I've been hypothyroid for 7 years and recently (7 months ago) stopped smoking. Ever since then my allergies have been so bad I now go for allergy shots, my body aches everywhere and I've gained 15 lbs. which I am finding impossible to lose no matter how much diet and exercise I do. Three months ago the doctor raised my synthroid to 1.0 (from .88) and at my last check up last week he told me to now lower it again back to .88. What is happening here? Are these crazy allergies somehow related to the cessation of smoking and my thyroid. Does any of this make sense to anyone?? Thanks.
Nearly every one of us here that smoked fell apart after quitting. Its been proven that a huge number of folks get diagnosed shortly after quitting the smokes.
Same for me. I quit smoking and all hell broke loose. I was never the same. I totally believe that what nasty said is true, quitting smoking and being diagnosed goes hand in hand.
Oh My!!! I quit smoking 2.5 years ago, and full apart! Gained 70 lbs. in one year, was in so much foot & leg pain I couldn't walk, had to get cortisone shots which lowered my TSH (falsely), which led to my dx, finally after 15 years of being mis -diagnosed.
This is so weird! I thought I was the only one who was ever worse after quitting smoking! Even my doc didn't know that cortisone injections will falsely decrease the TSH, which is a blessing b/c the low TSH is the only reason I was sent to the END0, who properly diagnosed me. (I was a lab tech, and was aware of that problem, which even the Endo did not know). My TSH was always normal, which is why I was misdiagnosed for so long. Had I not quit smoking, I may never have been diagnosed!
Same here...I quit smoking 2 months after I started on thyroid meds, and got sicker and sicker. Later, when I relapsed and smoked for a month, my symptoms were practically all gone! But I knew I needed to quit, so it's been almost 2 years now, and I think (finally) my body is either getting used to the thyroid meds, and used to being smoke free, (altho I still chew some nic gum), but most of all I think it's because my levels are improving.
Yes, I think quitting smoking is extra tough on us thyroid people..a real butt kicker for sure. But don't give up tho, you will feel better someday.
Deda
Ora, get this, that is what I was plagued with...............foot and heel pain. I mean I was a virtual cripple for about a year and a half. I couldn't walk! It happened right after I quit and have never been the same. I have had one thing after another. I read a huge study on this recently ( medicine journal) and it definitley linked thyroid disease to smoking and the disease surfacing soon after quitting. They didn't have to tell me twice!
Karen
That's amazing. My sister, who still smokes like a chimney. and is 15 years older than I, runs circles around me. She also has thyroid disease, but was diagnosed after only about a year of having symptoms. I always thought that was why she was so much better than me, but now I wonder if it is because she still smokes!
I still have foot and heel pain, but nowhere near what it was before I began taking Armour. It seems to get bad when my estrogen is low, so I think they are related (my estrogen was extremely low during the time when I couldn't walk, but my ditzy doc never even mentioned HRT to me! I began treatment for thyroid and HRT at the same time, so don't know which one helped the heel pain the most, but it is barely there today.
There must be much truth to this link between smoking and thyroid disease, because my problems began during my pregnancy 16 years ago - exactly 2 weeks after I quit smoking! As soon as I found out I was pregnant, I quit smoking, and 2 weeks later, was wracked with muscle, joint and soft tissue pain, as well as fatigue and depression. 5 years later, I began smoking again. The symptoms remained, however. Then, when I quit for the second time 2.5 years ago, I began having even more severe symptoms.
This is so interesting!!
I STILL want a cigarette, 2.5 years after quitting.....
Wow!!! And I didn't even mention the pains in my feet because I didn't think it had anything to do with this!!! But I am currently on Synthroid, I guess it doesn't matter?? The allergies and pain are still there anyway. My doctor is an idiot though, if I told him these things he'd think I was an hysterical female. Maybe I should go to an endocrinologist? Or just live with this?
My sister was just diagnosed with hashi's and her biggest problem she is having is pain, especially in her feel and heels. She told me she thought about buying a cane to help her walk and she is only 36. The foot pain went away for me about 2 years ago. Who knows what it is that starts the foot pain with the smoking and the thyroid. My pcp was the first one that connected it all, she also figured out that just because all the other dr;'s said my thyroid was fine she decided to actually look at it and sure enough there were 2 huge nodules on it and she ran the antibodies test and they came back sky high. It was so good to finally have a diagnosis.
You get to a point where you don't care what is wrong with you, you just want a diagnosis.
You are so fortunate to have that PCP! I stuck with a ding-head for over 10 years. She would check only my TSH, which was always normal. After I quit smoking and couldn't walk, and the cortisone injections falsely decreased my TSH, I was sent to an Endo who discovered a nodule and an antibody titre of over 26,000. No wonder I was so sick! I am so glad your foot pain went away in maybe with time, mine will disappear entirely, too.
Cookie,
It might help you to see an Endo, or fund a doc who will treat you based on your symptoms. I left the Endo who diagnosed me because I actually got worse on the low 50 mcg. of Levoxyl I was given, and because my TSH was "normal" they would not increase my dose. They kept saying that since my TSH was normal, it must not be my thyroid making me so sick! I was totally bedridden and in so much pain I wanted to die. I kept asking why they wanted to keep my TSH normal when it always was normal. I could have "normal" without treatment! Sod left and found a doc who would let me take more hormone, and I started to feel better.
So, it is important to NOT to get a doc who looks only at TSH.
Also, keep in mind, if you have high antibodies and a nodule, those labs are useless. Those other aspects keep you sick no matter what your labs show.
