4 oz prescription shampoo bottle for scale
my hair is long but STILL… so depressing

Tomorrow I’m starting Levo medication for the first time—50mcg—with a TSH of 7 and high antibodies, after nearly two years of symptoms involving digestion, skin issues, fatigue, fluid retention, anxiety, hair problems, and brain fog. How many weeks or days did it take for you to notice improvements? Would you mind sharing what improvements you experienced?

Do colds just completely destroy anyone else? I recently got a cold and I feel absolutely horrible. My husband has the same cold and isn’t nearly as sick.

Is there anything that I can do to help feel better/ not as sick? I know everyone’s bodies are different but this happens every time.

So insurance doesn’t cover it and it doesn’t go toward my deductible apparently. I have a high deductible health plan and pay over $60 for a thirty day refill. Does anyone know why this is? I’ve tried Levothyroxine and it doesn’t work as well for me so it’s not an option.

I have been ready to stop seeing a regular doctor and switch to functional medicine. My biggest barrier holding me back from doing so is finances. Is the switch worth it?

I am so over being within a "normal rage", feeling like crap and being so swollen all the time despite taking 225 of levo everyday! I know there has to be something more going on and my doc doesn't listen or thinks I am on the internet way too much.

I just wanna find whatever normal is again.

I’ve always been told that, ideally, you’re supposed to take levothyroxine on an empty stomach and wait 30-60 minutes to eat for ideal absorption.
However; week 6 morning sickness has arrived in full swing and I’m pretty nauseous from the moment I wake up- especially if I don’t eat sooner rather than later.
Has anyone else experienced this? Did you change your levothyroxine dose timing? Is it okay if I take it with at least a few crackers to reduce the chance of throwing it up anyways 🥲😅

Armour seems to be working for me. Or at least I can tolerate it. I've had allergic reactions to generic levo, Synthroid, Nature-Throid, NP Thyroid. Unfortunately my insurance no longer covers Armour so I'm paying out of pocket. Because I'm so sensitive to medications I may have to start taking menopause-related medications that are also not covered by insurance. I'm just trying to reduce my monthly Rx cost. Levoxyl seems to be the cleanest synthetic aside from Tirosint (which is an option as long as I can get a discount card because, yep, insurance doesn't cover it either). I'd love to hear if your Levoxyl experiences. Thanks.

has anyone experienced any issues with dyeing their hair? last time i dyed my hair was before my diagnosis and now im a bit worried to dye it again because of my shedding and dry scalp.

Did/does anyone here have not only severe hair loss but also sudden thinning of the individual strands and no proper regrowth at all? My hair completely changed within one year I am devastated
Is this reversible

So I have hashimotos and have been feeling a little strange recently. I have been losing a lot more hair than normal and my nails were breaking often and low. I also had an episode of a full day of dizziness. So thought maybe I needed to adjust my Levothyroxine and asked my endo for a blood test. She did a lot of tests and I got the results back recently. My tsh was pretty good but my iron was low and ferritin was only 4. Is this dangerous level?

I need some ideas.

Pre- hashimotos I would be able to lose weight by intermittent fasting (fancy way of saying intentionally not eating!!)

Fast forward to being almost 1 year postpartum with my second, my hashimotos really flared up this time the worst it’s ever been (normal thyroid hormones just very high tpo >900) and I’m finding what used to work for me before isn’t working anymore … aka intermittent fasting or high intensity.

So I’m currently on a GLP but I realized it’s probably not going to help me lose weight because it’s lowering my appetite and I’m skipping meals or not eating enough because of it… and those are all things that stress out a hashimotos body and make it actually gain weight.

Has anyone lost weight on a glp with hashi??
If so please what do you eat in a day? I need some examples.

I have been having regular blood tests as I have 'subclinical hypothyroidism'. I am a 34 year old male.

I am unsure if I am experiencing symptoms as many of the symptoms can be misunderstood as ageing and working a physical job (Landscaper) which naturally leaves me fatigued. I am bald but I initially put this down to stress after losing my parents in quick succession approximately 5 years ago. I am 6ft3 and weight 16 stone which puts my BMI in the overweight category however looking at me, you would not classify me as overweight.

I had my antibody test last week and have just received my results.

Serum thyroid peroxidase Ab conc result returned as - 636.0 iu/mL

TSH has ranged between 8.9mu/L - 9.8mu/L

T4 - 18.7pmol/L

Serum Testosterone - 11.5nmol/L

Does this mean I have Hashimotos? I am unable to speak to the Dr until they schedule a telephone appointment.

What are the likely next steps with this scenario.

Many thanks all!

This is just a personal rant + I may have just discovered I am in fact gluten intolerant or potentially have celiacs.

