Back in December, I was rushed to the hospital right before Christmas. I had a terrible headache for three days that didn’t allow me to move, plus I’d had double, blurry vision and vertigo for a month preceding. While I was at the hospital, they tested me for diabetes, cancer, brain aneurysm, stroke, heart problems, and spinal meningitis. However, they could find nothing wrong and sent me home. I went to see my eye doctor and found out my glasses prescription had changed dramatically for the better. However, I still had vertigo (and double vision for at least another month as well) after my prescription was filled.
Back a little while ago, my mother mentioned that my grandmother had a thyroid problem–a little problem called Hashimoto’s Disease. She had to get her thyroid removed and take medicine every day around age 30, or a little before.
Fast forward to now. I’m seeing the doctor today. I’ve gone through a checklist of symptoms of Hashimoto’s Disease (and other auto-immune disorders). I’ve found myself checking off 95% of the symptoms, including:
Unexplained, rapid weight gain
Chronic fatigue and weakness
Muscle and joint aches
Eye problems (including double/jumpy/blurred vision and vertigo)
Extreme sensitivity to cold
Difficulty swallowing
Dry thick skin patches
Coarse, brittle hair
Low resistance to infections
as well as others. Some of these began at puberty. Some of these have developed over the past 6 months–2 years. At any rate, I’m miserable and sick most of the time, and I want it to end however possible. I know there are some Dopers who have hypothyroidism or have family members with it, so I was really wanting to know a few things:
Did medicine help you?
Did you have to go through surgery?
What is it like dealing with it on a daily basis?
After surgery and/or medication, did your hair and nails become stronger, did you lose weight easier, did your eyes get better, etc.?
Hello. I have Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis. I have had it for twelve years now.
Did medicine help you?
If you mean the Synthroid replacement, then yes. I am also on birth control pills to control my periods. I have had more problems with the pill than with Synthroid–pounding headaches, PMS from hell, etc. A feature of Hashimoto’s is that your Synthroid dose isn’t necessary steady; for example, mine has changed every three months for the last five years. Get used to blood tests; otherwise, no big deal.
Did you have to go through surgery?
No, no one has ever mentioned surgery to me. I didn’t know that it was ever prescribed for Hashimoto’s.
What is it like dealing with it on a daily basis?
I take a pill every morning, and that is it. I was a low-energy person my whole life, and I guess the medication has brought me back up to my original low-energy state. I absolutely must have eight hours of sleep at night (preferably more) or I cannot function the next day. Other than this, one has the blood tests when one needs them, and that’s all she wrote.
After surgery and/or medication, did your hair and nails become stronger, did you lose weight easier, did your eyes get better, etc.?
No. My eyes have steadily gotten worse, though they are not awfully bad (20/80, astigmatism and myopia). It never occurred to me that this might be linked to my thyroid. Regarding weight loss: it is very difficult; I cannot lose weight just by eating a little less or taking extra walks. Regarding hair: I was diagnosed before it got so bad that I started to lose hair, but I know a woman who did get that bad, and her hair grew back once she was on replacement. My hair is quite thin, incidentally… hmmm. Regarding fingernails, mine are pretty weak, and I paint them with a protein solution every night and take brewer’s yeast, which seems to help. I cannot grow them long or use fingernail polish or they will start to peel away, so I have brainwashed myself into believing that short and unpolished is the really classy thing to do.
Sattua, I read that rarely surgery is required for patients with Hashimoto’s disease if the thyroid gets too large. My grandmother did have to have surgery on hers to remove part of it.
Thanks for your response. I’m just trying to get a good idea of what I’m in for if I get a positive diagnosis.
Did she have a goiter? I think that, or thyroid cancer, are the two main reasons people have to have surgery.
I have Hashimoto’s, too. My experience has been much the same as Sattua’s. I really struggle with regulating my thyroid. There are times when I have to go in once a month for blood tests. I’m supposedly regulated now, and don’t have to go in again until May, but I’m sure that when I do, it will have changed again.
I honestly don’t think Synthroid does much for me. Despite being on it and my doctor telling me that my levels are “normal,” I still have most of the symptoms I would have if I didn’t take it at all. I would love to go on one of the natural thyroid drugs (such as Armour), but most doctors are extremely reluctant to prescribe them. I haven’t found one yet, anyway. They say it’s too hard to regulate … as if my thyroid isn’t difficult to regulate now.
As far as the hair goes, I have struggled with hair loss for years and finally lost it all a year and a half ago due to alopecia areata/alopecia universalis. All my doctors can tell me is that yes, it is related to Hashimoto’s, but they don’t know how or how to fix it. They’d rather send me to a dermatologist and treat it from the outside. My nails have been pretty decent, actually. Most of the time I can grow them out. But that’s another thing that seems to fluctuate. Sometimes they’re pretty good and sometimes they like to split.
So basically, don’t get your hopes up that all your symptoms will go away. They may improve, but like Sattua indicated, don’t expect to go on Synthroid and lose 30 pounds magically. Unfortunately, that just doesn’t happen (and do I ever wish it did!).
I also have Hashimoto’s, but I was diagnosed at a very young age (six years) so it’s tough for me to answer some of the questions in the OP. I can tell you that I do sense the difference when I need my Synthroid dose changed—I feel more sluggish and have problems with short-term memory loss.
yellowval, my primary care physician changed my dose a couple months ago and also told me that he had recently gone to a conference during which it was announced that “they” (don’t know who—maybe the AMA?) have changed the “normal” level for TSH (thyroid stimulant hormone). In other words, people who didn’t need a dosage increase in the past may now need one to meet the current TSH guidelines.
Also, another thing I found out about Synthroid not too long ago is that you shouldn’t take it in conjunction with vitamins or antacids, since they can weaken its efficacy. One of my friend’s mom was struggling with not feeling like her Synthroid was effective, but after she stopped taking it with vitamins, she started feeling better.
When I was 18 I went into a severe hyperthyroidism shock overnight. The symptoms had been building for years - then- WHAM! I had a terrible night of nightmares, lost 10 pounds over night, couldn’t look into light, never stopped crying and was nearly crazy. It’s one of the few times I didn’t have to be bleeding to get taken to a doctor! We went to our local doctor who took one look at my throat and sent me to Memphis’s finest thyroid specialists. It was a long wait (since I didn’t have an appointment) and a few times I had to be restrained from leaving because I thought it was taking too long. Oh yeah, I never stopped crying. My dad loved that one. I don’t like to think what the people in the local doctor’s waiting room thought was wrong with me since I was a crying teenager bent over to avoid bright lights. And my parents sat slightly away from me in case it was catching. I’ve often wondered how many rumours were started about me being pregnant…
I was put on a round of thyroid drugs and tranqs and left to sleep for days. I also had some severe emotional problems I managed to hide from everyone so I had to work through them over a few years. Once I realized I HAD problems, that is.
My blood work is done twice a year and I eventually went over to the hypothyroidism side after 2 decades. Medication keeps me in check and there are no major problems other than the inability to lose weight. My endocrine thinks I might eventually need to have my thyroid gland partially removed since it seems to be growing but that’s hardly a crises now.
Medication can work miracles once you find the right dose and stick to it! Tell your doctor when there is a problem since thyroid issues can manifest in so many ways. With any luck you might find that’s all you need. Good luck and I’ll think positive thoughts.
Yes, you’re absolutely right. I should have mentioned that before.
It is also very important to take thyroid medication on an empty stomach for maximum absorption. The prescription bottle will say one hour before or two hours after eating. I prefer to take mine right away when I get up in the morning. I’m not someone who eats breakfast until mid-morning, so it works well for me.