Normal time frame to diagnose HASHIMOTOS?

[wifemomteacher]

Hi, I don't remember if I've asked this on here before? Forgive me if anyone who is reading this remembers answering this question. If you get diagnosed with hashimotos after being pregnant and giving birth, does that auto-immune disorder ever go away? My symptoms have never gone away even though the doctor told me it was just postpartum and now I'm fine. That was 7 years ago. I have done test after test of T3 T4 and they are normal range every single time. I remember Barb135 advised me to request the TPO I believe it was, and that came back "normal but at the beginning stage of antibodies"!!!????? Any advice or help with be great. Thank you so much.

[Barb135]

Did you also have the Thyroglobulin Antibodies (TgAb) tested?  It's odd that I would have suggested that you only have TPOab tested since both are markers for Hashimoto's... How long ago was that?  It's possible that if you have them tested now, they'd be higher than they were at that time.  

Are you having Free T4 and Free T3 tested or Total T4 and Total T3?  They aren't the same tests and don't give the same information.  

Have you had a thyroid ultrasound to determine if you have any nodules on your thyroid?  Those can be an indication of Hashimoto's, as well as the antibody tests.

Hashimoto's can take years to do enough damage to cause actual thyroid hormone levels to go out of range, even though we can have symptoms throughout that time.  I believe I had it for as long as 20 years before my TSH and Free T4 actually went out of range.  When they did, it happened quickly and I understood why I felt like death warmed over.  

I, too, had low heart rate, shortness of breath, etc when I was severely hypo.  Just because your T4 and T3 are in the "normal" range doesn't mean they are adequate.  If you aren't getting the Free T4 and Free T3, you aren't getting up to date tests and if your results are too low in the ranges, your levels are not adequate.  

If you can post a couple sets of your latest results, with their corresponding reference ranges, we can better assess the labs that are being ordered and their results.

[wifemomteacher]

Thank you so much!!!!! On Tuesday I’m going to my doctor and showing him your entire response!!!!! I’m going to request the total and free. I believe mine were just the free. I’m also going to request the TgAb. He’s really good about giving me any test I want. Thanks so much for that. I will also get my labs Tuesday when I go in. Appreciate your help!!!!

[Barb135]

You don't really need the totals; for the most part, they're considered a waste of money as they're considered outdated, except under certain circumstances...  You just need the Frees, both Free T4 and Free T3.

If it's been a while since you had the TPOab (more than a year or so), you should ask to have it repeated, along with the TgAb.

[wifemomteacher]

Perfect. Thank you so much I will absolutely do that !!!!!!! Praying there’s elevations so I can finally get on some medicine to help my symptoms. First I have Hashimoto postpartum. Went because of symptoms. Then a month later doctor says it’s gobe and was just a pregnancy thing. But my symptoms have never gone away :(

[Red_Star]

Hi, I had serious shortness of breath and bradypnea (down to 6 breaths a minute) due to hypothyroidism and my pulse oximeter reading was normal.

I had hypoventilation - a reduced amount of air enters the alveoli in the lungs resulting in decreased levels of oxygen and increased levels of carbon dioxide in the blood.

To quote Wikipedia...

"Pulse oximetry measures solely hemoglobin saturation, not ventilation and is not a complete measure of respiratory sufficiency."

Do you have you current lab results?

[wifemomteacher]

Good to know. I’m going to next time request they check the entire measure of resources not just the pulse. Good information. Thank you.
Also, it’s not waking me up during the middle of the night to catch my breath. Only while I’m awake. So I’m wondering if I’m really getting enough oxygen and it’s just the feeling of not!??

[Red_Star]

This info is from Thyroid Patient Advocacy article Air Hunger To Death: Breathing Problems of Hypothyroid Patients...

"In The Metabolic Treatment of Fibromyalgia,[1] I explain various mechanisms of these patients air hunger, all of which result from too little thyroid hormone regulation. One mechanism is weakness of their respiratory muscles, including the diaphragm.[22-23]

Researchers call this weakness of respiratory muscles hypothyroid myopathy.

Another mechanism is impairment of the phrenic nerves that regulate contractions of the diaphragm. When impaired, these nerves send too few signals to the diaphragm for it to contract normally.[23]

A third mechanism is decreased central drive of respiration.[34]
This means that the brain centers that regulate breathing are impaired by too little thyroid hormone regulation.

Still another mechanism is abnormal heart and lung function.[14-15,20]

Some patients suffer from air hunger only when they exert themselves; others do so even at rest."

[wifemomteacher]

And another thing I am really afraid of, can this "air hunger" I keep experiencing not being able to catch a breath of relief unless I yawn, can this be brain hypoxia??? I have gone to doctors and ER before when short of breath....when feeling like I am starving for air, and they're checking my oxygen with a monitor placed on my finger to measure oxygen!!! Is that a safe thing for measuring oxygen to the brain? Is it the same thing? I've experienced these symptoms for over 3 years now. :'( My biggest fear is not having oxygen to brain or is what I'm experiencing just off signals from thyroid to heart to brain??? :'( Thanks so much to anyone who can help me better understand and answer this.