Does anyone who is, or feels they are hypothyroid have problems with balance?

[siskin]

I believe I am hypyo , but Dr. ignoring my blood tests. I often feel wobbly and have a balance problem, if this is a thyroid symptom does it cease with thyroid treatment? Thank you.

[Moggie]

Yes it is a thyroid problem and yes it does get better with treatment.

Can I ask what you mean by your GP is ignoring your blood results - do you have these to share with us?

Moggie x

[siskin in reply to Moggie]

Thanks for reply Moggie, yes I will post results, but too tired at the moment to bother, can't get my butt off the chair or my brain in gear.. I was put on thyroxine by private consultant but GP stopped prescribing..

[Moggie in reply to siskin]

Why did he do that?

Moggie x

[siskin in reply to Moggie]

He seemed to think I was over medicated and might have a have heart attack or stroke. I felt he does not understand thyroid probs. Will post test results to-morrow.

[Moggie in reply to siskin]

Will try and catch them tomorrow.

Moggie x

[siskin in reply to Moggie]

Hi Moggie. Just been too tired and depressed to respond sooner. I copied and pasted these results from a correspondence with doc.

They were o.k. on spreadsheet don't know how they will come across on here.

Ranges :- TSH (0.35 – 3.50) mIU/L FT4..(8-21) pmol/L FT3 (3.8-6.0) pmol/L

Blood test results over last two years.

July 2010....TSH 3.19 FT4 18 FT3 not tested

May 2011 TSH 2.61 FT4 19 FT3 2.6

Jan. 20012- TSH 2.69 FT4 18 FT3 3.9

Feb 2012 TSH 4.75 FT4 19 FT3 Not tested.

April 2012 TSH 5.33 FT4 20 FT3 Not tested.

Results in June on thyroxine just TSH 0.48 and 0.51.

[HarryE]

I certainly do, in fact it was one of the first things I noticed.

[Pooh10]

Hi me too - I had v bad balance and this has significantly improved with treatment.x

[TSH110]

Yes it is and yes it should. I got both, they have gone with treatment on levothyroxine. I used to be close to passing out every time I got up from a crouched position and swayed about. I had to stop riding my bike too but ok now - I hope you get it sorted soon

[carolr]

I am not sure what they do at their confrances.

I saw Steptoe back in the 80's he didn't do the work. Took the credit.

The biochemists do the work.

But they are told not to engage with the patients by the doctors.

Carol

[humanbean]

My balance is poor, I often feel wobbly, and in the last few years as I got sicker and sicker I also became very, very clumsy. I've broken more things in the last 4 - 5 years than I did in the previous 30 years I think. Having said all that, treatment has reduced the severity of these problems a huge amount.

[Sue777]

Yes I get dizzy - especially when tired ( which is most of the time!). I also have a weird sensation every time I park my car and have stopped the car and I put the handbrake on I feel that the car is moving backwards. It makes me feel quite nauseas. I am not yet on optimum meds so hope it will improve in time.

[bantam12 in reply to Sue777]

I get that and no it hasn't improved.

[eeng]

yes I used to get poor balance before i was treated - used to stagger around clutching the furniture when I got up at night to go to the loo! Completely better now

[lola1956]

Yes I too have problems with balance .very bad if I go to toilet half asleep during the night but still quite bad during the day as well ..I'm on 75 levothyroxine but think undermedicated

[Clutter]

I'm not as unbalanced as I was, but I lurch to the left when going to the bathroom at night. Dodgy, cos I'm probably going to topple down the stairs

I've always crashed into door frames instead of walking through doorways but blamed it on lack of spatial awareness.

Whilst sorting out my meds I've broken the best part of 2 dinner sets sometimes because things slipped out of my hands, sometimes because I was too weak to hold them and other times because I misjudged the surface I placed them on and they crashed to the floor.

[Hidden in reply to Clutter]

What was it helped?

Yes I found spatial awareness and the other senses are 'numbed down' (there's more than 5 and QI confirmed this!)

♠ spatial awareness including inability to judge distances

♣ recognition - I can't recognise people quickly passing in street

♦ Sight - short-sighted, astigmatism (connected with above?)

♥ Hearing - tinnitus & don't trust what I hear despite trying to lip-read!

☻Smell/taste - well still waiting for those

• Touch - was tested as having 'blunting' to fingertips - getting the pressure right to hold things (like cups) however very irritated by feathers or tickling sensations - they hurt! Clumsiness - Mum used to call it "an optical illusion" also pin/needles

◙ Hunger is another, not hungry or thirsty

Maybe we're just dumbed down to enable undisturbed hibernation zzzzzz J

[TSH110 in reply to Hidden]

I smelt horrible things everywhere spareribs - drove me nuts!

