Aa
Hypopigmentation
Hello,
I am an African American female that was recently diagnosed with thyroid antibodies. My tests are almost back to normal as the Endocrinologist has been monitoring my TSH. It is now 2.5. I am feeling normal most days, except I am a brown skin female, and I have noticed over a course of 5 years that my skin on my face is getting considerably lighter. I have a brown patch of my old skin color around my eyes and my upper cheeks. Every other place on my face is very light. Is this skin change consistent with hypothyrodism? I have has tests for arthritis and lupus and they both came back negative, on two occasions. I had a baby and was diagnosed with subacute thyroiditis.
I am an African American female that was recently diagnosed with thyroid antibodies. My tests are almost back to normal as the Endocrinologist has been monitoring my TSH. It is now 2.5. I am feeling normal most days, except I am a brown skin female, and I have noticed over a course of 5 years that my skin on my face is getting considerably lighter. I have a brown patch of my old skin color around my eyes and my upper cheeks. Every other place on my face is very light. Is this skin change consistent with hypothyrodism? I have has tests for arthritis and lupus and they both came back negative, on two occasions. I had a baby and was diagnosed with subacute thyroiditis.
My baby is 11 months now. I started feeling bad when she was about 4 months. Here are my scores and TPO. She diagnosed me with subacute thyroiditis, but never started any treatment.
June Tests
T4,Free(Direct) 1.23 0.61-1.76 ng/dL
TSH 0.006 0.450-4.500 uIU/mL L
Thyroid Stimulating Immunoglob 110 0-129 %
Triiodothyronine (T3) 145 85-205 ng/dL
Thyroid Peroxidase (TPO) Ab 154 0-34 IU/mL H
July Tests
T4,Free(Direct) 0.71 0.61-1.76 ng/dL
TSH 6.080 0.450-4.500 uIU/mL H
Triiodothyronine (T3) 86 85-205 ng/dL
June Tests
T4,Free(Direct) 1.23 0.61-1.76 ng/dL
TSH 0.006 0.450-4.500 uIU/mL L
Thyroid Stimulating Immunoglob 110 0-129 %
Triiodothyronine (T3) 145 85-205 ng/dL
Thyroid Peroxidase (TPO) Ab 154 0-34 IU/mL H
July Tests
T4,Free(Direct) 0.71 0.61-1.76 ng/dL
TSH 6.080 0.450-4.500 uIU/mL H
Triiodothyronine (T3) 86 85-205 ng/dL
Nelly,
You said your doctor diagnoised you with "thyroid antibodies" what tests were done? What was the actual diagnoises?
When thyroid antibodies are present - more so the TPOab abd Tgab's ( which are Hashimoto/hypothyroidism) any other autoimmune diseases can be reared up and pronouced. Usually antibody's will pair up in three's.
The thyroid can be called the master gland in most of the type of issues, meaning, it once it falls out of whack - other antibodies rear up and start a destruction on other parts of the body.
The test you list above - do not seem like the right tests. There is a difference in a T3 and a "free" T3 test. Also the T4 can be just a measurement of total T4 too that is less of a test than the free.
The vilitago is common with thyroid disease in Afican American women in particular. It is a major issue for the white population too, but the pigmentation change is not as noticable in white hypothyroidism as it is in black. My sister is one who lost all her pigmentation in certain areas.There was no fading in her situation. She is a white woman.
I think ( if I was forced to look at your TSH level) you most likely are Hashimoto. Hashimoto levels are better at - or around a .5 to a 1.0 on the TSH scale. This is in most Hashimoto patients.
How long ago was the baby born?
You said your doctor diagnoised you with "thyroid antibodies" what tests were done? What was the actual diagnoises?
When thyroid antibodies are present - more so the TPOab abd Tgab's ( which are Hashimoto/hypothyroidism) any other autoimmune diseases can be reared up and pronouced. Usually antibody's will pair up in three's.
The thyroid can be called the master gland in most of the type of issues, meaning, it once it falls out of whack - other antibodies rear up and start a destruction on other parts of the body.
The test you list above - do not seem like the right tests. There is a difference in a T3 and a "free" T3 test. Also the T4 can be just a measurement of total T4 too that is less of a test than the free.
The vilitago is common with thyroid disease in Afican American women in particular. It is a major issue for the white population too, but the pigmentation change is not as noticable in white hypothyroidism as it is in black. My sister is one who lost all her pigmentation in certain areas.There was no fading in her situation. She is a white woman.
