Hi I have Autoimune Hypothyroidism and I was just wondering if anyone else with the condition has problems with excessive sweating.
It is such an embarrassing condition because when it starts I have sweat running down my face and my hair becomes dripping wet. My GP is not interested I have asked to be referred to the endocrine unit because they can't stabilise my levels. I am finding it increasingly hard to go to work because of this embarrassing problem.
I hope there is someone out there who can help me, I would really appreciate any advice that other suffers want to share.
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AngB68
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According to Dr. Holick, one of the first, classic signs of vitamin D deficiency is a sweaty head. In fact, physicians used to ask new mothers about head sweating in their newborns for this very reason. Excessive sweating in newborns due to neuromuscular irritability is still described as a common, early symptom of vitamin D deficiency.4
I was having bad sweats waking up hair soaking wet I was given large loading dose of VIT D and I don't get this anymore I have hashimoto and also have parathyroid problems starting to feel a little better now with thyroxine but still yo yo ing with doses
Don't worry too much but if you are to feel well we have to read and learn.
Levothyroxine is a synthetic thyroid hormone also called T4. It is inactive and has to convert to T3.
Liothyronine is also a synthetic thyroid hormone - it is called T3 and is the only active hormone required in our receptor cells.
The normal prescription is levothyroxine for hypothyroid patients.
If you are taking 50 mcg one day and 25mcg the next, I feel that both these are too small for you to feel an improvement.
What you would have to do for members to assist is to get a new blood test (I don't know your whereabouts) but in the UK we need a TSH, T4, T3, Free T4, Free T3 and thyroid antibodies.
The test should be the very earliest, fasting (you can drink water) and allow 24 hour gap between your dose and the test and take afterwards.
Get a print-out of the results with the ranges (these are important as labs differ) and put them on a new post. Members will then respond.
If you are in the UK doctors may not do all that you request and if you can afford it, you can get them privately. GP might only do TSH and T4. It wont do any harm asking. You also need Vitamin B12, Vit D, iron, ferritin and folate because if deficient these also cause problems. B12 and Vit D are prohormones that have to be optimum to prevent serious consequences if too low.
Thank you, you have given me more information than my GP ever has. The GP has no patience with me because of my list of symptoms he states that the tiredness, not sleeping, low energy, swollen eye lids, brittle paper thin nails, hair falling out, sweating and the list goes on... are not symptoms of hypo most of my complaints are associated with hyper. The GP screamed at me when I tried to insist to be referred saying the endocrine unit wouldn't see me. I have been in touch with the endocrine unit and they said they would happily see me. But, you can't self refer to them. I am in the Northeast of U.K. I feel as if I'm stuck and I have nowhere to turn.
It is thought easy for doctors to diagnose and prescribe levothyroxine and some mistakenly think that once the TSH is 'anywhere' in the range that is fine. When patient complains of symptoms such as you do, doctos get impatient as they do not believe they are hypo symptoms and we are hypochondriacs. So you have no option but to read and and learn how best to treat yourself.
First, all blood tests should be at the very earliest, fasting (you can drink water) and allow a gap of about 24 hours between last dose of levo and test and take afterwards. This helps to keep the TSH at its highest as it drops throughout the day.
Always get print-outs with the ranges for your own records and if you have a query you can post them.
If your GP hasn't tested B12, Vit D, iron, ferritin and folate ask for these as we can be deficient.
Levo should be taken either when you first get up with one full glass of water and wait about an hour before eating. (food interferes with the uptake). Or you can take it at bedtime but your stomach must be empty so if you have had a heavy meal you should allow 3 hours gap between food and levo. If I take supplements etc I take these at lunchtime.
If having a blood test next morning and you take an evening dose, miss this and take after test and take it at night as usual.
Thank you very much for your advice. I am going to make an appointment to have my bloods done and I will follow your guidance before it is taken. It takes about a month to get an appointment so it may be a while before I can get some help and support from you all on here. But once again thank you.
Please get yourself a new gp, even go to a surgery that has lots of junior Drs, they tend to be more interested in complex cases and like to refer to see the results to add to their portfolios. No gp should treat you like that. Oh and put in a formal complaint to your old gp for screaming at you as he is an unprofessional ass!!!
I used to suffer from head sweating, and sweating generally. I also used to wake up at roughly 4am - 4.30am in cold, wet beds because of sweating from my head, neck, shoulders and armpits. It was disgusting.
I can't tell you exactly what helped, but in the last few years I have optimised as many vitamins and minerals as I could. I have also improved my T3 levels. I also had high cortisol which I am treating with supplements which are supposed to bring cortisol down (and I think they work but have no proof - I haven't tested my cortisol for quite a while - but I feel so much better.)
I very, very rarely wake up in lying in a puddle of cold sweat these days. Hallelujah!
This is really interesting as my daughter sweats excessively and has since a baby and has symptoms of being hyper she also has hyper mobility in her joints but the nhs only tested tsh and T4. Both were OK, well her t4 was mid range.
