1. Community
  2. Diabetes and hormone problems
  3. Hypothyroidism

Autoimmune disease overload

Posted , 8 users are following.

cheryl1209
cheryl1209

Hi

I'm just wondering if there's anyone out there who is ina similar situation as me and if so how they cope with it.

I'm 25 and over the past 6 years I've been diagnosed with 4 pretty serious autoimmune conditions. When I was 19, I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis which is often crippling, even now. I was told this was an autoimmune condition. Shortly after, I was diagnosed with Coeliac Disease, another autoimmune condition. The Arthritis and symptoms of the coeliac disease when I hadn't controlled it obviously made me feel unwell and I often felt lethargic and unhopeful due to a lot of pain and stuff going on in my body. 

I managed to go on a clinical trial which allowed me to have a new and powerful arthritis drug which dramatically improved the condition and I managed to cut gluten out of my diet. I also lost a bit of weight - thi helped. 

However, after the trial, my symptoms of arthritis gradually came back but was uually kept under control with the exception of a few flare ups. 

When I was 23, I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes after getting a very quick onset flurry of symptoms (another autoimmune condition) - I find this very difficult to manage. 

I've recently moved cities and transferring all of my specialists and treatments left me with no arthritis medication, and a long wait until I see a diabetes specialist to adjust insulin levels. As you can probably imagine, I've been in an awful lot of pain and been feeling very down, tired and lethargic. I'm very upbeat although having so many conditions and I don't let it bring me down, even though I work a full-time job 8 til 5 everyday. I've been having problems with blood tests, platelet counts, that kind of thing. 

I was aware that I had the antibodies for Hypothyroidism as I had the test for that about a year ago and I knew it was just a matter of time before I developed it. Upon my most recent blood tests, my TSH level was 47.7 - ten times the top end of te normal limit. I've literally just started levothyroxine but, as you can imagine, I feel completely overloaded with health issues and like my head is going to expload and quite down about it all. 

I'm sorry to give you my life story but I was just wondering if any one else has any of the other conditions I have and how they manage with all of them? 

Also - how should I have been feeling with a TSH of 47.7? Should I have been feeling VERY different because, like I said, I always feel fairly tired and down due to the combination of illnesses. Any advice at all would be appreciated - I feel massively alone with this.

Thanks

Cheryl

1 like, 20 replies

20 Replies

Prev
  • sonya78375
    sonya78375 cheryl1209

    Posted

    Hi Cheryl!  your post is a year old so you may no longer be following it but hey, snap!  I started with Type 1 at 33, Hashimotos Thyroiditis at 34 and now Rheumatoid Arthritis at 39.  Of all of these I still feel that Type 1 is the most challenging, even though I have been a very active person and desperately feel the bad effects of RA stopping me in my tracks (was surfing, running, cycling with Type 1 even though tricky).  Am currently on Prednisone which has been craaaazy for blood sugars.  Hoping Methotrexate will kick in for RA so I can get off it.  Extreme exhaustion was one of my main Type 1 sypmtoms before diagnosis.  But they caught me pretty late because it was my first autoimmune.  How are you doing now?  I feel like I'm on top of Type 1 (though it is a neverending challenge and hassle), but feel so clueless about RA - is there hope for the pain to go?  Do people really feel ok ever again?  As for thyroid stuff - the symptoms are hard for tiredness and brain but now on top of it with thyroxine it is absolutely no big deal, taking little pills once a day just does not compare to constant monitoring and injections ay!
  • JenniePoobah
    JenniePoobah cheryl1209

    Posted

    Hi Cheryl.  I know it's been a while.. how are you feeling?

    Unfortuantely, there are a lot of us.  I was on the "Health Unlocked" forums on thyroid problems and so many have multiple autoimmune illnessess (me too).  Has it gotten easier for you to manage diabetes?  How are your new doctors, since your move?

    All my best,

    Jennifer

Back to top
Prev

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.