Type 2 Sudden Hyperthyroid levels

[sunflower27]

Hi to all,
I was dignosed as T2 about 4 years ago. It was all a bit traumatic at the time - I went into hospital with with a b/g reading of 30.1 (in old money) - but I've rallied and have had it under control for about 3 years now with just diet. Generally, my HbA1c have been 55 to 58 during this time.
Suddenly, in my last tests, I have developed a hyperthyroid condition (overactive thyroid). I say developed, the numbers have shot up from about 16 to 34 (anything over 24 is overactive). I feel awful frankly. Tired and shaky.
My cholesterol levels have always been up but HDL high too. Overall Cholesterol now down but manly due to HDL s falling. Current HbA1c is now 6.3!
I've lost about 1kg in the last week and now weigh about 53 kg.
My GP has put me on meds and is making an app for me to see an endocrinologist. I'm wondering if I have a pituitary gland condition.
Anyone else had similar problems? I'd be very pleased to hear any comments.

 

[PansyP]

In August, 2015, after fifteen years of being Type 2, I developed a hyperactive thyroid and when diagnosed, I had lost a stone in weight, my pulse was racing and my hand would tremble. My diabetologist failed to notice this and it was my GP that did (She was furious)

I was put on a very low dosage of Carbimacole initially. Then I added Levothyroxine a couple of months later. By Spring 2016 ,my thyroid was normal again. In order to have the best chance of remission, I have had to continue this treatment for another year. Therefore shortly I will be stopping the medication and fingers crossed .....

I didn't have a goitre or polyps, enlarged pituitary. It was Graves "Disease", another auto immune condition and diabetics are more susceptible.

 

[Winnie53]

I've been popping in and out of subclinical hyperthyroid for 14 years. Recently learned that 200 - 400 mcg - (note: mcg not mg) - of selenium can be helpful. Started taking 100 mcg in the morning and 100 mcg in the evening months ago, and for the first time in a long time, I have a heart rate that is closer to the normal range. My "normal" heart rate was 100.

There are also herbs used for graves disease, but don't take anything without first running it by your doctor.

There are a number of ways to manage this condition. Amy Myers, M.D. developed graves disease in medical school. Today, she operates a functional medicine practice and specializes in working with patients who have thyroid disease. Might be worth a look at her website. If you like what you see there, you can order her book... http://www.amymyersmd.com/about/my-story/

One of the frustrations is almost everything written is geared to Hashimoti's, not Graves. I encourage you to learn everything you can about your condition so you're making informed decisions each step of the way.

Hope you begin to feel better soon @sunflower27

 

[sunflower27]

In August, 2015, after fifteen years of being Type 2, I developed a hyperactive thyroid and when diagnosed, I had lost a stone in weight, my pulse was racing and my hand would tremble. My diabetologist failed to notice this and it was my GP that did (She was furious)

I was put on a very low dosage of Carbimacole initially. Then I added Levothyroxine a couple of months later. By Spring 2016 ,my thyroid was normal again. In order to have the best chance of remission, I have had to continue this treatment for another year. Therefore shortly I will be stopping the medication and fingers crossed .....

I didn't have a goitre or polyps, enlarged pituitary. It was Graves "Disease", another auto immune condition and diabetics are more susceptible.

Hi PansyP,
Thank you for replying.
I've been prescribed low dosage Levothyroxine and Carbimazole too. I'm hoping they have some effect soon. Very glad to hear you're doing so well and I hope all continues to be well when you come off the meds.
I don't know how you felt, but I just feel like all my internal organs are attacking me. Nothing seems to work properly and it's really depressing, having worked to hard to overcome the T2, to have to go through this as well.
How were you diagnosed with Graves disease? Was it with blood tests or did you have any further investigations such as an MRI or CT scan?

 

[Lesleywo]

If you have Graves disease it's possible you have LADA and not type 2. Ask your doctor to check for GAD antibodies

 

[sunflower27]

I've been popping in and out of subclinical hyperthyroid for 14 years. Recently learned that 200 - 400 mcg - (note: mcg not mg) - of selenium can be helpful. Started taking 100 mcg in the morning and 100 mcg in the evening months ago, and for the first time in a long time, I have a heart rate that is closer to the normal range. My "normal" heart rate was 100.

