PLEASE NOTE:
This is very much a work in progress at the moment which is why the site looks the way it does. I'm trying to fill in the blank spots for the past 6 months and work out how to list the posts in reverse order.
Apparently Blogger does not let you do that!!
Monday, 12 March 2012
Sunday, 11 March 2012
Conspiracy theory time
Initially I left the endo feeling quite upbeat especially after he described me as the fittest person he had seen in his office.
Of course I ignored his advice not too worry and/or look things up and I was back on the net again looking for causes and symptoms of Hashimotos. I had two big questions:
Why do I have Hashimotos?
I guess this is the $64 million dollar question that everyone with AI thyroiditis asks themselves. The difference in my case was that I'm a guy (90% of sufferers are female) and a relatively fit and healthy one. If you looked at me possibly the last condition you guess would be one of hypothyroidism especially as I had completely changed my diet over to a more healthy and organic one over the past year in an attempt to help my fertility.
It is possible that my general fitness and good health have delayed the onset of stereotypical symptoms but there had to be a reason or reasons for my raised antibodies. So far I have come up with the following theories, all of which are well documented online:
Of course I ignored his advice not too worry and/or look things up and I was back on the net again looking for causes and symptoms of Hashimotos. I had two big questions:
- Why do I have it?
- How do I get rid of it?
Why do I have Hashimotos?
I guess this is the $64 million dollar question that everyone with AI thyroiditis asks themselves. The difference in my case was that I'm a guy (90% of sufferers are female) and a relatively fit and healthy one. If you looked at me possibly the last condition you guess would be one of hypothyroidism especially as I had completely changed my diet over to a more healthy and organic one over the past year in an attempt to help my fertility.
It is possible that my general fitness and good health have delayed the onset of stereotypical symptoms but there had to be a reason or reasons for my raised antibodies. So far I have come up with the following theories, all of which are well documented online:
- Inherited autoimmune condition: I have my Dad to thank on this one as he has suffered from Sjogren's since the late 90's although he thinks he can trace it back to the early 80's. In his case he does have dry eyes but does not tend to suffer from many of the other symptoms such as fatigue. He also tends to experience flare ups where he has really bad dry eye for a week or two but it settles down (as do his antibodies). Either way if you have a parent with an AI condition it's probable that you will inherit it as well (or another condition). So far I have tested negative for Sjogren's but have managed to pick up blepharitis a few months ago (see separate entry).
First visit to the endocrinologist
Shortly after the trauma of seeing the urologist I had to see the endocrinologist. Originally it was to be organised through the NHS but me being the eternal stress monkey I booked it through my private health insurance. Just for the record whilst private health seems like a good idea when you want fast answers it can be just as expensive as paying upfront privately. It turned out my rubbish Pru Health policy had a cap on consultancy fees of £750 which is terrible considering the initial appointment to see any private specialist is minimum £250 with a follow up charge of £150. Fortunately you do not need to pay for the tests they have to perform.
Anyway I ended up seeing a professor of endocrinology who cheerfully informed me that I would have to take another test to confirm I had Hashimotos. He explained to me that based on the results I already showed him that if I did have it then there was not much I could do about it other than test my TSH every 6-12 months. Apparently it could take 10-20 years for my thyroid to pack up and that I shouldn't worry about it and certainly should not look up symptoms online. He also said that it was very unlikely that there was a connection between my fertility problems and my thyroid condition and helpfully suggested IUI to try and conceive.
Anyway I ended up seeing a professor of endocrinology who cheerfully informed me that I would have to take another test to confirm I had Hashimotos. He explained to me that based on the results I already showed him that if I did have it then there was not much I could do about it other than test my TSH every 6-12 months. Apparently it could take 10-20 years for my thyroid to pack up and that I shouldn't worry about it and certainly should not look up symptoms online. He also said that it was very unlikely that there was a connection between my fertility problems and my thyroid condition and helpfully suggested IUI to try and conceive.
Results- September 2011
On the recommendation of a friend who is a nutritionist he suggested that I should try a hair mineral analysis to see what was going on.
Whilst I was not entirely convinced on the science behind hair mineral analysis it was interesting to note that it highlighted both adrenal and thyroid issues even though I did not have an apparent symptoms.
That led me to Genova Diagnostics which conveniently enough is located a few miles away from me. They specialise in very detailed medical tests which make the NHS look like 19th century never mind 20th century. I had to test for thyroid function, male hormones, adrenal function as well as a urine test for the thyroid.
Less than a week later I had my results and to a degree am still mentally suffering from the results which showed the following:
Whilst it is true that at that time I did not have any of the stereotypical symptoms (fatigue, weight gain, brain fog etc) my antibodies were certainly high enough to cause damage to my thyroid. Of course I should have concentrated on the positive side that I had found there was something amiss and that I might be able to improve my fertility but instead looked only at the negative side- the symptoms and what might happen in the future.
Unfortunately that was the exact route I took but is not surprising considering I have always been a worrier. Within a couple of weeks I had withdrawn into my shell and spent virtually all my time staring blankly at a screen to see the seemingly endless list of symptoms.
At the same time I visited a private urologist to discuss my results and see if there was anything physically with me down below. He conceded that it was almost impossible to improve your fertility as it was such an unknown entity and then proceeded to examine me (joy). That soon to to worry as he informed me that he had found some lumps where you do not want them but he suspected they were just benign cysts and there for no apparent reason. Apparently 20% of men have them so I was once again in the minority but he wanted to perform an ultra sound scan just to be sure and another semen analysis (double joy). At the same time he referred me to his colleague who was an endocrinologist to look at the thyroid results.
