Aa
autoimmune symptoms? Joint pain, hairloss, etc.
Hey there. So every woman in my family (mom, aunt, cousin and grandmother) have hypothyroidism. For the past 9 months, I started having pain in the ball and big toe of my right foot. About 3 months ago, it started occurring in my left foot. Since then, I have developed bizarre joint pain in my feet, knees, wrist, fingers.. etc. Some days my left knee and right finger will hurt.. some days my wrist... it seems to move around, and doesn't necessarily occur on both sides of my body.
I also have general fatigue, low libido, and my appetite seems to have faded. I'm 5'6 and 128 pounds and have a lot of muscle. (I lift weights and generally feel strong, but tired..) Definitely not having weight gain... but the SCARIEST symptoms I have noticed for the last 3 weeks has been HAIR LOSS. It is quite devastating. It is definitely diffuse, which means it is general thinning (no bald patches). People in my life say they don't notice, but I feel as though half my hair is gone. Every time I gently stroke my hair (not pull) I get 15-20 strands... and this happens over 20-30 times per day. I am afraid that if this keeps going on in one month I will be bald!
I'm in the process of waiting for test results,.... My TSH came back 2.18.... but I begged my doctor to test me for free T3 and free T4... so hopefully those will show SOMETHING. I thought maybe I had rheumatoid arthritis, but he said the rheumatic antibodies didn't show up... I know I have been on the low ends of folic acid, b12 and iron in the past.. so i'm wondering if I am deficient. Though finding out I am deficient isn't an easy answer. The question would be, why am I not ABSORBING all of the nutrition I eat? I often see food in my stool (greens, grains if i eat them, nuts, etc.) I eat gluten free, a lot of grass-fed ALL LOCAL meat, local eggs, all organically grown veggies. I drink tons of nutrient rich mineral teas (nettles, raspberry leaf, oatstraw, red clover), drink bone broth every day... I take cod liver oil and fish oil pills, & vitamin d. I suspected that I could be low in Intrinsic Factor? It just doesn't make sense how I could be low on these things, ESPECIALLY b12 and iron considering the amount of high quality meat and eggs that i eat.
Could anyone offer any help? or theories on what this all could be? Thank you!
I also have general fatigue, low libido, and my appetite seems to have faded. I'm 5'6 and 128 pounds and have a lot of muscle. (I lift weights and generally feel strong, but tired..) Definitely not having weight gain... but the SCARIEST symptoms I have noticed for the last 3 weeks has been HAIR LOSS. It is quite devastating. It is definitely diffuse, which means it is general thinning (no bald patches). People in my life say they don't notice, but I feel as though half my hair is gone. Every time I gently stroke my hair (not pull) I get 15-20 strands... and this happens over 20-30 times per day. I am afraid that if this keeps going on in one month I will be bald!
I'm in the process of waiting for test results,.... My TSH came back 2.18.... but I begged my doctor to test me for free T3 and free T4... so hopefully those will show SOMETHING. I thought maybe I had rheumatoid arthritis, but he said the rheumatic antibodies didn't show up... I know I have been on the low ends of folic acid, b12 and iron in the past.. so i'm wondering if I am deficient. Though finding out I am deficient isn't an easy answer. The question would be, why am I not ABSORBING all of the nutrition I eat? I often see food in my stool (greens, grains if i eat them, nuts, etc.) I eat gluten free, a lot of grass-fed ALL LOCAL meat, local eggs, all organically grown veggies. I drink tons of nutrient rich mineral teas (nettles, raspberry leaf, oatstraw, red clover), drink bone broth every day... I take cod liver oil and fish oil pills, & vitamin d. I suspected that I could be low in Intrinsic Factor? It just doesn't make sense how I could be low on these things, ESPECIALLY b12 and iron considering the amount of high quality meat and eggs that i eat.
Could anyone offer any help? or theories on what this all could be? Thank you!
That is exactly what I was thinking....and maybe it was from quite a while ago and not diagnosed, which would exacerbate the symptoms.