There are also herbs used for graves disease, but don't take anything without first running it by your doctor.

There are a number of ways to manage this condition. Amy Myers, M.D. developed graves disease in medical school. Today, she operates a functional medicine practice and specializes in working with patients who have thyroid disease. Might be worth a look at her website. If you like what you see there, you can order her book... http://www.amymyersmd.com/about/my-story/

One of the frustrations is almost everything written is geared to Hashimoti's, not Graves. I encourage you to learn everything you can about your condition so you're making informed decisions each step of the way.

Hope you begin to feel better soon @sunflower27

Hi,
Thank you for replying. I will look at the link you suggested.
Sorry, I'm a bit panicked at the moment - only just found out a couple of days ago that I have a hyperthiroid condition - and also I'm feeling jittery anyway. I can't help but feel there is an underlying issue, I had perfect blood pressure just before christmas and I had even put on a few pounds. Suddenly everthing has gone to pot. The results from the blood test show that my numbers for thyroid have more than doubled.
I am grateful for your advice though and glad to hear you heart rate has improved.

 

[PansyP]

Hi PansyP,
Thank you for replying.
I've been prescribed low dosage Levothyroxine and Carbimazole too. I'm hoping they have some effect soon. Very glad to hear you're doing so well and I hope all continues to be well when you come off the meds.
I don't know how you felt, but I just feel like all my internal organs are attacking me. Nothing seems to work properly and it's really depressing, having worked to hard to overcome the T2, to have to go through this as well.
How were you diagnosed with Graves disease? Was it with blood tests or did you have any further investigations such as an MRI or CT scan?

I had blood tests to diagnose then a 29 minute scan. Towards the end the technician cane to my left side and placed a problem on the left side of my neck. That's where my immune system had attached cells!

No need to panic. At no point have I been in pain. Having problems with your thyroid can play havoc with your blood sugar as can the other drug you might be prescribed - Propranolol which is designed to immediately bring down a racing pulse. If you are prescribed it, it will only be a temporary short time measure.

 

[sunflower27]

If you have Graves disease it's possible you have LADA and not type 2. Ask your doctor to check for GAD antibodies

Hi,
Thank you for your reply. I haven't heard of LADA before...I will look it up.

I haven't had a diagnosis of Graves disease as yet - I only got these test result a couple of days ago. You know it's never good news when your GP rings you at 8.30 am! I am waiting for an appointment to see a specialist, but would like to find out as much as possible before hand so I can go prepared.

Many thanks for your advice.

 

[PansyP]

If you have Graves disease it's possible you have LADA and not type 2. Ask your doctor to check for GAD antibodies

Possible but I am Type 2.

 

[Freema]

Hi,
Thank you for replying. I will look at the link you suggested.
Sorry, I'm a bit panicked at the moment - only just found out a couple of days ago that I have a hyperthiroid condition - and also I'm feeling jittery anyway. I can't help but feel there is an underlying issue, I had perfect blood pressure just before christmas and I had even put on a few pounds. Suddenly everthing has gone to pot. The results from the blood test show that my numbers for thyroid have more than doubled.
I am grateful for your advice though and glad to hear you heart rate has improved.

It is an extreemly stressfull condition the whole body is stressed up all the hours of the day and night..
if the medication doesn´t help they sometimes can operate part of the gland away or make you drink radioactive iodine and half kill the overactive gland, in my case unfortunately the whole gland was killed ... which I am rather angry over still 17 years later as I really wanted the operation, but even though told I could choose freely they kept arguing with me untill I in the end gave in and accepted the much for the hospital much cheaper choice to drink the F#cking radioactive iodine, and 3 months later my gland had died and I had a body temperature of 35 degrees celcius..... So now on permanent levothyroxine which works okay..
but better after I take a supplement of vitamin B 12 too...

you can by the way get your whole needed amount of selenium by eating 4 brazil nuts daily

 

[sunflower27]

I had blood tests to diagnose then a 29 minute scan. Towards the end the technician cane to my left side and placed a problem on the left side of my neck. That's where my immune system had attached cells!

