Conflicting symptoms?

[Sparkydoo]

I am a 39 year old female.  9 years ago I asked my doc. about thyroid disorders due to symptoms: low sex drive, sweating and hot all the time, tired and not a lot of energy, dry hair, brain fog, I seemed to have syptoms (symptoms) of both hyper and hypo, I was tested and my level came back 3.3 and he said I was fine.  Now 9 years later I still have the same symptoms and also leg cramps at night, heart palpatations, tired, difficulty loosing weight, I thought perhaps some of my symptoms were related to being on oral contraceptives for 12 years so, I went off but, still did not resolve the symptoms. tested my TSH levels again and found them to be 3.7(dignosed me as hypothyroid) so, he put me on Synthroid 75 mcg...the first day I was sweating and hot .i called the nurse and she said the doctor suggested I cut my dose to half of the 75 mcg. tablet.  I have been on it for 6 days now. I am confused as to why my symptoms are conflicting?  I have more symptoms of hyperthyroid than hypothyroid?   I don't have medical insurance  Help?  I am still hot on the synthroid dose.   When will I start feeling better on synthroid and is my doseage to small?  At first I wasn't supposed to go back for a year but, now he wants to test me again after 4 weeks on synthroid..when is the best time of day to test and do I need to be fasting?  is there something he isn't doing or looking at?

[Mark Lupo, M.D.]

Testing can be done anytime of day.

You probably have a mild case of hypothyroidism - usual start dose with these levels would be 25-75mcg depending on the patient and some people are sensitive, so need a slow start and re-eval.  It will be important to recheck every 6-8 weeks for the first several months to make sure the levels are ok and you are doing well.  

With these borderline cases, there sometimes is no improvement in the 'hypo' symptoms --- in other words, there may be another cause besides thyroid.

[cosmicsoul]

sorry to hear all of this. some hypothyroids do have excessive sweating. it sounds like your issue is definately hormone related.... often before we become hypo we go through a short (or longer - we are all different) period of hyper - this is the body's way of trying to compensate for the thyroid hormone that it produced sluggishly. I think you need to see a cardiologist and see something about your heart, circulation - the sweating may not be due to the thyroid and you may have a completely different issue on the side. I also recommend that you check for TPO antibodies in your blood work because although your TSH is not too high (above 2 is a concern) you may have Hashimotos which can result in the symptoms you have. Is there a way you can get insurance? I mean since I have been hypothyroid I have had a lot of medical visits and testing and it is not cheap.... I hope things will improve for you. One more thing - is menapause a possibility for you? Some women experience it in their 30s and 40s of course... I wonder if some underlying hormone issue is the cause - say too much estrogen, or not enough, or something like that. Saliva testing for hormones is much better than blood because in the saliva you get the amounts available for your tissues vs. what is floating in your blood. But unfortunately the saliva testing is much more expensive.... and not many doctor is familiar with it. Either way we look at it the health care system rips us off especially the uninsured. Good luck!

[happyandhypo]

It's the insurance industry ripping us off, not the health care providers.  Furthermore, saliva testing has limited clinical validated research and no FDA approval. Lack of FDA approval is why this type of testing is not covered by insurance.  

[cateyes69]

A related discussion, dizziness and passing out was started.