# Am I sick or is my thyroid sick?



## worriedsick (Aug 17, 2012)

Hi everyone, I have been dealing with some troubling news, so I will start with some background information.

In June I became very sick with a case of Salmonella poisoning, was given the wrong yet very powerful antibiotic flagyl to kill it before the doctor knew what it was. Keep in mind I don't have a family doctor right now and have been going to clinics. Fast-forward to today and with accurate diagnosis I was put on 17 days of Bactrim DS, with the flagyl that's a total of 24 days on antibiotics (very powerful ones at that). The Salmonella finally cleared, during that time I also got a random belly button infection (keep in mind I haven't had an infection in about 7 years).

So now this is where the thyroid issue starts, I had a physical scheduled for while I was sick. While I was on my second round of Bactrim and was taking a separate antibiotic cream for my belly button I took the blood tests. I was starting to recover yet was still sick while taking it. Everything came back normal (including my cholesterol) except for my TSH, it was at 8.03. The clinic doctor despite knowing I had those infections and was on antibiotics jumped to conclusions and said my thyroid was slightly underactive and gave me 50 mcg of synthroid.

Now I am a 21 year old male, was perfectly fine and healthy before this with no symptoms and had no family history whatsoever of thyroid disease, so I was sceptical on this being the case. I then started looking on the internet and got other doctors opinions, finding out that a transient rise in TSH is pretty common during recovery from any serious illness/infection. So I then decided to not take it and retest a week after my last one and about 3 days off of antibiotics. This time with free t4 and t3. My results came back as follows: TSH 5.55 (range 0.3-5.00) free T4 17 (range 12-22) free T3 5.0 (range 2-5.7) and my antibodies came back negative.

So it looks like my TSH has already dropped (I am still recovering from the illness, just found out it is completely out of me 3 days ago). So I am wondering everyone's opinion on this, the doctors now think it was due to infection and that I am fine (have another test schedules in two months to let everything settle and go back to normal). I am the worse kind of person this can happen to, I can't let things go and get fixated that my health is going south and have been almost bed ridden the last week because of that. Would you guys be concerned with these results? Is this typical in people with serious infections? Mine went on for about 2 months, it was one of the strongest strains of Salmonella you can get.

Thanks for the help, sorry for the long read, I am going through a lot right now.


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

worriedsick said:


> Hi everyone, I have been dealing with some troubling news, so I will start with some background information.
> 
> In June I became very sick with a case of Salmonella poisoning, was given the wrong yet very powerful antibiotic flagyl to kill it before the doctor knew what it was. Keep in mind I don't have a family doctor right now and have been going to clinics. Fast-forward to today and with accurate diagnosis I was put on 17 days of Bactrim DS, with the flagyl that's a total of 24 days on antibiotics (very powerful ones at that). The Salmonella finally cleared, during that time I also got a random belly button infection (keep in mind I haven't had an infection in about 7 years).
> 
> ...


Oh, my gosh!! You have been really ill!!! I am so sorry!

And by all means a serious illness can mess with the TSH. Also some antibiotics do the same.

I do hope you are on the mend and truly; you have to give time for the meds to get out of your system and also to see if the thyroid will recover. Maybe get labs in about 8 weeks for the thyroid?

We are here for you and if we can help from afar, we will!


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## JPGreco (Mar 2, 2012)

Just keep an eye on things since it seems only your TSH was out of range.

Goodluck though


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## bigfoot (May 13, 2011)

Ugh, so sorry to hear you've been sick, that Salmonella does not sound like fun whatsoever. Yes, *absolutely* keep an eye on things. Not to scare you, but I went through a similar experience about four years ago -- got some sort of "flu-like virus" that doctors couldn't pinpoint. I was given IVs of fluids and sent home to rest. (From there the rest was history.) I can easily point to that as the beginning of my ongoing health problems.

So be sure that the doctors watch out for any changes and it's probably a good idea to schedule some follow-up appointments just to be sure. Also stay after them to turn over plenty of rocks, too (even though at your age that should be a given). The fact that you are already clued into things gives you a heck of an advantage from the get-go.

Oh, and welcome! :anim_32:


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## worriedsick (Aug 17, 2012)

bigfoot said:


> Ugh, so sorry to hear you've been sick, that Salmonella does not sound like fun whatsoever. Yes, *absolutely* keep an eye on things. Not to scare you, but I went through a similar experience about four years ago -- got some sort of "flu-like virus" that doctors couldn't pinpoint. I was given IVs of fluids and sent home to rest. (From there the rest was history.) I can easily point to that as the beginning of my ongoing health problems.
> 
> So be sure that the doctors watch out for any changes and it's probably a good idea to schedule some follow-up appointments just to be sure. Also stay after them to turn over plenty of rocks, too (even though at your age that should be a given). The fact that you are already clued into things gives you a heck of an advantage from the get-go.
> 
> Oh, and welcome! :anim_32:


Would you mind sharing the story? I would like to hear how you found out etc...