I think ( if I was forced to look at your TSH level) you most likely are Hashimoto. Hashimoto levels are better at - or around a .5 to a 1.0 on the TSH scale. This is in most Hashimoto patients.
How long ago was the baby born?
Sounds like you could be deficient in B-12....you should have your levels checked. You need to be in the upper end of the normal scale.
My doctor hasn't treated me at all. The endo mentioned that she will watch it to determine if it goes back to normal on it's own. She didn't want to start medication because she believed it would resolve on it's own. I was at a TSH of 6, a month ago, now it is at 2.5. It seems like it is going back to normal as she said when I was diagnosed as hyper. I recently had a child and it seemed to affect my thyroid shortly after. I was hyper, then hypo. While it is still high, it seems to be going down in comparison to last month. Here are my numbers from a few days ago. Any help is appreciated.
T4,Free(Direct) 1.13
TSH 2.530
Triiodothyronine (T3) 105
I just read about the allergies and I have the same issues. When my allergies get bad my face gets worse. I am taking magnesium and calcium. My join pain isn't bad at all. I get it maybe twice a year.
T4,Free(Direct) 1.13
TSH 2.530
Triiodothyronine (T3) 105
I just read about the allergies and I have the same issues. When my allergies get bad my face gets worse. I am taking magnesium and calcium. My join pain isn't bad at all. I get it maybe twice a year.
Nelly, I am wondering first of all why the doc believes that your 2.5 TSH is normal. I did not feel well at a 2.5 TSH. If you have positive antibodies for Hashimoto's, then you should be treated according to your FreeT3 and FreeT4 levels. What are those?
You sound like you are still hypo. Dry skin is a classic hypo problem.
People with Hashimoto's Auto-immune thyroiditis get Lupus symptoms because they are both auto-immune diseases. My rashes and joint pain are better now that I am on a higher level of thyroid hormone.
My skin is pale white. I get these red patches on my face. That has improved with the thryoid meds, but I have also switched moisturizer and I am using one with no fragrance, etc. I am also taking a combination antacid (Zantac) and antihistimine (Zyrtec and Flonase) to combat the skin condition which seems to worsen with allergies.
I also take Magnesium three times a day for the joint pain. It has helped tremendously. Also, remember to take your vitamins, pills, etc, four hours after taking your thryoid meds.
Article on Hashi and rashes:
http://www.urticaria.thunderworksinc.com/pages/whatis.htm
Article on Hashi and joint pain:
http://www.thyroidtalk.com/Hashimotosjoint.html
Also, my last endo couldn't explain the rashes and joint pain and she primarily treated my TSH. I switched to an endo who KNOWS how to treat thryoid disease. First, I called his office and they told me he treated both the FreeT3/T4 levels and 75 percent of his patients are thryoid, not diabetes.
Site where I found my endo:
http://www.thyroid-info.com/topdrs/
:) Tamra
You sound like you are still hypo. Dry skin is a classic hypo problem.
People with Hashimoto's Auto-immune thyroiditis get Lupus symptoms because they are both auto-immune diseases. My rashes and joint pain are better now that I am on a higher level of thyroid hormone.
My skin is pale white. I get these red patches on my face. That has improved with the thryoid meds, but I have also switched moisturizer and I am using one with no fragrance, etc. I am also taking a combination antacid (Zantac) and antihistimine (Zyrtec and Flonase) to combat the skin condition which seems to worsen with allergies.
I also take Magnesium three times a day for the joint pain. It has helped tremendously. Also, remember to take your vitamins, pills, etc, four hours after taking your thryoid meds.
Article on Hashi and rashes:
http://www.urticaria.thunderworksinc.com/pages/whatis.htm
Article on Hashi and joint pain:
http://www.thyroidtalk.com/Hashimotosjoint.html
Also, my last endo couldn't explain the rashes and joint pain and she primarily treated my TSH. I switched to an endo who KNOWS how to treat thryoid disease. First, I called his office and they told me he treated both the FreeT3/T4 levels and 75 percent of his patients are thryoid, not diabetes.
