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help with labs and symptoms

I have been a nurse in critical care( ED) for many years.  However, I find myself lost to progress through a system I help to guide patient's through daily.  Over the past two years I have had a myriad of symptoms that have worsened( blood in my urine,protein in my urine, pelvic pain, progressing to severe fatigue, body aches, severe joint pain, severe exhaustion, etc).  I am NOT a hypochondriac!  My primary doctor found my TSH to be high and put me on low dose medication. My symptoms have gotten worse every month, my TSH continued to elevate despite higher doses of thyroid medication.  I had to push my doctor to order inflammatory and autoimmune testing. My RA factor was high with normal CRP and Ana values.  I finally was able to see a rheumatologist two months ago who ordered a full thyroid panel and thyroid antibodies.  My FT4 was low, FT3 normal, TSH still high.   The highest was 7.5 on 125mg of medication.  My TPO AB was almost 600.  She told me I most likely had autoimmune thyroiditis causing all of my symptoms.  Since that time I finally decided it was time to let my primary doctor for the past nine years go and seek another provider, so we started all over. My recent labs showed all of my tests were in normal range except my TPO AB which is  400.  My Throglobulin AB is normal.  Can anyone PLEASE tell me what this means?  Especially in light that I can hardly stand the pain and exhaustion I deal with everyday.  How could my labs be better and my symptoms worse?  I am very depressed and I just want to feel like a normal human again.  If anyone out there has any ideas about what I said please, PLEASE let me know.  I am at the end of my rope.
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Avatar universal
I am certainly no renal expert and this is not a forum that can help much in that area, but I can't help but wonder about your kidney functions, low-grade infections, and the possibility of more than one thing going on. Nurses (especially ER and critical care) are notorious for getting low-grade UTIs that often go upstream to their kidneys, causing low-grade inflammation. They are also famed for not taking care of themselves until they become a patient out of default. Their diets are commonly "grab and goes" (high carb, high caffeine) and ibuprofen is taken like candy to get them through their shifts. Sound familiar?
I would not be surprised if your vitamin D is low and if /when your T-3/4 levels get to their "happy place" that your body pain and exhaustion clears up. If you have not, I would also highly recommend getting tested for systemic yeast (Drs rarely test for this). One more thing to consider is your liver. Are your liver enzymes elevated at all? Some liver diseases are pretty subtle (like Hep C and fatty liver) yet can affect almost every hormone (thyroid, estrogen/progesterone, vasopressin, insulin levels, etc.) in you body. Unfortunately, if you are part of the U.S. health care system, Drs don't treat our bodies as a whole -just a bunch of parts or systems and even if you go to a ton of specialists, you still may not find the problem. You are right. It is not normal to feel the way you do.

I'm a paramedic and for many years I also had worsening symptoms that I initially attributed to aging, working full-time, and being a Mom. It took 7 kidney stones, a gall bladder surgery, and a thorough Naturopath to figure out the complete picture of what was going on. Turns out I had a parathyroid tumor, Hep C from a dirty needle stick, low vitamin D, a wheat gluten sensitivity, and Hashimoto's thyroiditis. (I have not liked my 40's much!) I am happy to say the tumor was removed, the Hep C treatment (friggin chemo for 6 months!) was successful, the vitamin D levels were corrected, and now the thyroid issues are being stabilized. I have energy, my flanks don't hurt, I am no longer exhausted, my bones and joints don't hurt, the palpitations and insomnia (and anxiety) are gone, and I can think clearly. Feeling better has definitely been worth it -but it took a lot of detective work and persistence to get there. I wish you luck and that your issues are easier to figure out. ((((((((((((((((HUGZ)))))))))))))~MM
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Avatar universal
A positive RA test could be the result of Hashimotos/thyroid disease. My original(false) diagnosis 17 yrs ago was RA b/c I had an elevated test. I don't have RA, and I'd love to smack the doc that told me I had it and would be crippled in about 15 yrs lol. But I digress, your aches could be the result of hashi, however I'm not sure if the pelvic pain is in correlation with hashi. I would ask to have an u/s on your lower region, as well as a pap.
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649848 tn?1534633700
COMMUNITY LEADER
Please post the actual results and reference ranges for the last set of tests done by your new doctor.  The terms "low" and "normal" don't help us, because it depends on "how low" or where your levels fall within a "normal" range -- some of us have levels that fall within the normal lab range, but that doesn't mean it's normal for our individual body.  Reference ranges are important because they vary from lab to lab, so must come from your own report.

Have you seen a urologist regarding the blood and protein in your urine?  Or has anyone suggested treatment for that and the pelvic pain?  Those symptoms make me wonder about a possible pelvic organ prolapse.  

I agree that you have autoimmune thyroiditis (otherwise known as Hashimoto's Thyroiditis); however, the high RA factor makes me wonder if the thyroiditis is "all" that's going on.  Did the rheumy rule out RA, and if so, why?
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