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Interferon Damaging the Thyroid

Does anyone know anything about this?

I was very relieved to get my UnD...but hearing that my thyroid is being damaged by the Interferon and that it actually may need to be removed has me a bit freaked (as you can imagine).

Does anybody know anything about the thyroid at all? What this might be about? What the thyroid does etc etc.

I am googling it of course but think if anyone else has had any thyroid issues - it would be more helpful to me to hear what you have to say.

It's ALWAYS something = get the good news with the bad and keep on fighting that fight.

40 Responses
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634590 tn?1293774093
Actually my TSH 5.64 is the result of 22.12.2008. Im affraid now it will be too high. that is why i m so worried about it. i feel very bad which i dont have words to expplain.
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634590 tn?1293774093
Oh sorry it waz too old post
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179856 tn?1333547362
gosh it's hard to believe how long ago I wrote that post now - two years ago!

I've been on Synthroid since then and it manages my thyroid perfectly.  I take 88mcg a day and my TSH is at about a constant .6 which is just fine.

Of course, I wish it had never happened but looking back I see how much I was over-reacting (easy to do when you are scared right?) but for the past few years I've just taken the magic pill and been fine.

I'll be on it for the rest of my life. I treated for 72 weeks (last shot was 2 years ago last night I believe) so at the point when it all happened I was only at week 24 or so (then at like 27 or so i think is when it went to Hypo from Hyper).....doing the additional 48 weeks meant I had to lose the thyoid for good but I"ve been SVR for 2 years so.....it was a fair tradeoff I guess.

Do you remaining weeks - and hopefully yours will balance out again afterwards. I just didn't have a chance.

Good luck.

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Avatar universal
I can't find any thread/post of yours where you correspond with the doctor on the thyroid forum. Perhaps you meant you corresponded with other patients at the thyroid forum?
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Avatar universal
This is the answer I got from the doctor on the thyroid forum, when I was in a similar situation as you with TSH of 7.3 mlE/L and 3 weeks left to go of treatment and no possibility to get medical care for the thyroid.

"Interferon increases the risk of autoimmune thyroid disease.  This TSH abnormality is relatively mild and should not interfere with the remaining 3 weeks.  Would consider repeating the TSH and obtain thyroid auto-antibodies at the end of treatment and re-evaluating the need for thyroid specific treatment.  Once the immune system attacks the thyroid, it may become a chronic problem - so 3 more weeks of IFN are not likely to make a difference in the long-run."

You can read the entire thread here:
http://www.medhelp.org/posts/show/452512

I did the three weeks I had left of tx. At EOT my TSH was already down to 4.2. 6 weeks post tx TSH was 2.9.

Stop worrying, do your remaining weeks, and perhaps you will be as lucky as I was. You are almost done.
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634590 tn?1293774093
I am on week 20 of 24. After week 13 the thyroid test results were as under


TSH    5.64         Normal    0.5 to 7.0
T3      2.10          Normal    1.08 to 3.14
T4      118           Normal    59-135

I was told sub clinical hypo problem on thyroid forum. Doc on the thyroid forum said that modern lab standard for TSH is 0.3 to 3.0.  Value between 3.0 to 10.00 is considered sub clinical hypothyroid and above 10 is considered hypothyroid. He said that you should treat you thyroid so that it could not convert from sub clinical hypothyroid to hypothyroid. He also said to check Free T3, Free T4 and antibodies.  I talked to my GI and he said that nothing is wrong all the figures are in normal range. Normal is Normal. He has not asked for further test again. He is unaware of modern research about normal TSH level. I m extremely fatigued, weak, light headed and feel very bad like im dying. I feel very tired particularly legs and back of the neck area. When I go to sleep my BP goes too down. Some times I have to sit during walking because my head starts spinning an I feel im falling.  i have lost a very little hair. You can say my hair are thin than before tx. My symptoms are so similar with interferon sx that it is hard to diagnose whether it is due to thyroid or interferon. Why Lab showed normal range of TSH 0.5 to 7.0??? They are not update and using old standards.  Im confused. I m taking macobalamin with doc advice which is helping very little for numbness of arms. Im confused whether I should treat my thyroid and check it once again or not???
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Avatar universal
CHECK OUT THE FORUM AT ABOUT.COM THYROID SECTION RUN BY MARY SHOMAN
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Avatar universal
YOU NEED TO GET YOUR FREE T3 TESTED TO SEE IF YOUR BODY IS CONVERTING YOUR T4 INTO T3 THATS THE ONLY WAY TO KNOW FOR SURE WHATS GOING ON
DO TSH    T4 FREE     WITH T3 FREE ALSO
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Avatar universal
I developed serious thyroid issues around the 30th week.  I got so sick that I collapsed in my kitchen and could not walk.  My skin was literally peeling off the bottom of my feet.  My skin felt like sandpaper.  I had headaches, etc.  I was told that the interferon can aggravate and underlying thyroid condition, which I did not know I had.  I was also told that thyroid problems can be hereditary.  It has taken the drs. 6 months to get my tsh back to normal. It is probably permanent, and I may have to get mine out,  I would almost go as far as to say this thyroid crash was worse than the tx sides(although this would classify as one!)
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Avatar universal
As others have said, thyroid problems are common on tx. In my case I was diagnosed as hyper, and then a few weeks later it swung to hypo - again, a not an unheard of condition. This yo-yo stuff was extremely confusing and I had every symptom listed at some time during the months before I stabilized on the hypo side. Before you let anybody "yank" anything, you might want to see and endocrinologist and see what he/she thinks. Autoimmune responses are very common on tx. There is a predictive test for that and as I remember the norm is somewhere in the low double digits and mine was over 2000! The good news is that you can function just fine without a thyroid - (I think that's what I'm doing now although the gland is still in place). Whether or not I'll reagain any normal function at any point in the future, now that I'm off treatment, I'll probably never find out because the stuff I take now is working just fine and I'm not going to rock the boat by stopping! Good luck, try not to worry too much - thyroids aren't in the same class with livers!
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Avatar universal
Hi Deb.  Just read about your UnD.  Fabulous news!!!  I knew you would do it, through sheer determination, if nothing else!  Hope you get the thyroid issue resolved as well.  Wishing you all the best.  DJ
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Avatar universal
Good morning, at janis and friends under the the (other health concerns) messages is a good article on interferon related thyroid diseases. Have a good one.

