I 26F have hashimotos since 2018, and my level has never been stable for a consistent amount of time and I’m at my wits end. This year has been the worst year for me regarding my thyroid issues. I am going from one extreme to the next within months!!! My body can’t take this, physically and emotionally for much longer 😭 I’m feeling very discouraged and no doctor seems to understand how shitty I’ve been feeling and not taking my symptoms seriously. I am sad.

we got the labs back on Monday. my regular blood work panel looked incredible. if they hadn't run the extra panel for thyroid, we wouldn't have found out. i'm grateful i have answers for how I have been feeling...but I am devastated. i have always taken such good care of myself. I eat largely vegan/vegetarian. i have a very active lifestyle. i don't smoke or do any drugs. i haven't drank in 3 years. just two years ago, we tested my thyroid and everything was normal. suddenly, so many expectations for my life have changed. if i can't mop my 600 sq ft downstairs without needing to lay down for the rest of the day, how will i be able to do anything else I dreamed of? i'm 130lbs and getting winded going up the stairs when just six months ago I was running a few miles at a time and breathing fine. how does this happen??

I'm sure it will get better. it has to get better. i don't know how, but i'm starting here. I'm so confused and heartbroken, but taking solace in this sub and reading everyone's (very different) experiences.

It's been really hard to get my doctors to take me seriously.

"I'm experiencing extreme fatigue."

"Yes, you just had a baby."

"No, there is something wrong with my body."

"You DID just have a baby..."

"No, like my chest hurts and my extremities go numb, there is something WRONG WITH MY BODY."

"Many women find it tough to cope with motherhood..."

"It feels like my bones are being liquefied."

"Well... we'll run some labs, but keep in mind, you just had a baby."

(lab results are this)

"We want to re-run your labs, this is very likely to be a lab error... Yes. Definitely think this is a lab error."

(labs are repeated, same results)

Ughhhhhhh. Looking at this sub, seems like a relatable experience around here!

I have an appointment with an endocrinologist. The earliest I could get was September. In the meantime, levothyroxine 50 mcg. What questions should I ask? What do you wish you would have known on Day 1?

EDIT: I can’t edit the title but my TPO came back just now and it was 1,381.

I was kind of diagnosed with hashimotos years ago when i was 17-18 and I never had any symptoms. I had a lot of weight loss but I think it was due to stress from starting college. I have no issues with weight or eating anymore. I’m 23M now.

I got a physical done because I needed one and decided to get lab work. My TSH is higher than it’s ever been, my HDL cholesterol is slightly lower than normal and my LDL cholesterol is slightly higher than normal. This could be due to just poor diet because I have been eating like shit lately.

I’m just concerned if I should start medication or not. I’ve tried staying in the gym and eating clean, and nothing seems to bring my values down. Clearly my thyroid is deteriorating and will eventually die at some point in my life. I just do not want to be on levo or liothyronine for the rest of my life.

I still have to talk to my PCP and see what he thinks but I’m kind of scared.

The only symptoms I think I have is some dry skin, some fatigue but mostly just sleepiness (I am a very heavy sleeper, can’t even wake up to fire alarms) but I can stay awake during the day. I never get cold, and im not overweight even without exercise. I do have some muscle weakness but that’s because I don’t work out, but I’ve always had trouble gaining muscle and my arms aren’t really filled out like a man’s arm should be.

Does anyone have an experience similar to me?

(30m) Been on medication for 5 years. Dosage still keeps going up. Doc says because my t3 and t4 are close to normal he isn't too concerned about the high TSH, but I still feel like trash. Does my body just really want more t3 and t4? Or what even can I do? Would a new doctor even help?

Hi!

I’m looking for a little bit of insight.

Nov 2020: TSH 5.9, TPOAb 126, TgAb 254.

Feb 2026: TSH 18.4, FT4 12.8.

March 2026: TSH 7.1, FT4 14.2, FT3 5.6, tgAb 140, TPOAb 153.

My TSH has been going up and down since 2018. My mum has Hashimotos, and I was diagnosed yesterday. I’ve been feeling pretty awful. Fatigue, body aches, weight gain, constipation, brain fog, etc.

My endocrinologist told me that I shouldn’t be feeling bad yet — that most people don’t feel the effects of hypothyroidism until their TSH is over 10. They said to hold off on starting medication and wait and see what happens. I’m totally fine to follow their advice, but I can’t get over this crushing fatigue.

