I have learned that once you have an autoimmune disease, it is easier or likely you may develop more. Has that been the case with you?
Sometimes I feel like I may have other things going on now, but I am waiting for labs to come back that will test some other areas.
I am curious, besides thyroid autoimmune disease, what other autoimmune diseases have you developed?
I have immune thrombocytopenia - ITP. Antibodies are destroying my blood platelets faster than my bone marrow can make them. Good news - if there can be any in having a disease - is that it doesn't make me feel bad. But the really bad news is that the treatments cause far more problems than the disease. So far, I've been able to avoid them.
I have endometriosis, which I feel is an auto-immune disease (they haven't proved it to be as of yet). It's pretty likely that I am gluten intolerant, as my mom, 2 aunts, brother and cousin all have it! I want to be tested to see for sure, as I have not gastrointestinal symptoms, but I betcha I have it. Ug.
I have immune thrombocytopenia - ITP. Antibodies are destroying my blood platelets faster than my bone marrow can make them. Good news - if there can be any in having a disease - is that it doesn't make me feel bad. But the really bad news is that the treatments cause far more problems than the disease. So far, I've been able to avoid them.
Hi midwest...
Glad to hear you are doing fine with the ITP. My niece had that when she had just turned 3 years old, [acute childhood ITP, which is curable, and she was treated and did fine, never to have anymore problems and is 23 now and in grad school] My platelets were good last time I had them checked, [a year ago, but I am due for another annual physical]. Just wondering, before you found out that you had that, did you have any signs of symptoms?
My niece was lethargic, little appetite, and had nosebleeds all day long. [my brother & his wife had just dropped her off at the SF airport on there way to Hawaii so we could babysit her] So she just wouldn't stop w/ these bleeds, and she also had little signs of bleeding into her skin, [pettichae...or something it's called], and was a little pale and had some little bruises too.
I was just wondering, as I've had quite a few small bruises lately. On my legs & arms. The leg bruises could be from bumping into the dishwasher door, etc, when I'm busy & in a hurry, but lately, have had several on my arms, too. Did you have any bruises, midwest, or any other symptoms? Thank you in advance for answering...
To the original poster, not to frighten anybody, but my brother [deceased at 46] had hypothyroid plus at least 5 AI diseases, total. It just seemed like the AI process overtook his whole bodily systems. Possibly because he went untreated for so long. He felt unwell for appox. 5 yrs before he was finally diagnosed with the hypothyroid. [stupid Dr. he was seeing]
I always thought, maybe letting that go, caused things to get out of hand. One of those diseases he had was pretty rare, Wegener's Granulomatosis. A lot wasn't found until they did an autopsy. He also had other non AI diseases, Hemochromatosis, and other things...which could've also played a part in it all...who knows? I've never seen anyone w/ so many. Maybe once on an AI mess. board I saw a lady w/ 4, but I don't think it is that common.
No other autoimmune diseases appart from the Hashi's that i know of. I was tested for gluten intolerance via a blood test and my antibodies for that came up at the high end of the lab report, but not over. I am aware that a blood test can show a false positive/negative. Best way is to have the biospy done. Not everyone with gluten intolerance or Celiacs has symptoms. My doctor has told me even if the antibodies are low that gluten still isn't a best from of anybody with even one autoimmune disease.
I've also been told that higher levels of Vitamin D can help bring down thyroid antibodies. I've previously heard selenium could do this too.
Courtesy of my thyroid condition i also have digestive/malabsorption issues due to pancreas not producing sufficient digestive enzymes, poor adrenal function, hormone imbalance with excess estrogen which messed up my monthly cycles and resulted in a fibroid, difficult to raise ferritin and vitamin D, poor liver detox leading to inability to get rid of excess estrogen, hair shedding. That about sums up my list of issues.
Deda - good to hear your niece is doing well now
Midwest - i too would like to hear of any symptoms you experienced as a result of the ITP. I'd never heard of it until now.
It's amazing how many different things go off the rails once there are thyroid issues. It's scary how a lot of doctors are not diagnosing or medicating thyroid issues correctly or taking into account other things which need to be addressed too.
Thanks for the responses. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if I was diagnosed with other autoimmue diseases at this point as my physical symptoms continue to progress. It doesn't scare me, I like to hear other's stories, but I will face whatever I need to do.
Endometriosis is considered an autoimmune disease or it is being looked at as one. I know they are testing using IGIV to treat it.
I have had documented Hashi's for 3 years now. I just found out I have Celiac . Celiac and Hashi's are seen together. And just to make this more interesting I had PCOS when younger, when you are older they call it Metabolic syndrome or Insulin resistance..... Not sure it is a documented AID but may end up as one.
There are over 80 documented Autoimmune disorders. So many things they do not understand about this. Our Endos do not talk about this enough.
I think if you see an Immunologist Allergist they know mare about it. That is going to be my next stop since I have developed food allergies recently. It is a real pain.
