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[digifem]

I apologize in advance for the length of this post.  I just want to make sure I include all relevant information.

 

Background:

 

This all began in May of 2014.  Before then, I was a happy, healthy, active 29 year old woman.  I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism when I was 25 and did excellent on 25mcg Synthroid with no dose adjustments or symptoms the entire time.  That was the one and only instance of illness other than a cold every few years.

 

The Situation:

 

The first thing I noticed was petechiae on my upper, inner thighs in April of 2014.  I figured it was a reaction to a product I was using or the way I was shaving and more or less ignored it.  Then on May 28th I got my period 9 days early.  I saw my OBGYN who suggested I have my thyroid hormones tested since it had been almost a year.  They came back "normal" (which I've since learned is meaningless.)  I didn't feel terrible other than the early period at this point.

 

A week later I woke up and CRASHED, and have yet to recover.  I was extremely dizzy, brain fog, fatigued in a way I can't describe, very anxious, low bp, etc.  Months later and I still felt the same.  I began the painstaking task of finding a doctor to take me seriously.  I had half a dozen thyroid panels and tons of blood tests.  The only thing "off" was an erratic TSH (from 1.5 to 4.5 to 2 in a month).  My Free T3 was consistently at the bottom of the range, Free T4 at the top.  My previous doctor only tested my TSH unfortunately, so I had no "healthy" labs to compare it to.

 

I continued on like this for 6+ months.  I saw multiple GPs, 2 endocrinologists, an allergist/immunologist, neurologist, 2 functional MDs, an ENT, the ER a couple of times, Urgent Care CPAs, and finally the most recent is an osteopath.

 

About 6 months ago I developed a severe sore throat that's proceeded by a sore/dry feeling tongue.  When this happens, I also feel significantly more run down, almost hung over.  I tested negative for strep and was put on Augmentin by an ENT which cleared it up almost immediately but it comes back every time once antibiotics are stopped.  I'm now on my 5th round of antibiotics.

 

The last few months I've also developed random hives.  I usually get 3-4 in random spots on by body, about the size of mosquito bites.  They are seemingly unrelated to any external stimuli.

 

5 months ago the 2nd functional MD had me do a 24 hour saliva cortisol test.  He diagnosed me with Stage 3 Adrenal Fatigue and "prescribed" 30mg sublingual Pregnenolone drops per day.  The brain fog lifted almost immediately and my energy level slowly began to increase by about 30%.  

 

A couple of months later endocrinologist #2 let me try 25mcg Synthroid in combination with 5mcg Cytomel.  After the initial adjustment period my energy again increased.  I felt 75% normal for the first time since this all began.

 

A couple weeks later my new Osteopath recommended I take the ACT/ELISA food/chemical sensitivity test.  I had to stop the pregnenolone completely for 4 days ahead as it supposedly interferes with the results.  I CRASHED.  All symptoms returned and the fog was so bad I actually got into a fender bender leaving the office from my blood draw.

 

I'm now almost 2 weeks back on the pregnenolone and am slowly improving, but still feel like crap.

 

In my follow up with the Osteopath last week she went over the 20 or so labs she'd run.  I'm now told I have reactivated Epstein-Barr Virus.  She also thinks I may have autoimmune vasculitis(petechiae), and is sure I have Hashimoto's as my ultrasound came back showing a slightly heterogenous thyroid texture.  She told me that EBV was by far my biggest issue right now and I am supposed to take mega doses of Vitamin C and do weekly C flushes.  This should in theory send the EBV back to it's dormant state.

 

Current Symptoms:

• Fatigue - feel 80% good upon waking, crash around 11 and either stay that way or recover in the evening.  Even "good days" are only 80% good.
• Inconsistently Poor Stamina - Some days I'm okay and can spend the whole day walking around, others 1 hour standing=the entire day in bed.  I don't have the energy for exercise anymore.  30 minute bike rides are okay generally.
• Petechiae on upper thighs
• Random Hives
• Sore throat that's proceeded by sore/dry tongue and is always "cured" with antibiotics
• Can not skip meals or I get very hangry, tired, shaky
• Blood pressure low for me.  100/60, sometimes as low as 90/50
• Stress=dramatically worsened condition
• Hair loss
• Dizziness
• Feeling of not being here, sort of depersonalization with blurry vision.  This is inconsistent and not always present.
• Overall bad feeling, malaise, hung over, hit by a bus type thing

 

My questions are:

1. Will this ever end?
2. Will the Vitamin C get rid of the EBV?
3. How dangerous is this virus, really?  I've read a million horror stories and studies on MS, related cancers, and more.
4. Has anyone every dealt with this and recovered 100%?  If so, how?
5. Is it possible that once I get my TSH down to 1 and my free T3 up a bit more, this whole thing will just go away?
6. Is there anything else I should be doing/taking?