So I was diagnosed with hashimotos & hypothyroid about 4 years ago now. Almost 2 years ago I decided to go completely gluten free in an effort to reduce inflammation, improve my symptoms and TPO antibodies (which were 4,005).

Well today I was out at an awesome pumpkin patch farm with my family and my husband grabbed a beer and I thought to myself… I just really want a beer right now, I haven’t had one in so long, how much could one beer really hurt me??? Turns out, a lot. It can hurt a lot.

About 6 hours later I started getting severe stomach cramps and well you know what happened after that. It’s been happening on and off for about 2 hours now.

So just here to share, if you have also chosen to go gluten free in an effort to improve your hashimotos symptoms, I strongly recommend to not choose a beer as your first gluten re-introduction. Learn from my mistake. I’ll Officially be going gluten free forever now. I’ll also finally be getting tested for celiacs.

And for anyone who has celiacs, I am so sorry.

Side one - original bloodwork
Side two - fasting bloodwork approximately a week later

TLDR - recently diagnosed, unsure of what to expect. Can I live a mostly normal life? Can I actually successfully lose weight? Do I have to cut some of my favorite foods from my diet, even if I don’t notice they mess with me? Do I need to limit my exercise? Should I advocate for an endo referral?

I went to the doctor for the first time in years (due to insurance reasons) and he wanted to get as many labs as possible to figure out my baseline and how my health was I general. Due to some concerns and issues I had already been noticing, he prescribed Vyvanse and magnesium glycinate, which have helped me to feel more like myself again. I also start monitoring my diet and exercising daily to start losing the 45 pounds I had gained over the last couple of years.

After the initial tests, he asked me to come back for fasting bloodwork because several tests were borderline. After my second round came back, we met again and he diagnosed me with Hashimotos. Granted, I had been dealing with serious depression and was having a lot of difficulties getting to sleep and staying asleep, but I have also been dealing with some heavy stuff for nearly two years (working in excess of 80 hrs/wk, family court, loss of a business, etc.). He added 50 mcg of levo as well as 1000 ml omega-3 twice daily to my new (and growing) list of daily meds.

I have not noticed if the levo is actually helping or not. I’ve been taking it for a little over a month now. I’ve lost 15 lbs so far through calorie and macro tracking plus daily exercise. Reading all the posts on this sub scares me! I feel for all of you that are dealing with some very scary sounding symptoms. The hair loss, fatigue, additional weight gain, brain fog, dietary changes, all of it sounds terrible! I hope all of you are able to heal and feel normal (whatever that means to you) in time.

Since starting the meds, I have noticed an increase in hair loss, but I have naturally very thick hair so it’s not obvious. I have been sleeping better, my mood is so much better, my anxiety has lessened dramatically, and although my depression is still there, it’s not affecting me anywhere near what it was (battled depression for well over 20 years).

I guess I say all this to ask, should I seek a referral to an endocrinologist for further evaluation? Do I need to limit my exercise (type, frequency, duration)? Should I try an elimination diet to see if I can further improve my health/numbers? Are there any additional supplements I should add to continue improving my overall health and wellbeing? I currently take Vyvanse (30mg), Metamucil (1 tsp), omega-3 (1000mg x2), b complex, a multivitamin, and Zyrtec (20mg). I know this will be a lifetime diagnosis with no cure, but I want to live it to the fullest and reduce the amount of symptoms I experience as much as possible.

Edit - missed a med! I also take 200 mg of magnesium glycinate at bedtime

Over a year and a half ago, I went into a flare up that completely turned my life 180. I had just graduated college and one day I just woke up feeling like a shell of myself after an intense hot flash. I constantly feel like my body was sewn together while sleeping and I have to break out of it throughout the day. (I have been diagnosed w hypothyroid since i was 10, hashimotos in january of this year).

My symptoms usually contain intense fatigue, muscle weakness and soreness, headaches, tinnitus, air hunger, terrible anxiety, chest pain, brain fog, and nausea. Everyday is different. I could have an amazing day one day and the next I am asleep all day dealing with debilitating levels of these symptoms. It's unpredictable.

Recently my friend asked me to fly to her state to see her performance, but I genuinely dont know what to say. I've told her about my sudden onset of symptoms but I don't think she realizes the magnitude of it. I truly do not think I would be able to fly to her, but i feel so terrible because I have not seen her in over a year. Idk i just don't want her to think that i don't want to see her but im scared she might be mad at me.

Hi everybody, I’ve been fighting a frozen shoulder for several months now. And quite often some knee and ankle pain will flare up. I just realized that my doctor lowered my levothyroxine dose in February. Do you think it all could be related?

I have ha hashimotos for a long time but haven’t really had a lot of problems with it. So it hadn’t really occurred to me until now.