Site where I found my endo:
http://www.thyroid-info.com/topdrs/
:) Tamra
It probably is hormone related! BUT if you want to make sure, go to a dermatologist and get a biobsy of the skin, anything that might be an underlying cause will show ...if it's hormone related"i have seen this" nothing will show in the biopsy! I'm a licensed skin care professional. Thyroid can do some weird stuff to our poor skin. hope you find some help with this :)
Just happened to read your post and it sounds like your doctor is medicating you based on TSH. Is that correct? If so, that doesn't work. TSH is a pituitary hormone that is affected by many variables, including the time of day when blood is drawn. At best it is an indicator, to be considered along with the more important indicators, which are symptoms, along with the actual biologically active thyroid hormones, FT3 and FT4. In addition, just having FT3 and FT4 within the low limits of their very broad reference ranges frequently leaves patients with lingering hypo symptoms. And relief of symptoms is what it should be all about. In my opinion the very best way to treat a thyroid patient is to test and adjust the levels of FT3 and FT4 with whatever meds are required to alleviate symptoms, without being constrained by resultant TSH levels. The difficult part of this is getting your doctor to treat your symptoms in this manner, but if the doctor will not agree, then I suggest that you start looking for a good thyroid doctor. Unfortunately a good thyroid odctor is not easy to find.
I was on birth control for one year back when I was 19, and I am 30 now. When I was on it my skin seemed to be fine back then. I started noticing problems 7 years ago after I had my first child. I do believe it is hormone related. I have had every test possible over a 5 year span. I saw an endo for the 2nd time in March and I was hyperthyroid. My TSH was .006. When I saw the rheumatologist I had a high c-reactive protein score of 10. Currently my TSH has leveled out at 2, and my t-3 and t4 are also good now. The endo told me that I would be hyper, then hypo, then the thyroid should go back to normal.
Yes, I told her all of my symptoms. I have had joint pain, fatigue, and migraines in the past. I have joint pain a couple times a year and the migraines have stopped for about 3 years now. The endo seemed a little surprised by the rashes on my arms which seem to make my skin darker and the rashes on my face that make my skin lighter. She suggested I see a Dr. that was able to perform tests for autoimmune disorders such as lime disease, arthritis, and lupus. I had them all done and they are negative.
Have you brought the skin change to the endo's attemtion? It does sound like vitiligo. Are you on any form of birth control? that can sometimes cause pigment changes in the skin, other hormones can effect the skin as well. Vitiligo doesn't mimic rashes, the skin remains smooth, just loses pigment.
I see what your saying now, yeah this skin disorder is like a rash. I wondered at one time if it was Lupus but all tests cleared me of it. Michael J. and I are the same skin color back when his skin was darker, but I can see how my skin color is changing to a lighter color. I hope I am able to find some answers. I am using makeup to cover up now. People aren't able to notice like I can, but I want my skin to go back to normal. Thank you so much for the information.
Vitaligo is a skin pigment anti-bodi only. It is not a rash, and it does not itch. No redness, no inflamation, no dryness or flakes. Normal skin without the color - its almost pale.
Vitaligo can be many places on the body, and usually is.
I heard M. Jackson did have Vitaligo and chose to have the rest of his skin 'bleached' so he was one color with no blotches. That is actually a treatment for dark skinned people with Vitaligo, but MJ took it too far, the blotches were gone but he was white as paper.
Vitaligo can be many places on the body, and usually is.
I heard M. Jackson did have Vitaligo and chose to have the rest of his skin 'bleached' so he was one color with no blotches. That is actually a treatment for dark skinned people with Vitaligo, but MJ took it too far, the blotches were gone but he was white as paper.
I have a lot of patches, like scaly and itchy. Sometimes it gets red if it is irritated. I was told by the dermatologist that it is sebhorreic dermatitis. But I have seen pictures of other African Americans with the skin condition and it doesn't seem to make the skin lighter. Also I don't have any flakes. The perimeter of my face is darker than the rest of my face. Is the vitiligo on your face only? My pigment issue hasn't change the color of my face to white like Michael Jacksons, it just makes it a much lighter shade.
Everyone with hypo is different. I have Vitaligo (light low pigment blotches) in places. But I am white so its more noticeable in the summer as Vitaligo does not tan at all. Some years it spreads and it seems to go into remission, but never reverses. This is rare but people that have it also (usually) are Hoshi too.
Your case is a little different, no blotches? But sounds related (skin pigment anti-bodies).
Your case is a little different, no blotches? But sounds related (skin pigment anti-bodies).
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