Folic acid recommendation must be 1000mcg (1000mcg=1mg) which is a high dosage.
B12 North American ranges are too low!!
In Japan and Europe, the lower limit for B12 is 500-550 pg/mL !!!
Consider sublingual methylcobalamin.
It depends on the lab ranges for interpreting results. if you go by the family practice notebook, Free T3 range is 230 – 619 pg/dL. Other references for labs ranges are Free T3 – normal range 230 to 420.
Your results may be on the low side side.
Reverse T3 is also important, but rarely gets tested as it's not usually covered by insurance -most labs don't do this test and if they do it, the assay is not reliable for Rev. T3.
Really you should look into Dr.Barnes basal temperature test, but you must use a glass thermometer for accuracy and follow the instructions precisely!
Before proceeding with thyroid treatment:
Here's the adrenal questionnaire ( use to screen for adrenal fatigue)
Adrenal Questionnaire
Read each question carefully, and record the number next to a question if it applies to you. When you finish, add up the numbers you have recorded.
Do you experience fatigue? 3
Do you have allergies? 3
Do you have asthma? 3
Do you have recurrent infections? 3
Are you under severe emotional stress? 3
Do you suffer from chronic pain or physical stress? 3
Do you have low blood pressure? 2
Do you have a low pulse rate (<70/min with no exercise)? 2
Do you feel faint when you rise quickly? 2
Do you experience depressed moods? 2
Do you experience joint pain? 2
Do you have muscle pain? 2
Do you have low libido? 2
Do you have hair loss? 2
Do you have anxiety attacks? 2
TOTAL SCORE _______
Less than 7, adrenal fatigue is unlikely.
7-11 adrenal fatigue possible.
12 and over adrenal fatigue very likely.
Let me know your result.
Your diet seems very appropriate and sensible. I would add virgin coconut oil ( specially in place of other cooking oils ) because of its antifungal, antimicrobial, antiviral and antiparasitic properties. Start with 2T daily and gradually go to 4T in week 4. Visit the coconut research center website for details.
There's a test for leaky gut syndrome which is not an established medical diagnosis - called PEG (mannitol and lactulose urine test).
If your doctor is not keen to get this ordered for you, consider seeing an ND or Holistic doctor. If positive, it will explain the malabsorption issues,
however, you must rule out low gastric acid levels first (see my previous post).
Chronic Lyme disease is notoriously difficult to dx. It usually takes numerous false negatives and a few years before diagnosing Lymes.
And at the end of the day, if positive, it takes a few years to find a doctor (usually an LLMD) to get proper treatment, which itself takes years -sometimes a lifetime to effectively manage the symptoms and improve!
Leave this one for last!
Best wishes.
Niko
B12 North American ranges are too low!!
In Japan and Europe, the lower limit for B12 is 500-550 pg/mL !!!
Consider sublingual methylcobalamin.
It depends on the lab ranges for interpreting results. if you go by the family practice notebook, Free T3 range is 230 – 619 pg/dL. Other references for labs ranges are Free T3 – normal range 230 to 420.
Your results may be on the low side side.
Reverse T3 is also important, but rarely gets tested as it's not usually covered by insurance -most labs don't do this test and if they do it, the assay is not reliable for Rev. T3.
Really you should look into Dr.Barnes basal temperature test, but you must use a glass thermometer for accuracy and follow the instructions precisely!
Before proceeding with thyroid treatment:
Here's the adrenal questionnaire ( use to screen for adrenal fatigue)
Adrenal Questionnaire
Read each question carefully, and record the number next to a question if it applies to you. When you finish, add up the numbers you have recorded.
Do you experience fatigue? 3
Do you have allergies? 3
Do you have asthma? 3
Do you have recurrent infections? 3
Are you under severe emotional stress? 3
Do you suffer from chronic pain or physical stress? 3
Do you have low blood pressure? 2
Do you have a low pulse rate (<70/min with no exercise)? 2
Do you feel faint when you rise quickly? 2
Do you experience depressed moods? 2
Do you experience joint pain? 2
Do you have muscle pain? 2
Do you have low libido? 2
Do you have hair loss? 2
Do you have anxiety attacks? 2
TOTAL SCORE _______
Less than 7, adrenal fatigue is unlikely.
