Haemochromatosis - Another piece to the puzzle (Hashimoto's Thyroiditis + IBS)
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So I was doing some routine tests as I got a new doctor and they found that some of my iron related levels are out of range. Being a menstruating woman who has been a strict vegetarian for 8 years (ofc no seafood) and having to previously take ferritin supplements (for a short while when I was 16), this has me very concerned. I'm new to all this and the test results are in Norwegian so I don't know what they really mean. I'll try to write out the relevant ones and perhaps someone might tell me which is which in English? Also, I'm going to list my symptoms and see if anyone has been suffering from the same things as me? Did anyone else with melasma's skin get better after treatment for haemochromatosis?
Also potentially relevant, my urine sample had traces of blood in it. I'm not on my period right now and they are going to repeat. They are also sending me for an ultrasound of my kidneys.
S-Ferritin = 32 ug/L (15 - 200)
S-Jern (S-Iron?) = 36.2 umol/L (9.0 - 34.0)
S-Jernbindingskap (no idea what this one is) = 63 umol/L (49 - 83)
S-Jernmetning (Iron Saturation?) = 57% (10 - 50)
S-Vitamin D = 21 nmol/L (50 - 150) Very low but can't be responsible for all of my symptoms?
HASHIMOTOS:
I was diagnosed with Hashi's at 16 and gradually increased amount to 150mcg over time. Doctor today wants me to decrease back to 125mcg. I'm going with it. I still have my 150mcg if I start to feel so exhausted I'm unable to move...
IBS:
I didn't have IBS problems when I was first diagnosed with Hashi's. I noticed these symptoms start to appear around 19 years of age and it's gradually become worse since then (now 24 years old). Now I don't even remember the last time I went 'normally'. Also, kind of gross but my stools are really orange. I have no idea why, but could it be iron in the poo? Or is that impossible? Sounds kind of impossible but yeah. Also a LOT of gas 
and stomach pain. Stools soft, thin and tiny or diarrhea. Sometimes I get constipated too. Never feel like I've properly been. Sorry if it's TMI.
MELASMA:
I have also been suffering from melasma and increased pigmentation in my skin. My upper lip has patches of dark grey and then I have lots of large brown freckles over the rest of my face. This started happening when I was around 21 and is now so awful I don't like to look in the mirror. I thought it was hormonal and so stopped birth control but haven't seen any improvement yet.
FATIGUE:
On 125mcg levothyroxine, I was feeling very very very exhausted and unable to wake up at all in the morning. Exercise was impossible. I was fat. I'm sure we all know enough about fatigue without me rattling on though. On 150mcg I have been able to function normally without feeling like I'm going to keel over. I started running and lost weight.
So I've had many problems with feeling depressed which all of the above symptoms don't help. But honestly lately I've been feeling like I can't be bothered trying to find the root of all of my problems any more. I can't be bothered to fight it. It would just be easier to die. Not that I'm suicidal, but I am just starting to think that dying would be easier than the endless search for health and a happy normal life. That's still a very depressing thought to have. I'm just wasting my young life being sick and miserable. My relationships have not been going well either - I've been very sensitive and suffering from low self esteem - what girl wouldn't when she looks like she has a moustache. There have been points where I just cry even though nothing bad has happened in particular. I just feel overwhelmed and don't want to see anyone or go outside.
1 like, 3 replies
courtneylou Ryana
Posted
GillianA Ryana
Posted
I think the tests you list are:
S-ferritin - serum ferritin
S-Jern - serum iron
S-Jernbindingskap - serum iron binding capacity
S-Jernmetning - serum iron saturation
S-vitamin D - serum vitamin D - presumably 25(OH) vitamin D, the storage form of vitamin D that the body activates into active 1,25(OH) vitamin D.
I really do think you should talk to your doctor about taking vitamin D, because symptoms of low vitamin D include depression, aching muscles, lack of energy. Low vitamin D might even be related to thyroid inflammation. (For example, the article just published by Arslan and colleagues, "Isolated Vitamin D Deficiency Is Not Associated with Nonthyroidal Illness Syndrome, but with Thyroid Autoimmunity” - 2015)
Increased pigmentation - could be estrogen/progestogen-related, but I don’t think it’s usually dark grey - did you ask your doctor about the pigmentation? You'd want to tell your doctor if you're taking anything with silver in it (turns skin grey over time, a condition called argyria), or minocycline (also turns skin grey) and some other medications can cause grey skin too. Also, if your pituitary gland is making lots of ACTH (its way of yelling at the adrenal glands to get to work), the ACTH can increase skin pigmentation - if this is the case, you'll see the lines in the palms of your hands develop pigmentation.
Gut symptoms . . . have you been checked for celiac disease? There is an association between celiac disease and autoimmune thyroiditis. (There is also gluten intolerance causing diarrhea that isn't celiac disease - I didn't have the celiac disease related antibodies but when I went off gluten to see if it would make any difference to my arthritis, what do you know, the so-called IBS that I'd had for decades went away. So did my palindromic arthritis joint flares – no gluten, no joint flares.)
Also on the topic of gut symptoms, did your doctor check your B12 level? (If stomach pain is related to an infection with Helicobacter pylori, H. pylori blocks B12 absorption – and low B12 can cause feeling depressed and low energy.)
When you’ve got more than one thing going on, it’s like being a detective – I hope some of the above can help you in your search for answers -
amy67792 Ryana
Posted
Hi there, I know this post is 2 years old but I came across it in my never-ending search on my own health issues. I have all of the exact same issues as you describe and am feeling the same way - totally exhausted and defeated. Trying to find answers, constantly playing detective and battling a health care system that offers little care to people with chronic diseases. Have you made any headway since this post? Any further answers? I'm currently getting tested for H Pylori and SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth) and I'm really hoping that I can get some answers and link some of these symptoms and diseases together. There has been a lot of research on the gut connection with autoimmune disease like Hashimotos, and SIBO with rosacea. I haven't seen any connections with malasma but who knows. Please let me know if you've found anything!