[TSH110 in reply to Clutter]

Oh boy I was the same Clutter I even walked Into people on the streets when I was really ill and smashed so many crocks there was nothing left to eat off or drink out of! Thankfully it is resolved now.

[Hidden]

Could be a few things Thyroid related....

Often low B12 makes us wobbly & unsure of our steps, low blood pressure makes us feel faint (this IMHO is a different feeling), or there's middle ear infections or even calcium deposits - Vit D should sort the latter.

I'll keep saying it ... please check those underlying vitamins & minerals in case they are the culprit first (iron, ferritin, folate B12 & Vit D for starters) Levo may not work well in cases of deficiency (so I've read anyway) J

[nobodysdriving in reply to Hidden]

yes, the first thing that 'sprung' to my mind when I read this post was: could be low vitamin B12

[PaulB]

Hi

Yes my balance is poor and I get bouts of vertigo.

Several relatives have had the same and been hypo too.

Paul

[silverfox7]

I had a really bad balance problem some years ago and staggered along like a drunk. Hospital did loads of tests but admitted that they couldn't find a problem but were not denying I'd had one. I saw the ENT consultant but the only person who actually wrote in my notes that I had a thyroid problem was a student. They said it was a shame they couldn't test when I had the problem, don't we all feel that about medical tests! Funnily enough I fell over yesterday! Friday I had a lovely day out but had felt more tired than usual. That evening I was terribly sick with my temperature through the roof so I didn't take my nightly dose-every sip of water made me wretch. Yesterday I knew I had to drink more so staggered to the bathroom. My temperature was forty so I lay on the bed trying to cool off and sipping water. I was missing a football match but there was a radio commentary so I got out of bed to switch on radio and change station when crash-I fell over! Last night I took 50 mcg of thyroxine with the idea if I was again sick I could safely take another 50. This morning thankfully my temperature is down to 38 so feeling a little better but just got to the end of my water so another trip out of bed. I do feel a lot clearer this morning but I suppose my lowered temperature could have done that and not necessarily Levo

[661950]

I had very bad balance problem and giddy spells. Was walking like a really old lady as I was afraid I would fall over (I am elderly but not that old) I am not sure if it was thyroid or b12 deficiency. Am much better now that I am on meds and can walk long distances. Why is your Dr, ignoring your blood tests? It must be so frustrating for you, can you change to a Doctor who will help you?

[Ansteynomad]

I was only saying to a friend yesterday that I haven't fallen over since I have been on thyroxine. Also for the first time that I can remember, I now have a sense of smell.

Still not great at recognising people thought.

[Glynisrose]

I used to be a lighting technician working on live shows etc. imagine my shock when I suddenly started suffering from vertigo!! No more shinning up lighting stands or even climbing in and out of lighting boxes / lighting lofts. I couldn't even go out on the fire escape without getting sick!! I'm over it now but I still have some balance problems, I too had to give up cycling as I couldn't stay on my bike!!

[Hidden]

Yes, I used to stagger around looking like a drunk, and in danger of falling downstairs in the middle of the night if I lurched to the right! But I had no idea that not recognising people was part of it. I used to worry that I was becoming mentally deficient when total strangers used to greet me in the street! No wonder I lurched around with my head down! I also used to see things moving just at the edge of my vision - still do occasionally! I joined a tai chi class which helped to improve my balance, plus the thyroxine of course.

[Hidden]

I was told I did not look very safe on that bike - thought it was just 4 years olds and me!

apparently at least a quarter of us 'roidies are low in B12 - here's a link to an old film about B12 - (needs 'quickTime' to play it) J

bloodjournal.hematologylibr...

[morebeans]

My balance was really bad and my lack of spatial awareness meant I walked into things, couldn't walk , especially on stairs, unless I could see my feet, knocked stuff over and 'missed' when trying to put things down/away. My thyroid meds didn't help but big doses of B12 sorted it totally.

[Marylyn]

I agree B12 defeciency can be a silent curse with a host of frustrating symptons from falls to loss of taste & smell ,tinnitus,nausea,headaches, tremors depression.bursitis,tinnitus,hearing & loss,anxiety,memory loss,pins & needles in hands & feet.The list goes on ,it took me 6mths to get a diagnosis.

[Abbeyelle12]

Yes, I do have problems with balance. I started falling last summer because of dizziness and when I went to the doctor she did some tests and I found out I was Hypothyroid. My thyroid is at the right level now but at times I have noticed I still have balance problems sometimes.

[siskin in reply to Abbeyelle12]

Thank you, thyroid still not sorted doc wont test t3 lowered my thyroxine balance feint dizzy still poor.

[siskin]

Thank you, had B12 tested high levels of serumB12 but it can still be a problem if not getting in to the cells.

[Shelley1954]

Yes, I did but didnt realise it was a thyroid problem until I started on T3 and it disappeared very quickly.