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hives-like rash with hypothyroidism
I was diagnosed with hypothyroid about 10 years ago. At the time of diagnosis, I had a red rash all over my legs and torso. In time that went away, but over the course of years I've developed a skin condition similar to hives. They appear nearly anywhere, but rarely on my face or scalp. Have any of you ever experienced anything like this? Do you think it is associated with my thyroid? Over the years I've changed laundry detergents, soaps, etc...I use every hypoallergenic product I can find.
Any ideas?
Any ideas?
Last year I was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's B-cell lymphoma which evidenced mainly in skin lesions, and itchiness, worse at times than other times. I was using light therapy at the advice of my dermatologist, plus antihistamines. Six months later, with the itch mainly controlled or tolerable, I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer, and shortly after that an itchy rash spread rapidly from my breast line down my body, even to my feet. Very hard to sleep! In late September I had my thyroid removed and within 36 hours my itchy rash disappeared. That was 2 months ago, and I am now on synthroid, and the itchy rash has not returned (I so hope it never does!). The interconnection seems too obvious to discount. I still have some itchiness from the lymphoma (tolerable) but no rash. Glad to rid of one cause of itch!
Have any of you ever heard of adrenal fatigue? It may be the cause of your dizziness, lightheadedness, fatigue, red bumps. Dr. LAM has a website online that could help you!
TSH is a pituitary hormone that is affected by so many things that, at best it is only an indicator of thyroid status, to be considered along with more important indicators such as symptoms, and also levels of the biologically active thyroid hormones, Free T4 and Free T3. So, having your TSH level reduced by going gluten free is not conclusive of your thyroid levels going back to normal. What symptoms do you have now? What are your Free T3 and Free T4 levels?
What thyroid levels are you talking about that "went back to normal" after going gluten free?
I have heard that getting too much fluoride can harm the thyroid, so the distilled water is a great idea. I had to give up tea as the leaves absorb fluoride...and I Love tea. I also went Gluten free and my thyroid levels went back to normal. I don't know if there is more I need to do as like so many on here the doctor did not believe me when I was telling him I was taking 4 baths a day to get warm, all he said was well, your thyroid levels look normal.
I too had the rash on my legs 2 years prior to realizing my thyroid was being killed off.
I too had the rash on my legs 2 years prior to realizing my thyroid was being killed off.
ive been taking thyroid medication since I was 11..im 45 now ....150 mcg ...last few years switched to 137 felt great till .I started gettn hives and other problems .......my tsh was a lil so i switched back to 150 ...I started drinking bottled water instead of tap water ...even better I drink distilled water ...my hives have kinda diminished .....my advice to everyone try and avoid chlorine ...take short showers and leave your bathroom door open ..drinking bottled or distilled water should rid your hives ...good luck .....I went through a 2 year panic ugh .....but its manageable
I have hypothyroidism, coeliac disease and associated hashimotos disease.. Recently I had hives which I associated with a stressful situation and then a cold weather change. The hives went but I am very slow to recover from a cold and I have a rash on the back of my scalp. so I now take pig thyroid from Thailand which can just be chewed so no fillers, coatings etc and is partly absorbed sub lingually..
What I am curious about is why we are not advised to take iodine as it is the raw material the thyroid has to work with and most of our modern diets are low in it. Also much of our water contains chlorine and fluoride, both halogens - each in turn prevents the uptake of the next halogen on the periodical table, and iodine is the one after those two!.
What I am curious about is why we are not advised to take iodine as it is the raw material the thyroid has to work with and most of our modern diets are low in it. Also much of our water contains chlorine and fluoride, both halogens - each in turn prevents the uptake of the next halogen on the periodical table, and iodine is the one after those two!.
I developed an itchy small white bump like rash starting on the back of my neck and radiating down my back and to my chest between my breast and down on to my rib cage. It itchs like crazy and I was just diagnosed with hyperthyroidism and weight gain, I have noticed minimal hair loss but a small amount and also purple dots on my upper right arm and some muscle fatigue and general fatigue every day at 3 pm I crash hard usually. Did anyone find relief form the itching or get weight gain with hyperthyroidism undercontrol? and yes I mean HYPER thyroidism. I get all the draw backs with none of the perks.