I think the problem at the root of all the sweating for me was excess cortisol. But by improving my nutrient levels and my T3 levels I may have reduced my cortisol slightly, and so that improved things a bit. But it is only recently I have been taking supplements specifically to lower cortisol and my sweating is now closer to "normal" than it has ever been since puberty.
I don't know if low cortisol would have had the same effect on sweating.
It is important to test cortisol before attempting to treat it. People can't just assume they have high or low cortisol based on symptoms. Quite a few people are convinced they have low cortisol, then they test and discover it is high.
Hi, I was interested in your comments because I have suffered from excessive sweating and was told I had hyperhidrosis.... suffer particularly with hands and feet... however I do wonder if I should look at other options such as cortisol.... I have been on levothyroxine since I was 14... I am now 47 and am only just learning lots more after being on this site. I just thought feeling rubbish was just "normal".
There is a test you can do, called an Adrenal Stress Profile (ASP), which will tell you how much cortisol you are producing at 4 different times in the day by measuring cortisol in saliva. The symptoms of low cortisol and high cortisol have a lot of overlap so it isn't possible to guess reliably whether you have either problem, it must be tested.
The second link tells you how to order and get a discount. It also tells you how to get your results. (Genova don't deal directly with the public so results must be got via Thyroid UK.)
To see the kind of information you can get from an ASP test you could read my reply on this post that I wrote fairly recently :
The first thing you need to do before delving into your adrenal health is to get basic nutrients up to optimal and get your thyroid meds up to optimal. Fixing those can take a while and may alter your cortisol output, so an ASP should be done when things have settled down from fixing nutrients and thyroid levels.
thank you for all this info... I am now so keen to get myself sorted so I can assist my daughter... she is 9 and was diagnosed as hypo a year ago. I didn't realise all the different things that you need to take into account. Just started taking Vitamin D, already on iron tablets and intend on taking B12 also. All the help on this site is really opening my eyes and giving me hope I might actually be able to feel better! Many thanks!
I take Holy Basil. It doesn't work for everyone. Other things I've tried or read about include Seriphos (in the form of Phosphatidyl Serine), Phosphorylated Serine. Some Adaptogens will reduce cortisol in some people. Do some research into cortisol and adaptogens.
I suffered from severe night sweats for over 2 years. It was terrible, I would wake up in the middle of the night soaked in sweat, sometimes more than once a night.The gp ran tests, looking for the usual offenders but came back with nothing. I was also told this was a hyper not hypo symptom by one of the GPs (i.e. dismissing it). I took supplements, watched my diet for what could be giving me symptoms but had little success. after a while there would be nights with no sweating but that was rare. I also slept badly through the night, lying awake then waking unrefreshed. It was really hard adding to my fatigue.
I've been on Levo for 4 months and the sweats are easing off. They're gone completely most nights, occasionally I get mild sweating on my chest, mostly when I'm getting symptomatic as the dose wears off. I believe there is connection with cortisol imbalance caused by being untreated for hypo for years.
Battling GPs is so hard as the blood tests used and their poor understanding of symptoms stand in the way and make us hypochondriac or plain mentally unstable in their eyes. I tried all GPs in my practice and settled on one who listens after having been dismissed by his colleagues before. You may need to change surgeries eventually but there are some reasonable doctors out there who are willing to help.
I also have the same symptoms with the night sweats and I also have a very understanding husband but I still get embarrassed because it is not pleasant for him either. I have been to every doctor in the surgery too but, they seem to be of like mind. My husband has suggested The next time I go, I should refuse to move until they agree to listen (easier said than done). I am now keeping a diary of what I eat and drink as well as my symptoms, hopefully the GP will listen this time. I do think changing surgeries wouldn't solve the problem because I really don't know if other doctors are sympathetic and understand or if they all are stubborn and ignorant.
I am so glad that you have posted this, I joined this site to see if I could find the answer for the same thing. Last year my Dr said that I needed to up my meds Levothyroxine from my TSH result. On the next blood test they said I needed to lower the meds again. They forgot what level I was on in the first place, so I've started to organise it myself, rotating one day 75mg and the next 50mg. I'm taking so many supplements, with the exception of Iron or ferritin. Last year I asked if they could test my Iron level and it was apparently normal. I was told I was going into early menopause, so I party put the sweats down to that, but feel that this is excessive. I've cut out all gluten, dairy, sugar and soya from my diet and also discovered Omega 7. Not sure what to do now. I've never liked doctors (general practitioners), only as I don't trust modern medicine, so rarely go. I guess I'll just have to have my bloods done again. Never fasted for my blood test so that is good to know. How long is best to fast for? Thank you AngB68 for starting this conversation.
When I visit the doctors I ask them to test to see if I'm going through the menopause as this would explain the sweating but each time they come back they are negative. I als have endometriosis and I was put through a forced menopause for six months some years ago. I have to say the sweating I experienced with menopause symptoms was nothing like the sweats I experience now. I'm sure there is hope for us all and sadly my husband and I are thinking about going private because I feel so Ill most of the time. The GP would be more understanding if they actually bothered to educate themselves instead of reading from NHS online.