 

Things that have helped:

• Pregnenolone: brain fog disappeared, petechiae lessens dramatically or goes away completely, a bit more energy, able to handle stress better
• Cytomel: Significantly more energy

 

Things that have had a noticeably negative effect:

• Stress - I can feel it now in a way I never did before.  I will be in bed for days after excessive stress.  My sore throat gets worse.  Temperature drops.  I experience significantly more fatigue and malaise.  It has a dramatic effect on my overall health unlike when I was "healthy."
• Armour - I experimented with Armour several months ago and was unable to tolerate it.  This was before I began taking pregnenolone for adrenals, though.
• B12 - I took one sublingual 500mg B12 tablet and had severe anxiety and rapid heart rate.  I drank a ton of water, peed a lot, and it subsided.
• B6 (Pyrodoxine) - I suddenly, after 5 years on the same multivitamin, developed peripheral neuropathy and very elevated B6 blood levels which stopped completely when I stopped the multi.  My blood level dropped as well.  It was in the form of pyrodoxine, 25mg.
• Ferritin - I took 5mg Ferritin for a few weeks, did labs, and had elevated levels.  Stopped immediately.  No symptoms that I'm aware of.
• Physical exertion

 

What I take presently:

• Vitamin C - 5-6 grams
• Vitamin D3 - 5000iu
• Ubiquinol - 500mg
• Magnesium Malate - 500mg
• Fish Oil - 2000mg
• Thorne Citramins II - 2x day
• Prescript Assist probiotic - 3x day
• Synthroid - 25mcg
• Cytomel - 5mcg
• Augmentin

 

A few of the relevant lab tests I've had done.  Let me know if there's anything else you need to know:

• ANA - twice negative
• CRP - (0-3) .66, .6, and most recently 1.71
• Sed Rate - (0-32) 2, 2, and most recently 3
• H Pylori - Negative
• Lyme - Negative
• Celiac - 4.2% chance, but all tests negative (I've been gluten free for 7-8 months, though)
• Tryptase - (2.2-13.3) 2.6
• TGab - (0-.9) <1.0 several times
• TPOab - (0-34) 8, 7, 2, 14, 15, 17, 11, 18
• TSI - (0-139) 35
• A1C - 4.9
• Platelet Antibodies - Negative
• B12 - (211-946) 712, 592, 781, 535
• Iron before supplementation - (28-170) 61, 82
• Ferritin before supplementation - (10-154) 55
• Homocysteine - (0-15) 8.6, 6.1
• Liver is good, cholesterol is good, all hormones are good except thyroid and cortisol, electrolytes good, cbc good, glucose & insulin good.
• EBV Early Antigen Ab IgG - (pos >10.9) 64.2
• EBV Ab VCA, IgG - (pos >21.9) 542.0
• EBV Nuclear Antigen Ab, IgG - (pos >21.9) 125.0
• TSH - 2.8, 1.5, 4.5, 1.3, 2.5, 1.9, 1.6, 2.0, 3.7, 2.2...
• Free T3 - (2-4.4) Always around 2.6, now with Cytomel 3.3
• Free T4 - (.82-1.77) Always around 1.2, now with Synthroid 1.4

 

Other Tests:

• 0091 Organix Comprehensive Profile was great.  Only issue was very slightly elevated lactate
• 24 hour cortisol test showed stage 3 adrenal fatigue
• ACT/ELISA test showed a few sensitivities, but nothing that is a staple in my diet
• 23&Me showed a few methylation issues: MTHFR A1298C +/-, MTRR A664A +/-, BHMT-02 +/-, CBS A360A +/+, VDR Taq +/+  I'm going to be doing a second more extensive Amino Acid test soon to determine if/how these are effecting me presently.

Things I've been diagnosed with:

• Hypothyroidism
• Hashimoto's
• Stage 3 Adrenal Fatigue
• Reactivated Epstein-Barr Virus

 

Other info:

• I've been gluten free for 7-8 months, and strictly paleo (not low carb) for 6.
• I stopped smoking right before this all began.  I had relapsed and smoked for about 6 months.  I used an e-cig to help quit, then stopped everything 2 weeks later.

 

 

 

Any help or insight would be greatly appreciated.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[8bitmore]

Good write-up, my girlfriend is dealing with, not hypo-, but rather hyper-thyroid issues and finding the cause (if there is any such one thing) is proving very difficult, it has been years where the thyroid symptoms have been largely formant only to flare up again strongly. Currently we are looking into adrenal function as part in the overall health of the gut microbiome, currently looking at this blog for ideas: http://drbganimalpha...de-16-part.html

Be great if you can be bothered to keep this thread updated with what you find helpful (or not).

 

[digifem]

Does she have Graves disease?  It's generally the cause of hyperthyroidism and autoimmune, so there's likely a tie to the gut.  The fact that her symptoms flare makes it sound autoimmune.  I know that gluten is often implicated in aggravating Hashimoto's as well as other common allergens like dairy, nuts, etc.  I gave up gluten a while ago and tried the Autoimmune Paleo diet.  It's hard to say what's helped because I also started taking hormones in the same time period.  I take the Prescript Assist probiotic 3x/day as well.  There's tons of great info out there on how diet, the gut, and autoimmune issues are closely tied.

 

As for the adrenals, I don't know much about hyperthyroidism, but they play a HUGE role in hypo so I wouldn't be surprised.  If nothing else, being in a hyper state for extended periods is bound to stress the adrenals enough to throw her into "adrenal fatigue."  If she's experiencing symptoms you should definitely look in to the 24 hour saliva cortisol test to see where she's at.

 

Another thing that was helpful, as far as gut health, is the ACT/ELISA sensitivity test.  A few of my flagged foods were surprising like lime, celery, and figs.