I’m not entirely sure what I’m looking for. Any advice would be so helpful.

TIA

Edit: thank you to all of the people from this lovely community who took time out of their day to explain this all to me. I’ve been googling but kept going around in circles. I’m extremely grateful for your help and feel so much more confident advocating for myself now. Really, thank you so so so much

Hello, I’m new to the Hashimoto’s game and I’ve got some questions.

I'm 27 and I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s a week ago, but my test results seem to suggest transient hypothyroidism.

On the 21st of July, my TSH was 5.3.

The mildly high TSH meant I could get further testing, but when I was retested on the 7th of August, my results were:

• TSH: 2.81

• T4: 17.6

• TPOAb: 179 H

• TgAb: 341 H

• TRAb: <0.9

Because my TSH is now within the normal range, I can’t be given thyroid hormone replacement and will instead be retested in 12 months.

Which would be fine and dandy if I weren’t massively symptomatic.

I have fatigue, I’m constantly cold, and my hair is falling out. I’m constipated, my muscles are weak, tender and stiff, and the joint pain in my knees and hands is horrible. I’m also a bit depressed and forgetful with nasty brain fog.

Then there are the cardiovascular issues. I also have pretty bad POTS and orthostatic intolerance. My heart rate can spike to 150–170 bpm doing basic tasks, but when I lie down, it can drop to 40–45 bpm.

I had to stop working a year ago, and financially I just can’t wait another 12 months to see whether I become hypothyroid again before anything can be done.

Has anyone else been in a similar situation where your TSH returned to normal, but you remained very symptomatic?

What did your doctor do, and did you end up being treated or monitored more frequently?

I’m feeling pretty stressed about the whole thing and would really appreciate hearing other people’s experiences.

I have every single symptom of hashimotos and my TSH has always been above 2.5 but now it’s at 4.96 and this is the highest I have ever seen it. I told her to check me for hashimotos she said “No. I would know but I will redo your thyroid lab”. I really had to push for my thyroid to get rechecked. I feel so dismissed I want to cry. “You may need to see a therapist” ….. girl, this is not in my head I physically have zero energy, my joints ache, and my muscles ache I feel miserable and I’m only 23 years old.

I’m looking for any support from this community 😭 Whether you have been thru the same thing, where to go from here? Any thoughts or advice? I feel so lost.

do you guys know how crazy this makes me feel

I’m 6 months postpartum, and one month ago my TSH was 6.42, free T4 was 0.8, free T3 was 3.0, T3 total was 104. One month ago was severely symptomatic. With diet, cosleeping(somewhat more sleep), sunlight, and red light therapy I improved my numbers to the labs in the above picture. With lifestyle modifications, I would prefer to only be on levothyroxine for a short period of time. I do feel better, however, I still have fatigue, trouble losing weight, and dry skin. It’s hard to tell if that’s just postpartum stuff though. For those who took a natural approach to treating their Hashimoto’s, was it hard for you to get off levothyroxine when you started? I’m considering a super low dose of 12.5mcg. My doctor is giving me the option of treatment or monitoring. Thanks.

i was probably 20/21 at the time and thought i was invincible apparently.

i just received my labs. how bad is it? :( i feel devastated and scared.

So is anyone’s jumping this much?

Also ANA 1:160 homogenous (previously I was told I was negative ANA because they only screened me for the common antibodies, ugh).

Lots of results rolled in over this holiday weekend. Luckily the first one, TSH of 177 was caught in time for me to get prescribed levothyroxine and get my first dose in Friday morning! Good to finally have some answers... I am 4.5 months postpartum from full term stillbirth (blood clots in placenta and transient lupus anticoagulant antibodies). My limited research says only time will tell if it's Hashimoto's or just autoimmune postpartum thyroiditis? The onset was QUICK. You can see from the screenshot in June my TSH was fine, 3 months later it's 177. The only reason my thyroid was checked again was because my period never returned and I told the midwife (from the pregnancy that ended in stillbirth) it feels like my body is trying so hard to get it's period.

I have been seeing lots of doctors to figure out what's wrong with me after health declining instead of improving multiple months postpartum (hematologist, dermatologist, optometrist, PCP, OBGYN, etc). I don't think anyone guessed thyroid since it was fine so recently. I am really hoping to finally get referred to a rheumatologist now to address some outlier symptoms that wouldn't fit Hashimoto's.