Oleander
Shingles 05
Hashi's and multinodular goiter 06
Milk allergy 08
Low IgA levels 09
Celiac disease 09
SCC and BCC skin cancers 09
Deda and Audrey... For several years, I've had petichiae on my legs, which I paid absolutely no mind of. I would get purpura - slightly larger blood hemorrages - in areas where clothes fit tight, mostly in hot weather. I once came home after sitting in a hot baseball stadium with my chest/shoulders covered in 1/8-1/4" purple dots. Then in 2007, at my annual physical, my platelet count was flagged low at 79K. Normal range is 140-400K. Doc didn't even mention it to me, nor did I notice it myself. In those days, I mostly only paid attention to thyroid counts. During the next 10 months or so, I continued to have frequent petechiae/purpura. Then during the 2 months prior to my next checkup appt, I started getting large, horrible unexplained bruises and oozy nosebleeds. Did an internet search to find explanations and found two - leukemia or ITP. I didn't feel sick enough to have leukemia, and the autoimmune aspect of the ITP made perfect sense, seeing as how I already had Hashi's. Decided it wasn't urgent and waited till my checkup to mention it.
At the checkup, I told doc about the bruises. He brushed them off as insignificant before I could even get to the nosebleeds and low platelet count from the year before. I was ticked... but I let it go temporarily, deciding to see what my platelets looked like on that day's test. They were flagged low again at 33K, which he finally noticed. He ordered a repeat test for a month later. The cells clumped on the slide and a count couldn't even be determined, yet doc reported to me that my results were "entirely normal". ! That's when I self-referred to a hematologist who did a bone marrow biopsy, ruled out leukemia, and confirmed ITP.
So far, my symptoms have been mild, just those I've mentioned. Deda, I would say if your bruises hurt when pressed on, they're more likely the result of injury rather than low platelets. That's how I can tell the difference between the two, anyway... My "ITP" bruises don't hurt. Fatigue is a part of the syndrome for many people, but that hasn't been clinically acknowledged fact until just a few months ago.
The hema would prefer to treat when my counts get into the 20s, which has happened only twice so far, to my knowledge. But I don't want to take the first-line treatment - prednisone - and so far, he hasn't pushed the issue.
There are over 80 recognized autoimmune diseases. It isn't much of a stretch to think any of us is likely to get one or more others besides the thyroid types. I actually feel sort of lucky to have ITP as opposed to something like lupus, MS, or RA. It's only a nuisance really... unless it gets any worse than I have it now.
I have learned that once you have an autoimmune disease, it is easier or likely you may develop more. Has that been the case with you?
Sometimes I feel like I may have other things going on now, but I am waiting for labs to come back that will test some other areas.
I am curious, besides thyroid autoimmune disease, what other autoimmune diseases have you developed?
Hi, The thought never crossed my mind, but in January I was diagnosed with another autoimmune disease, Multiple Sclerosis. Its attack is on the Central Nervous System, so when a nerve is damaged you feel pain because the nerve can no longer send the correct message. For me, the pain is at the soles of my feet. Last month I began daily Copaxone injections. The medicine only slows the disease. It does not cure the disease. I'm the youngest of five, and I'm the one with all the medical issues. I do know that I got my Hasimoto's Disease from my father as it just showed up on him as a senior citizen, but no one on either sides of our family has MS. I'm hoping my children will not develop these. Take care
Midwest - Thanks for the info I was a bit worried i might have what you described, but i've got lots of cherry angiomas. I only ever had the odd few, but over the last 10 years (since all my symptoms began showing up) i've had loads of tiny, miniscule red pin ***** like dots appear on my abdomen and arms. They aren't growing fast, but i think one day in the future i'll have to have some removed. I don't know and nobody else appears to know what's caused this. I keep thinking my excess estrogen has thinned my skin and maybe the capillaries beneath burst for some reason in areas, but that's just a guess.
In regards to AI diseases, when i went back to attempting to find out what was wrong with my health, the doctor i saw checked my Vitamin D levels. Once he saw i was very low he immediately said "we need to get your Vit D levels up as you don't want to risk an autoimmune disease in the future". Soon after i was diagnosed with Hashimoto's. I've watched documentaries on Tv and the vitamin D connection in regards to AI diseases has come up numerous times. There are so many of us on here with low Vit D levels too.
I have graves (in remission for 5 years) and as far as I know haven't had any other AI issues. I was tested for Lupus and RA a few years ago due to pain (negative), turned out to be a herniated disc. I've also had a colonoscopy and endoscopy done with biopsies for gluten intolerence and all the others, all negative. Diagnosed with IBS. I had a blood test, don't know what it's called to check on immune system, was told it looked good. I've had burning in the soles of my feet for about 4 years, I had nerve conduction studies done and was told it was caused by a disc in my lower back. The Neurologist said MS is not associated with other AI diseases as it's a completely different thing, he didn't explain. My Mum and 2 of her sisters were hypo and never developed any other AI diseases, my Mum's 85. My Endo has written a book on AI diseases, he says there are over 2,000 of the buggers and counting. I've never had my vitamin D levels checked, it's not a blood test routinely done in Australia maybe because of our climate. Anyway I hope none of us ever have another one, AID that is.
