I had a follow-up appointment with an internal medicine doctor today. He's head of his department and a very good doctor. He told me I have Hashimoto's Disease, which is an autoimmune disease where my immune system attacks and eventually kills my thyroid. Thankfully, I do not have Lupus. As far being borderline on the anti-cardiolipin tests, he is running that again and is checking my T3 and T4 levels, doing a complete blood count, checking protein levels in the urine, and a few other tests including an ultra sound of my thyroid. I go back to see him in January.
I'm still trying to take this all in. I honestly didn't even know where my thyroid was until this past weekend. I'm not very medical savvy to say the least. Your thyroid is below your Adam's apple. Thankfully, if this disease kills my thyroid and it no longer functions, I can be on thyroid replacement medicine to keep my body functioning. That's the good news. The bad news is that every 6 months I need to go and have my thyroid levels checked or if I start having certain symptoms such as fatigue, hair loss, weight gain, and insomnia. I already battle insomnia and fatigue quite a bit which is not surprising. When you can't sleep you tend to be more fatigued.
I'm praying now that my anti-cardiolipin levels turn out normal. If they are not, then there's a good chance I have a blood clotting disorder as well. There are several names for this: Hughes Syndrome, Sticky Blood, and Antiphospholipid Syndrome - APS. Sadly, I have a few of the main symptoms of this disease - multiple miscarriages and headaches/migraines.
The cause of my miscarriages could be from a few things: thyroid problems, APS, or possible bad luck. Thyroid problems can cause miscarriages and sometimes thyroid problems occur in women after they have their first child. Since we now know I have a thyroid problem and have had two miscarriages, my doctor recommended that I see the following specialists: Endocrinologist (for future problems, I need to go ahead and find one), Maternal Fetal Specialist (for any future pregnancies), and continue to see an internal medicine doctor.
I'm also wondering how many women who develop PUPPPs during pregnancy or after giving birth have an autoimmune disorder.
If you know anything about Hashimoto's Disease or any other thyroid problems or blood clotting disorders, please let me know how you're coping with it. I hope you all have a blessed day.
I had it, found out when I was pregnant with my first. It truthfully is not all that big of a deal. You get your blood drawn every few months and normally they will put you on synthroid as a supplement to whatever the disease has "eaten" of your thyroid. Once you get on the right dose of synthroid every aspect of life is normal again. I know thyroid problems can cause miscarriages, but once controlled with meds you should be able to get pregnant and have healthy children. I now have 2 children and take care of my HD with synthroid. GL and try not to get too overwhelmed with a disease that is common and easily controlled.
ReplyDeleteMy mom, sister, brother and I all have Hashimoto's disease. When my mom had her thyroid looked at, doctors found a bunch of cancerous nodules on it and it had to be taken out. She has a pretty decent scar on her throat, but it saved her life. She's on thyroid replacement medicine and a couple others to support hormone regulation resulting in the loss of her thyroid. Hers went unnoticed for quite some time, and because of that it's progressed and has started attacking several other organs. Luckily she's doing quite well with medicine and plenty of rest. As for the rest of us, my sister does just fine on a medication to support her thyroid though eventually, they know it will have to be removed. (They know this only because she chooses to live a lifestyle that doesn't help her thyroid in the slightest. She chooses to drink and poison herself with other meaningless things.) My brother is mostly the same, he's at the partying age in his life and can't seem to give that up yet. He's in his early 20's and mostly bald already because of his lack of care and treatment of his body. As for me, it's a much happier ending. I was diagnosed at 16 so I was able to get a grip on it early and figure out what sacrifices I had to make without getting hooked on them first. I've never had any pregnancies or other things that could have spiked this, it's purely genes. My moms Hashimoto's most likely became worse as she continued to have miscarriages and successful pregnancies. Doctors tell me that if I follow my medicine plan religiously and treat my body well be eating the right foods and taking care of it, I'll eventually be able to get off the thyroid support medicine I'm on and I wont have a problem. I guess I'm sort of jump starting it now so it will maintain itself on its own in the future. Coping with it gets easier and easier. While it's a lot to take in all at once or within a short period of time, it's all valuable information. For me, it was easiest to take it one day at a time and make small realizations every day. The fact that you have this disease settles in, and everything after that isn't so bad. The initial shock wears off and your mind will go into 'how to live with it' mode. Luckily it's not a terribly hard disease to live with and so far in my families experience, it's been easily managed if willing. I wish you all the best in discovering all that you're about to learn. I know you guys eat relatively well, but you might consider having a food allergy test like BlueRock did. Most people with Hashimoto's have several allergies that make the thyroid run a little more rampant and deteriorate a little faster. Most of these foods are the tasty ones, but it's worth it in the end. Most allergies seem to be yeast, gluten, wheat, grains, etc. Sorry this is such a long comment but I had to share! :) I really hope some of this has helped you in some way! I'm glad you're getting all the answers now and know that babies with this disease are possible! I'm living proof! :)
ReplyDeletePS. it's worth it to do research on medications they want to give you. Most often they use synthroid (synthetic thyroid) but there is also a drug called levothyroxine also known as levoxyl. There are pros and cons to each, it comes down to what the doc says and a lot of what your preference is. Good luck and keep us updated!
KaylKrys
KaylKrys,
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your help and encouragement and suggestion to get my thyroid looked at to begin with. I really appreciate it! Thank you for sharing with me some of your family's history. I know very little about my family's medical history, Mom was adopted, Dad only knew his mom. I read this past week about thyroid problems running in families. I'm planning to have an allergy test done and have been considering getting rid of gluten for a while.
Anonymous, thanks for the encouragement too! Glad to know you both are managing this disease well.
-LE
I´ve had four miscarriages and now have a healthy daughter. After my third miscarriage I was diagnosed with a blood clotting disorder and put on Baby A´s before I got pregnant again and heparin after a heartbeat was confirmed. Hugs to you. Knowledge is power and it sounds like you´re well on the road. There is a really good clinic at the University in Heidelberg for women with repeat miscarriages and high-risk pregnancies. Check them out.
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