how bad is it?


My mother in law had thyroid cancer and had to have surgery (she's 50)

My wife soon developed symptoms of thyroid disorder.

Initially her TSH level was 0.072 below the .3 minimum level.

She went in again to have it tested and it was completely opposite and to tell you the truth, shocking.

Her TSH came back GREATER THAN 100 (RESULT VERIFIED) Thats 20 times higher than normal.
Her T3 came back TOTAL 60 (lower than the 70 min)
Her FREE THYROXINE was only 0.27
But this is the shocker, her THYROID PEROXIDASE AB came back GREATER THAN 6500. But the acceptable range is 0.0-60 U/ML. So does that mean her levels are 100 times normal????


please help as I am worried.


What kind of treatments would be necessary? Would it hurt? Does it really make your hair fall out?

Don't worry. Thyroid disease is VERY common and it can be easily managed with proper care. Sounds like your wife has Hashimoto's disease which can cause you to go hyperthyroid and hypothyroid, until the thyroid finally gives up the ghost entirely.

Treatment for Hashimoto's is usually just supplemental thyroid hormone, if you need it, or thyroid suppressors if you're hyperthyroid.

The worst part about non-cancerous thyroid disease is getting adequate thyroid replacement treatment, doctors tend to under treat because they learned to be frightened of hyperthyroid in medical school.

Treatment doesn't hurt and the treatment doesn't cause hair to fall out. However, if you have very low thyroid (which causes a very high TSH by the way) you can lose hair, so getting proper thyroid hormone will make that hair come back.

http://www.thyroid-info.com/ Great site, check it out.

thank you Nancy. I have been stressed out about that. I don't want my wife to be in any kind of pain. After I saw those results I began to lose it.

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That site I posted has gotten horribly commercial, this site might be better: http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/ They have a strong leaning towards non-mainstream treatments but I think you can find good background info there. In particular this posting on Hypothyroidism is good: http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/causes-of-hypo/

I've lived with thyroid disease (hypothyroidism) for more that 30 years. It's really not that big of a deal. Although some cases can be more difficult to resolve, it's not terrible or untreatable.

I too have lived with thyroid disease for over twenty-five years. I did have radio active iodine therapy to stop my thryoid function and I take thyroid supplement daily.

Hi Kisa,
I see you have lost of significant amount of weight.
I'm on week 4. And I'm a bit frustrated.

I was down 5lbs week 1, 2lbs week two, zero in week three, and now I'm on day 2 of week 4 and I was up a pound this morning.

I have hypothyroidsm for the past 6 years. I'm on synthroid .0125.

I used to be 180 pounds (i'm 6feet tall) and ever since I was diagnosed, I've gained 100lbs!!! (mostly all of it in 2.5 years).

I have tried many times to lose, with different plans, ie, sensible eating, weight watchers, and even low carbing - I have been the same weight for 4 years. I;ve had two babies since and really didnt' gain much in the pregancies, and what I did gain came off, but not below my original weight.
It is so frustrating. I'm trying to give this low carb thing one more shot, but it's not coming off nearly as fast as everyone promised.

I feel like my body just doesn't lose weight.

Any thoughts?

Yes. Many thoughts! Primarily, there are a vast number of things that can affect how quickly one loses weight. One is age, and since I don't know how old you are, I can't say whether that would apply to you or not. Although you began lc on Oct 27th, and have lost 6 lbs since that time (is that correct? are your stats up to date?), that puts you at the point in your journey where many people experience a plateau. I assure you, it is temporary! You should begin to lose again within 4 or 5 weeks. If you don't begin to lose at that time, you should reexamine your food diary. If you don't have a food diary, now would be a great time to start one, so you can refer back to it in the future if needed!

To create your food diary, use a diet-tracking tool, such as My P.L.A.N., which is part of this site (and my favorite.) Some people prefer fitday, or the dailyplate, and there are others you can find through Google. The important thing is to find one you like and use it faithfully every day.

Start a journal here. List your foods in it every day, or else make your food tracking data available publicly, so other members can see your menus. Members will visit your journal and offer you much helpful advice if it looks like you need it. You'll also make a lot of new friends that way!

