Fibro or Hashimotos or something else?

Hi all,

I am at the end of my rope, my doc has suggested that I have fibro and said that I should swim and have massage to relax. She want to do an ana in another 6 months as it was positive 160 with speckled pattern.

My tsh etc are in normal range, however I convinced her to do thyroid antibodies test and TPO was just on the positive side. But like the ana she thinks it is false positive, I nearly cried, I thought I finally had an answer!

Some history, I was diagnosed with bipolar 27 years ago and had been depressed since a teen. They put me on lithium and that made my thyroid go whacky, I was on thyroid meds until I stopped the lithium a few months later. After that I gain a lot of weight, suddenly had acne (never had it as a teen) and chronic fatigue and a host of other symptoms. I was sent to an endo who said my pituitary wasn't working properly but nothing further was done about it.

20 years on still suffering depression, fatigue, chronic joint pain and aches everywhere, nausea, dizziness when upright, constant sinus problems, sometimes need to sleep as much as I can coz I am bone tired but sleep doesn't make me feel any better or I have trouble getting to sleep and staying asleep.

Over the last year or so I have noticed hives more often and I now get hayfever really badly, I am intolerant to both hot and cold but the cold is new, this winter is killing me slowly, hand and feet are worse and I find myself sleeping with thermal socks on ( I have always had my feet out of the covers as I always got very hot overnight)

Complete brain fog, rls, swollen glands, earaches, chronic headaches, digestive problems and a feeling of not enough room in my throat when I swallow along with heaps of other symtoms.

My doc want to do the thyroid antibodies again in a month, but I am sick of waiting, it has been blood test a few times a week for the last few months and I have to travel for them and then again to see the doctor.

I would like some opinions on what I should do, there is a doc local to me and I am thinking of seeing what he says as my other doc is always in a hurry and always running an hour late, yesterday I felt as if I was being dismissed even though she admitted that I know my body the best.


I am on depression meds and am glad to have a doc that finally believes me that I am not tired because I am depressed, in fact at the moment I am depressed because I am so darn tired and sick feeling.

Sorry for the long post any guidance is appreciated, I will post this in thyroid forum also I think.

Thanks...

Post Edited (inshallal) : 7/16/2015 6:42:54 PM (GMT-6)

Thanks for the reply, She seems to think I don't have any other indicators of lupus, mainly because I don't have a rash on my face.

I had a doctor years ago suggest sleep apnea as she said there wasn't a lot of room in my mouth/throat.

I have to have a referral from a doctor to go to a rheumatologist, I will try the local doc and see what he says and push for a refferal if he is not willing.

Thanks again, my family thinks I should wait until the next lot of tests, but as I am getting more and more emotional and depressed each week I don't want to wait...

Thanks Couchtater! I will do that.

Rockon, you have given me heaps to absorb, I thank you for that, my brain is refusing to function today, so it might take me a few days to comprehend.

I have been unable to see the local doctor as he is away until the 3rd and my next blood test is on the 7th, so I might just wait for that, or I could try seeing another doctor in the same clinic as the doc I have been seeing.

So unsure of everything at the moment, decision making is the worst! Thanks all again for the advice and support.

Thanks for that Rockon,

I have made an appointment with another doctor in the same clinic tomorrow, fingers crossed I get a better result, at worst I think I will ask for my depression meds to be upped as I really can't take much more of feeling so debilitated all the time.

I have found an aussie forum, just waiting for account to be approved, it just shows how dull my brain is right now as that would have been an obvious place to start!

Haha! I looked it up after the appointment phone call and it is a general practitioner not surgeon! I wondered the same thing and still wondering what the difference to a normal doc will be, but it is a referral so I feel like moving forward.

On my post in the thyroid forum I was told that my tests show hyperthyroidism. I am feeling a lot more chipper today, just having someone justify my symptoms and the nagging feeling that it always has been my thyroid!

inshallal
My case similar to yours dx with Hashimotos 17 years ago, Bi polar 7 years ago and no I have horrible pain and neuropathy. I also have a adrenal fatigue. Lithium made me pack on some lbs and was on it for close to a year but make sure your drs don't just test TSH. They need to also check t3, t3 and revers t3. I have just met with a great functional med dr who I am hoping can provide me some answers. Wrist are weak and hurting just from this little amt of typing