Dyce
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Avatar universal
http://jcem.endojournals.org/cgi/content/full/89/8/3656
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Avatar universal
yep you are hyper-check out the thryoid forum here @ medhelp there are lotsa folks that are hyper and there are meds you can take to fix it-you might even be one of the lucky ones that only have a temp effect while on tx
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Avatar universal
the good news/bad news cliche at work!
here is a link to NY thyroid center
http://cpmcnet.columbia.edu/dept/thyroid/
good luck!
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86075 tn?1238115091
My older brother (he's much older, he's now 72, remember my dad is 98, this brother is from his first wife who is not my mother. My dad was married 25 years to her and 53 years to my my mother....YIKES!)

Anyway, he had hyper-active thyroid, he got so weak he could hardly walk accross the room, what they did was take out his thyroid (I guess they radiate it off? not sure, guess you better search-engien it) and then put him on thyroid drugs that duplicate the hormones...that was kind of a process until they found the right amount for him, and I'm not sure but they still might have to tweak it now and then...positive take away from all of this is he's as good as new now and it really didn't take that long...he's thankful he had one of the only glandular conditions that they can actually "do" something about he said...I know it's just anecdotal but I hope this helps...

here's hoping you get better soon....
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92903 tn?1309904711
Even if you do go down the road of Forsee's bro, I hear it's not that bad. In fact, a lot of famous people have had it, and you might never know. Remember the tranny dude from Rocky Horror? See?

Plan on a scarf to cover the adam's apple and weekly facial wxings, and no one will ever know....
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Avatar universal
My TSH is LOW at .01 (regular is .049 - 4.70) it's almost as if they are non-existant.

The TOTAL T4 is 10 (regular is 4.50 - 12.00) so that looks fine.

Does anybody UNDERSTAND the difference of TSH vs T4s and T3s?

I read it but of course I'm not too bright.

I believe that means my thyroid is HYPERactive like the doctor had said last night in total confusion like he was mystified (he is a GI) Only I am not losing weight or anything - I don't eat all that much (except I thought I wasn't losing anymore because of the ice cream LOL)

Does anybody understand this stuff?

PS IT WAS GREAT TO SEE MY REPORT <50 HCV RNA ,<1.70 HCV RNA QN PCR

I just wish the paper just said in big bold letters UNDETECTIBLE - that would have been cool LOL.

FINALLY

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86075 tn?1238115091
hi, ole Goof and I are of the school that it's better to laugh then to cry...I know you are too...but he's right, (if you do have to go this route) it wasn't that bad, you know me, I grilled him on it...and it didnt take that long at all till he was really well, he said it was so fast it surprised him...so yeah, definitely go to a good endo guy and see what's up...my girlfriend (I know some people are thinking, how many friends you got? WHATEVER!) had to have hers taken out because of the treatment and she's fine now, busy with her life...forgot about her..ha ha! she said getting clear of the virus was well worth it to her...

anyway, hope you get some answers soon! Guess old Ringo was right when he said "you know it don't come easy"...
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96938 tn?1189799858
Married for 78 years!!! God Bless that man.  I've been married for a quarter of that and it feels like twice that number.  Hope you have those longevity genes too.
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85135 tn?1227289772
I am so relieved you are ND. I've been on edge all week for your results.
Stay the course and slay the dragon.

Dana
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Avatar universal
Just a thought.  It may bounce back on its own.  Mine did.  That doesn't mean it won't happen to me again but the second blood test a few weeks later showed all was normal.  Since you aren't losing any more weight, maybe you will bounce back.  Course, you may not have any more weight to loose either. lol

Just hoping for you.

missmiss
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Avatar universal
hi nygirl,

brilliant news on the undetectable - that is well deserved, but the thyroid is a bit uncalled for, I know exactly what you mean about the good news bad news, seems to be the story of my life too!!!!! Don't have any experience of thyroid, so I am afraid I cannot offer any advice there, but just wanted to offer some support. you seem so strong and positive so I am certain that you will deal with whatever your thyroid may or may not throw at you.

Best of luck,

x
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Avatar universal
You said  what they did was take out his thyroid (I guess they radiate it off? not sure, guess you better search-engien it)

NOW I know why the doctor said what he said about taking it out - I guess it's harder to make it stop OVERworking than UNDERworking which you can supplement with medications!


Man I do NOT want to have an operation like that - it had better resolve itself (even though I read it very rarely happens after treatment we can see above it DOES happen).

I mean how do you go through your life without such an important thing like that it seems to run everything?

Oh God now I am scared. That IS what he had said about taking it out and radiating and all that - exactly.

Made doc appt for Thursday afternoon I know she is just going to refer me to an Endo doctor so I am taking Friday off - I'll get in there one way or another on that day if I have to sit there all day long. This is scary!
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