Hypothyroidism and shivering

[Beefull8]

Hi. I have Graves’ disease and hyperthyroidism but a few months ago my doctor had me take 4xs my medication to prevent a flare from covid. It was only for a week but have had a few occasions where I felt uncontrollably cold even in summer. Recently my physical therapist used a TENS unit on my back with a heating pad for the first time and after I couldn’t stop shivering. It is always extremely cold in there so she thinks it’s due to the change of temperature or nerves. I’m just wondering if it’s normal with hypothyroidism because another time I had similar reaction when getting out of a warm pool.

[jimh111]

What medication are you taking and what was increased by 4x? I've never heard of thyroid status affecting COVID or vice-versa. This seems very weird. Do you have recent blood test results?

[Beefull8 in reply to jimh111]

Methimazole. Unfortunately this time they said my dr didn’t want me to do a lab so I have to wait until December. She said her patients TSH goes down with covid and mines went from 2.0 to 0.6 when I took the vaccine so it was precautionary but I am very sensitive to changes in medication.

[jimh111 in reply to Beefull8]

I would get a private TSH, fT3, fT4 blood test as soon as you can. There are cheap finger prick ones from Monitor My Health. I don't know about COVID but some illnesses do lower TSH. This is due to the pituitary reducing TSH to render the patient partially hypothyroid. In these cases the low TSH reflects hypothyroidism NOT hyperthyroidism.I think your doctor has dropped a clanger, she should measure fT3 and fT4 and not blindly follow TSH. I would get a private test and post your results here.

[Beefull8 in reply to jimh111]

I agree. I also suddenly developed carpal tunnel syndrome and saw that it is also a symptom of hypothyroidism.

[jimh111 in reply to Beefull8]

Yes, I also started getting pins and needles in my fingers, it's due to a build up of mucus around the nerves and resolves when you are adequately treated. Your GP has got it wrong, the reduced TSH is due to reduced TRH stimulation of the pituitary not increased feedback from higher thyroid hormones.

[humanbean]

Being cold is an extremely common problem in hypothyroidism, but I haven't heard of it being a problem in hyperthyroidism. (But then I've never been hyperthyroid myself).

I suggest that you ask your doctor for a full thyroid function test i.e. TSH, Free T4, Free T3. Knowing just your TSH isn't enough. If all they test is TSH or TSH + Free T4 then it would be a good idea to do a private finger prick test for TSH, Free T4 and Free T3. Even better would be to do a full test including thyroid antibodies, vitamins and minerals.

Some useful links, and some discount codes :

thyroiduk.org/help-and-supp...

Some of the most popular tests on the forum :

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bluehorizonbloodtests.co.uk...

I discovered that I felt really cold all the time when I had too low a level of iron, for example, as well as when my thyroid hormones were too low. And it is known that having Covid can play havoc with some nutrient levels particularly iron.

Are you still taking carbimazole or PTU? If yes, what dose?

It is possible that you are over-medicated and your thyroid hormone levels have been reduced to a hypothyroid level.

[Beefull8 in reply to humanbean]

I think I was overmedicated but surprised I am still having symptoms. It was in August and I only took four times the dose for 4 days. Do you ever get shivers though when cold? I am definitely colder than normal even when everyone is hot.

[humanbean in reply to Beefull8]

My body does its own thing a lot of the time. I can sweat or shiver or feel warm or cold and the actual temperature in the room or outside doesn't always justify what my body is doing!

[Beefull8 in reply to humanbean]

That sounds awful. I have always been sensitive to cold and heat but not to this extreme.

[Lalatoot]

When I was hyperthyroid I had poor temperature control but mostly to do with being in hot rooms and not shivery. Shivery is something I get now I am hypothyroid.When we have thyroid issues it affects all our bodily systems. When we are on medication to correct the thyroid problems the body adapts and finds a balance but it often does not take much to upset that balance and the resulting symptoms can be much greater than the small change that was made.

.y suggestion is that this is what has happened to you. If you have any recent blood results let us have a look at them so we can help in an informed way

If you haven't had bloods done I would get them done so you can see what's what.

[Beefull8 in reply to Lalatoot]

Something went wrong and the lab said my dr didn’t want me to get a blood test until December. My regular doctor ran labs outside of thyroid labs and everything else was normal. I do think taking 4xs my dose affected me. I also developed carpal tunnel and numbness in my hands and saw that can be from hypothyroidism. I told my endo that I don’t want to take 4x my normal methimazole everytime I think I have covid but I think her fear is that I will get severely hyperthyroid from covid. My TSH dropped from 2.0 to 0.6 following one shot and that’s after she had me double my normal dose.

[Lalatoot in reply to Beefull8]

Tsh is a poor measure of thyroid status. She should be looking at your actual thyroid hormones of ft4 and ft3. It is the ft3 level that is concern and it can be measured rather than inferred.