We have a tentative diagnosis...

[kickaha]

Just not for the symptoms I went in for... :D

It appears that I have Hashimoto's disease - an autoimmune disorder that attacks the thyroid. However, other than a slightly enlarged thyroid, and elevated levels of thyroglobulin antibodies, I am asymptomatic. In men, that is usually the case, but women are 10-15x more likely to develop the symptomatic form, hypothyroidism. An associated symptom is that the same antibodies attack the parietal cells of the stomach, leading to poor iron and B-12 uptake. It is genetically passed, and dominant.

My mother has been treated for hypothyroidism for years, unsuccessfully, and is also badly anemic and shows signs of B-12 deprivation, despite supplements.

Go figure.

Long term prognosis for me is currently "get T4 levels checked at least once a year, probably twice", and if it starts to slip, then I start thyroid supplements. ie, no biggie. :)

Now if we can just figure out the rest of it...

Comments

[jinasphinx.livejournal.com]

Cool, that's two diagnoses for the price of one (you and your mom). Does that mean that she'll start getting successful treatment?

[kickaha.livejournal.com]

Here's hoping. She tends to bounce around from alternative provider to alternative provider, and avoids what she calls "Those AMA doctors" as much as possible. *shrug* I'm of the opinion that there's a place for each in medical treatments, but she is highly distrustful of anything that looks like it might be associated with a laboratory.

[jinasphinx.livejournal.com]

Oh, fun. My mom has the distrust of doctors too, and coincidentally also probably has some kind of thyroid issue (always turning up the thermostat to 80, thinning hair).