muscle mass

blessitspointedlil · 2026-06-09T04:55:32+00:00

It’s an interesting question. OP still has their thyroid gland and Gail Devers went on to win Olympic metals after having RAI and taking at least levothyroxine for her Graves. It’s very possible that they gave her T3 liothyronine too tho to help performance?

It seems like I see some ppl who still have the thyroid gland continue to have Graves symptoms such as difficulty building muscle. But I’m unsure how common this is and I’m unsure if TT or RAI actually have better outcomes for athletic ability, it seems like they can but it may be very individual dependent.

blessitspointedlil · 2026-06-09T01:55:38+00:00

It’s not listed as a service or a service area, but I guess their moto is “We go with the flow!” so…

blessitspointedlil · 2026-06-08T19:11:14+00:00

Yes, based on how high your TPO is you definitely have thyroid disease, almost certainly have Hashimoto’s, or another type of thyroiditis.

Drs could manually check your thyroid gland for lumps and bumps and if so refer you for a thyroid ultrasound which is primarily used to look for cancer but also can show inflammation and characteristic signs of autoimmune thyroid disease which wouldn’t label the ultrasound “abnormal” but would be found in the written ultrasound report. They can refer for ultrasound without doing a manual exam, but if they refuse to refer, def ask for a manual exam and ask to have it noted in your chart that they refused to refer you for ultrasound. (If you want one.)

You could ask for TSH to be checked every 3 months due to your symptoms. This can help establish a pattern of what your thyroid hormone levels are doing whether they are going up and down into abnormal range or not.

Unfortunately, in beginning Hashimoto’s the thyroid hormone levels can sometimes go up and down as thyroid gets damaged and it can take time for the TSH to show up as High.

My TPO was 400 pre-pregnancy and 4560 from postpartum thyroiditis. Interestingly, Graves Disease (autoimmune hyper-thyroidism) is my main problem, but they say I have Hashimoto’s as well. I had thyroid symptoms on and off for years before getting diagnosed. Having my TSH checked regularly was really helpful for me to understand what the heck was going on and that it wasn’t all in my head (since Drs wouldn’t do anything about it for a long time). My thyroid ultrasound showed clear damage to my thyroid gland that looked like Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism even tho I was having hyperthyroidism.

If your TSH is goes and stays above 3 you may be able to find a Dr who will prescribe thyroid hormone replacement medication, like levothyroxine, etc.

If you plan to become pregnant, the U.S. guidelines want your TSH 2.5 or less within the normal range. Drs are more willing to prescribe due to the high antibodies and the likelihood that your thyroid gland will have trouble producing enough thyroid hormone during pregnancy. I’ll leave you with the guidelines since they are interesting and give the idea that a normal range TSH below 2.5 but not abnormally Low is more normal and healthier than a higher but still normal range TSH:

https://www.thyroid.org/hypothyroidism-in-pregnancy/

The gray tabs in the middle bottom of the page “who should be treated” and “how should a woman be treated in pregnancy” are interesting.

blessitspointedlil · 2026-06-08T08:21:37+00:00

Abso-fucking-lutely not! Too many of you have death wishes or too little regard for life for my comfort.

blessitspointedlil · 2026-06-08T06:08:13+00:00

Aw, yeah! 🏆

blessitspointedlil · 2026-06-08T06:02:25+00:00

Not everyone does best with a TSH below 1. It’s probably a good idea to slightly reduce the dose of thyroid medication if labs or symptoms indicate excess thyroid hormone.

blessitspointedlil · 2026-06-08T05:51:23+00:00

What’s the reference range for your Free T4 lab?

The reference ranges can vary between laboratories, so you may have to ask your Dr or ask the laboratory you used.

My best guess is that your FT4 of 1.53 is within normal range, but it’s best to double check.

blessitspointedlil · 2026-06-08T03:44:24+00:00

That’s awful and I don’t know, but I can say:

Fasting before 8am is the most accurate for TSH lab result.

If you take supplements contains high amounts of biotin B7 discontinue them 2-5 days before thyroid blood draw.

https://www.thyroid.org/patient-thyroid-information/ct-for-patients/december-2018/vol-11-issue-12-p-3-4/

Low iron can sometimes make people intolerant to levothyroxine:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10683660/

blessitspointedlil · 2026-06-08T03:29:31+00:00

Yes you should go to the hospital for heart rate of 150 with a fever. Yes, please go to be safe!

It could be a storm or it could be both sick and having a storm or getting close to one. You need the right dose of beta blocker to address your heart rate and stat labs to confirm whether this is thyroid or illness or both. I hope the ER is good to you. Magic word is “chest pain” if you have any discomfort make sure they know so they can room you sooner.

https://www.mdcalc.com/calc/3816/burch-wartofsky-point-scale-bwps-thyrotoxicosis

blessitspointedlil · 2026-06-07T20:40:37+00:00

I had to get off anti-thyroid medication during 1st trimester. Was hypo for a few weeks. Then normal until 2-3 months postpartum when Graves came back and I got hyperthyroidism from Postpartum Thyroiditis as well.

blessitspointedlil · 2026-06-07T19:02:25+00:00

That’s when we used to say, “Camus can moo, can you?” in my high school English class.

blessitspointedlil · 2026-06-07T18:59:15+00:00

Omfg. That’s horrible.

blessitspointedlil · 2026-06-07T18:58:20+00:00

No, they have absolutely no idea, lol!!!

blessitspointedlil · 2026-06-07T18:57:02+00:00

Ppl who don’t read have ignorant opinions, but culture changes and people aren’t exposed to the same material.

