Hashimoto's, Rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis REALLY SCARED

[mummabear1]

PLEASE HELP Im so worried.

My doctor has recently told me i have hashis. Not bad enough to treat at the moment though as its only early days according to my blood results. I feel really really bad though. Ache all over, all my joints feel swollen and stiff in the morning. My legs feel really weak and I struggle to squeeze a grip with my hands when I get up. My neck is clicking and graunching all the time and I just hurt :( What is going on!!!! Im only 37 with three littlies. I am absolutely terrified I have Rheumatoid Arthritis or MS as well. I did a bit of Dr Googling last night and worried myself so much I couldnt sleep last night. This soreness has only come about in the last month or so.

I have read that aches and pains and sore joints can be part of hashis but if my bloods are still within range and only showing some antibodies surely I shouldnt be feeling this bad.

God, Im stressed. I feel like an 80 year old. And so bloody worried Im not going to be around to see my beautiful kids grow up. Or that I will have to watch them grow from the sofa as I cant get up!

Please help - anyone else in this situation ??

[thereinmadnesslies]

Oh mummabear, its horrible being scared. Hugs.

I was diagnosed with Hashimotos about three years ago. I felt like I was 90yrs old - everything hurt, I was exhausted, had a thumping headache all the time and was freezing cold. I also found out I had a vitamin D deficiency which is common with thyroid probs.

In my (non medically trained) opinion, if your blood tests are showing antibodies and you have symptoms you should be receiving treatment. Could you go back to the GP and push for further blood tests and treatment, or a referral to an endocrinologist to investigate whether the thyroid antibodies are the likely cause of your symptoms.

[prettyanddainty]

mumma are you having hair loss? do you know what your numbers were?

[mummabear1]

Thanks thereinmadnesslies

Im so beside myself today. Im home alone with the kids for the weekend and its suddenly made me horribly aware of how weak and feeble i feel. I really have no energy for them and I was in bed at 9 last night to attempt to get some sleep and feel refreshed but my googling put paid to that!

Im usually attached to the vacuum cleaner (my kids are so messy!) but I cant even be bothered to use it as Im so knackered. My legs feel odd and heavy and Im just sick to my stomach at whats possibly ahead.

I have a docs appointment in the morning. Im going to ask that I be tested for everything under the sun - RA, MS, cancers, bloody anything! Im terrified of the answer but I cant go round feeling like this :( What a nightmare.

I thought the Hashis was a horrible thing to get but hope like hell that that could be the answer to all these symptoms.

I am cold a lot - esp my feet and hands. Dry skin everywhere, crap hair, suffer from a lot of headaches and swelling in the face - eyelips, lips etc. Havent got to the bottom of that yet - possible allergic reaction to something but I havent a clue what.

Dont know if this means anything to anyone but these were my last thyroid blood results. The doc said they were nothing to worry about at this stage

Anti TPO (microsomal) 32.9 IU/mL (0-9) H
Anti Tg (thyroglobulin) 14.1 IU/mL (0-4) H
TSH 0.83 mU/L (0.3-5.0)

Did anyone else Hashis and feel like there was something more to it only to find once on some meds they came right?

I think because I read that one autoimmune disease can lead to another that any new ache and pain is now making me stress out more.

Thanks

[prettyanddainty]

I am no expert and am sure someone will tell you, but I think your test looks ok to me, my tsh level was 1.69 and my antibodies number was a lot higher than yours but I am not getting bad symptoms like yours. Are you getting any palpitations or insomnia?

[mummabear1]

Hi prettyanddainty

Yes I do have heart palpitations occasionally and the allergy specialist I just saw heard a heart murmur which i have never had before. Hes going to send me off to a cardiologist to check out.

Insomnia - yes. I have had sleeping tablets in the past but not sure they worked too well. I still had a bit of trouble sleeping but then at about 4 in the morning i fell into a deep deep sleep and then struggled to get up!

