New here - a few questions

[laern23]

Hi - I have read a few post's on the different "thyroid topics" and have a few questions.  Back in August I had a terrible rash over entire body / itching /swelling of hands that lasted for about a week and then cleared up on it's own.  Well it came back again in mid - January.  I immediately made an appointment with PCP.  Since along with the rash I was having joint pain and swelling he wanted to rule out Lupus, Rheum Arth, etc.  Thankfully, all of these tests came back negative.  However the itching / hives continued until he started me on Zyrtec.  I did find relief with that.  He referred me to a Allergy MD and after some testing, he has diagnosed me with Dermatographism/Uticaria.  The treatment plan is Zyrtec and Allegra.  He called me today with some blood results and states that I had a + Antithyroid Peroxidase (sp?) result.  He was not surprised by the result since I do have a thyroid problem history.  First diagnosed 10 years ago with Grave's, had a large goiter, that was treated with Radioactive Iodine treatments twice.  Now have been hypothyroid for sometime and on replacement therapy (Synthroid 150 mcg).  MD states he does not want to increase the dose since my other thyroid levels are in the normal range.  Just wondering if anyone has any experience with this.  Could all this be a sign of Hashimotos?  Thanks in advance for any replies!  

[scarlet37]

Having had a recent trip to the allergist myself with the same symptoms especially the swelling, I was told that yes in fact something auto-immune could cause those problems. In my case we found it was due to the medication i was being treated with for narcolepsy.

In addtion to auto-immune you may want to look into other issues such as stella stated in her case red dye. I agree with AR in saying this is more than your anti-body levels.There are many possibilities that don't show up in normal allergy testing. Even something as small as taking an advil or using splenda in a cup of coffee, sometimes even stress can cause a flare up.

Keep a log of what you ate or even drank when you have a flare and see if you can pinpoint it to something.

Best Wishes~

[stella5349]

Truely - the only "far out there" opinion I can give you is --- and this was ONLY in my case.

I never regulated on Synthyroid no matter what dose I had. Went to many doctors. I never had a "per say" rash  - but skin was uncomfortabel if that makes sense.

Including me not being able to convert the T4 in Synthroid my MD found I had an allergy to the Red DC-9 dye in the tablet.  Now don't go running off to the doctor with that b/c it is rare and that dye is in many foods. - but it could be a possibility. As a child I did develop hives from "you guessed it" Red Koolaid.

If you have been on Synthroid for some time and just now started the rash thing the possibilities of having an allergy to it sounds far fetched.

HAve you changed any other products in your home lately?  

Good Luck

[AR-10]

It's possible to have anti-bodies for both Grave's and Hashimoto's. If the count is low, it's not a major concern.

If the count is high, it may accelerate the disease process and cause med changes in the future. You can't treat the anti-bodies, so it is not really something to worry about. Med changes will come along over the years anyway.

With a Synthroid dose of 150mcg, you still have some function in your thyroid. That will decrease over the years one way or the other.

The rash is a bigger problem than the TPOab.
Just my humble and probably flawed opinion.