Is this possible? I am not hyperT, but today, for the first time since I've been dealing with thyroid concerns (about a year and a half), have I had this kind of pain. Please see my intro for labs and symptoms. If anyone has any recommendation, please please contact me. I've. Ever had neck pain before. I'm really scared. I don't think I'm being properly medicated. I'm not sure if this is a thyroid problem. I do not have a doctor that knows what to do.
Symptoms, Labs, info:
Hi, I'm sorry to hear you are having so many problems. I'm not sure I can be of much help but I just wanted to reassure you a little with a recent experience I had. A couple of months back I also suddenly started having problems with my throat too. It felt like someone was pushing on it, like strangling me, it wasn't particularly painful but it was uncomfortable. I felt as though my throat was narrowing and swallowing felt odd and breathing was difficult. I immediately thought it was thyroid related as I'm hypothyroid, but with results that were still in range I had to persuade my doctor to try a medication increase. The throat problems lasted three weeks in total but cleared up within 24 hours of a medication increase. I seriously doubt it was due to the medication and I still can't explain what caused it, but mine passed so please try not to stay positive about yours too. Have you been to the doctors about this issue at all?
Thank you so much. I really really appreciate you. Well, I have been searching for doctors now for a year. I am American, and I live in Houston Texas. The last doc I had, I flew to another city for an appointment, well she stopped treating bc I asked her a month into treatment, about t4. Literally. I just asked, "do you think I need some t4?" As she had me on straight t3 and 8 supplements. She sent me an email later that day stating, "I will have to bow out for now as it seems you've gotten a second opinion and it's not fair to you as the patient, nor I as the practitioner for your to be pulled in so many directions." ??? Devastating.
Then my next doc let me go because I have Type I diabetes and he said "I don't know enough about diabetes so I don't want to make the thyroid worse," then another doctor who was so expensive (didn't take insurance, cash only) and his staff was horrible I couldn't stand even going to the office. They were so mean. So crass.
I have a currrnt doc (another who doesn't take insurance, and is highly expensive), but I think she is learning with me. She didn't even know swelling and fluid are Thyroid related. She's nice, but I need real help. The doctor who I think can maybe help me, has a 6 month waiting list. I don't know if I will make it that far.
So now I'm searching, everyday, online, to look for a doctor here in the states that knows how to treat thryoid. Preferably in Houston Texas. But this is like searching for a needle in a haystack.
I'm still taking the T3, that the last doc put me on. But I haven't changed the dose or anything and in a few days I will be out of it. I'm new to all of this. The throat/neck pain just started today, as if I needed anymore symptoms. Mind you my TSH, through all of this, "is in range". So my regular endocrinologist won't even entertain thyroid meds for me. He said "you're fine. You're just tired." I'd never felt anything like this before. Mind you, my numbers, none of them are too out of whack, but my symptoms are. I would have never guessed it'd be so hard just to find a doctor. It's like you find one and there's something off - they either don't believe in FT3, or they don't have appointments available, or they charge cash only and don't take insurance, or they have horrible online ratings...always something.
I really appreciate your encouragement. Thank you so much.
Tapped Out, How much T3 are you taking. You may be taking too high a dose...and how long.
Healthcare in the U.S. is a wreck. Why did you want T4, most of us are trying to get our hands on T3 any way we can. I preferred it myself. T4 is cheaper though. Do you have print outs of any of your blood tests?
It's hard to advise without seeing any records. Did she prescribe supplements for B12, ferritin, vitamin d, folate? Because these are cofactors for being hypo, she may have been your best choice. I didn't think doctors were allowed to abandon a patient. If you want to pursue that, find a medical board number and discuss it. If your FT3 is over range, you are over medicating. Do you have a prescription refill? You are in kind of a tight spot.
Hi Heloise. Thank you so very much for your time and reply. You asked why I want to try t4. Honestly, so new to all of this, that I am unsure what I need to do to get to MY optimal, but I feel absolutely no improvement with the T3. ive only been taking it for about a two months now, but am worsening, symptom wise. A few people have advised that I try a very low dose t4 to for a more balance Thyroid circuit; and because my T4 is somewhat lower than optimal range. I have read that there needs to be at least some t4 as a backup for conversion even where conversion is poor, and that t4 lengthens the hair cycle helping with growth and eliminating myxedema swelling... I also notice some palpitations and random shortness of breathe on the t3. Don't know if it's because I'm not on my optimal dose or if I need t4.
You asked about my labs. Someone on the site just expressed I haven't typed them out in a way that's easy to follow. I don't know how else to type them. They go down the page in chronological order (earliest to most recent), ranges are posted first. If you don't mind, here is the link to them, under my introduction.
Thank you Heloise. I appreciate you.
Hi, just had a look at your results in your last test - and I have to say, the way you've laid them out is really user unfriendly. Sorry. But, from what I can gather, you have Hashi's and a conversion problem. The two often go together.
Your TSH is always low, it's true... Did you have some sort of hypothalamus test there? Not quite sure. I don't know anything about it, but it would seem to be saying that you don't have secondary hypo, and yet your TSH does not correspond to your FT3, which is also very low. And there's what's making you ill, your very low FT3. It's still in range, but most people need it up the top of the range to feel well.
