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What causes hypothyroidism in middle age?

Posted , 4 users are following.

debbie03785
debbie03785

hi, i was diagnosed hypo a year ago, was two years into perimenopause at the time. Went to doc as I was a bit tired and couldnt lose weight, despite diet and exercise. Doc checked my bloods, said I was hypo and I started on levothyroxine. Around this time I had whooping cough and also became allergic to penicillin. Only now a year later Im questioning why did I become hypo. Are these things linked? Now told I have high cholesterol levels and have my blood glucose rechecked, so totally changing my diet. Is there a test to find out what has caused it? Thanks

0 likes, 7 replies

7 Replies

  • sweetmelissa
    sweetmelissa debbie03785

    Posted

    Hi Debbi ...  the most common cause of hypothroidism in developed countries is Hashimoto's thyroidis, which is an auto immune disease in which your immune system attacks your thyroid.  You would need your TPO and Tgab tested to know for sure.  As your thyroid gets destroyed by your immune system, you develope hypothyroidism and will need synthetic hormone replacement ( such as levothyroxine ) for the rest of your life.  Another common cause is iodine definciency , but this is more common in  under developed countries where they do not put iodine in thier salt.  I hope this helps some Debbie.  Of course there is a few other causes, but I am not too familiar with, as the two I listed are the most common.  Hope you start to feel better!
  • sweetmelissa
    sweetmelissa debbie03785

    Posted

    Also high cholesterol is a common finding in people with hypothyroidism.  This may lower as you continue your medication and hopefully get your thyroid levels good.

     

    • debbie03785
      debbie03785 sweetmelissa

      Posted

      Thanks so much. Will ask doc about these tests. My level is on the high side of normal, so thinking of incresing to 125 mcg of levo, but this week my heart has beenpounding, not really palpatations, and Im worried more levo may make it worse. I long for the day I can pop my pill, feel good and just get on with life instead of living in a cryptic puzzle! X
    • sweetmelissa
      sweetmelissa debbie03785

      Posted

      Also... if you havn't already, you should have your Free T4 and FreeT3 levels checked also.  This will give you a bigger picture on where your at with your levels.  For example..  right now my TSH is normal after a med increase but my Free T4 levels are high.  The high FT4 levels are giving me some hyper symptoms, even though my TSH is normal. 
  • shellyC19
    shellyC19 debbie03785

    Posted

    Hello Debbie:

    My name is Shelly and I am a nurse in the USA and I have Hashimoto's thyroid disease.

    Several things can cause it.

    #1- family trait, runs in certain people's gene's/DNA.  Like Hashimoto's autoimmune

    #2- Epstein-Barr virus also called Mononucleosis.  It attacks the gland and lays dormant and comes out later in life.

    #3- Cancer, Lupus, Diabetes and other conditions or treatments like chemotherapy.

    #4- lack of Iodine in 3rd world countries and poor food/diet.  Not likely in USA or UK or any major country because salt is iodized now.

    #5- Illegal drugs....Meth, cocaine can damage the body and glands.

    So these are ways it can come about. Keeping a good balanced diet and living well and taking the hormone,  it is manageable.

    They can draw a titer to see if you have EBV (Epstein BarrVirus) also TPOA antibodies test for autoimmune.

    I hope this helps,

    Shelly

    • debbie03785
      debbie03785 shellyC19

      Posted

      Yep going to ask for these tests. Thanks so much for the info.
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