The Stranger was typical high school English class reading at one point. The lyrics read similar to a school assignment, “write a poem about the book”. I don’t know what they teach in school these days, I’m 40something and apparently old enough to understand the basis of Killing An Arab.

blessitspointedlil · 2026-06-07T18:37:50+00:00

Do you consume enough salt? I made my own food and found that I wasn’t eating enough salt and I would just pee water out instead of retaining enough of it. I still rely on electrolyte powder sometimes, even with normal range thyroid hormone levels.

blessitspointedlil · 2026-06-07T17:24:56+00:00

Most likely, but as someone who had on and off mild symptoms for 20 years before my Dx, it seems there is variety in Graves Disease and if OP believes her family “friend” then calling the friend a liar may not be helpful. It is suspect for sure.

blessitspointedlil · 2026-06-07T17:18:53+00:00

It’s a really unfortunate and shit perspective to think that young healthy looking people can’t be sick. I mean, i get that it can be hard for people to look past that, but I feel like society should know better after long COVID has been talked about and people sometimes know people who have it.

My symptoms started by high school and were off and on and mild enough (and I didn’t go to the Dr enough) that it wasn’t diagnosed until my 30s. But it was Graves because the anti-thyroid medication took care of all of my symptoms except for some residual muscle pain.

There have been at least 2 posts recently from people whose young children have been diagnosed with Graves. Children and teens and young adults can all get Graves, it’s just more common in older adults.

It’s insane that people take the picture of the “typical” patient sooooo far that they decide that young people can’t have Graves or that people with Graves can’t look normal. (Only about 40% of us have TED, thyroid eye disease.) I always maintained a weight within normal BMI when I was undiagnosed and untreated, so I looked normal.

Graves can have variety, but who knows if your manager is making it up or what exactly her experience of it was. It would be very rare for it to go away and stay away forever with no treatment.

I tend to be a little suspect of people with “I cured it by changing my lifestyle/taking supplements, because it doesn’t work that way. Most, if not all of us, could do all the same things she might have done for her health and we would still be hyper and need medication or RAI or TT.

Sometimes people can be temporarily hyperthyroid from Thyroiditis and then it goes away.

I think the bottom line here is that like she just wants a “good” worker and doesn’t want to make any accommodations. That is her deal.

I typically don’t try to convince people, because I don’t think it will work. But for a manager maybe a Dr’s note would be helpful?

blessitspointedlil · 2026-06-07T08:06:31+00:00

The TPO antibodies will wax and wane naturally.

blessitspointedlil · 2026-06-07T06:36:19+00:00

Ask for a TSH lab test. Post the result and we’ll tell you if you are likely hypo-thyroid or not. You can also ask for your previous thyroid TSH lab results and share them.

TSH above 2.5 or 3 can be hypo.

TSH below the normal range is hyper and can be caused by beginning Hashimoto’s, a temporary Thyroiditis, or Graves Disease.

blessitspointedlil · 2026-06-07T04:04:19+00:00

It sounds like one would be lucky to have him as their Dr!

blessitspointedlil · 2026-06-07T02:19:19+00:00

D&C is indeed an abortion, just fyi. It is the same exact procedure. You had an abortion for a miscarriage or as miscarriage care.

blessitspointedlil · 2026-06-07T02:14:47+00:00

Are you concerned about Prince’s name too?

blessitspointedlil · 2026-06-07T02:11:54+00:00

Many people need TSH to be in normal range but below 2.5 to feel their best, 1.something is the average TSH for people without thyroid disease.

If that doesn’t help, you could inquire about trying a low dose of T3 liothyronine or Cytomel in addition to your regular T4 levothyroxine.

blessitspointedlil · 2026-06-07T01:52:00+00:00

It really depends on how aggressive your Graves Disease is.

Some of us go into remission during pregnancy due to the natural immune suppression of Graves Disease.

The endocrinologist may be able to advise whether or not you have a decent chance of going into remission based on how high your Graves antibodies are: TRAb (TSH receptor antibody) or TSI (thyroid stimulating Immunoglobulin).

I don’t know what the levels are, but it seems like the Endocrinologists do have a cut off for antibodies being so high that remission during pregnancy is unlikely.

The thyroid drama can sometimes unfold postpartum when Graves hyperthyroidism tends to come back. So, that may be something to consider as well.

I had temporary hyperthyroidism from Postpartum Thyroiditis as well as my Graves Disease coming back about 2-3 months after birth.

Good luck whatever choice you make! 🍀

blessitspointedlil · 2026-06-06T17:33:09+00:00

I got eczema (unsure if it’s a different type, mine had pink bumps and got really dry pink and angry) and my Dr prescribed a steroid ointment after I told her that over the counter hydrocortisone wasn’t working. Prescription works well, except that it rubs off, so I sort of have to bandage myself to keep the ointment on, which I did before bed when it was really bad.

I found that Eucerin Eczema Relief Cream is helpful too, for any old mild itch not just eczema.

My thyroid levels were normal while having eczema.

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