Early stage Hashimoto

[Anonymous]

Could you share how you manage this condition?

I am basically on vitamins like B-complex to get through usually busy day. But I can’t imagine taking B-complex for the rest of my life…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Could you share how you manage this condition?

I am basically on vitamins like B-complex to get through usually busy day. But I can’t imagine taking B-complex for the rest of my life…

Huh? Why not?

[Anonymous]

What on earth do you mean "early stage"?

[Anonymous]

There’s no such thing as early stage Hashimoto’s. You either have the antibodies or you don’t. Schedule an appointment with an endocrinologist. They will like prescribe synthroid - which yes you’ll likely have to take for the rest of your life. Your thyroid will continue to degrade over the course of your life. It’s manageable but takes a few appointments before you reach an equilibrium.

[Anonymous]

Can you please clarify what is challenging about being on a B supplement?

[Anonymous]

I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's, then Grave's and needed my thyroid surgically taken out. Now I'm on Synthroid for the rest of my life, and need occasional adjustments. I need to be careful when traveling to take a supply with me, as a lot of countries don't have Synthroid (a lot have the generic levothyrox, though, but the dosage is not the same).

There are a lot worse things in life, OP, than being on daily meds.

[Anonymous]

This is op. I’m sorry for skimpy post. Well, the dr told me ‘early stage’ b/c it was hard to ID, and only one of 3 tests caught it. She recommended diet adjustment but ultimately hormone therapy may be needed. So I excluded gluten and dairy, but occasionally I cheat of course. Who does not like good bread…

So, my main complaint is I’m tired for no f-ing reason. When I take self-prescribed and self-figured out b-complex, I’m fine and function like a normal person. I have to add I’m in my early 50s, and I think whatever this is, menopause stuff is mixed up in the picture.

So, I thought taking vitamins for the rest of your life can’t be good — you gotta get off it. In general, I am for natural remedies rather than any pills or supplements.

I have to get me blood test and next consult soon - it’s been 1.5y since diagnosis and I’d do not go back.

Now, I’m too exhausted to get the f-ing labs done. I just hate wasting the days b/c you are too tired for no reason. I could not walk my dog today - ugh. Sorry for whining and venting.

[Anonymous]

*I did not go back to the dr yet.
Now feeling worse, so got an appointment and she ordered labs. I’ll get it done soon I hope.

[Anonymous]

What is your tsh? Are you seeing an endocrinologist? I’m concerned that you are hypothyroid and not being properly treated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is your tsh? Are you seeing an endocrinologist? I’m concerned that you are hypothyroid and not being properly treated.

I am so bad with those numbers…
Yes, I ended up seeing Endo. It took her like a few minutes to look at my labs and state - oh yes - you have hashimoto - but its early stage.
I can’t keep up with this health stuff.
Some other issues here too so - I just know that one metric was off and I think it was anti body test. Everything else was like PERFECT.

Actually, for a while, no one could find out what was wrong with me and I felt like an idiot.

[Anonymous]

Some metric was 49 instead of normal range of under 9 - or something like that, I forget.

[Anonymous]

I’ll pull up those numbers maybe tomorrow. I’m sorry.

[Anonymous]

Thyroid treatment, whether it's for Hashimoto's or Grave's, is based first and foremost on your bloodwork numbers: one for TSH, the other for the thyroid hormones T4 and T3. Treatment is also based on your symptoms, see below -

When you are hyper-thyroid, you make too much T4 and your TSH is too low. This leads to accelerated heart rate, anxiety/irritability, insomnia/fatigue, weight loss, hair loss, tremors. If a patient goes into thyroid storm, where thyroid hormones really spike and TSH is zero, that's a medical emergency that can lead to death by cardiac arrhythmia. It happened to me - I was ambulanced to the ER in the middle of the night. If you're slightly hyper for a long time, you can live with hyperthyroidism but you also increase your risk of osteoporosis.

When you are hypo-thyroid, you don't make enough T4, and your TSH is too high. This leads to a lower heart rate, depression/fatigue/lethargy, weight gain, and if allowed to get progressively worse, organ failure and death. Many people, starting in middle-age, become hypothyroid and need lifelong thyroid hormone supplementation in the form of levothyroxine or Synthroid.

So get a hold of your numbers, check online what the normal range is and where you are in that range. You'll find the normal range for the population is ENORMOUS. Every individual feels comfortable in their own, much narrower range of normal. You'll have to figure out for yourself where in the normal range you feel most comfortable.

Finding the right dose of thyroid hormone medication takes time because your body needs 6 weeks to stabilize on a new dose.

Nothing else apart from thyroid medication can help your body increase or suppress your level of hormones. If you were prescribed diet changes by a doctor but no levothyroxine or Synthroid (or antithyroid drugs in the case of hyperthyroidism), it likely means your thyroid hormones are in the normal range for now. If you feel you're borderline and don't feel well, talk to your doctor.

Fatigue is not by itself an indicator of problems with your thyroid levels. If there is no obvious link to your thyroid issues, you should get additional bloodwork and explore anemia, sleep apnea or other issues to figure out why you are fatigued.

The most important item everyone needs in the northern hemisphere is vitamin D. If you're going to take a supplement, take some vit D, and make sure it comes from a manufacturer that is third party tested (such as a USP seal on the bottle). Supplements, if they're uncontaminated by heavy metals, have their place in human diets. The problem is that in the US they are not adequately regulated by the FDA, and contamination by lead, mercury and other toxins is unfortunately always a risk.

[Anonymous]

Girllllc swallow the damn pill.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is op. I’m sorry for skimpy post. Well, the dr told me ‘early stage’ b/c it was hard to ID, and only one of 3 tests caught it. She recommended diet adjustment but ultimately hormone therapy may be needed. So I excluded gluten and dairy, but occasionally I cheat of course. Who does not like good bread…

So, my main complaint is I’m tired for no f-ing reason. When I take self-prescribed and self-figured out b-complex, I’m fine and function like a normal person. I have to add I’m in my early 50s, and I think whatever this is, menopause stuff is mixed up in the picture.

So, I thought taking vitamins for the rest of your life can’t be good — you gotta get off it. In general, I am for natural remedies rather than any pills or supplements.

I have to get me blood test and next consult soon - it’s been 1.5y since diagnosis and I’d do not go back.

Now, I’m too exhausted to get the f-ing labs done. I just hate wasting the days b/c you are too tired for no reason. I could not walk my dog today - ugh. Sorry for whining and venting.

I don’t recommend self-diagnosis and treating your fatigue. It can be caused by a huge range of things—from the physical to the emotional.

Get a physician you trust, and then trust her.