7-11 adrenal fatigue possible.
12 and over adrenal fatigue very likely.
Let me know your result.
Your diet seems very appropriate and sensible. I would add virgin coconut oil ( specially in place of other cooking oils ) because of its antifungal, antimicrobial, antiviral and antiparasitic properties. Start with 2T daily and gradually go to 4T in week 4. Visit the coconut research center website for details.
There's a test for leaky gut syndrome which is not an established medical diagnosis - called PEG (mannitol and lactulose urine test).
If your doctor is not keen to get this ordered for you, consider seeing an ND or Holistic doctor. If positive, it will explain the malabsorption issues,
however, you must rule out low gastric acid levels first (see my previous post).
Chronic Lyme disease is notoriously difficult to dx. It usually takes numerous false negatives and a few years before diagnosing Lymes.
And at the end of the day, if positive, it takes a few years to find a doctor (usually an LLMD) to get proper treatment, which itself takes years -sometimes a lifetime to effectively manage the symptoms and improve!
Leave this one for last!
Best wishes.
Niko
So I got my test results today (over the phone) and I would have much rather had my results on paper sitting in front of me... This is what I managed to scribble down.
my Free T3 is supposed to be between 87-178 and mine was 119.. which he said was "fine".
my free T4 is supposed to ideally be around 10 and mine was 7.3
So he wants to put me on a prescription for 25 micrograms (lowest dose possible) of levothyroxvin.
What do you guys think of that?
Also came up negative on the western blot.. though we all know how reliable that test is..
The other weird thing though was that my Iron saturation is supposed to be over 40% and mine was 29%...
My Folic acid should be 20 or above and mine was 8
My b12 was 400
If i eat a ton of grassfed local meats, eggs, healthy animal fats and TONS of veggies including tons of greens... why are all these levels so low!?
He wants to put me on 1,000mg of folic acid but to me this isn't the answer.
my Free T3 is supposed to be between 87-178 and mine was 119.. which he said was "fine".
my free T4 is supposed to ideally be around 10 and mine was 7.3
So he wants to put me on a prescription for 25 micrograms (lowest dose possible) of levothyroxvin.
What do you guys think of that?
Also came up negative on the western blot.. though we all know how reliable that test is..
The other weird thing though was that my Iron saturation is supposed to be over 40% and mine was 29%...
My Folic acid should be 20 or above and mine was 8
My b12 was 400
If i eat a ton of grassfed local meats, eggs, healthy animal fats and TONS of veggies including tons of greens... why are all these levels so low!?
He wants to put me on 1,000mg of folic acid but to me this isn't the answer.
Hey lauren.
I'm just getting ready to go to work, so I'll be brief.
Your suspicion for low IF is logical.
Do a baking soda "burp" test or a betaine HCl challenge test for gastric acid , which if low is linked to low IF.
Also adrenal fatigue must be ruled out. If positive, hypothyroid therapy is tricky! Very delicate balance.
Low iron, low B12, low selenium,low iodine, low adrenal function and more all contribute to hypothyroid.
Low D is also linked to hair loss.
Stress is one of the largest factors in hair loss (re: adrenals)!
later, gtg!
best wishes.
Niko
I'm just getting ready to go to work, so I'll be brief.
Your suspicion for low IF is logical.
Do a baking soda "burp" test or a betaine HCl challenge test for gastric acid , which if low is linked to low IF.
Also adrenal fatigue must be ruled out. If positive, hypothyroid therapy is tricky! Very delicate balance.
Low iron, low B12, low selenium,low iodine, low adrenal function and more all contribute to hypothyroid.
Low D is also linked to hair loss.
Stress is one of the largest factors in hair loss (re: adrenals)!
later, gtg!
best wishes.
Niko
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