Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion #1 AS Web Support Group Hypothyroid + AS ..........anyone else ?

My daughter age 37 with 4 kids to care for and her own business was diagnosed 15 months ago with Hashimotos thyroiditis ........she was barely stabilising with that when her feet and hands became so painful she can barely walk or write and even driving is difficult
Now waiting for results of AS tests but looks like the medics have for far too long ignored the problems she endured before and after the last birth 6 years ago and claimed it was Symphis Pubis dysfunction and Spondylolythesis
before that from age 16 she had severe Endometriosis and then at 23 her gall bladder removed

I am still trying to find info on the link of all this other than Hashis and AS are both Auto Immune diseases
No one else in the family has AS
Her father has Hashimotos
2 Grandparents had RA after age of 60
Her niece has Coeliac

Seems to me there must be a pattern to this illness of AS and links to other conditions that the doctors fail to recognise sooner

I can't really help with facts - but one GP told me that autoimmune can run in families, not necessarily the same one but the tendency to develop them. Does she have other symptoms that point to AS?
I've also heard having AS makes you vulnerable to endometriosis -but only heard that. And hormone imbalances can affect the gallbladder, which might relate to the endometriosis. But who knows.

While you both are trying to figure things out, I think you should check out the No Starch Diet that's discussed on this site. The diet is specific for spondylarthritis, but I think it can benefit anyone with autoimmune. My sister-in-law has Hashimoto's and I understand she deals with quite a bit of pain, including joint, and fatigue.
She went on a very similar diet on the advice of a nutritionist and she's feeling much better. Her diet is really geared toward her Hashimoto's, like fermenting sea vegetables for the iodine. But at its most basic its cutting out starch. I know this doesn't replace thyroid supps and needed medication, and this is all so overwhelming, but it might help.

I've often wondered if my heart skips and gallbladder issues almost 10 years ago were an indicator of things to come. I've driven myself crazy trying to tie it all together. I think what's most important though is supporting her as you've shown by coming here and helping her find relief.
Good luck in your search for answers, Mary cay

She will indeed being going on the Starch free diet
She will also be seeing a Homeopath
www.cancerfungus.com is another fascinating site and the work of an Italian Doctor which may also be relevant
She will only think about things like Remicade,TNFs etc if all the above fails because neither of us has a lot of faith in the way Allopathic Medicine works

I am absolutely sure that there is a pattern to all of this which the medics are missing and probably not even looking for

Its my belief that what starts as Endometriosis or whatever and is suppresed by this that or the other allopathic meds migrates to the next target organ ...ie the liver ...then the spine ..then the hands and feet and so on ...the more meds you take and the more operations they do the more the thing spreads

my thyroid was slightly hypo, TSH = 6.0, so was put on synthroid by endocrinologist, a fairly lose dose, 50 mg i believe.

but the endocrinologist did a blood test to test for antibodies to the thyroid to test for autoimmune component to hypothyroidism (i think that was it) but it came back negative, and i do remember he was a little surprised, or maybe he was just hoping to find something to help point to autoimmune since he believes my musculoskeletal issues are autoimmune but the rheumies just seem stumped.

Sue22

One thing I can tell you after dealing with my husbands Thyroid Didease both Graves and Hashimotos over the course of 47 years is a TSH of 6 means you are Hypothyroid and 50mcg of synthyroid will never be enough to sort matters out
Its perfectly possible to be Hypothyroid without having Antibodies

see www.thyroiduk.org
www.drlowe.com
www.thyroidmanager.com

thanks for the information.

i understand about the TSH of 6 being hypothyroid, although the first endocrinologist and i got in a big fight about that. i wanted him to treat it, he said it was ok, so after i cried and refused to leave his office, he referred me to a thyroid specialist in town. and he had the insight to treat it.

i have a question for you. he started me on the 50 mg, and after a short time (can't remember how long), he redid my blood work (TSH, T3, T4, and some other stuff) and everything was within normal limits. my TSH was lowered to 1.82 and has remained there since he started treating me, about a year ago. so if my TSH is now down at 1.82, is that a good sign that it really is ok. or not?

another thing is, i've never really noticed any typical hypothyroid symptoms, never noticed any "improvements" of anything after the synthroid, etc. but i still figure it might be doing something for me that i just can't detect, some "invisible" symptom that's important.

or, even if my TSH seems adjusted, might i still be having trouble with my thyroid that i just don't know about?

i'll read your links too.

another development, this PA i see for my hormone therapy is going to have me test my adrenal glad with some kit. my cortisol levels were already tested by analyzing my urine collected over 24 hours, but the PA says this test isn't good enough. so maybe some connection with the adrenal gland? we'll see. any thoughts on that?

I am surprised that on 50mcg your TSH went back down to 1.83

Maybe you merely had a viral thyroiditis which affected the gland and its now OK

I do think Cortisol problems and adrenals have significant effect on the body but am surprised that a 24hr test is not considered good enough

Many consultants will not even consider Adrenal issues especially here in the UK

Hi worriedmum,
Just wanted to welcome you to KA.I cant comment on your question I dont know anything about Hypothyroid. Im sure you will get help from people here.

Kevin

i doubt it was a temporary problem, as over maybe 5-10 years, i watched it climb slowly from around 4 to 6, was below 2, maybe 15-20 years ago. so do think it was slowly getting worse and worse. but i do tend to be a good responder to medications, hormones, etc.

last week the PA was surprised that i responded so well to the prescription strength vitamin D. 3 months on it and my D went from 33 to 55, but then after 3 months on it and 1 month off, it dropped back down into the 40s, so i respond well, but obviously need to keep taking it, so on it now once a month instead of once a week, blood work soon will see if that's working, or if we need to change things around.

i'll let you know when i find out more about the test i'm supposed to take and how its different than that 24 hour test i did. i will say that when i read about adrenal fatigue, though i don't see all the symptoms, it is something that makes sense in how it could happen, in my late 20s, early 30s i had a very stressful time with a boss for over a year.

Hi worriedmum, There are so many autoimmune that can overlap and the HLA-B27 is present in a few of them. I can only give you my experience. The endometriosis I have been told by my docs that it is prevelant in women with AS. I never researched it, just took their word for it. I had severe endometriosis from my teens until after my son was born, hysterectomy. As far as the Hypothyroid, I'm not sure as mine is border Hyperthyroid with a TSH at 0.05.
Cindy