I know none of this information looks like an immediate answer to your concern, but if you do these things, you will experience better success. Also, don't forget to keep your Atkins book close by at all times, so you can refer to it frequently!

In the end, though, folks such as you and I must simply accept that we lose weight more slowly than others. If you stay on plan, you will lose the weight. Remember, you didn't gain it overnight, and you won't lose it overnight, either.

HTH!

Kisal, Thank you for that. Can I ask how long it took you to lose 114lbs?

Have you felt that your thyroid problem has hindered your weight loss in any way.

I'm 34 by the way....

Yes, it has taken me 4+ years. As you can see, I'm not even to onederland (below 200 lbs) yet. Getting there is my current short-term goal.

I'm one heck of a lot healthier than I was when I started out, though! Back when I began lc, I needed to use a wheelchair to get around whenever I left my home. Now, I don't even need my cane, and I go for a walk every morning! Those were only pie-in-the-sky dreams when I began my journey!

Oh gosh,


this ain't gonna make her gain weight is it?

right now she is about 123, wears a size 1-2 (depending on style) and complains to me that she is fat.

It sure can make you gain weight. Hopefully she'll get it corrected before it causes that problem.

Google on "hypothyroid" if you want to find a list of all the fun symptoms.

Thanks for the info, I found out that I was Hypo earlier this year and no amount of decreasing my synthroid stopped me from going hyper now im not on anything and I'm playing the waiting game until Jan to see if i'm still hyper.

I am hypothyroid (Graves disease). I treat my condition with a gluten free, sugar-free diet. It works.

Thyroid disorders have long been statistically linked to gluten intolerance.

http://www.denvernaturopathic.com/news/celiac.html

I suspect the bulk of thyroid disorders are caused by various manifestations of gluten sensitivity, both celiac and non-celiac.


http://www.celiac.com/articles/1135...itis/Page1.html

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Celiac.com 04/23/2007 - The results of a recent Dutch study published in the World Journal of Gastroenterology have confirmed a connection between Hashimotos Thyroiditis and celiac disease.

In the study, 104 individuals with Hashimotos Thyroiditis were tested for immunoglobulin A anti-transglutaminase (tTG) antibodies, IgA anti-endomysial antibodies (EMA) and HLA-DQ typing. Those who tested positive for any of the serological tests were given an intestinal biopsy.

Sixteen patients (15%) showed positive celiac serology and five patients clear villous atrophy were diagnosed with celiac disease (4.8%; 95% CI 0.7-8.9). All five patients diagnosed with celiac disease, and 53 patients with Hashimotos thyroiditis (50%; 95% CI 43-62), showed the presence of HLA-DQ2 (and/or -DQ8).

In a separate test within the study, 184 Individuals with known celiac disease were given a serological test for thyroglobulin and thyroid peroxidase Antibodies, after first being given thyroid biochemical, a thyroxine-free thyroid stimulating hormone.

39 patients (21%) showed positive thyroid serology. According to thyroid biochemistry results, ten patients showed euthyroidism (5%; 95% CI 2-9), seven showed sub-clinical hypothyroidism (3.8%; 95% CI 1.8-7.6), and 22 patients showed overt hypothyroidism, Hashimotos thyroiditis (12%; 95% CI 8-16). Furthermore, four patients with celiac disease had Graves disease (2%; 95% CI 0.8-5) and one patient had post-partum thyroiditis.

The study concludes that there is a clear association between Hashimotos thyroiditis and celiac disease. Accordingly, it is recommended that patients with Hashimotos thyroiditis be screened for celiac disease and that patients with known celiac be screened for Hashimotos thyroiditis.

World Journal of Gastroenterology 2007
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Your wife should be evaluated and treated for thyroid function. She should also try a gluten-free diet. Gluten causes non-digestive organ autoimmune disorders via IgG antibodies. IgG antibodies take about 6 months to clear the body, so that's how long before she should start seeing complete relief.

Good luck.


P.S., The HLA DQ2 and HLA DQ8 terms mentioned above are antibody types which have been proven to cause autoimmune disease upon wheat ingestion. The body makes DQ antibodies directly from portions of the 6th human chromasome.

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Graves disease is hyperthyroidism not hypothyroidism - although with some of the treatments some people do indeed become hypothyroid eventually.