I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer last year so I have had my thyroid removed, I’ve not been given the all clear as I have developed thyroid antibodies so I’m still under treatment and due to COVID it’s been postponed, however since February this year, I’ve developed a cough with pghlem, feeling cold, night sweats, hair loss, palpitations, really sensitive to heat, I can’t step outside in the sun I turn red straight away, develop a itchy rash ☹️ at first doctors thought it’s an infection because of the phlegm I was bringing up, I’ve had several courses of antibiotics no joy, still the cough and phlegm are present, as I have been reading post on here I was wondering could this be related to my thyroid medication? Has anyone else experienced anything like this? I can manage all the other symptoms, the cough and the constant phlegm is becoming a problem it’s affecting my quality of life. So sick of constantly clearing my throat all the time the coughing fits, I dare go out anywhere, especially with everything going on in the world, My last blood test was in May and my levels were high they have been reduced now I’m taking 75mcg one day and 100mgc one day, I’ve tried everything, I been prescribed, inhalers, nasal sprays nothing helps and I’ve tried everything natural lemon water ginger etc but nothing is helping especially with the cough and phlegm. Any help or advice is really appreciated.
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Ranisai
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Hi the one in May we’re done at Christie’s and they write saying Free T4 of 30.5 with a THS of 0.03, and to reduce my dose from 100mcg every day to 75 and 100 alternate days, however I have blood test tomorrow morning and I will try and get a print out of this one, as I’ve been reading on here it’s best to get the print out, you will have to bear with me I’m just finding out about all this, I feel doctors don’t really explain anything beyond what they have in front of them...
You will have to do your own research on this to see if it is appropriate for you...
Disgusting post alert...
I did lots of coughing and had loads of phlegm after giving up smoking over ten years ago. I felt like I had a "puddle" of phlegm at the bottom of my lungs, and also gobs of phlegm in my nose and throat, but the amount never seemed to reduce and I couldn't cough anything up or blow my nose to remove it. It was a constant presence that I could do nothing about.
I found a supplement which thins out mucus and phlegm and it helped me to clear out unwanted phlegm and mucus from my nose, throat and lungs.
It's this stuff, and people present the name in various ways :
It has rather an unpleasant smell (rather like rotten eggs) so you need a product which has a good quality capsule shell. This is the best one I've found :
I take one a day in the mornings. Some people take more. I have found that if I take more than one they are too successful at thinning out mucus and my lungs can get too dry, so I only take it three or four (consecutive) days a week, then leave a gap of another three or four (consecutive) days without taking it at all. Experimenting is worth doing to get the most out of it.
....
Obviously, even if NAC helps you in the short term, you would be better off in the longer term trying to find the cause of all the phelgm and mucus.
I definitely know how you feel, the pghlem is a horrible to deal with.. for me, most of the time it’s in my throat and chest, as you said I have to research in to it myself, fingers crossed I will find something that will work for me..!
Never really been sure of the origin of all the phlegm production in sinuses, which is a constant bane. Ditto the reasons why I cough up the nasty stuff for hours after laughing for a few minutes. I haven't laughed much over recent months, so that's one problem on the back burner...
Being ill and having issues with health already and now with everything going on in the world it’s even harder trying to cope, I will definitely look into NAC.
Yes, the strain of pandemic-related worry certainly adds to the burden of thyroid illness.
Many years ago, I was told by an ENT specialist that my rhinitis and frequent sinus infections were caused by low thyroid function. I couldn't find a link at the time and was pretty sceptical, but I'll look through my books and come back here if I find more information.
Most of the information I've found so far on the respiratory system in hypothyroidism comes from the chapter with that title (chapter 65) in my copy of the sixth edition of Werner and Ingbar's The Thyroid. This is the 1991 edition, though I actually wanted to buy the fifth edition, but couldn't find a copy. My reason for buying an 'out of date' edition was a blog post I read by Tania SS on thyroidpatients.ca. She discussed the deliberate expunging of information on hypothyroidism and all its manifestations from the sixth edition onwards in The Thyroid as being one cause of the ignorance evident in the current generation of thyroidologists.
Back to mucus... There's an inconclusive discussion on the mechanisms of "Pleural Effusions" in the section with this title, stating a need, often repeated in this book, for further research. A later section titled "Upper Airway Effects" is also inconclusive about mechanisms involved, but states, "Nasal mucus secretion may be increased".
There is a lot more detail in this chapter that you might find interesting if you can find a library or second hand copy of this edition. Hypothyroidism appears to have an impact on many different aspects of this system, from the enlargement of tissues of the upper respiratory system, the effects on respiratory muscle function, to overall neurological control, and so on.
Just to add a further point: we know that hypo can lead to recurrent infections of all kinds, because of altered immune function. I'm sure repeated sinusitis is part and parcel of this. If you have time and energy, an afternoon trawling on PubMed might find you some more recent research info on the mechanisms of increased mucus production in hypo.
I've just had a very quick look on PubMed and entered a couple of different search terms re mucus and hypothyroidism. Very little much came up (pun not intended) but there is a brief abstract of a paper from 2010 about rhinitis and its treatment with thyroid hormone:
thank you so much, I really appreciate your time and effort, I will have a look, at the moment I am trying to rule out anything and everything that could be causing my phlegm and cough, maybe a shot in the dark however I am determined to get to the bottom of this.
For full Thyroid evaluation you need TSH, FT4 and FT3 tested. Also EXTREMELY important to test vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12
Low vitamin levels are extremely common and frequently need supplementing to improve to optimal levels
Which antibodies are raised?
Ask GP to test vitamin levels
Recommended on here that all thyroid blood tests should ideally be done as early as possible in morning and before eating or drinking anything other than water .
Last dose of Levothyroxine 24 hours prior to blood test. (taking delayed dose immediately after blood draw).
This gives highest TSH, lowest FT4 and most consistent results. (Patient to patient tip, best not mentioned to GP or phlebotomist)
Is this how you do your tests?
Private tests are available as NHS currently rarely tests Ft3 or thyroid antibodies or all relevant vitamins
I have Thyrogloublin antibodies, I will ask GP about vitamin level test, never had one before. In the past I have not had my test the way you have recommended however I have one tomorrow morning, I read your recommendation on another post so I decided to follow it and have a test done to get optimal results, I did ask my GP about T3 she said its not necessary as T4 is what they look at, too be honest not very helpful at all, I will get a private blood test done too, might be easier as my doctors surgery do not want you coming in, everything is over the phone.. so frustrating, No I have not been a strict dairy free diet, I have cut out a lot of foods to help determine what can be causing the pghlem so it shouldn't be hard I will try it see if it helps, I was on Teva levothyroxine before but when they changed my dose the levothyroxine has been MercuryPharma and Wockhardt, see if the pharmacist can give me Teva or Aristo or one without lactose.
Thank you for all your advice I’m definitely reading more into my condition and medication, since coming on this forum it’s opened my eyes to other possibilities and not just taking the doctors word , I will get a private blood test done too and have the vitamins and F3 test too.
I have thyroid issues going on and developed a similar cough for last two years which I control with Benadryl. No one has made a connection and I’ve been told it’s nothing to do with my thyroid. I’m going to try allergy testing next. Benadryl is only antihistamine that stops it and I was given sprays and inhalers to zero effect. My lungs are clear (I got everything checked) but when the cough comes it’s compulsive and productive. I know how you feel.
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