I don't have any other autoimmune diseases that I know of . . . but poor digestion makes me wonder about celiac or just from the slow digestion from Hashi's. Is the low vitamin d from the Hashi's or does low vitamin d cause Hashi's. In other words what came first chicken or the egg. My vitamin d is low, my ferritin low end of normal, magnesium and calcium low. Afraid of osteoporosis. I am on supplements but still have digestive issues and bone and muscle pain.
Mattieann
I will just throw out here that there is a promising new use for an older drug that is going through several clinical trials for autoimmune disease and fibromyalgia called Low Dose Naltrexone. Look it up and see what you think. It has few if any side effects and seems to be doing a whole lot of good.
Had Hashi's since 2004 but diagnosed in 2006
Type 2 Diabetes in 2007, although Type 1 is autoimmune, but i've never had hyperglycemia before
Anemia/Low Iron/Low B12/Low Ferritin(*possible pernicious anemia but can't get a dr to tell me)
Rheumatoid Arthritis (my RA factor is 114, normal range is <14)
Adrenal Insufficiency/Low Cortisol
Low Vitamin D
Still working and surviving!
I am still waiting for my test results of other autoimmune diseases I have, but it hit me tonight that I wouldn't be surprised if I had diabetes, although I am not the typical type. I was watching "Army Wives" tonight when one of the characters was diagnosed. I know it sounds silly, but all of my grandparents had diabetes and I always had some blood sugar, anemia, hypoglycemia issues and now two autoimmune diseases of the thyroid so far.........just some of my thoughts......
Hi vh90453 - That is good that you are seeing an endo who has written a book on AI diseases. Could you name the title of the book as i'd be interested in looking at it.
With Vitamin D, it's not precisely how much sun a country gets, it's to do with our skin. As we age we aren't able to absorb, via our skin, as much vitamin D as much younger skins do. 18 - 20 year olds absorb Vit D from the sun more readily than any other age group apparently. Not sure how they came to this conclusion. I couldn't believe when i was told my Vit D was so low. I spend a lot of time out doors and even with taking Vit D supplements it was still difficult to raise.
Low Vitamin D is extremely common with hashi's sufferers and other thyroid sufferers. It's also quite a common thing among people without thyroid issues. My Vitamin d was never checked until i found a decent doctor who took all my symptoms and issues seriously. So if you have a thyroid issue and have never had yours checked i'd be getting it checked, especially with it's connection in helping adrenal function and the thyroid.
Hi Audrey, Sorry I don't know the name of the book, I've looked for it myself, his name is Dr Stephen Thornley, it might just be like a medical text thing I don't know and I haven't seen him since I've been in remission. I often read articles he's written in local Publications but they're mainly about diabetes. My GP orders regular blood tests. I don't even know if it had been published at the time. The last thing he said to me was "have a nice life, I don't expect to see you again" I don't mean to steal this thread but does anyone know what the chances are of coming out of remission? I've done searches and get different information. I'm always on the lookout for symptoms, I'd really hate to have graves again. Thanks for the info on vitamin D, have never heard of the association. I had bone density and cholestrol checks done while I was hyper but no vitamin screen. I might have a hard time talking my GP into ordering one, I love him but he's unlikely to listen to anything I read on the net as I'm a bit of a Cyberchondriac and have promised him I'll stop doing it.
Hi all! I was diagnosed with Graves in '06.I also carry Hashi antibodies. I had a bout of ITP back in 97. Doctors had NO idea why at the time. I just started bleeding (I licked an envelope and it had blood on it) I also had my period, which was always light and I started bleeding heavy. I had little spots all over me and some bruising it looked like. I went to a walk in cause I knew something was really wrong! The doc said"get to the hospital, you have a blood disorder." The ER was crowded that nite. I think I was in some kind of supply closet... I asked someone if I had leukemia, they said"we don't know yet." I was hemorrhaging! I kept bleeding through the johnny. My platelets were 1,000...they are supposed to be 200,000! They said if I didn't have a tranfusion of platelets and gamma globulin, I could have a bleed to the brain and die. I said"UH....OKAY!!!!" I felt perfectly fine. I had a note on my door when they checked me in that said I could faint etc... I still felt fine. Anyway...
I was put on prednisone for 3 months. My platelets steadily went back to normal. The only thing they could come up with was quinine. I had tonic water 3 days prior to this. This can lower platelets they said. They never gave me another explanation. Obviously i didn't have Graves at the time. All the bloodwork. It wasn't till my research with Graves began that I found out ITP is linked to it! It's been 12 years and knock on wood *knocks on head* so far so good with THAT! I guess it's auto immune too.Midwest has it but not bad like that..very weird, huh?? I get weird things.
Do you have other autoimmune diseases? 
. Celiac and Hashi's are seen together. And just to make this more interesting I had PCOS when younger, when you are older they call it Metabolic syndrome or Insulin resistance....
. Not sure it is a documented AID but may end up as one.
! That's when I self-referred to a hematologist who did a bone marrow biopsy, ruled out leukemia, and confirmed ITP.
