# Horrible skin!



## Jezahb (May 17, 2012)

So I was diagnosed with Hashi in May, fooled around with meds and got stable on 30mg of Armour in the beginning of July. My most recent labs were

Free Thyroxine 1.24
T3 173
TSH 1.65

and a lot of other normal results for other things (WBC, Cholesterol, Iron) with the only thing coming back low was my Vit D which I am now supplementing.

My issue is, my face is a wreck. I used to have fair creamy white flawless skin, now it is blotchy, red, bumpy and awful! This has been an issue since I started Synthroid in May, and switching to Armour barely helped. It is making me crazy, since I am afraid to be seen in public. Its not really acne, but just bumps that are sore and red. Sometimes I get a rare white head, but usually its just bumpy blemished skin and nothing helps. Its like my skin is REALLY irritated, and I have tried everything to calm it. I have super sensitive skin too so I can't use acne creams, and I am so at my wits end! I am balding from this still, and now my face looks like hell and I just want to cry. :ashamed0005:


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## Jezahb (May 17, 2012)

On top of all this, my doc denies that acne is even a side effect of Armour. She is treating me like its just genetic and that I am trying to blame the meds


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## CA-Lynn (Apr 29, 2010)

Which happened first? The face or begin taking the Vitamin D? Also, which kind of Vitamin D are you taking?

I have to wonder if you're not stressed, which could have caused the dermatology problem.


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## Lovlkn (Dec 20, 2009)

Possible allergic reaction to the Armour?


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## Octavia (Aug 1, 2011)

Well...I don't have Hashi's, and I don't take Armour, so I'm not sure how relevant this is, but I'll share anyway just in case.

Prior to my cancer diagnosis, my skin had gotten really bad--bad to the point that I was taking Accutane, which is a horrible drug, if you really think about it. (Seriously, I was 41 at the time, taking hard-core acne medication...ugh!) My skin was red, bumpy--rosacea, acne, whatever. The accutane helped some, but I stopped taking it around the time of my surgeries. I suspect it was all thyroid-related, despite my "in-range" labs (which I never got copies of).

Now that I don't have a thyroid and I'm on the right replacement dose, my skin looks pretty darn good. And I'm not doing anything different compared to 2 years ago when it was really bad.

Like I said, not sure how relevant this is for you, but just sharing that when my thyroid wasn't right, my skin wasn't, either.


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## Jezahb (May 17, 2012)

The skin thing started first, a couple months before the Vitamin D. I am taking 2000 iu of Sundown Naturals Vit D softgels. They were the cheapest and smallest, and considering I am on like a ton of vitamins (Vit D, Iron, Vit B, Biotin, Chlorophyll) size matters.

I know I am stressed, but I have been more stressed than now in the past with no breakouts. This is entirely new, and its making me crazy. I doubt its the Armour since I had a similar problem on the Synthroid though that was more classic whitehead greasy acne. This is just overall roughness to my face, redness and almost soreness.

Thanks Octavia, but unfortunately even though my Thyroid is causing me quite a bit of pain (my body is reacting to the antibodies by swelling my lymph nodes painfully) and making me sick...I am quite a few years away from them even considering taking it out. I am only 25 and my Hashi is not "bad enough" for them to do more than slightly monitor it and keep me on a low dose of meds. :a1Thyroid:


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## Octavia (Aug 1, 2011)

Okay. I'm inclined to think it's not "directly" attributable to the drugs themselves, but more to the imbalance of hormones that the drugs are supposed to be addressing, if that makes sense.

Did the skin issues start after any of the vitamins you've listed, by any chance?

Sorry I don't have any real suggestions for you.


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## Jezahb (May 17, 2012)

Hm, I was on all those vitamins minus the Iron Supplement and Vit D since BEFORE the Hashi. I started the Iron right when I started the synthroid though, since the same test discovered both anemia and Hashi. I don't know if Iron supps can cause acne though

Edit: Started at TSH of 6.98 in May, TSH was still 2.68 on Synthroid as of June 28th so my levels have only gotten down to a managed level when I started Armour in the middle of July. Could this simply be my body getting used to it?


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## Octavia (Aug 1, 2011)

Could be. Hormones are hormones...and when they're off, they can cause havoc, as you know. Hopefully as your body does get used to the meds, things will calm down with your skin. Fingers crossed!


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## jmill (Mar 23, 2010)

Jezahb said:


> Hm, I was on all those vitamins minus the Iron Supplement and Vit D since BEFORE the Hashi. I started the Iron right when I started the synthroid though, since the same test discovered both anemia and Hashi. I don't know if Iron supps can cause acne though
> 
> Edit: Started at TSH of 6.98 in May, TSH was still 2.68 on Synthroid as of June 28th so my levels have only gotten down to a managed level when I started Armour in the middle of July. Could this simply be my body getting used to it?


There's a reason you're on all those vitamins. If you're anemic, you need to be checked for the cause of the anemia. I suspect SIBO which can accompany a bout with thyroid. I too have skin issues and didn't before my thyroid went out of whack. The vitamin regimin has helped my skin but not completely. Treating the root cause is necessary. Get the thyroid under control and get treatment for the cause of the anemia. It's a simple breath test to determine if you have SIBO (small intestine bacterial overgrowth). Sadly, many thyroid patients, myself included, find out they are gluten sensitive and/or dairy sensitive after developing thyroid problems. Eliminating these out of the diet has helped a lot. I wish you the best of luck getting this under control.


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

Jezahb said:


> So I was diagnosed with Hashi in May, fooled around with meds and got stable on 30mg of Armour in the beginning of July. My most recent labs were
> 
> Free Thyroxine 1.24
> T3 173
> ...


You are way over due for an increase of your Armour. 1/2 grain is barely life-sustaining.

You did not include ranges so I can't tell much. None the less; the best labs to get are TSH, FREE T3 and FREE T4.

Please read this.

Free T3 and Free T4 are the only accurate measurement of the actual active thyroid hormone levels in the body. This is the hormone that is actually free and exerting effect on the cells. These are the thyroid hormones that count.
Dr. Mercola (FREES)
http://www.mercola.com/Article/hypothyroid/diagnosis_comp.htm
Dr. Woliner
http://www.thyroid-info.com/articles/freet3woliner.htm

You must feel exhausted? Do you?


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## Keba (Aug 11, 2012)

I just have to chime in as my skin on my face, chin and neck area has been out of whack as my Hashi symptoms increase. I never thought it was related but now I question.
I'm on no meds so that's not an excuse, my face is bad and It coincides with when I feel crappy too. Worse in the last 6-9 months.
I think it's hormone related too.


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## Jezahb (May 17, 2012)

I always feel exhausted, I need caffeine and lots of it to even function during the day.

According to my labs ranges I am "normal". I will list my labs again with the ranges they provided

Free T4 1.24 (0.76-1.46)
Free T3 173 (70-190)
TSH 1.65 (0.35-3.74)

So I am in the middle or upper of all the ranges, and my doctor is completely fine with this. I don't know if this is good or bad, as I only have her word and this labs measuring system to go off of. I know 30mg is not a lot of medicine, and I feel no different now on it than I did in May with a TSH of 6.98....so as far as symptoms go none of them have gone away. The ONLY improvement in anything I have seen, is when I get the energy to go to the gym I seem to lose a few lbs quickly...but it comes right back

The anemia is odd, since I don't even get periods due to the type of BC I am on....so I am losing no blood yet I am anemic. My doctor isn't even looking into it, just blaming it on diet


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