I have been to more dr's than I care to count trying to find some that understand it all. Luckily, my obgyn is the one who got me into a specialist within 1 week and from there I was having my thyroid out in 12 days! You have to be pushy, persistant and let them know upfront that YOU will be treated and take information with you to show them how you are supposed to be treated with this. If they get offended, than that is my clue to never come back. You know then they are more worried about their ego than your health.
I know this is an old thread but I had to comment too. I've been hypothyroid for about 7-8 years, but synthroid kept me on an even keel. When I quit smoking almost 2 years ago I crashed big time. The first week I slept nonstop, both day and night. A couple months later I finally dragged my butt into the Dr's office and told him I thought my synthroid was off. Turned out I was off by a lot, my TSH was 29 (range .540-5.700). Normally I ran around 4-5.
He told me smoking falsely raises your metabolism so you're medicated for that "level" but when you quit things do indeed nose dive. But no where in all my reading on quitting did I ever stumble across anything that said that! in some respects that might be good, I probably would have been to afraid to quit, but in other ways I wish I had been better prepared and gone in earlier.
Anybody have a guess as to how long you should wait to get your levels checked after quitting smoking? I am planning on trying this again soon.
When I quit smoking for six months four years ago I started feeling crappy during that. Well, I started smoking again and was diagnosed with Hashi's shortly after. I had never thought that quitting could have triggered something.
Nodi,
I am not sure about when to get your levels checked as mine were always right on the money despite the 2 nodules, hashi's and high antibodies. My symptoms started though about 3 weeks after I had quit. It has been 5 years since I quit and I was never, ever the same healthwise. I actually read the article in the big journal of medicine ( don't know if I can post the name) that linked stopping smoking to the trigger of thyroid disease, however, I am still glad I quit. I started in with weight gain and then with that extreme foot and heel pain.
Good luck Nodi, I hope it is successful for you to quit!
My levels didn't change until I quit smoking 1 1/2 years, which was last week. At my last endo appt. 2 weeks ago, I had to have my armour dosage upped to 90mcg from 60 mcg. How did I know it needed to be adjusted? My LDL went dramatically higher as well as my CRP (C-Reactive Protein) level, and I started losing more hair. Hopefully things will settle down with my new dosage. After I quit smoking, I felt terrible. I've only recently started to feel better after 1 1/2 years.
Hi ...I remember you from the SC board, and remember that you were having a very difficult time after you quit, so I'm glad to hear that you are finally feeling better...that's great! I went through a tough time too, but I quit smoking like a month or 2 after I was dx'd with hypothyroid and Hashi's., so I never knew what was causing me to feel so sick..wouldn't be surprised if the quitting contributed to it, as much as I see posts about people quitting and then becoming even more sick, on this board and another one.
I just hit my 2 year quit anniversary the other day, and boy, I tell ya, it felt good. I didn't think I could ever give those cigs up! It was when this disease came along, and I read how smoking is so bad for autoimmune diseases, and can elevate your antibodies, well, that was enough to scare me into quitting for good.
That is weird how your levels didn't change any, as it does slow down your metabolism so much when we give it up.
I am finally feeling well too, (for the most part) after a long 2 years. I think it just takes time for our bodies to straighten out after we quit, and get used to living without the nicotine and other poisons.
Anyway, glad to hear you are better girl, and good luck to all the other people here who are trying to quit..it is so worth it!
Deda
Hi Deda,
Yes I feel a little better, finally, although I'm now battling high cholesterol and CRP levels. I'm hoping the increase in my armour dosage will help that. I'm feeling a little funny though since my increase. A funny tingling in my left arm and chest. And I'm having trouble sleeping. I'm hoping when my body gets use to this dosage that goes away. How long does it take for your body to adjust itself with a new dosage? My TSH went from 1.92 to 2.72 in 6 months, which is why my dr increased my dosage. Do you think that was necessary? FT3 and FT4 were off also, but my numbers are at home so I can't post them here cause I can't remember them. I still have dreams about smoking, isn't that weird?
Still dreaming about smoking..yes, that's weird, but not suprising, after all of those years of indulging in that habit, (all day long), it's pretty deeply embedded in there! lol
I don't know about how long it takes to adjust to a new dose, we're all so individual, but for me, oh, maybe a month..maybe. I've had that weird tingling, (like pins and needles) in the center of my chest before too.... a few times, but haven't had it lately. And it does take me a while before I sleep well after a new dose. I'm kind of, (very) sensitive to dose increases too. Do I think your increase was necessary...yeah, I think so. Ideally most of us need our TSH to be between a 1 and 2. But the Free T levels are what really counts the most. Good luck with the new dose, and hopefully it will bring down your cholesterol and CRP level too! I'm bettin' it will!
Best of luck, and nice talking to you again. And congratulations on not smoking for 18 months now...great news!
Deda
Hi Cookie,
I'm a smoker, In the back of my mind I know I have to make an effort to quite, But in your case, I think when you did smoke, all your nasal passage's were coated with all the debris from smoking, now that your smoke free, all the debris is gone and now your sinus and nasal passages are clean as a whistle, now all the air born agent's that are in the air can really irritate you.
Karen
Smoking has been shown to mildly elevate T3 levels. I forget where I read that, but it was from a medical journal article and a reputable source. SO, when you stop smoking, your T3 conversion can drop suddenly, thus quickly bringing on hypothyroid symptoms.
__________________
Danny
I am not a doctor, nor have I ever played one on TV...
Stopped Smoking and Falling Apart! 
