Newly diagnosed with hyperthyroidism

[Kenya71]

Recently diagnosed with hyperthyroidism. Constantly feeling emotional, irritable and short tempered. Is this normal? And will it get better once I start medication? I'm finding it really hard to cope with normal family life. Think my husband and daughters are in pure bewilderment at how I am behaving.

[Cat4health]

Hi Kenya71,

Sorry to hear that. Yes it's normal n will very likely reduce as your free ts do, meds take about 6 weeks to work properly though. If you want good hyperthyroidism info check out Elaine Moore's website

[Qwerty12345]

I concur! Before I knew I had graves I was an absolute wreck with emotions all over the place. Normally a calm, easy going person, I was suddenly given to fits of despair and fits of rage! I never felt relaxed and basically felt like a coiled spring 24 hours a day. I was lucky and felt enourmous relief as quickly as maybe 10 days after starting treatment. Returning to normal was amazing! Best wishes.

[Kenya71 in reply to Qwerty12345]

Thank you so much for responding. It's the change in my behaviour tgat has really bothered me - I too am normally that chilled, I'm horizontal

[Fruitandnutcase]

Yes, emotional, grumpy and very short tempered are exactly how you are and yes, things will improve once your thyroid is under control. Life is pretty miserable when you start with Graves. I was treated with block and replace so I was on 40mcg carbimazole for three months before levothyroxine T4 was added in and I started to feel better once that happened. Not sure how long it takes to improve if you are titration get your carbimazole though.

I was older when I was diagnosed - mid sixties and I thought I was either mentally ill or developing dementia. Once I was sorted out things went back to normal so don’t panic. You will be as normal again as you used to be.

I was lucky in that my kids had left home and I was able to rest a lot. Graves is very tiring. My husband used to shop and cook, it took me all my time just to exist. I kept going to the gym - it’s not a ‘Lycra gym’ and I liked the people, they were kind and caring and I also stuck with Pilates, my teacher is a physiotherapist and she adapted everything to suit my pathetically weak self but I wanted to do it just so that Graves didn’t rob me of what made me who I was. I used to do lots of long distance walking but I had to stop that because I just didn’t have the energy. My thigh muscles seemed to have wasted away at one point.

Good luck with it all and remember there is light at the end of the tunnel. Tell your other half and the kids you will recover and be the same old mum again.

[Kenya71 in reply to Fruitandnutcase]

Thank you so much. Really good to know that this is normal (whatever nirmal may be!).

[Valarian]

Yes Kenya71, it’s normal, but will get better.

It usually takes between 2-6 weeks for the effects of antithyroids to take effect. They only inhibit production of new hormones, they can’t destroy existing stores, so your body has to work through these.

Do you have your FT3, FT4 and TSH levels / ranges, and did they test for antibodies ? How much medication (Carbimazole?) are you on ?

This will sound difficult under the circumstances, but it really helps if you can avoid/ reduce stress

[Kenya71 in reply to Valarian]

I'm only on beta blockers at the moment. Due to see the Co suit And tomorrow. Thanks for taking the time to respond.

[Valarian in reply to Kenya71]

Considering how bad you probably feel at the moment, you could begin to feel quite dramatically better a few weeks after you start taking antithyroids.

A good question to ask tomorrow would be what do they think is causing you to be hyper, and how do they know (or have they done/do they plan to do antibody tests).

If you don’t understand something, or would like a more detailed explanation from the endo, just ask. Most of them seem to assume we aren’t really interested, and unless we ask why/what/when/how etc don’t pass on much information. However, although this is only my experience of one hospital, I’ve always had good explanations from the endos when I’ve asked for them.

Good luck!

[Fruitandnutcase in reply to Valarian]

Exactly Valarian. I remember the first consultant I saw being amazed when I discussed Graves with him - obviously my approach was unusual but I think it is really good to ask questions and take part in your treatment rather than accept it passively.

I found it was really helpful to keep a diary / notebook. I jotted down how I was feeling on a day to day basis - not a lot just bullet points really. It was very helpful as I progressed through my treatment. I used to keep details of all my blood test results, any questions I wanted to ask and anything I felt backed my case. Not only that it was good to read back over time and see how much I had progressed even when I wasn’t sure I had.

It would help Kenya71 to know about her Vitamin D and B12 and also her ferritin and folate levels because they all need to be well up in their ranges to help her thyroid.

My pharmacist also told me to take high dose vitamin C when I started taking carbimazole which I always did and I’m sure that helped me to feel well.

[Kenya71 in reply to Fruitandnutcase]

Thanks - really good advice.

[Kenya71 in reply to Valarian]

Consultant has confirmed Graves Disease. Having another blood test to check TS4, TS3 and antibodies. Also a full blood test as white cells are low.

What is a normal range for TS3 and TS4?

thanks

[Valarian in reply to Kenya71]

Not sure what is meant by ‘TS4’ - is this definitely what the endo said ?

The usual tests would be TSH, FT3, and FT4. Reference ranges vary from lab to lab, but should be shown on the results form, possibly in brackets after the result. You will probably have these retested every 4-6 weeks while FT3 and FT4 are over range.

The usual antibody tests would be either TRab or TSI, which will confirm Graves’, and TPO which is a marker for autoimmune diseases such as Graves’ or Hashimoto’s (a hypo condition).

[Kenya71 in reply to Valarian]

Must have been FT3 and FT4 he was referring to - I obviously wrote them down wrong.

[Welshmumm]

Yes it is normal. I was diagnosed last October as hyper and eventually say the consultant in April and the reason for being hyper was I had Graves.

It has been a roller coaster of emotions and only now do I see light at the end of the tunnel. Feeling irritable, happy the next, crying over silly things, aggressive the next.

I have been on carbimazole 20mg to start and put up to 40mg when I saw the consultant in April for 6 weeks and back to 20mg. I was on Ferritin x 3 times a day but told I am now not anemic. I have B12 injections every 8 weeks.

My mood & my anxiety levels seem to be back on track just wish my energy levels would return to normal.

I have been told it is a long journey with this disease and to listen to your body (which I had ignored up to now) and I finally did listen and took time off work and this has certainly helped my symptoms.

You are still inside there somewhere and it is the disease that makes you feel like this. It is difficult for family and friends to understand as we look ok on the outside but inside we are mess.

Good luck on your journey and look after yourself

[Kenya71]

Thank you

[lisbriamy]

Hi Kenya71, I too, about 5 weeks ago, was diagnosed with hyperthyroid, after going into A fib. Last week I started feeling somewhat better but I'm still not able to work. A few days ago I thought I had taken a turn for the good then the next day I felt bad again. Definitely a roller coaster ride. All I can say is hang in there, eventually the meds will work. Today I am feeling somewhat better. I go back to Dr on Tuesday with lots of questions.

[Kenya71]

Me again - just had the most awful pain across my chest and underneath my ribs. Trip to A&E later and they are blaming the overactive thyroid. Anybody else experienced this? On the brightside even though my TSH level is still really low my T4 level is down to 31 now. So promising. Thanks.