Locum-motion, or, hearing my eyes move

[malohant]

Just had a phone call with a locum, which was interesting as it yielded new information...

I just had my blood tests done last week, which as per the last 6 months to a year have been high but in range fT4 (21, r12-22) , very low TSH (0.08, r0.27-4.2). I (again) forgot to stop my B complex which contains biotin so these are perhaps not entirely reliable - I also took a fingerprick sample for a private test to check fT3 & vits but as it cost £70 I decided to not send it and get a free replacement for the next time I test, I'm not spending that for potentially unreliable results. My fT3 generally comes in at around 25-50% of the way through the range. I have Hashi's (or probably Ord's, as without goiter). In any case these results aren't really why I'm writing this.

I got the phone call from my surgery yesterday, and I guess my usual GP is off because I got a locum. First thing she said is that I'm overmedicated, cue a 5 minute monologue from me explaining the tense status quo I have with my GP about looking like I'm overmedicated but really REALLY not wanting to drop my levo as things have, very slowly but very definitely, been getting better over the past year and I'm terrified of losing that. She asked a couple of questions and seemed relatively satisfied. What she did say, which was new to me, was that if I was much older than the 37 years I am she would be much more adamant I dropped my levo intake as she would be concerned about the strain on my heart, but as I was an otherwise young, fit and healthy man (not that I especially feel like it) she would let it ride.

Now. I didn't mention this because 1) I didn't want to argue myself out of my relatively easy win over mdeication and 2) because I am due a consult with an endo relatively soon (it was supposed to be this month but what with this pandemic I have been encouraged to expect a delay of a couple of months or more), but I have been having some unusual symptoms over the past 6-8 months.

I have been hearing my eyes move. Usually in the evening, when me and the missus are sat playing board games and all is quiet with thinking (or sometimes when I'm sat on the loo) - basically only when there is very little background noise, I hear this soft little rubbing sound when my eyes look in a different direction. I did call the surgery about it and spoke to a different GP and they said they had no idea what it was but not to worry - it might be blocked ears, which I attempted to deal with but without change. More recently, say the past 2 or 3 months, I have also occasionally (also when there is little other noise) heard my pulse in my ears. It's like a very soft thud, and not like the whooshing noise which is supposed to be a sign of problems. I have googled it and it sounds like it might be a very mild case of SCDS (superior canal dehiscence syndrome livescience.com/15875-medic... ) but its not that big a deal to me - the eyes are a little unsettling but I can just put music on and I don't hear it - so I hadn't thought to do anything more, given the GP isn't worried; but now what this locum said has me a bit more interested in finding more out. Obviously I'll ask more questions of the endo. But in the meantime...

What does overmedication (for hypo-Hashi's) look like?

And does anyone have experience of hearing any similar body-noises?

Thanks in advance

M

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Common to get dry eyes with Hashimoto’s/Ord’s

Do you use eye drops ?

Look for preservative free eg

chemist-4-u.com/evolve-hypr...

Perhaps see optician too

[malohant in reply to SlowDragon]

Oh thanks SlowDragon I didn't realise that was a common symptom! Yes I do try to keep hydrated but I wondered if there was a link... Will look into eye drops, thanks

[greygoose]

You're not over-medicated - be it with Hashi's or any other cause of hypothyroidism - unless your FT3 is over-range. And, as they don't even bother to test it, that locum, like most doctors, was talking rubbish!

[malohant in reply to greygoose]

Thanks greygoose Yes that's been my understanding, but I only know a very limited amount about how all of this works so wasn't sure if eg low TSH/high fT4 directly meant my heart was having to work harder or if it was because the locum believed that meant I was overmedicated which would mean higher heart stress. It was just something I hadn't heard before and coupled with the odd symptoms made me think twice! Thanks again

[greygoose in reply to malohant]

Most doctors think that a very low/suppressed TSH automatically means that you are over-medicated because they don't understand how it works, either! They also believe that a suppressed TSH causes heart problems and osteoporosis. None of which is true. They are just generally very badly educated.

T4 is a storage hormone, basically, and doesn't do much until it's converted into T3, the active hormone. So, would not stress your heart.

Your FT4 wasn't even quite at the top of the range, and not all of it would be converted to T3. So, highly unlikely that your FT3 was over-range. But I wouldn't expect a GP to know that. Or even most endos!

[radd]

malohant,

Before being diagnosed with Hashi my eyeballs used to ache when I moved them from side to side, as if they were swollen and too big for the sockets. We can get some extremely weird symtoms when kept hypo for many years.