# Does hashimoto's eventually burn out?



## gwo1973 (May 8, 2013)

My cardiologist and rheumatlogist both told me it eventually burns out. Is this true of is this something I'm going to be fighting the rest of my life?

Another question, where do these anitbodies originate? In the thyroid or are they floating around in the blood stream and migrate to the thyroid and attack it?


----------



## joplin1975 (Jul 21, 2011)

As I understand it, you'll never be Hashi's-free, but for some people, their thyroids burn out. Once your thyroid is dead/removed, the antibodies calm down.


----------



## Octavia (Aug 1, 2011)

My understanding is that the "burn out" can take years and years and years. It seems that some people here have dealt with Hashi's for 10, 15, 20 years...then eventually had their thyroid surgically removed and wished they had done so years earlier.

Can any of you share a personal experience?


----------



## jenny v (May 6, 2012)

I've had Hashi's for almost 10 years now and I'm still waiting for my thyroid to "burn out". The first 5 or 6 years were pretty stable but the last two years have been a roller coaster of ups and downs and I'm getting to the point where I am starting to consider pushing for surgical removal. When I was younger it was much easier to deal with the symptoms but now I am older and after years of this, I'm getting tired. My new endo is open to surgery, but we've put it off as we try new med combinations to see if anything else will work first.


----------



## bigfoot (May 13, 2011)

You hit upon the million-dollar question: _When?_

Been wondering that myself. After 5+ years of dealing with all sorts of medical issues, and years prior with weird unexplained happenings, I would like to think mine is close to burning out. But somehow I doubt it. I also don't think it's the source of all my past and current problems, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was hiding in the background for a long time, occasionally flaring up.

There are folks here who have had their thyroid removed and still suffer, and there are those who say it's been the best choice ever. I think it all comes back to each of us being our own individual case.


----------



## gwo1973 (May 8, 2013)

The endo told me yesterday it was my only option and think long and hard before signing that consent form. He said if you start having a lot of choking, coughing and swallowing it needs to be removed. I think mine is on the fast track. I get the roller coaster ride every few days since it started last November.


----------



## CA-Lynn (Apr 29, 2010)

I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's in the early 90's and for the most part medication [with tweaking now and then] pretty much kept me in place. I always found that I needed the TSH to be almost non-existent.

But nothing is ever permanent, right?

I went in for an annual chest x-ray a couple weeks ago. [I have COPD and history of pulmonary embolism so the pulmonologist likes to see what my lungs are doing.] The radiologist happened to notice a mass often consistent with thyroid involvement. So on Wednesday I'll have a CT scan done [with contrast].

Should be interesting because I have cricoarytenoid arthritis and Ankylosing Spondylitis, which could also produce nodules in that area. [Am not convinced this is a thyroid issue.]

My labs are "normal for me" - and my TSH is about 0.1. There is a sensation of inflammation completely around my entire neck, as though someone put his hands there and was about to strangle me. No problem eating; little problem swallowing. [But you have to take this in context because I have a number of autoimmune diseases that cause pain and inflammation, thyroid being the least worrisome for me.]

But you never know.....maybe this is my thyroid's way of "burning out."


----------



## gwo1973 (May 8, 2013)

My tsh was is at 4.42 and my free t4 is at 1.0. Honestly I see those numbers and think I still need to be bumped up again. 2 endo and both say its not a big deal, see you in 6 months.


----------



## sjmjuly (Mar 23, 2012)

gwo1973 said:


> My tsh was is at 4.42 and my free t4 is at 1.0. Honestly I see those numbers and think I still need to be bumped up again. 2 endo and both say its not a big deal, see you in 6 months.


My last labs, my TSH was 9.48 and my Free's were waaaaay below normal, and I felt great. Have hashi's and had been off meds for over a month due to over medication. (Gone completely hyper)
Changed to Synthroid (25 mcgs) and I still feel great. Even my TPO was up. There is no rhyme or reason to this disease.


----------