No need to panic. At no point have I been in pain. Having problems with your thyroid can play havoc with your blood sugar as can the other drug you might be prescribed - Propranolol which is designed to immediately bring down a racing pulse. If you are prescribed it, it will only be a temporary short time measure.

It's very good to know you were scanned.

I have a worry that the NHS only treat symptoms without looking for causes. I was going to the doctors for over 9months with various problems that I now realise were obvious signs of diabetes. It was only when my eyesight suddenly worsened that I looked (well squinted) up my symptoms and the answer kept coming back as T2. I had to go to a chemists and ask for a test. The pharmasist was horrified at the results. I could sleep for 14 hours a day at that point!

Is propanalol a beta-blocker? I was an atenolol for about 17 years when I was diagnosed as T2. It was for migraine suppression, not high blood pressure. I have since found out that prolonged use of beta blockers is linked to diabetes so I'd be loathe to take it again. I'm starting to question whether any of the symptoms that I've had over the years have been looked at properly to see if there is any link...

What happened to the anomolous cells? Did meds sort that out?

Thanks for taking the time to reply, I really appreciate it.

 

[sunflower27]

It is an extreemly stressfull condition the whole body is stressed up all the hours of the day and night..
if the medication doesn´t help they sometimes can operate part of the gland away or make you drink radioactive iodine and half kill the overactive gland, in my case unfortunately the whole gland was killed ... which I am rather angry over still 17 years later as I really wanted the operation, but even though told I could choose freely they kept arguing with me untill I in the end gave in and accepted the much for the hospital much cheaper choice to drink the F#cking radioactive iodine, and 3 months later my gland had died and I had a body temperature of 35 degrees celcius..... So now on permanent levothyroxine which works okay..
but better after I take a supplement of vitamin B 12 too...

you can by the way get your whole needed amount of selenium by eating 4 brazil nuts daily

Hi,

Thank you for replying,

From the little I have managed to read about hyperthyroidism and the treatments available, it does seem that radiotherapy can be a kill or cure method. I was looking at pituatary problems, where exactly the same thing can happen - an initial cure from radiotherapy then the pituatary gland dies later. Seems a pointless risk. I'm very sorry that it happened to you. I hope you are feeling well now.

Thank you for the tip. I will buy brazil nuts tomorrow.

 

[Freema]

Hi,

Thank you for replying,

From the little I have managed to read about hyperthyroidism and the treatments available, it does seem that radiotherapy can be a kill or cure method. I was looking at pituatary problems, where exactly the same thing can happen - an initial cure from radiotherapy then the pituatary gland dies later. Seems a pointless risk. I'm very sorry that it happened to you. I hope you are feeling well now.

Thank you for the tip. I will buy brazil nuts tomorrow.

I am okay but will never get a new gland unfortunately... but one can be okay without on levothyroxine forever

 

[PansyP]

Is propanalol a beta-blocker?

Yes but it''s only used as an instant solution to a racing pulse until the thyroid medication kicks in. It's not forever but somehow I ended up a year on it! It shouldn't have been prescribed in the first place for a diabetic. There are alternatives, thankfully.

 

[Winnie53]

@sunflower27 over the last year or so I've attended two health summits on the thyroid, also a docuseries on autoimmune diseases. Hyperthyroid is a serious condition. I encourage you to do what you can to slow the decision process down. As someone else pointed out, there is a medication that you can take to calm you're body down as you learn about all of your treatment options. I should add here that there are also specific herbs that can be used to calm the body down too.

Reviews of Myer's two books are always mixed, but after hearing her interviewed a few times, I believe she is sincere and is helping her patients. Assuming you're in the UK. Here's a link to her newest book... https://www.amazon.co.uk/Thyroid-Co...478938676/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

Other authors are Izabela Wentz, PharmD (who has Hashimotos), and Dr. Datis Kharrazian (who primarily treats patients who have chronic health conditions that don't respond to traditional treatment). Here's links to their books...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_s...s=izabella+wentz&rh=n:266239,k:izabella+wentz

https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_s...as=stripbooks&field-keywords=datis+kharrazian

If you only get one book, I'd go with Myer's book because she had graves disease and treats patients with this condition.

