Tremors, vibration, shaking in body

[Kaycee7337]

I am not on any meds but i just found out i have hyperthyroidism. my body seems to be shaking from the inside. Kinda feels like a car that is in idle. Feel it in my core and sometimes my arms. When I wake up in the a.m. I am always shaking. Does anyone have any experiences with this? Are these strong tremors. Also feel tightness on neck and chest. It is so distressing to me that I have been taking anxiety med. I don't like not feeling in control of my body.

[SmallBlueThing]

I got tremors in my thighs and lower abdomen, always at around 11pm, which I now know is when my body temperature peaks and TSH must be lowest. Even after several occurrences, I'd touch a table top or wall to convince myself the shaking wasn't due to an earth tremor, which I've experienced several times. Someone online described it as feeling like a tuning fork.

Untreated, you risk damaging your eyes, heart and bones -- and probably a whole lot more

[Kaycee7337 in reply to SmallBlueThing]

Small blue thing,

Thank you for your reply! Did you ever feel your balance was unsteady as well and do u have hyper or hypo. My tsh levels were the lowest they cud possibly be and still be considered in normal range. Which leads me questioning Should I be having these severe of symptoms and Do i need treatment?..

[SmallBlueThing in reply to Kaycee7337]

Morning ankle stiffness is a symptom of hypo, which can cause me unsteadiness, but the ears and balance can also be affected. I think this may be due to the growth (or not) of the tiny sensory hairs. Orthostatic hypotension is another possibility (a drop in blood pressure when getting up from a seated position).

I've read that symptoms don't correlate to TSH or antibody levels. Maybe what they mean is that the set-point (normality) is different for each of us.

I'm treated for hypo and have felt hypo most of my life, but with several hyper periods, brought on by stress and over-consumption of, or treatment with, iodine.

I may have been on the verge of receiving treatment when my TSH was above-range at 5.5, but six months later it had dropped to just in-range at 0.42. A further six months and I'd been through a bereavement which sent me the most hyper I've ever experienced. I thought things were evening out and went to my GP about something else and was tested with above-range FT3 and had two more tests, with rising FT3 and high anti TPO antibodies with the last of those three tests. My doctor should have phoned me (I didn't have access to the test results at the time). Instead I got a brief letter instructing me to go in, with no explanation. It was near Christmas and difficult to get an appointment -- even the switchboard was useless back then. With my hyper-induced irrationality, I didn't go back for over a year, by which time my TSH was over 14 but dropping, due to the use of iodine dressings. I had felt far worse a few weeks before, when I assume my TSH was higher.

So, they call my condition autoimmune thyroiditis, as with most of us. But if I'd only been tested during a hyper period maybe it would be Grave's (for which they also use anti TPO antibodies)?

Please get yourself treated. I've survived hyper phases but the slump into hypo could've finished me. The pounding heart when hyper has probably contributed to thickened heart muscle and hypertension, and my eyes have suffered.

[Fruitandnutcase]

Jaycee, if you are hyper you need definitely need treatment and it will get rid of the feelings you are describing.

You could possibly be given beta blockers that will calm down your rapid heartbeat and the shakes.

You need to get a hold of your blood test results and their lab ranges, ask your doctor to test your vitamins B12, D plus ferritin and folates. You want them all to be near the top of their ranges to feel good. Oh and you need to find out if you have antibodies, if you have then you will have Graves Disease which is an overactive thyroid with antibodies, that's what I've got.

I was treated with an antithyroid drug called carbimazole and my pharmacist told me to take a high dose vitamin C (don't know why) so I took 1000mcg slow release vitamin C with zinc every day.

I had terrible shakey hands, I also used to be able to feel my pulse through my stomach, in fact before I was diagnosed my whole body felt like one big pulse, it was horrible. I couldn't sleep at night because of it. My thighs felt terrible, if I got down on the ground I didn't have the strength to get back up without help. that felt worst. I was also a total nervous wreck, travelling as a car passenger was awful for both me and my husband who was driving because I was so nervous and jumpy, not to mention bad tempered and so tired - well I suppose that was because I wasn't sleeping properly.

Have you been referred to an endocrinologist who specialises in thyroid problems - not one who specialises in diabetes? If not you absolutely need to be. Possibly your doctor has given you the anxiety medicines to tide you over while you are waiting but you really need carbimazole to stop your symptoms. Once that has stopped your thyroid over producing you will gradually start to feel better.

Read as much as you can about thyroid problems, you want to know everything you can. Make sure you keep records of your blood tests and their ranges.

I used a page a day diary and jotted down how I was feeling each day, not a lot, just a line or two and that was useful when it came to changes in my doses of medicines and also I could look back and see the progress I had made, sometimes when I didn't think I had improved I read back and realised that I had.

Good luck, your symptoms are pretty much normal for someone who is overactive.

[glo42]

I agree with FruitandNutcase,that tremors and anxiety is "normal" for an overactive condition. I was the same initially. It isn't very nice at all,but it does improve greatly with the correct dose of medication. Carbimazole and a beta blocker are usually what is prescribed. All thyroid conditions give us a roller coaster ride but it is possible to cope with good and not so good days with the right dose tablets and a positive attitude. Keep focused..... (hugs)) xx

[Cat4health]

If you go on medication that should resolve the tremors, which are totally normal. There is also really good evidence that acetyl-l-carnitine can help with the tremors, particularly if it takes a while to get euthyroid. Welcome to the hyper club, it's not that fun but people here are very supportive. I agree with everything Fruitandnutcase says and highly recommend Elaine Moores website. She is a gravea disease expert with qualifications in pharmacology so she gives really really helpful and useful info. She also has a forum where she answers questions and 2 very detailed and researched books that literally changed my life!! So I hope thats helpful. Things will get better, you won't feel this way forever!!