Page 2 of 3 [ 39 posts ]  Go to page Previous  1, 2, 3  Next

conundrum
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 25 May 2010
Age: 44
Gender: Female
Posts: 2,922
Location: third rock from one of many suns

04 May 2014, 4:16 pm

I was diagnosed with low thyroid about 6 years ago and put on the lowest dose of thyroid supplement (25 mcg). Lately, I have been feeling more and more tired--even without a real external reason (such as days when I'm off from work, for example)--so I think I may need a higher dose. At my last gynecological exam, the doctor noted that she thinks that is likely and wrote out orders to get checked.

Weight gain, hair thinning--stuff like that happening, too. I know I need to get the full round of blood tests, but have literally not had the time to go do that early one morning while fasting (the orders include a cholesterol count, too).

Relation to AS? I suppose it's possible. I'm self-diagnosed, so bringing that up to any doctor is probably useless (most whom I've mentioned it to don't believe me :? ).

I've read a bit about Hashimoto's--do thyroid supplements help that too, or is it more serious than just "low thyroid"? (I've started wondering if that might be my problem now.... 8O )


_________________
The existence of the leader who is wise
is barely known to those he leads.
He acts without unnecessary speech,
so that the people say,
'It happened of its own accord.' -Tao Te Ching, Verse 17


neobluex
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 31 May 2013
Age: 27
Gender: Male
Posts: 589
Location: Argentina

04 May 2014, 6:02 pm

In my city, many people has hypothyroidism (beacause of the water), and the prevalence of ASD seems to be 1-2 per 2000



B19
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 11 Jan 2013
Gender: Female
Posts: 9,993
Location: New Zealand

04 May 2014, 6:22 pm

I have read that:

1) hypothryoidism is very underdiagnosed (because of the type of tests they use and where they set the bar for normal levels - which varies between different countries and labs.

2) up to 30% (shockingly high) of medical diagnoses are wrong.

Hypothyroidism seems to affect women more than men, perhaps because women have more fluctating hormone dynamics going on anyway.

There is definitely a link between auto-immune issues and ASD - research points to it and my own personal experience and observations of other ASD members of the family.

So YES.



rapidroy
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 28 Dec 2012
Age: 34
Gender: Female
Posts: 1,411
Location: Ontario Canada

05 May 2014, 12:08 am

I think I have a hyperactive thyroid, self-diagnosed for now. According to this thread that's uncommon.



eric76
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 31 Aug 2012
Gender: Male
Posts: 10,660
Location: In the heart of the dust bowl

04 Nov 2015, 4:10 am

I had some blood tests last week that came back indicating a problem with my thyroid.

They took another blood test on Monday to make sure the results are accurate. I should know by the end of the week.

I've known something has been wrong.

Some days I have reasonable energy levels and on other days not much. For example, a couple of weeks ago I had to climb a ladder at a grain storage facility. I climbed about 40 feet and was worn out. Two days later, I climbed 60 feet and wasn't even breathing hard and was really tempted to climb higher just because I could.

I've also had several bouts with hypothermia this year.

Lately I've had a number of muscle and joint aches.



eric76
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 31 Aug 2012
Gender: Male
Posts: 10,660
Location: In the heart of the dust bowl

04 Nov 2015, 4:11 am

rapidroy wrote:
I think I have a hyperactive thyroid, self-diagnosed for now. According to this thread that's uncommon.


Self diagnosis is worthless. Get tested.



underwater
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 10 Sep 2015
Age: 47
Gender: Female
Posts: 1,904
Location: Hibernating

04 Nov 2015, 5:16 am

I certainly think a link between autism and autoimmune illnesses is worth looking into. The thing about autoimmune illnesses is that they are poorly understood, which also applies to Celiac and IBS which are part of the same family of illnesses.

What I can say from personal experience is that everything gets worse when my vitamin D levels are low, and vitamin D and iron get low if I eat gluten. This is of course personal.

However, from a lot of reading about autoimmune illnesses, it seems that very little is known about their causes. Generally, a lot of these illnesses are poorly defined diagnostically - just like autism, in fact. There is a lot of symptom overlap, which leads me to thinking that some diagnoses are really aspects of the same illness, or that one diagnosis may cover several different problems that result in the same symptoms.

There is now some documentation that vitamin D protects against allergy and asthma. I was diagnosed with asthma, which turned out to be vitamin D deficiency, not true asthma. Also, there is evidence that vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy can help cause MS in the child.

This is perhaps not exactly what the OP was asking about, but I think just looking at a possible link between autism and thyroid problems is too specific. There is more to it than that.



NowhereWoman
Velociraptor
Velociraptor

User avatar

Joined: 1 Jul 2009
Age: 56
Gender: Female
Posts: 499
Location: Los Angeles, CA

04 Nov 2015, 2:29 pm

Hypo-T here, medicated with Levo.

I don't know whether the correlation is down to better DX nowadays of both, or per the comment that thyroid disease is more statistically significant in the AS community being down to AS people perhaps having searched more for medical answers in general including comorbidities such as depression and anxiety, and therapists wanting to rule out something physical first...so the thyroid disease is discovered that way. I know my sons' doctors always want to rule out the physical possibilities first rather than simply assuming exhaustion, depressed feelings/depressed talk and so on are "just a part of" my kids' autism.

Or something else.



eric76
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 31 Aug 2012
Gender: Male
Posts: 10,660
Location: In the heart of the dust bowl

08 Nov 2015, 7:53 pm

I'm surprised that they haven't contacted me to tell me about the second round of tests for hypothyroidism.

They took the blood on Monday. Surely they would have had it analyzed by Friday.