Hello, I have had an underachieve thyroid for many years, I haven't felt well for most of those years and particularly the last couple, I had my usual blood tests and were told I was fine because I was within the normal range and my meds just stayed the same, however, in January my blood results showed I that I had gone from Hypo to Hyper despite having all the symptoms of an under treated underachieve thyroid. My doctor decided to test my Parathyroid hormone levels. She called me in with the results and said there was a problem and that she would need to do more blood test, calcium, magnesium, Vit d. I called the surgery today and was given the results over the phone by a receptionist as the doctor is not there until next week. My PTH is 0.9 and my Vit D is 50, the receptionist said the lab indicated these were both low.
I feel quite poorly, very tired, I can concentrate and I seem to lose my way when having conversations with people, silly things like forgetting words or what I was talking about. I have pins and needles in my arms and hands, severe pain in my left arm, which Ive had for three months now, I have restless legs and I cannot sleep. Also my throat is very croaky and feels strange when I swallow, plus my actual thyroid gland looks enlarged.
Im not sure what all this means, obviously I have a thyroid problem but now is it possible I have a Parathyroid problem and if so how did I come by this as everything I have read on line suggests it is usually down to surgery on the thyroid gland causing damage.
Any information would be really appreciated as it seems very complex.
many thanks
Heidi
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Trixximinx
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Hypoparathyroidism is commonly caused by thyroid surgery but it can develop for no particular reason. The 4 parathyroid glands regulate calcium and phosphorus levels. If calcium and parathyroid hormone (PTH) are low and phosphorus is high you have hypoparathyroidism.
Pins and needles in your arms and hands could be due to low calcium or low B12. Ask your GP to check B12 and folate.
VitD 50 is low. Supplementing 5,000iu D3 for 6-8 weeks and then reducing to 5,000iu alternate days until August should raise vitD to the 75-200 replete range. Most people are comfortable with vitD around 100. VitD should be taken 4 hours away from Levothyroxine.
The thyroid results you posted do not indicate hyperthyroidism or over medication. TSH 0.09 is low but it is not suppressed and FT4 was mid range with FT3 low in range. Read Treatment Options in thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/about_... Email louise.roberts@thyroiduk.org.uk if you would like a copy of the Pulse article to show your GP.
Hi thanks for your reply. I didn't post my Thyroid results, It was my Parathyroid hormone results that is 0.9, which is supposedly low. My thyroid results are T3 3.9, T4 16, TSH 0.9 (which just happens to be the same as my TSH), they are saying that this indicates my thyroid is now over active??. I've read there is no connection between the thyroid gland and the parathyroid glands. Im very frustrated as I feel really unwell and have done for along time and no doctor seems to know what to do, as long as I am within the ranges they think every thing is fine but an endocrinologist once told me its a very personal thing and that my T3 should be at its optimism level for me to feel ok, which I don't think 3.9 is? As for the Parathyroid hormone, I know that is low but not sure how low and not sure why as apparently the only way it can be is through surgery or an autoimmune disease, which I haven't been diagnosed with but have never had my antibodies tested?
I looked at your thyroid results from your previous post. TSH below range does NOT mean you are over medicated. Your FT4 and FT3 are both within range so you are not over medicated. If you were hyperthyroid TSH would be suppressed <0.1 with FT4 &/or FT3 over range.
FT3 3.9 is low in range. Most people need it in the upper third of range to feel well and that will almost certainly suppress your TSH <0.1 which will have your GP tearing his/her hair out probably.
Without the lab ref ranges it isn't possible to see how low PTH is. If you read the link I posted above you'll see that hypoparathyroidism can be idiopathic.
Muscle twitching, spasm, cramp and involuntary movement of any kind is often caused by nutrient deficiencies.
In my own case the things I needed were :
Iron to raise my ferritin and serum iron to optimal (my levels were very low). Iron and ferritin must be tested regularly if supplementing because iron is poisonous in overdose.
Magnesium - most people are deficient in magnesium but testing is very unreliable. Just going ahead and supplementing is worth doing, unless you have poor kidney health. You need healthy kidneys to enable your body to excrete excess magnesium.
Potassium - Something to try very cautiously, if at all. I supplement varying amounts up to 200mg per day, spread throughout the day. People who are more disciplined than me will eat potassium-rich foods to increase their potassium levels.
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