Hyperthyroid surprise

Snapsy

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Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

I had radioiodine treatment to render my thyroid inactive in 2001, and have been on thyroxine tablets since.

Back in the summer I experienced some absorption issues affecting my daily dose of 200mcg Levothyroxine, making me hypOthyroid. At the time my dosage wasn't increased, but I changed the way I was taking it (i.e. on an empty stomach and without the side-order of cod-liver oil).

Roll on to now, and I'm now hypERthyroid. All the symptoms of this which have raised their head over the last few months I had considered to be down to 'other' things, i.e.:

Hot flushes and night sweats - I put these down to early menopause.
Weight loss and hunger - I put this down to increased exercise (have been swimming and biking like a Brownlee).
Climbing the walls - I put this down to being physically frustrated at temporarily not being able to run (poorly foot).
Lack of concentration - I put this down to being rubbish at work.
Mood swings/anger/unreasonable and scary thoughts and behaviour - I put this down to being a bad person.

It's obvious, now I look back, that I haven't been 'right' for a while. Wish I'd realised way sooner than this.

I completely lost it on Monday. It was awful. Flipped out completely. I'm fine, most of the time I'm fine, but I'm very unpredictably volatile right now. The last two occasions where I've been hypER, I was experiencing anxiety attacks - which I haven't had this time, perhaps because I've been burning off so much of my manic energy with exercise.

Thankfully I had had some tests 2 weeks ago, and as I wailed to my husband on Monday 'I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME' I remembered that it might be useful to know those results. So I rang the endocrinology department, completely beside myself, and got a call back to tell me to reduce my thyroxine dose smartish.

I'm feeling very vulnerable and clingy. The good news is that now I know that my state of mind is temporarily not as it should be I am trying to avoid things that will make me want to flip. That's quite a lot of things. And with hindsight I see that I've not been quite myself since a while before Christmas, and the last fortnight, in particular, has been pants.

Should be back to normal soon.

Am posting this here a) because I'd like a hug, please and b) just to state the obvious by getting it out there to forum members at large (not just thyroid patients) that if the way you are feeling doesn't feel right, perhaps it could mean that it isn't right, and might need looking into. My mistake had been to think that every 'symptom', as I now know it to have been, was *just* a lifestyle factor.....

Thanks for listening!

Love Snapsy
:)
 

Bluetit1802

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I'm afraid to say I know hardly anything about thyroid issues, but have given you a hug and hope things smooth out for you.
 

satindoll

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Been there done that........at least you now know why your feeling pants and it sounds like you have a supportive husband........don't beat yourself up over the things beyond your control........things should start getting easier within a week or so......my advice for when your feeling "ARGH" find a corner and let it out.....I used to go down the bottom of the garden and scream loudly if the neighbours were out but quietly if they were is as I didn't want to scare them.......BIG HUGS......
 

Freema

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you are not on metformin, cause metformin can lower TSH so it looks like one is hyperthyroid without being it.. just would mention it..just in case.
 

Snapsy

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Thanks all - you're smashing!

@Freema I didn't know that Metformin could affect TSH - but it's my elevated T4 that's caused this, due to being on more Levo than it seems I need. I don't take Metformin.

Off to run the first of my March miles at the gym - that will get rid of some of this 'ARRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHH'!

:)
 
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carol43

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@Snapsy If your T4 is elevated it could be that you are not converting T4 to T3. Do you have your latest results for TSH, T4 and T3?
 

himtoo

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why can't everyone get on........
Hi Snapsy
here is my big hug [[[[[[[[[[hug]]]]]]]]]]
hope you feel better soon lovely !!:)
 

Brunneria

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Do you have any idea how long it will take for your too high thyroxine levels to subside?
 
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Snapsy

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@Snapsy If your T4 is elevated it could be that you are not converting T4 to T3. Do you have your latest results for TSH, T4 and T3?
I spoke to the doctor in a state of such high nervous tension that I didn't ask him for the specifics - not even my HbA1c, which I obsess about - is it the thyroid gland that converts it (in which case it won't, as it's kaputt - or does that happen somewhere else in the body, do you know?

I guess it'll all be in the letter that's apparently on its way! Meanwhile I've had a run and am feeling a little less tightly wound. Yay!

:)
 

ellagy

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1,448
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Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

I had radioiodine treatment to render my thyroid inactive in 2001, and have been on thyroxine tablets since.