You have like I do, hashimoto which is autoimmune disorder. I've learned that autoimmune starts in the gut and we need to repair the gut first. I did many years back see a homeopath who also did kinetic testing for food sensitivities. She really helped, but over the years meeting my new partner, was an excuse to start eating all the stodgy food we both love. Recently I've started to do an elimination/ clean diet again and started to make my own fermented foods such as sourcrout. It helps. I've been doing it keeping a food diary for 3 weeks now and have started on 5mg of L Glutamine which is meant to heal a leaky gut. I've also recently discovered cold pressed sea buckthorn oil, which is helpful. Also taking supplements for D3 with K2. Magnesium, selenium, B12, zinc, biotin, boron, vit E and polyphenols. I have so many bottles of things I'm not religious, but will alternate on days or meal times, to keep regular with them all. I am still waking up completely soaked. In fact as soon as I open my eyes it starts. Not sure what else I can do, I guess I have to give it time. I hope this helps on your healing journey. Also I believe Dr Izabella Wentz is doing a new free screening of her documentary series about how to cope with thyroid issues. It's very worth while watching and gives a lot of information on how to alleviate/ fix symptoms tinyurl.com/zm76b5z
Thank you, I will watch Dr Isabella and hope I learn how to cope. I hope you feel. Enter soon and find the answers you are looking for.
Just found the link to sign up to watch the free screening of The Thyroid secret. tinyurl.com/zm76b5z
I have watched it before and found it helpful from episode 3 onwards. I don't have internet in my flat so had to try and take it all in at cafes with internet. Don't think i could sit for such a length of time again at a cafe so won't watch it again although I would like to it's been updated, so I would love to hear if you've managed to draw anything beneficial from it xxx
In my case there is definitely no menopause involved. I first started to have the occasional mild night sweats about 8-9 years ago and I am 40 now. I had my hormones tested last year and the private endo who finally diagnosed me saw these results too. I listened to an interview once and the doctor said all sweats are caused by adrenaline and knowing it is made by the adrenals I suspect there is a connection. My theory is that the adrenals overwork when thyroid is struggling and cause imbalances (timing of hormones during the circadian cycle are wrong quantities of them).
I spent a good year noting everything I ate or drink on an app (including all ingredients separately) but there was no correlation at all so I gave up. I tried things like ashwaganda and licorice root with no effect. I was desperate and saw something about allergies causing night sweats so I saw an immunologist - this was not awfully helpful as he concluded night sweats is a symptom of cfs... I'm not sure what type of doctor could really help you other than a functional medicine practitioner with experience. Seeing a conventional medicine doctor you'll be wasting your money and getting more frustrated I believe. Would using a. Alternative to Levo be helpful maybe to stabilise your level better?
I have Vitamin D deficiency, and, although my symptoms are not as bad as yours, my head would get so sweaty with even minimal exertion that it brought on a migraine. I was literally a hot head. I've been on Vit D 10,000 IU's per day (as my levels were very low) and I have noticed an improvement in the sweating. I do hope you get a diagnosis for your sweating soon.... but it would be a simple first step to ask for your Vit D levels to be checked. If your GP won't agree to do it, you can have it done through Blue Horizon, or members will suggest other organisations, which might be cheaper. Good Luck :O)
Hi I had massive sweats too amongst other symptoms. Terrible at night and with a strong smell. The doctor said I was menopausal three years ago but I was diagnosed with Hashimotos and under active thyroid this year. So not menopausal at all. The nights went after a terrible vertigo incident/illness after which I was freezing all the time. Last week the sweats came back for about four/five days - really chronic but they have mysteriously gone again this week. I really don't know what triggers them but greygoose mentioned having a hashi flare which others would be able to advise you on to see if you have hashimotos... i also had a cortisol test to see about adrenals but it was smack bang in the middle of the range so I don't think it's adrenal fatigue in my case.., my vitamin d is in range but low - so maybe its that? I am taking levo... very strange I would love to know what triggers this sweats! Good luck with everything🙂
I sweat constantly! Unless it is very cold or the air is circulating with a breeze. I was bit d deficit but still sweat even after getting that up to normal levels. I totally understand how you feel. It is very embarrassing. I am a nurse and if in a residents hot room with no airflow I sweat profusely!
Interesting thread. I've never been told about a link between vitamin D levels and excess sweating before. I've been diagnosed with hyperhidrosis. Excessive sweating from face, scalp, neck, chest, back, pretty much everywhere except hands and armpits (years of antiperspirant perhaps on that last one?). Iontophoresis works, but isn't practical for face, scalp and neck. Doing my back would require assistance. So, it only gets used for chest and arms. Works though. Not menopause as I'm male (and if there is such a thing as male menopause, I was sweating long before that would likely kick in).
Anyway, back to vitamin D levels. I last had mine checked in 2017, when my level was 91.75
nmol/L, with the "normal" range quoted as 50-175 (I am going to get my levels checked again tomorrow). What is the ideal level, hoping to reduce the hyperhidrosis? Should I hope for mid-range, top of range, or something else? I don't mind taking supplements, but believe that excess vitamin D can be dangerous, so don't want to get into toxicity by oversupplementing.
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