Help! I'm Sick

[blueice37]

Hi!  I have been recently diagnosed with hypothyroid. I feel horrible all the time. Somedays I can't even make it to work. Let me give you a little history. I'm 52 yrs old. The past two years have really been bad on me. I just went through menopause. Last year, I had been having spells, "thyroid storms" as my Dr put it to me. He checked my TSH, T3 and T4 levels and told me they were slightly high. At that time, he didn't want to put me on any meds because I was going through menopause. About 4 months later, I started feeling really tired, headache, horrible dizziness, confusion, and muscle/joint aches. The Dr. rechecked my TSH and it came back at 7.8. He started me on 25 mcg levothyroxine. I was taking a quarter of  a tablet everyday and it was throwing back into hyperthyroid. The doctor told me to switch to the brand Synthroid since it was more stable. I switched and for the first 3 weeks, I was feeling great. He retested and showed my TSH was 6.8. Soon after, I was beginning with the symptoms again only now alot of anxiety, nervousness and racing heart. He cut me back to quarter tab every other day.  It helped for about a week. Symptoms again. I started taking it everyday and hyper started once again.  Last week, my TSH level was checked and it is down to 4.2, but I still feel horrible. By midday and early evening I'm aching, both my joints, muscles and head. Dr. told me to cut back to every 3 days. What is going on here? Will I every feel better/normal again?   PS My height is 5' and weight is 92 lbs. I can't seem to gain weight!!  Please advise. I'm on the verge of losing my job because of so many absences.

[Shine1961]

Hi,
I was put on thyroxine and became terribly anxious with bouts of weakness and collapse.  After suffering for quite a while I went to see a specialist here in the UK.  He started me on Hydrocortisone as my adrenals were rock bottom and couldn't cope with the anxiety effects of the thyroxine, also the low adrenal reserve was interferring with the use of the thyroid hormone.  Also I found out that i couldn't convert T4 into T3 so I am now on T3 Liothyronine.  Maybe this would be worth you looking into?
Thyroid treatment is not always as easy to treat as the doctors like to believe!

[Mark Lupo, M.D.]

The TSH is a little high -- if the thyroid replacement has not been tolerated and the TSH is only a little high, it is hard to link all the symptoms to thyroid disease.  Would look again at Free T4 & T3 levels as these would be expected to be normal if the TSH is only a little high -- if they are both low, would consider looking at pituitary. Given symptoms and weight would also check am cortisol it should be >11 given the stress/symptoms -- if not then additional testing for low adrenal state (addison's) should be considered.  There may be other, non-endocrine, causes as well -- keeping working w/ your internist in that regard.

[blueice37]

I have a correction to make. In the 10th sentence, My TSH T3 and T4 levels were checked and showed LOW not high. I have no numbers on these.