Hi,

I've just been diagnosed as having hashimoto's after 3 years of weight gain tiredness and depression. I've had regular blood tests and thyroid scans over 2 & half years but only now are the results considered significant enough for treatment.

I have read hundreds of the messages on this mailing list plus looked at many websites and have learnt a lot (thanks to all of you out there) but to help me with my first visit to the endocrinologist next week I have the following questions.

My current status is:

My thyroid scans are completely normal - no change in three years
Regularly declining T3 now below lower limit of range
Varying T4, still within range but at lowest for 3 years
TSH, 2 and half years ago, 8.0, 2 years ago, 5.0, 1 year ago 6.6, now 24.80
First antibody test (a week ago) - Anti Thyroglobuline 293 (range 0-100)
- Anti Thyroperoxydase (TPO) 1061 (range 0-64)  

My questions:

(1) what's the difference between T3 and T4? Does the declining T3 but normal T4 indicate anything specific? Should this affect treatment?

(2) I suffer from night sweats (i'm 40) about a third of the time and thought this might be the peri-menoupause. I'm on the pill so other symptoms might be masked.

Should I mention this to the endocrinoloist? Will this affect the treatment I should get?

(3) I have had bad allergies to many types of pollen since the age of 14 so have been taking anti-histamine for 26 years for 3-4 months a year.

There are allergy and thyroid histories on both sides of the family.

Are there any known links between allergies and autoimmune thyroid problems?

(4) There is also a congentinal early deafness on my dads side (my uncle and grandfather) which I read somehwere had a link to thyroid - does anyone know of this link?

(5) I guess I will be prescribed thyroxine but how will my antibodies react? Won't they be "pleased" to have more thyroxine to destroy? Will they increase or decrease?

Should I be asking for other anti-body tests?

Where did I get all these antibodies from? (blood transfusion 8 years ago after giving birth to my twins???)

(6) From what I understand, hashimotos isn't curable but is treatable by reaplacing thyroxine to ease the symptons so is there any genetic research/or other research being done to find a cure for this and other thyroid disordrs? 

Any comments/wisdom would be helpful - I live in France so my meeting with the endocrinologist will be in French which already puts me at a big disadvantage. I just hope she has a holistic approach.

I'm thrilled to have been diagnosed but scared now that the treatment won't be right for me

Thanks

Maggie (e-mailing from Geneva)

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