One other doctor who had graves disease and treats it is Eric Osansky, but he doesn't go into enough detail in his books. He prefers to work with patients directly.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_s...words=Eric+Osansky&rh=n:266239,k:Eric+Osansky

 

[Lesleywo]

Hi,

Thank you for replying,

From the little I have managed to read about hyperthyroidism and the treatments available, it does seem that radiotherapy can be a kill or cure method. I was looking at pituatary problems, where exactly the same thing can happen - an initial cure from radiotherapy then the pituatary gland dies later. Seems a pointless risk. I'm very sorry that it happened to you. I hope you are feeling well now.

Thank you for the tip. I will buy brazil nuts tomorrow.

Please be careful with taking Selenium. It is toxic in high doses. I had elevated levels of selenium just by eating 2 brazil nuts a day! It's important to have regular blood tests to measure trace minerals when taking supplements like that

 

[Snapsy]

@sunflower27 I'm sorry to hear about your thyroid issues. I'm very glad to hear that you've got what sounds to be a timely diagnosis.

I had Graves' disease in 2001. Short story: I was treated with Carbimazole and Atenolol, then radioiodine. I'm now on Levothyroxine, and I'm well.

Longer story - I was diagnosed very, very late, and it is this that resulted in a rather traumatic experience. Almost a year passed between my first symptoms (repeatedly ignored by my GP) and finally being diagnosed - in the meantime, having been fobbed off again and again and having been convinced that there was 'nothing wrong with you apart from your out-of-control diabetes' I even moved abroad for work! Thankfully a colleague dragged me to a local doctor, who diagnosed me, put me on Carbimazole and Atenolol (a beta blocker - my resting heart rate was 130bpm), and recommended I return to UK where I could have the support of my family.

The very late diagnosis had put me into a great deal of trouble, and I ended up hospitalised after a psychotic episode as a result of the thyrotoxicosis.

I still wonder to this day how neither I nor anyone around me had noticed a dramatic weight loss, a very swollen neck and some extremely dangerous behaviour (such as trying to throw myself out of the car on a motorway, to name perhaps the least disturbing). Ho hum.

After two months on Carbimazole I was treated with radioiodine, which served to kill my thyroid gland completely. I wasn't treated with Levothyroxine until some months after that - interestingly I'd shrunk from a size 12 to a size 8 (on a 6ft frame) before I ended up in hospital, and came out a size 18-20 five months later. Would have been nice to have had the post-radioiodine hypothyroid treated and therefore avoided the weight gain, but still.....

Now for the reassuring bit - you've been diagnosed already, and you're on medication, and you've been referred to an endocrinologist who will no doubt go through the options with you. Happy ending for me, although I'm in the middle of a dose-tweak at the moment as I've been running hyperthyroid since around Christmas, which has meant stepping back from a few things while I get sorted. It's a balancing act - a bit like the diabetes, really.

Tell your endocrinologist every single thing you're experiencing in terms of how you're feeling - even if it doesn't seem like a 'thing'. My psychiatric symptoms were put down to all sorts of other things, and my outcome could have been very different.

I wish you all the very, very best with it. It's treatable, and like the diabetes, to a large extent manageable.

Love Snapsy xxx

 

[Soplewis12]

I have been type 1 for 27 years & was undiagnosed overactive thyroid for approximately 2 years, due to cancellation of annual hospital appointments. I know how bad the symptoms can be, by being stressed & anxiety issues. I have now changed to underactive, have put on 9lbs since November which has resulted in my insulin doses needing changed more often than I'd like. Im putting the changes down to the weight gain but not sure if it's a direct link to the thyroid problems. Emotionally I now feel flat, can't be bothered but this is better than the anxiety issues when overactive. I'm on a low dose of levothyroxin & waiting on my urgent referral to endocrinologist that was requested from my GP early January.