0) ACT ASP, because if you are suffering from hypothyroidism, it can adversely affect your relationship with your loved ones, in an irreversible way. ACT NOW!
1) Stop eating anything that has goitrogens, unless they get cooked really well. (Please look them up.)
2) Stop taking estrogen containing hormones, and/or eating anything that has soy (because it produces estrogen in the body, too.) Also, if youare not vegetarian yet, begin avoiding animal byproducts, since they contain hormones, too, which throw off your body's own hormonal balances.
3) Immediately go for a blood test, in order to check for hypothyroidism. They usually only look for TSH. But, insist that they look for free T4 and from T3, too, as I will explain further below.
4) If it is found that you are suffering from hypothyroidism, the doctor will put you on synthetic thyroid hormones (T4 hormones) for about 3 months, and will then check your blood again. If your TSH does not fall below 2.5, the doctor will still give you a higher dose, and will then check you again in 3 months. This process will repeat, until your TSH falls below 2.5. (Some doctors are too conservative, and will not try to bring your TSH down to 2.5 or lower, and they only go by numbers. But, symptoms are more important than the numbers, as each person has their own metabolism. So, this is where the free T4 and free T3 come in handy. By having a history of how they change, it can become easier to convince the doctor that maybe you should get more T4 hormone, or maybe even more T3 hormone.)
Good luck!
1) Stop eating anything that has goitrogens, unless they get cooked really well. (Please look them up.)
2) Stop taking estrogen containing hormones, and/or eating anything that has soy (because it produces estrogen in the body, too.) Also, if youare not vegetarian yet, begin avoiding animal byproducts, since they contain hormones, too, which throw off your body's own hormonal balances.
3) Immediately go for a blood test, in order to check for hypothyroidism. They usually only look for TSH. But, insist that they look for free T4 and from T3, too, as I will explain further below.
4) If it is found that you are suffering from hypothyroidism, the doctor will put you on synthetic thyroid hormones (T4 hormones) for about 3 months, and will then check your blood again. If your TSH does not fall below 2.5, the doctor will still give you a higher dose, and will then check you again in 3 months. This process will repeat, until your TSH falls below 2.5. (Some doctors are too conservative, and will not try to bring your TSH down to 2.5 or lower, and they only go by numbers. But, symptoms are more important than the numbers, as each person has their own metabolism. So, this is where the free T4 and free T3 come in handy. By having a history of how they change, it can become easier to convince the doctor that maybe you should get more T4 hormone, or maybe even more T3 hormone.)
Good luck!
OMG..I am a forty nine year old female..I have symtpms that mimmick yours to the tea!! I loose sooo much sleep. I see endocrinologist..she told me i need a new job..crazy. My family is so frustrated and my husband won't even listen anymore. It is very sad. I feel better knowing I am not the only one having the crazy skin issues. YEs, it is exhausting. I too will try and take anything because i need to function . I work, have kids, and try to be a volunteer..sometimes on 3-4 hours sleep. I am always tired from antihistamines...and you were the only one to mention the scalp issue..i have that. So embarrasing..ready to shave all my hair off..Yikes..LC
I have had Hypothyroidism (Hashimoto's Thyroiditis) since at least 1981 when I had my second child. I swear I had symptoms before that. When I was a child I always had rashes, including hives. In 2001 I was diagnosed with Celiac Sprue (inability to digest gluten from many grains). I no longer have rashes and am on a diet to control the Celiac. In my Internet search (doctors are so little help!) to find the right diet, I found that many people who have thyroid problems also have problems with wheat and other grains containing gluten - either Celiac Sprue or Gluten Intolerance. And a proportion of these people also have a skin rash known as Dermatitis Herpetiformis. "Dermatitis herpetiformis (DH), or Duhring's disease,[1][2] is a chronic blistering skin condition,[3] characterised by blisters filled with a watery fluid.[4] Despite its name, DH is neither related to nor caused by herpes virus: the name means that it is a skin inflammation having an appearance similar to herpes.
