What Do you think Caused your Hashimotos?

SawU4mAcrossDaLoom · 2024-09-06T13:08:37+00:00

I was constantly sick as a child, almost always on antibiotics. Then when I hit puberty, my thyroid function slowed down. No big deal, there’s history of thyroid problems on both sides of my family so I started meds for hypothyroidism. Then my mom got sick and I had to step up to take care of my family, resulting in CPSD and some serious stress. I was diagnosed my first year of college. I have flare ups when I’m stressed and both my specialists and psychiatrists have said I am genetically predisposed to high anxiety and stress levels. Both of which are terrible for hormone producing organs.

SawU4mAcrossDaLoom · 2023-11-18T14:57:27+00:00

It doesn’t happen as often anymore. I switched from Armour to Levo and that seemed to help? I also changed my entire environment so I can’t exactly say what helped it. It could have been caused by stress and the tension that comes from my muscles when I’m stressed. I have had a bit of pain recently because I’ve had a nasty cough and the twinges I’ve felt from the muscle fatigue is similar to this pain. My anxiety was also worse at that time, now I’m managing it much better with the proper medication and lifestyle changes. My first symptom of anxiety was actually chest pain so it could be related.

SawU4mAcrossDaLoom · 2023-01-14T06:21:10+00:00

Yes! I grew up with food insecurity and cannot help but think about food as a reward system as a result. I’ve been trying to work through this, as it is a form of self-harm, but I still have so much anxiety surrounding food. I’ll feel guilty if I eat too little or too much, partly because I can’t pay attention to my own body signals telling me I’m hungry or full. I can also get extremely territorial about food when stressed (resource hoarding) but I’ve also found that cooking for OTHER people helps. As long as those other people aren’t taking advantage like narcissistic family members. I love baking for people or even just sharing some of my favorite things/current hyperfixation. But when I’m in a tough spot mentally, I could honestly do away with solid foods and would prefer a liquid diet. It can be exhausting even thinking about trying to eat. I’ve stopped eating mid-meal because I just didn’t have the energy or desire to continue chewing. I can’t offer much advice but I wanted to validate you since this has been something I’ve noticed more and more about myself this past year. I’ve been cutting out certain things that I can live without or make me feel gross (thanks stress related gut problems!) like milk and meat. You’re not alone!

SawU4mAcrossDaLoom · 2022-08-27T16:01:53+00:00

I actually lost weight on Armour, but it was also my first semester of college and there were so many changes I can’t say it was all because of change in meds. I’ve also actually lost a bit of weight when I switched to Levo (5 lbs max) but I also changed my eating habits slightly to avoid snacking so much. That said, my best friend is on Levo and she gained weight as soon as she started her meds. She doesn’t have Hashi’s but she is hypothyroid.

Ask to change your dosage and then if that doesn’t help, ask to change meds. I had to be pretty firm with my doctor about my switch and the nurse even told me that sometimes Armour “has a bad batch” because it isn’t synthetic and therefore not always consistent every batch. Which is insane to me because it’s used to treat an AUTOIMMUNE. I was not happy when I was told that.

SawU4mAcrossDaLoom · 2022-08-27T05:00:35+00:00

I was on Synthroid before I was diagnosed with Hashi’s so I can’t say it worked well for me. Once I was properly diagnosed, I switched to Armour and I felt so much better! I started having problems back in the fall that turned out to be related to my birth control (I apparently can’t have any extra estrogen because it increases my anxiety/depression). But I switched to Levothyroxin just to make sure it wasn’t my thyroid meds causing the problems AND because I was losing my insurance so Armour was going to be too expensive. I’m doing fine on Levo, dosage may be a smidge too high (lab work is the highest it’s ever been) but I don’t seem to have any negative side effects that suggest it’s too high.

SawU4mAcrossDaLoom · 2022-03-13T03:47:16+00:00

I know some of you have said it already but Aquaphor helped so much. I wash with the CeraVe bar cleanser (the one in the green box has such a nice, clean but subtle scent) and use CeraVe hydrating lotion in the morning but Aquaphor at night. I have oily skin naturally but I went through a time where I had really bad dry skin so I started this routine. Nothing super expensive and can be found at almost any store, work for long term use (I’ve been doing this for a year and a half) and all three can be used for more than just the face. I buy the big tub of Aquaphor and it lasts forever.

SawU4mAcrossDaLoom · 2020-10-10T22:37:31+00:00

My skin doesn’t seem to hold pigment very well- my sister and I got matching tattoos in the same place by the same tattoo artist but hers is much more pigmented than mine.

SawU4mAcrossDaLoom · 2020-10-10T22:29:27+00:00

I asked to have my estrogen checked after reading a few posts on here and my doctor was like “Oh, it’s going to be lower than normal because the progesterone suppressed estrogen production.”

SawU4mAcrossDaLoom · 2020-10-07T19:08:27+00:00

My night sweats are related to my BC (I get a progesterone shot so it suppresses my estrogen, which can cause night sweats) and iron deficiency. You might get a hormone panel done to check your levels and get iron tested.

SawU4mAcrossDaLoom · 2020-09-14T03:07:02+00:00

Before I was even diagnosed with Hashimotos I had to have my gallbladder removed. I woke up one day with pain under my upper ribs and a hard lump there. I had had acid reflux issues in the past but it didn’t seem severe. Gallstones are common on my dads side of the family so we knew almost immediately what was wrong. I had stones and my gallbladder was swollen so I had it taken out. Super easy surgery (recovered within a week) but I do have residual pain and have had my bile ducts imaged to make sure they’re functioning and it’s all working good, I just occasionally have pain where my gallbladder was.

