. I am on propranolol and methimazole. My GP had already prescribed Zoloft and lorazepam, which I have been on for almost a month. That has helped with the depression and anxiety. I have been on the propranolol and methimazole for almost a week. The propranolol has made a huge difference in with my HR, BP, and the tremors. I don’t care much for the methimazole but I am hoping it will work.
I am having some good days and some not so good. I am trying to stay away from "bad" foods and have been eating more fresh fruits and veggies. I will be having labs drawn on Monday to see where things are. My last lab showed slightly low WBC count and my liver enzymes were a bit high which I understand could be due to the hyPER state I am in. I am also hoping to see that things are better in ThyroidLand so I can decrease the methimazole a bit.
This board has been so informative and I plan to keep coming back.

[sillymom]

#1062325

Hello Ski,
Thanks for the info. I keep crossing my fingers for a quick fix but I know that I am in for a wild ride. I didn’t realize that I could have the antibodies from both Hashi and Graves. Makes for a nice mixed basket. I will be headed out in a couple of hours to get my blood work done and hope to have some results in the next few days. I was able to go on a couple of short walks this weekend (YAY!) as the cardio said it would be OK but to start slowly. This whole situation has been tough for me and my family. I homeschool both of my children and we do a lot of activities throughout the week but that just hasn’t been possible lately. I do find that by staying closer to home we are spending more time together and we are all loving that. Also, I have seen that the family is taking on more responsibilities around the house. There are some good things coming out of this. ” title=”Smile” />

Not sure how this popped into my last post "diffuse telogen effluvium type hair loss". I have had some hair loss with this change but it has been more on my body. I could be losing it on my head too but I have super thick, curly hair and I tend to lose some when I brush normally so I am not sure if there is anymore coming out than usual.

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