DH was first described by Louis Adolphus Duhring in 1884.[5] A connection between DH and gluten intolerance (coeliac disease) was recognised in 1967,[5][6] although the exact causal mechanism is not known.and a proportion of those people have a rash known as dermatitis herpatiformis."
Wikipedia. Just like my Celiac symptoms disappeared when I got on a totally gluten-free diet, I have read that the rash will also disappear on a TOTALLY gluten-free diet. Why don't doctors know this?
DH was first described by Louis Adolphus Duhring in 1884.[5] A connection between DH and gluten intolerance (coeliac disease) was recognised in 1967,[5][6] although the exact causal mechanism is not known.and a proportion of those people have a rash known as dermatitis herpatiformis."
Wikipedia. Just like my Celiac symptoms disappeared when I got on a totally gluten-free diet, I have read that the rash will also disappear on a TOTALLY gluten-free diet. Why don't doctors know this?
Bonk
you are not too far off from me! I am a 50 year old male and I had the welts under the eyes as well as on the wrists and feet. Usually getting it between index finger and thumb. I have Hashimotos and on Armour soon to switch to Natur throid. I went gluten and dairy free and my symptoms are sub siding one by one. I also have the MTHFR gene so the body swells from toxins. I take methylated folate for that. I have not had the welts on face since the sping and its been about 2 months on my wrists. Its sounds like my hives are not as bad as yours!
Thom
you are not too far off from me! I am a 50 year old male and I had the welts under the eyes as well as on the wrists and feet. Usually getting it between index finger and thumb. I have Hashimotos and on Armour soon to switch to Natur throid. I went gluten and dairy free and my symptoms are sub siding one by one. I also have the MTHFR gene so the body swells from toxins. I take methylated folate for that. I have not had the welts on face since the sping and its been about 2 months on my wrists. Its sounds like my hives are not as bad as yours!
Thom
I read a lot of very recognizable stories here. Problem is that a lot of solutions mentioned are either vague or do not work. I am a 49 yr old male and was diagnosed with hypothyroidism when I turned 40. Since 3-4 months I slowly got these spots like ringworm, but they were not that. Now they have turned into hives and were it started on my hands, wrist arms, it is now spread all over, even my face and the horrible itchy bumps on my head. Good lord.... this is exhausting. I wake up from the itches. One morning I woke up and felt a little tingle on my eyebrow and knew that there was going to appear a hive. It was thick and closed half my eye. I had stopped taking Synthroid a year ago and when the doc told me to start it again, I did and for a glorious whole week I was itch and hive free... But it came back with a vengeance... It is worse than ever. Should I stop the Synthroid? I take 3 Zyrtecs a day but to no avail. Benadryl at night to get sleep, but only for 3-4 hours. Not sure if I would rather be in pain or have itches... Tonite I will take an oatmeal bath (recommendation by CVS 'doc').. I'll take anything!!!
I am hypo and just got a strange rash on my chest. I used Calamine lotion and tea tree oil (not at the same time). It started to improve, but now I am getting hives on my left leg. Just my leg. I have been on synthroid since October 2013. If I was allergic to the medication, why would it happen now? Just wondering.
Extreme itching prior to my period!
I have been on thyroid medication for 90 days and am suffering from rashes, hives right before my period. In addition, I am experiencing severe heartburn and swelling itching of feet.
Going to start to consult my doctor to find other options as I can not function with these severe symptoms.
I have been on thyroid medication for 90 days and am suffering from rashes, hives right before my period. In addition, I am experiencing severe heartburn and swelling itching of feet.
Going to start to consult my doctor to find other options as I can not function with these severe symptoms.