This was originally scheduled through the NHS (6 week wait) but it took me precisely two days to crack due to anxiety and book a private test. Three days and £495 later I was standing in a grotty basement toilet looking at a crappy 70's style soft porn magazine and trying to jizz into a tiny test tube. For the record this is neither fun or easy but had to be done. 2 hours later I was lying on a table watching an ultrasound of my nuts while a guy tried to pinpoint the lumps. The only positive side was that he also thought that they were just cysts as opposed to cancerous but let's just say it was a very worrying time. My partner was also away at the time which didn't exactly help the situation.
Whilst I was not entirely convinced on the science behind hair mineral analysis it was interesting to note that it highlighted both adrenal and thyroid issues even though I did not have an apparent symptoms.
That led me to Genova Diagnostics which conveniently enough is located a few miles away from me. They specialise in very detailed medical tests which make the NHS look like 19th century never mind 20th century. I had to test for thyroid function, male hormones, adrenal function as well as a urine test for the thyroid.
Less than a week later I had my results and to a degree am still mentally suffering from the results which showed the following:
Whilst it is true that at that time I did not have any of the stereotypical symptoms (fatigue, weight gain, brain fog etc) my antibodies were certainly high enough to cause damage to my thyroid. Of course I should have concentrated on the positive side that I had found there was something amiss and that I might be able to improve my fertility but instead looked only at the negative side- the symptoms and what might happen in the future.
Unfortunately that was the exact route I took but is not surprising considering I have always been a worrier. Within a couple of weeks I had withdrawn into my shell and spent virtually all my time staring blankly at a screen to see the seemingly endless list of symptoms.
At the same time I visited a private urologist to discuss my results and see if there was anything physically with me down below. He conceded that it was almost impossible to improve your fertility as it was such an unknown entity and then proceeded to examine me (joy). That soon to to worry as he informed me that he had found some lumps where you do not want them but he suspected they were just benign cysts and there for no apparent reason. Apparently 20% of men have them so I was once again in the minority but he wanted to perform an ultra sound scan just to be sure and another semen analysis (double joy). At the same time he referred me to his colleague who was an endocrinologist to look at the thyroid results.
This was originally scheduled through the NHS (6 week wait) but it took me precisely two days to crack due to anxiety and book a private test. Three days and £495 later I was standing in a grotty basement toilet looking at a crappy 70's style soft porn magazine and trying to jizz into a tiny test tube. For the record this is neither fun or easy but had to be done. 2 hours later I was lying on a table watching an ultrasound of my nuts while a guy tried to pinpoint the lumps. The only positive side was that he also thought that they were just cysts as opposed to cancerous but let's just say it was a very worrying time. My partner was also away at the time which didn't exactly help the situation.
Monday, 27 February 2012
Brief history
Where to begin? Let's start with the past- well September 30th 2011 to be precise.
Without going into too much unnecessary detail I'm an average guy, aged 41 that has recently been diagnosed with Hashimotos thyroiditis. To anyone unfamiliar Hashis (or chronic lymphocytic thyroditis) is, according to wikipedia is:
"is an autoimmune disease in which the thyroid gland is gradually destroyed by a variety of cell and antibody-mediated immune processes. It was the first disease to be recognized as an autoimmune disease. It was first described by the the Japanese specialist Hashimoto Hakuru in Germany in 1912"
"is an autoimmune disease in which the thyroid gland is gradually destroyed by a variety of cell and antibody-mediated immune processes. It was the first disease to be recognized as an autoimmune disease. It was first described by the the Japanese specialist Hashimoto Hakuru in Germany in 1912"
I found this out by pure chance whilst trying to investigate causes for my poor fertility and in particular high abnormal sperm morphology (discovered this in Jan 2010) after failing to conceive for a year. Finding out that there was something wrong with my sperm back then completely destroyed me for a good few months but I was lucky to have a strong and intelligent partner to help drag me out of my self-pity.
More tests followed (all good except for morph) and I tried a number of remedies to help improve it. These included loose boxers (no more tight jeans either), acupuncture, fertility blend, all manner of vitamins and generally a healthier lifestyle. Unfortunately none worked and IVF (with ICSI- where they inject your sperm straight into the egg) became our best option.
Unfortunately after two attempts at IVF (see page) the onus has come back to me to see if I can improve my morphology by any means necessary. Whilst I'm neither an expert on fertility or endocrinology I'm of the opinion that my thyroid is affecting my fertility amongst other things. That means if I can possibly halt or even reverse my antibodies then possibly my fertility might improve and I can stop the destruction of my thyroid.
It's a big if but if there is a 'cure' to everything- we just need to have an open mind, strong belief and it will be found!
Unfortunately after two attempts at IVF (see page) the onus has come back to me to see if I can improve my morphology by any means necessary. Whilst I'm neither an expert on fertility or endocrinology I'm of the opinion that my thyroid is affecting my fertility amongst other things. That means if I can possibly halt or even reverse my antibodies then possibly my fertility might improve and I can stop the destruction of my thyroid.
It's a big if but if there is a 'cure' to everything- we just need to have an open mind, strong belief and it will be found!
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