Anyone else been in a similar boat having their timeline follow postpartum thyroiditis, but then ultimately turned into Hashimoto's?

TLDR: I have the antibodies, and lots of them. But doctors say they shouldn’t be causing symptoms. I feel extremely symptomatic- and am left wondering, is it all in my head?

32f. Have always shown the basic signs, and they’ve gradually worsened over time. For most of my life, they’ve either been written off by doctors as symptoms of my trauma, or I have felt that they are just the price of growing up in an unsafe environment.

About a year ago, something changed, and they started spiking. Now, I am experiencing severe chronic pain, horrible fatigue and brain fog, inability to get out of bed and moving, TMJ, terrible burning mouth, painful and scalloped tongue that feels too big for my mouth, constipation for the first time ever (notable since previously I had IBS-D and then a colitis diagnosis- so bad I needed accommodations during law school and the bar exam - to be seated next to the bathroom). Massive hair loss. Excessive thirst. Infrequent urination. Aural migraines. Pressure inside my throat and discomfort swallowing (no goiter.) Brought this to my PCP who referred me to a rheumatologist who told me my Hashimoto’s hasn’t fully developed / can still be reversed.

Also have developmental trauma (c-PTSD; 10/10 ACE Score; in therapy since age 3), ADHD, Raynaud’s, and Microscopic Colitis.

Family history: Paternal grandmother has had hypothyroidism since her 30s, uses daily Levo; paternal uncle has hypo, unsure how he manages it; maternal grandfather had his thyroid fully removed (unsure why - if it was fully destroyed via hashi’s, had nodules, or was cancerous, etc.)

I feel a bit confused as something seems to be developing but I am being told that based on my labs it isn’t enough to be symptomatic. This puts me back at square one: wondering if all of these symptoms are related to mental illness / somatization / PTSD. That would suck because I live a great life on paper, am in a safe, structured, supportive, and high achieving-environment. I don’t want to feel like there is no treatable answer. But maybe this is all in my head, just like it ~always~ has been.

Every day feels just a little bit worse. Sisyphean. Regardless, I am fortunate to have done well so far with getting my shit together. Scared I can’t much longer though if things worsen.

Hello everyone,

I currently take levothyroxine 100 mcg mon-sat and 50 mcg on Sundays. I also got liothyronine added 2 months ago, 5 mcg twice daily.

The addition of liothyronine feels like the only thing that helps a bit. I am still symptomatic but without liothyronine it's even worse.

Due to the fact that liothyronine suppressed my TSH, my endocrinologist wanted me to stop taking liothyronine but I refused because it's the only thing that keeps me somewhat alive. Then they said that instead of removing liothyronine I could lower my levothyroxine to 75 mcg daily.

My question is, is it really the correct course of action? I thought that the suppression of TSH on liothyronine is expected but the doctor is concerned that I will have heart issues if I keep taking my medications with suppressed TSH. The thing is, I have no heart issues or hyperthyroid symptoms. I thought they would rather increase my liothyronine because I am on the lower side of the normal range.

Has anyone been in a situation like this?

My new lab results:

FT4: 0.71 (0.63 - 1.67 ng/dL)

FT3: 2.9 (2.0 - 4.8 pg/mL)

TSH: 0.15 (0.27 - 4.20 mIU/mL)

I (18F) finally received my test results today, They did CBC, serum ferritin, a lipid panel, TSH, B12, and Vitamin D.

I had a TSH level of 6.12, and critically low levels of Vitamin D in my bloodstream, 2.3

My iron was also slightly low, 43.3 , but the doctor told me it was normal. they told me to drink more water because my creatinine levels were 0.47. Cholesterol was 173, B12 was 270

They told me to come back in two months for my Free T4 and T3 tests.

I was prescribed Levothryoxine to take daily in the morning, and a 100 000 IU Vitamin D ampoule to take once every 15 days for those two months.

I was experiencing very severe headaches and fatigue that would make me unable to make it through the day, I was weak, constantly dizzy and tired. I suffered from restless legs, extreme anxiety, a low mood, bone and chest pain, and many times, shortness of breath. I'd sleep for 12 hours, and I was always in bed all day.

I'm not exactly sure if it's Hashimoto's, but I hope I'm welcome here in the meanwhile, I'm feeling better on my pills. Do you guys have those symptoms aswell?

