Hyperthyroid swing

[Hafsah2345]

Hi all

Hope you’re all well.

I just wanted to pop on here and seek some advice on what I believe may have been a “hyperthyroid” swing. I suffer from hashimotos so obviously am hypothyroid however the last 2 weeks I was having the most excruciating thyroid gland pain (I have had bouts of pain in the past but nothing like this). No pain killer (OTC) or naproxen was helping in reducing this.

I assumed it might just be the usual flare up and had my thyroid ultrasound today, confirmed the same finding as last year, thyroiditis with a very shrunken gland. Each lobe is about 1.9-2.2 cm (I think is the correct measurement) whereas it’s usually between 4-6 for those of you who know. Thankfully though, there is no vasculairity (active inflammation indication according to the radiologist), or nodules/cancer

Also; I also received my blood test results back and my T4 and T3 levels are the highest they’ve ever been and I’m very very scared I’m having a hyperthyroid attack and should stop all thyroid medication (currently 100mcg levo) altogether. Please could anyone give me some advice on what to do because I’m worried it could be life threatening.

The highest my T4 and T3 respectively have ever been whilst on medication is 18.5 and 6.1 respectively. Though I generally speaking over the last 2 weeks didn’t excerpt feel “hyperthyroid” I did experience some chest pain this morning.

Any advice would be massively appreciated xx

[Hafsah2345]

Sorry I just realised not all of my test results have been uploaded but they are the following

Ft4- 27.6 (high)

FT3- 6.6 (also near the upper limit of 6.8 according to Thriva)

Tsh-0.03

Tpoab- 27.6 (normal)

TGAB-113 (also normal)

[greygoose in reply to Hafsah2345]

Unfortunately, you havent put the ranges, so we don't know exactly how high your your Frees are. But, that FT3 certainly isn't high enough to be life-threatening. It's not nearly as high as most people with Graves have. So, I really wouldn't worry about it. If you feel hyper, then stop the levo for a few days, then restart when you feel hypo again.

As your thyroid is now very small, there's not much thyroid to attack, so levels won't go very high - you've probably had higher in the past without even noticing.

[Hafsah2345 in reply to greygoose]

Hi greygoose

Thank you so much for your response, the range for Ft4-12-22 and for Ff3- 3.8-6.2 I believe respectively, and okay thank you for breaking all of that down for me! It’s greatly appreciated. I’m going to stop taking Levo for a couple of days then slowly work back up with half my dose and see how I feel alongside another test. Do you know roughly how long these hyper attacks should last?

[greygoose in reply to Hafsah2345]

I don't think the attacks themselves last very long - although I don't know if any real research has gone into this. But what does last is the resulting high levels of thyroid hormone in the blood, which have to be used up/excreted. And, there's no knowing how long that will take. I expect it varies from person to person. There are so many variables.

[Hafsah2345 in reply to greygoose]

Okay thanks for confirming ! Would you recommend a blood test in a weeks time then to check again?

[greygoose in reply to Hafsah2345]

Oh, I'd leave it longer than that, if I were you. Wait until you start to feel a bit hypo.

[Hafsah2345 in reply to greygoose]

Okay perfect !