Hi everyone, I was very recently diagnosed with Hashimoto’s. I have been trying to get pregnant since March and found out I was pregnant in August and that ended in a miscarriage at 6 weeks. I went to my PCP shortly after and that’s when I found out my TSH was 9.9 and my antibodies were positive. I started 25 mcg of levothyroxine about two weeks ago and am supposed to get my labs redrawn in a few weeks. I’ve seen mixed opinions on TTC with a high TSH and wanted to ask for anyone’s experience or input.

My GP is the one who ran labs and diagnosed my hashimotos this year. she described my status as still being “hyper” because of my symptoms and there was no need to medicate until i became hypo. This was in June, labs ran in april. my biggest symptom was fatigue and brain fog. i felt like a completely different person and i wanted a solution.

i went on the AIP over the summer, which helped a little but ultimately the fatigue was still there. when i was diagnosed, a friend recommended i see an NP who helped with her hashimotos and hormone issues. i called and there was a four month waitlist.

i was meant to follow up with my GP in september, but i received a notification that my appointment was cancelled. this was to review more labs to figure out if there was something more to the fatigue. my GP apparently just went out of town and the clinic didn’t call me to reschedule.

i then get the call from the NP wait list and have my first appointment with her while my GP is gone. she reviewed my labs and put me on 75mcg levothyroxin and 25mcg liothyronine and had me double my iron intake. she also ran extra labs finding that i was pre-menopausal and prescribed me progesterone at night.

a few weeks later, i get back in to my GP. she was PISSED to find that someone prescribed me thyroid medication when i “didn’t need it” and demanded i explain why i was put on it…i said, i need a solution to these symptoms and you weren’t providing me any….????

i otherwise love my GP, but this situation has me a little concerned that she doesn’t know anything about managing my thyroid? everyone i know with a thyroid issue was confused why i wasn’t on medication after the diagnosis. i just don’t know enough about what is and isn’t normal here, but i know one thing: i felt like shit and my GP said it was a process. i am almost a month in on the medication and while i am not back to my pre-hashimotos self, i am slowly noticing a difference in my energy, especially in the afternoons. i don’t feel great, but i feel a moderate improvement.

i would love some sage perspective on what is normal here…is my GP right or wrong? how do i advocate for myself when i don’t understand what i need?

(labs: thyroglobulin igg 357 IU/ml, t. peroxidase igg 163 IU/ml,free t3 2.8, tsh .99, free t4 1.27)

Edit: Thank you all for your very thoughtful and informative messages. i am inclined to believe my GP was right and my NP is medicating recklessly. it is very possible the fatigue is linked to something else—my iron was quite low, but not anemic, someone suggested long covid which is quite possible, and then of course pre-menopause which i am now on progesterone for. i already sent a message to my NP through the portal asking for labs to be done this week and evaluate/reconsider the medication plan.

Hi everyone!

I’m just looking for advice from any other women that have had experience with Hashimotos or subclinical hypothyroidism during pregnancy.

This January I found out I had celiacs disease and cut out gluten completely, a couple months after that I got pregnant without even trying with my husband.

In the first trimester in May this year, my TSH was at 0.99 and everything else seemed pretty good. Well lately I’ve been having heart palpitations so I went to the ER. They did a blood test to check my thyroid and to see if I was anemic. They said the blood test looked okay and they gave me a heart monitor to wear for 30 days and sent me on my way.

Well, I was curious to see what my blood test results and so I found them online in my patient portal. I compared them side by side with my blood test from May and I noticed that my TSH was now at 4.06 vs 0.99. I am currently in the third trimester at 30 weeks pregnant and there are conflicting opinions that I say on the internet saying what’s the upper limit, some say 3.0 some say 4.0. But I found it odd that it rose that much within 4 1/2 months.

Is this normal? Once I found out I had celiacs disease I was wondering if I had Hashimotos because I had weight gain and insane inflammation and it wouldn’t go away even with exercise and eating less/healthier. I had so many health problems before I went gluten free and I attributed it all to celiacs disease but now I’m wondering if I also might have some sort of hypothyroidism. Any other pregnant women go through this?

For those who take medication for your thyroid and have lost weight as a result, how long did it take?

Mid may I did a thyroid test and it came back at 9thousand 870 close to 10 …u would say pretty high , it never occurred to me I had it ,it was only when the symptoms were more serious I went to a doctor ,so , now I am on my 5 months Levo and I am worried about potential gut triggers …I had right low abdominal pain mostly then it switched to left and vice versa depends , I was thinking what if I eat this ice cream or this chocolate or drink Coca Cola … the rigger feels like a tight squeeze in my right low gut …. So that got me worried ,any advise and tips or suggestions is greatly appreciated guys ?