Back in the summer I experienced some absorption issues affecting my daily dose of 200mcg Levothyroxine, making me hypOthyroid. At the time my dosage wasn't increased, but I changed the way I was taking it (i.e. on an empty stomach and without the side-order of cod-liver oil).

Roll on to now, and I'm now hypERthyroid. All the symptoms of this which have raised their head over the last few months I had considered to be down to 'other' things, i.e.:

Hot flushes and night sweats - I put these down to early menopause.
Weight loss and hunger - I put this down to increased exercise (have been swimming and biking like a Brownlee).
Climbing the walls - I put this down to being physically frustrated at temporarily not being able to run (poorly foot).
Lack of concentration - I put this down to being rubbish at work.
Mood swings/anger/unreasonable and scary thoughts and behaviour - I put this down to being a bad person.

It's obvious, now I look back, that I haven't been 'right' for a while. Wish I'd realised way sooner than this.

I completely lost it on Monday. It was awful. Flipped out completely. I'm fine, most of the time I'm fine, but I'm very unpredictably volatile right now. The last two occasions where I've been hypER, I was experiencing anxiety attacks - which I haven't had this time, perhaps because I've been burning off so much of my manic energy with exercise.

Thankfully I had had some tests 2 weeks ago, and as I wailed to my husband on Monday 'I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME' I remembered that it might be useful to know those results. So I rang the endocrinology department, completely beside myself, and got a call back to tell me to reduce my thyroxine dose smartish.

I'm feeling very vulnerable and clingy. The good news is that now I know that my state of mind is temporarily not as it should be I am trying to avoid things that will make me want to flip. That's quite a lot of things. And with hindsight I see that I've not been quite myself since a while before Christmas, and the last fortnight, in particular, has been pants.

Should be back to normal soon.

Am posting this here a) because I'd like a hug, please and b) just to state the obvious by getting it out there to forum members at large (not just thyroid patients) that if the way you are feeling doesn't feel right, perhaps it could mean that it isn't right, and might need looking into. My mistake had been to think that every 'symptom', as I now know it to have been, was *just* a lifestyle factor.....

Thanks for listening!

Love Snapsy
:)
Hope you get well soon Snapsy hugs from me and mine (three puppies!)
 
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Snapsy

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Do you have any idea how long it will take for your too high thyroxine levels to subside?
They're testing me again in 6-8 weeks, @Brunneria - I do know that if thyroxine is upped, it takes that long to reach its new level, but I don't know what the reverse is, if you see what I mean.

Am reassuring myself all the time that it can only get better from now on - tomorrow will be my second day at the lower dose. It'll all be fine (or come out in the wash, to quote a very wise aged parent of my acquaintance).

:)
 
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AndBreathe

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I spoke to the doctor in a state of such high nervous tension that I didn't ask him for the specifics - not even my HbA1c, which I obsess about - is it the thyroid gland that converts it (in which case it won't, as it's kaputt - or does that happen somewhere else in the body, do you know?

I guess it'll all be in the letter that's apparently on its way! Meanwhile I've had a run and am feeling a little less tightly wound. Yay!

:)

Snapsy - That's a bit of a turn-up for the books. It just goes to show that "just feeling off/rough/wrong/out of sorts" for any length of time shouldn't be ignored or speculated away.

You might find this quite a good explanation of "all the bits" of your thyroid tests.

http://www.amymyersmd.com/2016/10/thyroid-lab-results-really-mean/
 

Diakat

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Late to the party but giant hug. And I'll steal the child's cuddly toys if you need something to cling to. X
 
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Totto

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I spoke to the doctor in a state of such high nervous tension that I didn't ask him for the specifics - not even my HbA1c, which I obsess about - is it the thyroid gland that converts it (in which case it won't, as it's kaputt - or does that happen somewhere else in the body, do you know?


Levo is synthetic T4 and T4 is the storage form. Did you get FT3 rested as well? In my opinion FT3 is the most important test as this shows something about what is actually going on, T3 being the active form of thyroid hormone that is tested. There are several others as well.

Keeping tabs on morning temperature, blood pressure and resting heart rate are what we can do ourselves in order to check if the dose is correct. I do understand the sweating and such but as I'm 54 and suffer from other hormones or lack of them it's not always easy (as if it ever was!) to understand what is wrong.

If I were you I'd skip a couple of doses in order to lower thyroid levels. Levo is T4 and it's a storage hormone so you don't need a daily fix.

I'm on NDT, works much better for me than Levo ever did but it contains all the thyroid hormones so a completely different thing.