Red, Sore Face & Hypothyroidism?

[CutAdrift]

I am STILL waiting for test results back after initial results indicated that I could be Hypothyroid (I fully expect that they have lost them and I'll have to going in again, because that's the way things seem to be working out at the moment!)

Anyhow... I wondered if anyone has experienced a red face as a result of Hypothyroidism? Along with all the other symptoms I have been enduring, this one is particularly annoying.

I seem to be incredibly sensitive to temperature and my face has an almost constant sort of 'mild sunburn' appearance. On some days, it also stings. Alcohol and exercise (not together) exacerbate it particularly - if I go out for a run, I have an increased red glow for a few days after.

It is limited to my face and the rest of my body is reasonably pasty!

Is this common? What causes it? And how the hell can I manage it?

Would love to hear your thoughts...

Thank You,

Jim

[gabkad]

Yes, same experience. Nobody is asking me these days if I was out in the sun. (Especially asking me in the dead of winter....) When I'd work out I'd turn into a beet. I looked around at other people who were doing the same exercises and they weren't red. At the time I couldn't figure it out. But I think it was from being hypo. I don't know why getting hot from exercise would cause so much blood vessel dilation. Maybe as hypo we sweat less efficiently so the body has to do something else to lose heat?

[CutAdrift]

Thanks,

Did this improve with medication?

Your theory about sweating might be sound - I actually wondered if I'd stopped sweating altogether last week. I hadn't, but I do seem to sweat 'differently' then I used to! Rather than my brow sweat, my face seems to lock in the heat - most unpleasant!!!

[gabkad in reply to CutAdrift]

I don't know now, but I could not use a dry sauna. I would just overheat.

Back in the olden days when mercifully a doctor actually had me on the right dose of thyroxine, I could sweat like a normal person. One year I was moving in the middle of a hot summer and had a two week window to move. So I was packing whatever I could into my car and my skin was like velvet from all the sweating.

Then the dose was botched up by another doctor. So for 18 years I was suboptimally dosed and then underdosed further. I've been on thyroxine for 32 years btw. This is once again now a time when I think I'm at the right dose except after so many years of being underdosed, my body is having some 'learning curve' issues. Or rather my mind is. Sometimes it's just difficult to get doing what I want to get done because of the overwhelming memories (body exhaustion and pain) I experienced for so many years. Recovery was extremely slow from major physical exertion. So I'm still on the 'baby steps' portion of the rehabilitation. I'm walking at a normal pace now and can swim for an hour. But I still haven't gotten up the courage to wash windows.....

Wish you luck. Probably you are a lot younger and your adaptive reserve is still intact to some extent.

[jaxnbreeze]

I had a sore peeling face before diagnosis very much like lupus butterfly rash and I also developed an allergy to my usual make-up and skin-care. I am very happy to say they all disappeared very quickly after starting thyroxine - hope your skin soon improves too.

[shaws Administrator]

There is also a condition called Roseacea and this is a link. It is also another autoimmune condition.

rosacea.org/

[greygoose in reply to shaws]

Couldn't find where it said it was an autoimmune condition. They said the cause was unknown.

Well, I was told that it was a symptoms of hypo. I used to have it very, very badly. But it's gone now. Not quite sure when it disappeared, just one day noticed it wasn't there anymore. But it was after I started treatment, so it would seem to me that it is a symptom of hypo.

Hugs, Grey

[CutAdrift in reply to shaws]

I had wondered initially if I had developed this (separate to potential hypothyroidism) and it is plausible I have (either separately, or as a by-product of hypo).

However, my symptoms seem less typical than most examples of rosacea I have seen. The redness has been even across my whole face, spreading onto my neck, where it goes pale thereafter. It does look now like it 'might' be starting to worsen in the typical rosacea areas (forehead, cheeks).

I tried some special moistureiser for dry, reactive skin today - worst reaction of any!

[shaws Administrator in reply to CutAdrift]

This is a link which I hope may be helpful. There's nothing worse that skin that it is irritated.

rosacea.org/tags/autoimmune...