Can you not stick with the doctor who prescribed T3? Because that's what you need. You do not need any form of T4.
You also need to lower your antibodies, because they, in themselves, can cause symptoms. Have you tried a gluten-free diet? Or taking selenium? Have you had your vit D, vit B12, folate and ferritin tested? The answer should be yes to all of those. 
If not, that's what you need to do next, whilst continuing and increasing your dose of T3.
Thank you so much Greygoose. I'm sorry my writeout is hard to follow. I didn't know how to type it cohesively, other than in the list order. My bad. Thank you for reading through the messiness.
Yes, the doctor who started the t3, asked me "why did your last doctor suggest t4 to you? That's weird."
A few weeks after that, and having read more, I asked, "do you think I need a small amount of t4?" Greygoose, can you believe, she emailed me later and says, "I'm going to have to bow out of care for you. It seems as though you're getting advice from another source. It's not fair for you to be seeing another doctor...it's confusing you, and it's also not fair to me..."
??? I wasn't seeing another doctor at all. I was just asking out of interest not accusations or anything like that. So I apologized to her for the misunderstanding (which was really her bent ego) and I didn't return.
I had, with a doctor before, taken several days of Armour Thyroid. Four days into it, I had sharp scary chest pains. So I stopped. The doc I was with at the time, said try it again and see if the pain returns. It did. However, two weeks after that, I noticed I felt absolutely normal again. That was March 27, 2017. So I wondered if the t4/t3 combo was working, but was just too much. That doctor after the poor response to Armour said "I don't want to make you worse....I don't know why you're having such a high heart rate and pain with this...", he then, regrettably, declined to treat me further.
So that's how I'm now looking for another doc. I have one now, who doesn't take insurance, but she is nice. I think you call them "private doctors" in the U.K. It's so costly; I have to save just to see her. She told me to finish the t3 from the last doc until I run out (which is what I'm doing now); and she will retest labs on our next appointment.
I am following the supplements and GF/DF diet you've suggested. Just haven't seen any improvement at all.
A few people here, have also suggest I add a low dose t4 for hair growth, myxedema reduction; it sounds like even with a conversion problem some, for optional function need some backup t4. But I don't know. If I ask a doc they drop me. Lol. So this site has been a great friend indeed. so I thank you and everyone here for your kind suggestions and aid. It gives me something to hold on to, to keep going.
Your ferritin was bottom of range on previous post, so are you supplementing and what is recent test level
Your vitamin D, folate & B12 need testing too
Type one diabetes and Hashimoto's are autoimmune. You seriously need to consider changing to gluten free diet to see if it helps
See The Thyroid Pharmacist website for masses of info about Hashimoto's and her series the Thyroid Secret on you tube
Susan Blum's book The Immune system recovery plan is informative
Thank you Slowdragon. The resources you gave are really great and I am looking at the pharmacist website right now. Thank you so very much. Yes I am GF. My Vit D is not optimal, at 58.9 (70 - 100). My folate is 7.3 (>3.1). My B12 is 1126 (211 - 946). I'm calling my current doc in Monday to get labs redone to see how or whether I have responded to the cytomel I've been taking.
Hi, Tappedout,
I presume you mean "throat narrowing", rather than "threat narrowing"?
If that is so then it could possibly mean that you have an inward growing goitre. These take years to develop and get slowly worse until the symptoms get so bad that it is essential to take drastic action. By that I mean operate to get rid of the gland altogether.
I thought he doctors in UK were bad until I read your post. At least I can criticise mine as much as I like, and I really do like doing that, and all they do is shut up and say nothing.
I cannot suggest very much other than to ask if, firstly, that your breathing is becoming more difficult so making you take more than one breath to say a single sentence; secondly do you suffer from fatigue, that is, if you do anything slightly strenuous, does it take you hours or even days to recover or when taking a walk do lose control over your legs after a while and they wobble beneath you like jelly?
If so, you may possibly have an undiagnosed goitre. The restricted breathing does cause pneumonia and you need to make sure to breathe deeply and regularly.
I have no idea how you would go about getting the diagnosis, if that is what it is. Based on the extensive treatment I received on the UK NHS to eventually cure me of the problem, the cost to you would be staggering.
Hi Panda321, Yes I meant to say throat. Lol.
Oh my. Thank you so much. I am just overwhelmed. I suppose once I find a doctor I can get another ultrasound. I had one done in january2017. I was told I didn't have any nodules. But I still wonder whether he was a credible doctors despite his reputation of being "world renowned," because his staff was anything but. But I digress... I was trying to express the feeling as best I could. It feels like I was hit on the side of the neck. And my throat felt narrowed. But it comes and goes. Yesterday was the most intense I've ever felt it, and for the longest period of time than ever before. I wondered if it was the muscle and not the thyroid gland. But I can't be sure.
I surely thank you for your time. I will certainly insist on a thorough checking - as soon as possible.
Tired, no energy, bad neck pains and headaches, blurred vision, sore throat and some swelling on neck. 
Throat tonsil ear and neck pain 
Thryoid pain, plus lower sternum pain..
Throat pain, is it salivary gland or thyroid?
