Time for me to ask for help-Hyper thyroid? Too much Thyroxine? Symptoms that are stopping me living now 0.07 TSH 20.0 T4, bloods last week.

[snowflake]

Hi,

I joined this site a few years ago now and think it does a great job in helping people as there are lots of people who know what they're talking about. I haven't felt the need to ask for help as I have been just "getting on with it" and my levels seemed to be OK although my symptoms never really seemed to get any better once I was put on Thyroxine. My doctor however said that my symptoms were not a result of my condition (underactive Thyroid with out of range antibodies ...he never called it Hashi but i presume that is what I have)

Multiple visits to the doctors however in the past have seen be being put onto anti depressants (multiple makes, now on the new Venlefaxine) and I am taking 150Ms of Thyroxine. Multiple visits to various therapists for depression and anxiety ..due to major life events..but my symptoms never go completely and I am now back to square one. My doctor said on my last visit that we have tried everything and there is nothing left to try...so I have an appointment with the mental health team where a psychiatrist will see me on wednesday. He said that they can medicate and that I may need some sort of mood moderator to even out my ups and downs. This scares me.....

I am a creative person and i exercise alot. My body does crash when I over do it as my sport is high contact, cardio (Roller Derby actually) but the benefits way outweigh the minuses.

My moods definitely change with my monthly cycles. I was told to keep a chart of this and when I took it into the doctors, he didn't even look at it, even though he had asked me to do this and sent me straight to the psychiatrist. He said that they can medicate and as I was saying that the anti depressants don't work and never have, he said that they can medicate and are the only profession in the mental health profession that can.

I feel that I am just being drawn closer and closer into them just sedating the problem and not looking into the underlying reasons as to why this is happening, probably due to costs. My levels in their eyes are OK TSH wise, so they have done their bit. As my moods change with my period cycle and the Thyroid is linked to hormones so heavily I can't see why this wouldn't be investigated further. I have never been sent to an endo, just for CBT and paid for private Therapy.

This month, I have been very tearful, stressed and unable to cope. My business is suffering and I am very tired with bursts of energy. My confidence is low (with bursts of extreme high) but I have yet to be able to get up today as I have exercised on Saturday and never fully recovered. Muscles ache and exhausted. Very very low hence my ask for help.

One thing I did notice was that I sweated ALOT more than anyone else on Saturday with my hair and shirt saturated. I am wondering if I have gone hyper and my symptoms are because of this? In the past the doc has let me self medicate as I felt better being slightly hyper but now I just feel awful and tearful.

Any advise would be appreciated as Wednesday I go to the Shrink and I really don't want more meds, I want less!

Thank you

Snowflake x

[Granitecitygirl]

It is sounding like you are hyper and perhaps overmedicated. I can sympathise with the sweating I gave up Roller Derby as it got too much, physically due to Graves weakening my muscles and the fact that I couldn't stand the egos and politics (bad for thyroid too). Too many Divas with penis-envy! I am sure other Derby Teams aren't as bad as all that though

I would think that the shrink would be very unprofessional to medicate based on 1 consultation, although I am sure it is done often. Use the time to talk everything out. You might find it theraputic. Be completely honest with the guy re self medicating. And if that doesn't work, get a new GP and find someone who is willing to manage your condition as it sounds like your GP is not interested.

[Clarebear]

Hi snowflake - it sounds like you are having a horrible time - sorry to hear that

However, all of the symptoms that you describe above could be attributed to your thyroid - depression, anxiety, not recovering well after exercise, muscle aches etc. As you say, it seems to be connected to your monthly cycle, and as you rightly say this is all hormonal and could well be linked.

18 months ago, when I was on thyroxine, I had hypo and hyper symptoms and a TSH of 0.04 and top of the range fT4 - I felt awful like this. I was lucky enough to switch to NDT (Natural Dessicated Thyroid), and this has made a huge difference to how I feel. Earlier tests had indicated that I might have a conversion problem, as my fT3 was low in the range, but fT4 high. My levels are currently TSH < 0.02, fT4 mid range and top quarter of the range fT3. I feel pretty well with these levels. I am wondering if you too would benefit from the addition of some T3, either synthetic or in NDT?

I really think it would be worth getting your fT3 tested, as my suspicion is that this is low, that you have a conversion problem, and it is this causing your problems. Thyroxine is just a storage hormone, and if you are unable to convert it sufficiently, you will remain hypothyroid in spite of "normal tests" for TSH and fT4. Your GP maybe able to do this or alternatively the psychiatrist might be able to. If not, then I think it would be worth ask for a referral to an endo - worth checking on here first that they are OK and amenable to prescribing T3. Good luck and please let us know how you get on. xxx

[snowflake]

Thank you very much for your answers. My doctor was good enough to test my T3 for me when I asked in my test before this one and I think it was 4.6 but I can check when I call later. I remember it being the low end of normal but didn't take it any further

[Clarebear in reply to snowflake]

It would be good to get it retested at the same time as TSH and t4, as it is useful to see where they are in the ranges in comparison to each other. Xx

[snowflake]

Hello Clarebear, as suspected, my doctor hadn't read the results yet when I called up. I thought it would be proactive to get a full profile since I started taking thyroxine in 2008. I have had to sign to say I want my medical records and pay a small charge for printing, but tomorrow I will get all my results including what it said when I had my TSH,T4 and T3 together. If the T3 was low and nothing was done about it I can then request it to be taken again.

This was where I was at last time, just before I had CBT and I put it on the back burner as it's very hard when nurses/docs (multiple docs at the same practice) say that it's not your thyroid. Maybe they are right, but I am at the stage in my life now that I want to know for sure as I am being pumped with meds that a/don't work and b/I am reliant on as they give me head buzzes if I miss one (anti depressants) Not nice and I want to come off them as I feel they don't work so why take them.

Hopefully when I have more info, I can find out more. Thank you for your help x