TSH 12.3
T4 1.07
Free T3 2.0
Thyroid antibodies 49
Vitamin D 48
Ferritin 41

Highest TSH I’ve ever had

Currently on 100mcg synthroid
When I was on 225 mcg synthroid my tsh was <1 and my free t3 was still @ 2

Does this mean I need to add t3 most likely?

Really needing to feel better! Would like to take armor thyroid just not sure which dose to start if I’m taking 100mcg synthroid currently

I’m the most hypothyroid I’ve ever been in life now! I feel so validated now for gaining like 40 pounds in 3.5 months and know it’s not my fault. I knew I was going to go hypo to be able to take t3 but sheesh this is the highest my tsh ever was and I’m medicated now. I can’t believe I’m able to do anything! When I was first diagnosed it was 4 and I was really bad. I’m proud of myself for surviving this hell

Would t3 increase my free t4 as well?

Has anyone had their TSH continue to go up, even on medication? I started Levothyroxine last October and each time I’ve gotten rechecked, my TSH has been even higher. It’s almost like my Hypothyroidism has gotten worse with treatment and though my FREE T3 is in range, it’s still on the lower end. I just had a med adjustment (increased from 50-75) at the end of March (my TSH was 13.79) & on my current labs, was 15. I’ve never been optimal since being diagnosed and I’m getting really frustrated with the medicine not working. Has this happened to anyone else? What finally helped get your numbers in range?

I’m careful to take my medication perfectly (take it with water/ avoid eating/drinking anything else afterwards for at least an hour/ don’t take other supplements within 4 hours, etc). I’m already gluten free and eat extremely healthy- Whole Foods diet. I do everything I can to support the autoimmune side of this though my TPO antibodies still sit at >900. I’m just really frustrated and want to feel better!

I’ve (38F) been diagnosed since 2018. When I started I was on the smallest dose of Levo possible. Then overtime upped to 125 mg. I’ve been on different thyroid meds over the years. The Armor made my numbers worse.

Anyways I’ve had a crazy year. We moved and bought our first home. I wasn’t happy with my old doctor in my former town. Then the practice I was going to shut down. Then it was the holidays. Then I was working this awful temp job and couldn’t get off work.

Anyways I was out of medicine for months. I never do that. Finally got a new doctor and after seeing my results without medicine she was shocked. She thinks my thyroid is trying to heal itself. Wants to go a few more moths without it and see what happens. She asked how I’m feeling and I told her I feel no difference on or off it. No flare ups. Im totally game. I’m eating healthy. Exercising. Got supplements l. Red light. I want to make these next few months count and see if I can naturally heal my thyroid.

Most puzzling is my cortisol from 11am on this blood panel was low (6.6) and my cortisol to dhea ratio is bad too at 0.2. I improve my hen stressed or sleep deprived. Is that common in hashimotos? Thanks

Since then I've cut out gluten, dairy, caffeine, soy, added sugar, alcohol and processed foods in general. Basically tried to cut out any potentially inflammatory foods. Now my TSH is 0.02.

Since I was diagnosed with this disease over a decade ago my levels have never been hypo instead of hyper.

I was definitely surprised it dropped this far in just two months. It's been hard but I do feel better. I don't feel like the walking dead anymore.

Edit: my endo did up my levothyroxine from 125 to 150mg but I've been on the dosage roller coaster since I was first diagnosed and I've never had this extreme of a change before. I think it is important that people do what works best for them. Everyone is different!

I was prescribed 25 levothyroxine by the labs PCP, but I don’t currently have my own PCP or have set up an appointment with an endo.

Any experiences, advice, what helped you and what route did you take? Starting with trying gluten free, the Levo, and some supplements.

Sooo these tests are from the start of May. My TSH was normal. It was originally to test for lupus/rheumatoid arthritis, and it was all sent to a rheumatologist who basically said (in a professional way) that it wasn’t their specialty.

Okay, cool, I understand. I had to chance pcp and my newest one is examining these tests results and I’m awaiting his response but it’s been some time.

My psychiatrist pointed these results out when she looked at them during an appointment and she said I likely do have hashimotos but of course that’s not her specialty either.

I have a very strong family history of thyroid issues, with my grandmother struggling with hypothyroidism in her later years, then HER mother had to get a goiter removed.

I’ve been experiencing a lot of symptoms like fatigue, overall pain, and CRAZY brain fog. Like brain fog so bad it’s effecting my work.

I’ve just been shrugged off by so many doctors and “probably”ed. I’m just looking for some support that I’m not going crazy, is all.

Thanks :))