# New to Hashi's and in need of some moral support!! <3



## Melissa907 (Sep 6, 2010)

Hello Everyone!
I am a 22 year old female who was JUST diagnosed with Hashimoto's disease 1 week ago today. I started out with a random blood test this past April where it was determined that my thyroid was slightly OVERactive. I went untreated and had my levels checked again last Monday. My TSH went from .47 to 4.83 in a matter of 4 months! My doctor (an Internal Medicine doctor) told me that sometimes hyperthyroidism can be a precursor to hypothyroidism? Is this true?? He also checked my antibodies for Hashi's and apparently my levels were through the roof. Normal levels he said were less than 37 and mine were over 600! Any comparisons out there as to what the normal levels should be and what your levels are? Anyway, needless to say, I haven't been feeling well for a LONG time but it recently got worse and that's why I had my blood checked again last week. I am a very healthy and active person. I hold a Nutrition degree and like to think of myself as physically fit and active. I run about 3 miles every morning and eat a very healthy diet (with a few splurges here and there) =). It got to the point where suddenly running those 3 miles became almonst impossible on some days. I was winded even while just talking, I gained about 5 lb in a month's time which is abnormal for me (I am 5'2.5'' and usually weight about 112 lb). I was so sleepy and just depressed for no apparent reason. Prior to this I was having symptoms but nothing as drastic as I was feeling recently. So, I have no idea if that was my body's shift from hyper to hypo or what. Either way, I don't feel well at all. Thyroid disease runs in my family and my mother has Hashi's as well. My doctor immediately put me on 25 mcg of Synthroid daily and I started them last Wednesday. Today is day 5. I have to say I have been feeling WORSE these last few days than ever. I am a very active person and I haven't been working out. I have been sleeping 8+ hours per night and taking 3 hour naps in the evenings. This isn't like me at all! I am also STARVING (I usually have a big appetite but this is crazy). I eat constantly it seems and I'm never full. Anyway, these are my symptoms and I am trying so hard to stay positive. I hope it's not the Synthroid causing my symptoms to worsen. I have heard that there are quite a few side effects when taking Synthroid but why would I feel WORSE than before? Any help would be much appreciated. I look forward to being part of this family! Thank you all so much!!


----------



## chopper (Mar 4, 2007)

I replied to your first post under newbie introductions.


----------



## Melissa907 (Sep 6, 2010)

Sorry, still trying to get the hang of where to post what and how! Thanks!


----------



## chopper (Mar 4, 2007)

Hi Melissa,

You are going to need a crash course in all things Hashi's. It's really a pain in the butt disease. My best advice while its so early in the game for you is to read a lot about the disease - there is tons and tons of info online about the inner workings of the thyroid.

With Hashimoto's, you can tend to go up and down and cycle. I get that all the time myself. I can go from sleepy and slighty dizzy to heart palpitations and shaky feeling within a matter of days. What is haoppening is that those antibodies flare up and attach your thyroid. Each time they attack they cause some damage to the gland. Eventually, most people with Hashi's will go hypo because the thyroid ends up with scar tissue and just cant function correctly.

A healthy thyroid is supposed to look kind of like a chicken liver - nice and smoothe and mushy. When I went for my last sono the tech said mine looked like the surface of the moon from all the antibody attacks over the years.

You need to read A LOT. You also need to be very progressive in your treatment once you understand the disease. A lot of endos are used to treating diabetes and frankly do not know all that much about thyroid. This usually leaves Hashi patients suffering for a long time before getting properly fixed.

Try to keep working out and eating well. A healthy body will certainly help you feel better. There are also some foods to avoid, called goitrogens - foods that supress your thyroid, like raw broccoli, soy and many others. You can google the term and you'll find a bunch.

I wrote a little piece about something called Hashitoxicosis if you want to check it out. HT is a combo of Graves and Hashi's:

www.thyroidboards.com/hashitoxicosis


----------



## Melissa907 (Sep 6, 2010)

Thank you!
The hard part is I havent really gotten that far yet and have only seen a regular Internal Med doc. I am debating finding a good endocrinologist but I also wondered if maybe this doctor could just treat me. I really don't know. I did hear though about how I could go up and down. I usually do have symptoms that are very much like hyper such as shakiness, dizziness, excessive hunger, sweating, heart palps, etc. All along I thought it was low blood sugar but maybe it's my Hashi's going up and down?


----------