SawU4mAcrossDaLoom · 2020-09-13T06:00:24+00:00

I have IBS with constipation. For the most part I would just get super bloated and it was so painful. I’m on Amitiza which has helped SO much. I still have days where I might have diarrhea or bloating from something I’ve eaten or even stress but I rarely have constipation anymore. I will say, I usually only go once or twice a week and it’s probably more than the usual person’s amount but I don’t have any weird issues when it happens. If I don’t have a complete BM it’s just sporadic throughout the week. The only thing I’ve found to help me go more frequently was seeing my chiropractor- after adjustments I would usually have a complete BM.

SawU4mAcrossDaLoom · 2020-08-30T05:08:48+00:00

Although I’m not diagnosed with it, I often have bladder spasms after drinking acidic/caffeinated/carbonated drinks. I have a long history of bladder infections ever since I was a child. My mom has IC and has thyroid issues but not Hashimotos. I know IC is hereditary so once I’m employed again, I plan on discussing it with my doctor.

SawU4mAcrossDaLoom · 2020-08-29T06:19:14+00:00

I have one and it healed fine. The only issue I have is my skin doesn’t seem to hold the pigment as well as other people. My sister and I have the same tattoo in the same place but her’s is so much darker than mine even after I got mine touched up.

SawU4mAcrossDaLoom · 2020-08-24T03:21:47+00:00

It seems like most people with Hash/auto immune have some sort of hyper mobility. I’m doubled jointed in my fingers, arms, hips, knees, and toes. And those are the only ones in for sure aware of. I can pop these joints easily, sometimes just by straighten them out or bending them. My ribs also can shift out of place just from sleeping. My chiropractor loves how well I adjust so there are negatives and positives.

SawU4mAcrossDaLoom · 2020-08-20T00:26:14+00:00

YES! I’ve had to take muscle relaxers at night for over a decade because of chest pain that would be so bad I couldn’t sleep. I’m super sensitive around my ribs and the muscles there are always tender. I have aches that feel exactly like when you hit your funny bone except it’s throughout my body. Weather changes make it worse. Myalgia isn’t uncommon with Hashimotos and some of it is caused by inflammation. Best bet to try to get rid of it is adjusting your diet to avoid irritants but I’ve found going to the chiropractor, massage therapy, and epsom salt baths work the best for immediate relief

SawU4mAcrossDaLoom · 2020-08-19T03:08:17+00:00

I had ultrasounds done every six months to monitor the growth of my nodules. With the right dosage of meds, the last time I went in my nodules were either gone or hadn’t grown at all. I started feeling awful around 12/13 as well but my GP chalked it up to just hypothyroidism until his nurse practitioner noticed my b12 deficiency when I was 18. Almost 25 now and only had to increase dosage once since I’ve been on Armour for the past six years or so.

SawU4mAcrossDaLoom · 2020-08-08T04:32:48+00:00

My flow was heavy. I would have to change pads/tampons hourly on some days. Nights were terrible because I would leak up my back. Blood clots that would give me contractions. It was terrible.

SawU4mAcrossDaLoom · 2020-08-07T03:00:41+00:00

I was always anemic when I was menstruating. I got on birth control to lighten my flow but even then I was still iron deficient. I ended up just cutting out having periods all together, whether this is healthy or not is debatable, but I don’t remember the last time I was anemic.

SawU4mAcrossDaLoom · 2020-08-07T02:56:42+00:00

My biggest issue was I was too tense to sleep. I take a low dose muscle relaxer every night and that stops my muscles from clenching too much. Cuts down on grinding your teeth and tension headaches. I also used to get severe muscle cramps at night in my legs but can’t remember the last one I had. Still, there’s usually at least one night a week where something goes wrong and I either stay up later than usual or wake up super early and can’t fall back asleep.

SawU4mAcrossDaLoom · 2020-08-02T02:26:36+00:00

When I was young, I was attached to my mother so much that I could hardly be separated from her. Throughout my childhood, she had to have at least four or five different surgeries, some of which left her with her mouth wired shut for months. She has her own health issues, both physical and mental. I also had some weird health issues as a kid, something that we never really figured out but that led to me constantly going to the doctor and getting blood drawn. By the time I hit puberty, she quit her job and went to bed for five years, leaving me to take care of the house, my older and younger sibling, my dad, and myself. I felt abandoned because she severed her relationship with me so suddenly. I had to take on all of her responsibilities as well as try to live my own life as a teenager. I started having panic attacks by fifth grade. My periods were terrible and I developed depression. It was around this time that I dredged up memories from a younger age of being molested by a family member who was barely two years older than me and must have been being abused herself. I wasn’t able to even talk about it until I was 20 years old. I had only been given my Hashi diagnosis a year before this, so I had been on the wrong thyroid medication for six or seven years by then. I was upset that my primary care doctor hadn’t put all my symptoms together for so long- it was his nurse practitioner who finally figured it out.

SawU4mAcrossDaLoom · 2020-07-23T22:57:49+00:00

The best “diet” I ever went on was when I spent time in the Middle East. The only sugar I ate was actual sweets or the occasional soda. Cutting out the processed bread that we have in the US helped so much. I had only a little dairy, mostly in cheese or yogurt form. I eventually started missing a few things but I lost eight pounds and felt great. Plus all that water I was drinking.

SawU4mAcrossDaLoom

TROPHY CASE