Hyper ?

[jamie18]

I have had under active thyroid (HASHIMOTOS) for nearly twenty years ,last November I started T3 ,building up to 20 T3 and 150 thyroxine ,I started to feel unwell 3 weeks ago ending up in A and e on Sunday evening with non stop heart palpitations ,was told I was now hyper ,given beta blockers and sent home ,doctor says reduce T3 to 5 and thyroxine to 100 ,I have constant palpitations ,shakes ,pain in shoulder ,down arm with pins and needles ,upset stomach ,bloodshot eyes ,sore neck ,cough ,hoarse voice and weight loss,could not feel any worse ,just wondering how long it will take for these symptoms to calm down

T3 6.8 top range 6.8

T4 21 top range 22

TSH 0.2

THANK YOU

[greygoose]

No, you're not hyper. It's not possible to go from being hypo to hyper. The thyroid has been damaged by the Hashi's, and that's why you're hypo. It cannot suddenly regenerate and start producing too much hormone.

You can, of course, be over-medicated, but those results don't actually say over-medication, because they're still in-range. But, it could be that that is too much hormone for you.

Or, another possibility is that you had a Hashi's 'hyper' swing. Which isn't true 'hyper' in the sense that your thyroid is over-producing. It's just that the dying thyroid cells release their stock of hormone into the blood, causing FT4 and FT3 to shoot up, and the TSH therefore drops.

To check if this is actually the case, and not over-medication, do you have any other lab results on the same dose?

But, either way, I would not recommend such drastic measures as your doctor suggests - typical doctor knee-jerk reaction! You should only reduce T3 by 5 mcg every two weeks, and levo by 25 mcg every six weeks - and never both at the same time. So, in your place, I would reduce T3 by 5 mcg, wait two weeks and then reduce the levo by just 25 mcg. Otherwise, it could be a terrific shock to the system and make you feel worse.

[Marz]

I notice you joined almost 3 years ago so you will be familiar with the dozens of posts about vitamins and minerals. How are your levels of B12 - Folate - Ferritin - VitD ? Are you taking supplements or any other medications ? Low levels of vitamins and minerals could also contribute to your symptoms ...

[Scazzoh]

Jamie, sorry you are feeling rough. If it turns out that you are having an 'auto-immune flare' i.e. a surge of thyroid tissue into your system, there are things you can do to prevent future ones. Lifestyle is important. Has there been any unusual stress recently which could have triggered it? Also, avoiding gluten helps lots of people. Gluten molecules are similar in structure to thyroid ones, so eating gluten can cause 'flares'. The paleo 'Auto-Immune Protocol' is a very good programme. It starts with quite a strict diet, but there are other ways that you can regulate the immune system. thepaleo.mom is one of the best ones.

Your bloods show you are not over medicated so I would be very wary of suddenly reducing your dose.

Hope you feel better soon.

[jamie18]

Thank you all for your advice and information ,

I don,t have any other test results as I have been self isolating for ten weeks ,I didn,t think I should be dropping my T3 and T4 at the same time but my GP thought this was the best way forward ,as I have already been taking the reduced doses for a few days should I continue or increase them back up ,I take vitimins every day and at the moment I,m also taking iron tablets as I am at the very bottom of the normal range ,I have sent for a medicheck test so I will post my new results when I have them ,I eat very little gluten in my diet but I know very little is still to much ,I have alot of stress in my life , in March I was diagnosed with lichen sclerosis and I have fybromyalgia ,falling apart and feeling very old and useless at the moment ,just wish I could stop shaking and stop these horrible palpatations.