Hyperthyroidism help !!! Please

[-Jill-]

Hi I’m trying to help my cousin, she’s quiet ill at the moment with newly diagnosed hyperthyroidism I myself have hypothyroidism but notice a lot of symptoms are the same. My cousin was being treated going back some years but treatment was stopped when they thought things had been put right, she’s since gone on suffering and been treated for the menopause for about 2 years, the doctors have now said it’s her thyroid again and she waits now for an appointment to see an endocrinologist, other than propanol for her very erratic heart she’s on no other treatment, I don’t have range’s but I do have her latest blood test results: TSH 0.01 T4 25.8 T3 10.9 can anyone please advise on these results, I would also like to know what vitamins she would need to get blood tests for, thank you in advance for any help and advice given....I would like to be of more help to her but feel unwell myself and think my thyroid is out of whack I’ve got what seems like complete brain block and such a foggy head but knee deep in unavoidable stressful situations right now. Thank you all. Jill.

[humanbean]

TSH 0.01 T4 25.8 T3 10.9

There are various causes of hyperthyroidism. Doctors usually assume that a patient with low TSH and over range Free T4 and Free T3 must have Graves' Disease, but they don't often test for Graves antibodies to check.

elaine-moore.com/Articles/G...

Hashimoto's Thyroiditis (often known to patients as Hashi's) is one of the conditions that people can have that starts with a period of hyperthyroidism then eventually ends up with the patient being hypothyroid for life.

It is important for people to have the appropriate tests to get a definitive diagnosis so that they aren't given the wrong treatment. And it is particularly important if they are being advised to have radioactive iodine to kill off the thyroid or are told they need their thyroid removed, when a patient with Hashi's should do everything in their power to keep their thyroid as healthy as possible because it will make life easier when/if they become hypothyroid. If removing or killing off the thyroid is being advised it must only be done for the right reasons or not at all!

Although you haven't given the reference ranges for your cousin's results they don't actually look like the results you would expect from a Graves' patient, they look more like the results you would get from a patient with Hashi's going through a period of hyperthyroidism and if I'm right then she will become hypothyroid eventually. A Graves' patient's results would probably have much higher levels of Free T4 and Free T3.

Some people with Hashi's do have a really hard time when they go through the early hyperthyroid phase of the condition, and they may decide they want to get rid of their thyroid. But it should be their choice, not their doctor's!

[humanbean in reply to humanbean]

I should also have said that Graves' Disease, when treated correctly with anti-thyroid drugs, can eventually go into remission, sometimes for many years. This is another reason for avoiding permanent treatment (RAI or thyroid removal) for hyperthyroidism.

[bantam12 in reply to humanbean]

But it can come also back with a vengeance after many years in remission 😕

[humanbean in reply to bantam12]

Yes, that's true. Every case needs to be treated based on what actually happens, not based on what is cheapest and easiest for doctors.

[bantam12 in reply to humanbean]

if I had known Graves would hit me again so badly after 30 years in remission I would have opted for TT or RAI 30 years beforehand. Shame we can't see into the future.

[-Jill- in reply to bantam12]

I believe that’s what’s happening with her as she’s been in remission for just over 2 years and at the moment is out of her mind with so many symptoms hitting her, her heart so erratic it’s scaring her...thank you for your help, Jill

[-Jill- in reply to humanbean]

Thank you humanbean & bantam 12

This is what I wanted to hear, I’m trying my best to explain to my cousin about the rai treatment and hypothyroidism because that’s what happened to me, I went from hyper to hypo due to iodine...I can now show her your thoughts as my brain is so foggy and confused right now I’m not sure I’m making any sense to her. I appreciate both of your inputs 😊