I went through hell with this rash to only find out the oils in your skin are greatly reduced after thyroid removal--I suffered 6 years b4 somebody could tell me this your cure is simple lotion and lots of it put it everywhere this will stop any future outbreaks but you have to use right away in the places where you get the rash 1st then all over as well.
Sounds like you may have the primary cause for diagnosed hypothyroidism, which is Hashimoto's Thyroiditis. With Hashi's the autoimmune system erroneously identifies the thyroid gland as being foreign to the body and produces antibodies to attack and eventually destroy the gland. Along the way thyroid hormone production is diminished and requires gradually increasing amounts of thyroid medication to offset the loss of natural thyroid hormone.
Sometimes the antibodies can cause a rash which is frequently referred to as Hashi's Rash. If you want to read more about it, just enter it in the search MedHelp area in top right hand corner of page.
If you have already been teted for Free T3 and Free T4, please psot resuts and their reference ranges shown on the lab report. If not tested then you should make sure to always get tested for Free T3 and Free T4 (not Total T3 and Total T4) each time you go in for tests. Free T3 is the most important because it largely regulates metabolism and many other body functions. Scientific studies have also shown that Free T3 correlated best with hypo symptoms while Free T4 and TSH did not correlate at all.
A good thyroid doctor will treat a hypo patient clinically by testing and adjusting Free T3 and Free T4 as necessary to relieve symptoms, without being constrained by resultant TSH levels. You can get some good insight into clinical treatment from this letter written by a good thyroid doctor for patients that he sometimes consults with after initial tests and evaluation. The letter is then sent to the participating doctor of the patient to help guide treatment. In the letter, please note the statement, "the ultimate
criterion for dose adjustment must always be the clinical response of the patient."
http://hormonerestoration.com/files/ThyroidPMD.pdf
So fromm reading the link above, you can readily see that what you need is that good thyroid doctor that will treat clinically and raise your Free T3 and Free T4 as necessary to relieve symptoms. In addition, we have had a number of reports from members that had some success at relieving hives by assuring they are getting the recommended daily allowance of selenium. Selenium seems to dampen the effect of the antibodies.
One thing further is that hypo patients often find they are also too low in the ranges for Vitamin D, B12 and ferritin. You should make sure to get those tested as well.
Sometimes the antibodies can cause a rash which is frequently referred to as Hashi's Rash. If you want to read more about it, just enter it in the search MedHelp area in top right hand corner of page.
If you have already been teted for Free T3 and Free T4, please psot resuts and their reference ranges shown on the lab report. If not tested then you should make sure to always get tested for Free T3 and Free T4 (not Total T3 and Total T4) each time you go in for tests. Free T3 is the most important because it largely regulates metabolism and many other body functions. Scientific studies have also shown that Free T3 correlated best with hypo symptoms while Free T4 and TSH did not correlate at all.
A good thyroid doctor will treat a hypo patient clinically by testing and adjusting Free T3 and Free T4 as necessary to relieve symptoms, without being constrained by resultant TSH levels. You can get some good insight into clinical treatment from this letter written by a good thyroid doctor for patients that he sometimes consults with after initial tests and evaluation. The letter is then sent to the participating doctor of the patient to help guide treatment. In the letter, please note the statement, "the ultimate
criterion for dose adjustment must always be the clinical response of the patient."
http://hormonerestoration.com/files/ThyroidPMD.pdf
So fromm reading the link above, you can readily see that what you need is that good thyroid doctor that will treat clinically and raise your Free T3 and Free T4 as necessary to relieve symptoms. In addition, we have had a number of reports from members that had some success at relieving hives by assuring they are getting the recommended daily allowance of selenium. Selenium seems to dampen the effect of the antibodies.
One thing further is that hypo patients often find they are also too low in the ranges for Vitamin D, B12 and ferritin. You should make sure to get those tested as well.
