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Questions posted in the
Neurology and Neurosurgery Forum have been answered by doctors from The Cleveland Clinic Foundation.
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Subject: Re: fatigue associated with autoimune disease I have been diagnoised with rheumatoid arthristis and hashimotos thyroiditis. The endo doc said my blood levels for thyroid were normal and is not going to treat me for the hashimotos. I am currently taking voltaren (sp?) for my rheumatoid arthritis. My concerns are the following.......My neck is puffy and so is my face I am extremely tired all the time, even after a great nights sleep......These seem to be symptom of the thyroid and from what I understand can be relieved by synthroid or some other drug...both parents and my sister have hypothyroidism and this is what they take. I have seen a big change in them.....so why wouldn't the doc put me on something for hashimoto's? and do you think the extreme fatigue and puffiness could be caused by the rheumatoid arthritis? That is what my doctor seems to think. Should I contact my rheumatologist to see if there is some other kind of medicine he can put me on to control the fatigue and puffiness? I know this is the neurology forum, but I really need some answers and not sure where else to go. I am really tired of being tired! Thanks in advance for all your help. Debbie Schmidt
Thanks for your question. Your symptoms are indeed suggestive of hypothyroidism. As you probably know the auto-immune/inflammatory process of the Hashimoto's thyroiditis can manisfest as a hyperthyroid/euthyroid/hypothyroid state initially, but will most frequently progress to a hypothyroid state when the damage to the thyroid gland is severe enough. You mentioned blood tests indicating proper thyroid hormone levels, but were those tests recent? Is it possible that your current symptoms are a much more recent development? Because of your diagnosis of Hashimoto's your physician should ascertain that you are indeed euthyroid before investigating other possibilities such as your Rheumatoid Arthritis. I hope this information is helpful. Best of luck. This information is provided for general medical education purposes only. |
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