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## worriedsick (Aug 17, 2012)

Thanks, I am praying that it is just a sick fluke and that I will be fine. The weird thing is ever since I found out the results I have just felt so tired and depressed even though I was fine before. It has really gotten to me, it doesn't make sense, there's non of it in my family and I always feel warm.


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## JPGreco (Mar 2, 2012)

I also believe a severe infection was the beginning of my issues. I had severe acute tonsilitis, so all the lymph nodes in my neck were infected. About 3 yrs later is when I can first recall certain symptoms appearing for Grave's disease, and it is suspected that severe infections of the neck area can trigger autoimmune diseases. It has now been almost 10yrs since that initial infection.


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## bigfoot (May 13, 2011)

worriedsick said:


> Would you mind sharing the story? I would like to hear how you found out etc...


Sure, I'll try to give you the very brief version, which spans 4+ years. I could probably write a book otherwise.

2008:
Get sick with unknown "flu like" virus. Head to ER with racing pulse and feeling sick, given IV fluids and sent home. Rest of year is full of strange signs & symptoms (kidney stones, UTI, high pulse, anxiety, memory problems, cognitive problems, poor coordination, you name it). Multiple PCPs, specialists, and tests (sleep study, EKGs, labs, etc.) cannot pinpoint anything.

2009:
Gastroenterologist does liver biopsy. Results look bad. Go through a year of chemo for (previously quiet for decades) liver disease now rapidly flaring up and heading towards cirrhosis/cancer. Start feeling somewhat better, despite side-effects. Mysteriously get really sick again towards end of chemo treatment. Brush it off as the chemo just doing its thing. TSH discovered to be nearly 7.0.

2010:
PCP diagnoses hypothyroidism, given levothyroxine. Still feel ill for months, despite "normal" TSH and T4/T3. Low testosterone is discovered, given testosterone gel. Start feeling a little better and somewhat "normal". Then at end of 2010 start feeling very tired again and strange symptoms return. New PCP says I just need to "eat less and exercise more".

2011:
Not a lot of energy, but start working out. Figure it's obviously me being lazy, since we've tackled all of my health issues. But body crashes and I can hardly get out of bed, am incoherent, stiff joints, racing pulse, anxiety, emo, no appetite, nausea, extreme fatigue, cold & shivering, etc. New PCP says it's all just depression, recommends anti-depressants (which make symptoms 100x worse). Finally visit an urgent care who runs lots of labs, including thyroid antibodies. I am diagnosed with Hashimoto's and my levothyroxine is bumped up from 50 mcg to 75 mcg. Feel better for a few days, then symptoms return with a vengeance (aka hormone honeymoon). See one endocrinologist who doesn't even think that I have a thyroid problem. Pituitary MRI comes back negative. Triglycerides skyrocket. Thankfully second endo sees that I do have thyroid issues, we try adjusting levothyroxine and adding (and removing) T3. Unfortunately he only believes in TSH. Still a roller-coaster.

Rest of 2011 is spent looking for answers, learning as much as I can, and researching things. Bounce around between doctors and specialists, trying to nail down what the heck is going on. No real answers. Finally gastroenterologist runs more labs and discovers autoimmune hepatitis (AIH). Given Prednisone and then Imuran to suppress my immune system.

2012:
Brand-new PCP runs more thyroid tests. Sky-high Reverse T3 is spotted. Visit neurologist who runs brain EEG, comes back negative. Naturopath runs 24-hour adrenal and other tests, spots a wacky cortisol pattern (despite being previously tested and told its "normal"). Also finds a very high gluten sensitivity. I go gluten-free, and the brain fog that has plagued me for a year or more is greatly reduced. Then we start Wilson's Temperature Syndrome treatment protocol to address high Reverse T3, using a compounded slow-release T3. Which brings me to the present-day.

If you've made it this far, you can see that things sort of went like dominos and one medical issue turned into another. I can honestly point back to the "flu like virus" which started things rolling. If only I had not used that glass in the hotel room or touched that doorknob somewhere, LOL. So I guess my point in all of this is to please pay close attention to how you feel and keep track of any strange things that suddenly pop up. Always get a second (or third) opinion, and never accept "normal" as a sufficient answer.


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