I have had a problem with acute hives for over 3 years now, I went to my family doctor that sent me to dermatologist which sent me to endocrinologist which sent me to rheumatologist which sent me to the allergist. I have under active thyroid which I have started taking Levothyroxine for and that has helped very little. Every dr said they think I have a auto immune disorder that is attacking my thyroid and causing it to shut down so I am taking man made thyroid hormone but still have the hives 4-5 times a week. I do not know what to do now, nothing helps the hives - I've tried everything listed in the above comments for hives and nothing relieves them.
And one more thing I did last night and doing it now is organic ginger root tea that might have helped me calm the symptoms more than the iodine pill!
I graded some some raw ginger root and boiled for 3-5 minutes, then strained it, and drink it as tea. It has helped me with many irritations in the past. I want to mention again that my emotional imbalance seems to add to the symptoms. When I get excited for good or bad, I get heart palpitation and hives.... So, stay calm....
I graded some some raw ginger root and boiled for 3-5 minutes, then strained it, and drink it as tea. It has helped me with many irritations in the past. I want to mention again that my emotional imbalance seems to add to the symptoms. When I get excited for good or bad, I get heart palpitation and hives.... So, stay calm....
I am sorry to hear that! I know how you feel... I also had an onset yesterday, and luckily I had iodine pills - took one last night and one this morning - 130mg each and a see a relief even though they are not all gone. (could be just placebo effect but I feet relief.) Allergy either topical or pills have not helped me at all.
I also found a list of items to eat or not eat and recommend this page: http://www.doctoroz.com/blog/lisa-lynn/3-ways-boost-thyroid-function.
I am a vegetarian and have been eating insane amounts of almonds and almond milk, so this morning I am taking my chia seeds with Coconut milk... I am just like you - waiting for the results... Good luck!
I also found a list of items to eat or not eat and recommend this page: http://www.doctoroz.com/blog/lisa-lynn/3-ways-boost-thyroid-function.
I am a vegetarian and have been eating insane amounts of almonds and almond milk, so this morning I am taking my chia seeds with Coconut milk... I am just like you - waiting for the results... Good luck!
I have had the hives for about 3 months now and going out of my wits trying to isolate what in my environment is causing them as they are very random in where and when they appear. I went through assumptions for bacterial infection, allergies, insect bite... The only common denominator kept being me! I noticed that when I get emotionally irritated they inflame. Yesterday was so bad, half my face was swollen in addition to the hives in more private areas so I had to go to the doctor. The first thing they recommended was thyroid test. I am waiting for the results but from what I read online last night, it is definitely a thyroid out of balance!
Just wanted to thank you for posting all this as it is a form of itch relief ;) finally knowing what is happening to me.
I am convinced that stress activated whatever thyroid deficiency I may have been carrier of, as the symptoms appearance coincided with a very stressful event in my life. In that line of thought I am a believer that if I caused this to myself from not being able to deal with the challenges of life in a healthy way, I could heal myself by learning how to address stress in a healthy way preventing my immune system from attacking my own organs...
I will be working in this directions but will also use the meds help in the meantime... I still need to know how bad I am out of balance... Can't wait for the results!
If anyone has had any success with natural supplements, please share!
Just wanted to thank you for posting all this as it is a form of itch relief ;) finally knowing what is happening to me.
I am convinced that stress activated whatever thyroid deficiency I may have been carrier of, as the symptoms appearance coincided with a very stressful event in my life. In that line of thought I am a believer that if I caused this to myself from not being able to deal with the challenges of life in a healthy way, I could heal myself by learning how to address stress in a healthy way preventing my immune system from attacking my own organs...
I will be working in this directions but will also use the meds help in the meantime... I still need to know how bad I am out of balance... Can't wait for the results!
If anyone has had any success with natural supplements, please share!
I was diagnosed with hyperthyroid. So they thought they would kill it off and make me go into hypothyroid. I woke up this morning this hives from head to toe. I have tried Claritin, singular, and Benadryl. Nothing is working. Any idea how to control it till my blood work comes back. They hurt and itch so bad. Driving me crazy!!! Any ideas anyone!!!!
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