[mummabear1]

Not too bad on the hair loss prettyanddainty - maybe a smidge around the hairline as my side fringe seems to be trying to do its own thing these days and failing miserably ;)

Also getting rubbish skin which i havent had since early teens.

[prettyanddainty]

I don't know but your test results seem more like overactive thyroid more than hashis.

[prettyanddainty]

I hope someone will come over and tell you cuz im no expert, do you get constipation?

[mummabear1]

No I dont :)

[prettyanddainty]

I suppose with hashis you go through phases of over and under. I hope you get some answers soon.

[RawCoconutMacaroon]

That's a long list of autoimmune conditions OP! The dry eye/ swollen eyelid thing could be sojourns (spelling?), another autoimmune condition.

Please consider a grain free diet (and especially, completely and utterly gluten free) for a few weeks, just to see what happens (maybe nothing but for some people, it's the answer!). Grain free means just that, none, no gluten free bread/cakes made of rice/corn/maize, as IF you have developed an issue with wheat/gluten, you may cross react with other grains.
IF the exclusion diet improves your symptoms, After a few weeks add in some rice, see what happens - and repeat with each type of grain till you find which one is making you worse.

And maybe add coeliac blood test to your list.

Sorry if that is unexpected but autoimmune disorders don't just happen, they are triggered (by many things), and one of those triggers can be foods you are reacting to, so it's worth exploring, and not a totally crazy idea !!!

If you are interested in looking into that, a good place to start would be Wheatbelly blog, and Marks daily Apple blog, plenty of info on autoimmune disease on both.

It is not going to be the answer for everyone of course, but you lose nothing by giving it a try, and may gain a lot of your health back (it worked for me, with a long list of issues, but not quite as long as yours). HTH

[RawCoconutMacaroon]

Sorry just re-read and saw you are not diagnosed with all of those! The RI sounds quite likely given your symptoms - with me, before going grain free my joints were as you describe, and awfully painful to put my feet on the floor in the morning (as the bones spread), took ages to take my first few steps and similar problems with my fingers. I assumed "old age" at 40! All gone now as lon as I stay on the diet.

I think MS is a lot less likely.

[mummabear1]

Thanks Rawcoconut. Honestly I will try anything. I have only just started gluten free in the last couple of days. Quite tricky when noone else in the house is.

Thats fantastic that you found your diet fixed a lot of things :) My diet has always been relatively healthy on a day to day basis but I do have a tendancy to binge on lollies / chocs on the odd occasion (occasional Sat night hm alone with a good mag etc!) Guess I will be binging on carrots now - not quite the same but if it sorts a few things out Im keen!

[RawCoconutMacaroon]

Gluten and grain free are certainly tricky- you need to be a real label hawk, and/or make everything from scratch IME. And it's important to avoid even trace amounts, especial at the beginning.

I just feed the family the same (but with rice/white potatoes (so paleo/primal mostly), tbh I don't really thing they notice a difference as there are plenty of blogs with tasty paleo recipes!

[satindoll77054]

I have been diagnosed with Hashimoto's and Rheumatoid Arthritis (both auto- immune diseases). I haven't had a good day for months. They just found the RA this past week. My hips are weak, my knees don't want to hold me up, and I feel like I have the flu. It isn't fun. I see a Rheumatologist as soon as I can get an appt. Having no fun here

[satindoll77054]

I have been diagnosed with Hashimoto's and Rheumatoid Arthritis (both auto- immune diseases). I haven't had a good day for months. They just found the RA this past week. My hips are weak, my knees don't want to hold me up, and I feel like I have the flu. It isn't fun. I see a Rheumatologist as soon as I can get an appt. Having no fun here

[DramaAlpaca]

Sorry to hear this satindoll, it sounds miserable

You've just bumped a really old thread.

I suggest you start your own new thread in General Health then you should get more up to date responses and support.

[onecrazycook]

Hi OP. I have lupus and a lot of your symptoms seem to match up with that. Perhaps ask the doctor if you can have an ANA test too and they should biopsy any rash you might have.

I'm so sorry you're in pain like this. I absolutely know what you're going through.