Another 'symptom' question - trembling.

[jeblondon]

I have noticed I get quite shaky especially during the afternoon.  At first I thought it was blood sugar lows and that I needed to eat more regularly but even that doesn't seem to stop it.  Before my PT I could eat anytime and often missed meals esp' breakfast, (I'm just not hungry in the mornings). If I delayed lunch it didn't really matter - I would get hungry but not to the point of feeling like this!  This horrible feeling  has just kicked in whilst I was at the supermarket an hour ago and I grabbed some chocolate to see if that would stave it off but it hasn't worked. (I had a small sandwich just before going out there).
I feel very very wobbly and shaky with trembling palms and mild heart palp.  NOT pleasant.
I am thinking once again that although most of my symptoms seem to indicate hypo, (the tiredness, achey joints etc.), could there be anything more?  
Help, once again , please.
J x

[jeblondon]

Hi thanks - so interesting.  I was taking beta blockers for 2 years for heart palps and probs with adrenilin 'rushes'.  Didn't do a thing and all the bb's did was make me tired!  I came off them last year.  I have often wondered after after all this thyroid stuff started if in fact thats what has been going on all the time.
Thanks for your input
J

[annemarielillis]

I, too, had that "low-bood-sugar" shaking feeling before I was diagnosed, and it still happens occassionally. I also remember literally feeling bursts of adrenalin, and experiencing very scarey shortness-of-breath episodes. I changed doctors three different times because I was just told it was anxiety and was prescribed anti-anxiety meds.

I know full well what anxiety is and although the symptoms can be the same, I knew that something else was wrong. The third doctor also blamed it on anxiety so I lived with increasing discomfort until my low thyroid showed up on a routine blood test. Once I started taking synthroid, the symptoms gradually decreased and now that I feel better I realize that I felt even worse than I thought.

From the informal research I have done to try to figure out why I experienced - and occassionally still do experience - shaking, heart palps, and shortness of breath, I can't help but think it is our adrenal glands working overtime and going haywire to compensate for our sluggish thyroid.

An article I read last week at the library when I was waiting for my daughter to pick out a book validated my theory. In the October, 2007 issue of Prevention magazine (page 47 and 48) I read that "...fluctuating hormones spur little surges of adrenaline, which can cause an extra heartbeat." The author was writing about heart palpitations and how common they are. I am thinking that since our thyroid gland is part of the hormonal system, doesn't it make sense that when it isn't working properly we would experience those same surges of adrenaline that cause our anxiety-like symptoms?

When I first started taking medicine two years ago, I read that when it comes to generic meds in general, in most cases the generic brand is fine. However, research has shown that thyroid meds are an exception, and that the Synthroid brand name yields better results than the generic version. I wish I had made a note of where I found that info. and am going to try to track it down again. Because of that research, I opted to get the brand name ($20) vs. the generic ($4), even though my doctor said that although she heard of that study, she felt her patients did fine on the generic.

After taking Synthroid for two years, for the last two months I decided to try the generic to save some money. Good grief, what a terrible difference. I am going back to the brand name with my next refill. I have been having those "blips" of adrenaline and shaking and all that stuff again, and have a hard time believing that it's just because I might be due for an adjustment. If those symptoms continue creeping back into my life after I have been back on the Synthroid, then I will believe it's time for an adjustment. For now I'm thinking it's just my choice of generic vs. brand name.

Hope my experiences help someone else  "connect-the-dots" for their own situation!

[jeblondon]

Hi again, thanks for comment.  I already have an almost caffeine free diet. I don't like coffee and drink only rooibos (redbush) tea - delicious and caffeine free.  I don't like fizzy drinks but drink bit of squash, fruit juices (esp cranberry), and mainly water.
Nope, have ruled out caffeine too as the cause of the shakiness and trembling.  Def think it is a thyroid prob as it hs only really manifested itself after my PT.
J x

[peggy64]

I split my pills with a pill splitter and I take the 2 pieces in that day, as I get what is in there. If you read the results it is better on your system to split the pills.
Do your own research and see what it says.

[Melmo36]

Do you drink caffeine?  Energy drinks, coffee, tea, and even chocolate can not only make you tremble, but can also temporarily increase your blood pressure (especially if you have not eaten).  Anxiety related to thyroid issues can also cause trembling.  I know this because I experience it sometimes myself.  Hope this helps. :)

[carolT]

First, NEVER split a pill unless it is scored!  Scoring means that it has a line down the middle of it. Always split along the line. If you split a non scored pill you will not know how much of the meds you get because the filler and med is not equally divided in the pill.  I DON"T know why doctors and even pharmacists don't have this knowledge.  I was a nurse for years and also taught pharmacy technicians and nurses.  SECOND, the shakiness and lightheadedness in the afternoon may be due to natural drop in blood sugar that women undergo.  I was involved in a study on this and the hunger you get and tiredness, shakiness etc, between 3 and 5 is linked to hormonal shift and shift in BS. Important to eat protein and carbs if you feel this way (i.e complete protein like PB or PB&J sandwich with milk).. Also may be perimenopausal which is adding to problem.  Doctors just don't seem to know or care - they are too busy with overbooked patients and bureaucracy!

[ChitChatNine]

I get that with being Hyper not Hypo ... definitely let your Dr. know ... maybe skip a dose and see if it helps at all that particular day ?

What dosing are you on ?  It may be too much OR the other side has decided to begin to work and now you have too much med + natural hormone in you?

C~

[peggy64]

Have you tried splitting your pills and taking 2-3 times a day?

[EMT9549]

Yeah now that AR-10 brought it up I was shaky all the time before I was diagnosed... funny thing is I never ate breakfast so i blamed it as well on not having food... I hope all is well to everyone this disease really sucks.. funny thing is it just controls everything physically and physiological... IF you think you are a mental case dont worry its just your thyroid lol....jeblondon I hope the shakiness goes away I have that every morning for some odd reason... I take my zoloft at night so I dont know why... By the way the doctors are treating me as an anxiety patient more then hyperthyroid lol.... and I never had anxiety in my life ! ! stay well everyone

[AR-10]

When I am slightly hyper, my hands tremble, noticably, but I do not experience the other feelings you describe.

I did have those feelings once or twice, at night, actually, but I never did figure out what caused it. It was so bad one night I ended up talking to Utahmomma at 1:30 in the morning because I was freaking out. She was very helpful just by listening and commiserating.

But my hormones were whacked out totally at that time.

Probably not helpful for you, but I am just describing past experiences.

Maybe you are not back to 100% physically, and you are "hitting the wall" energy wise. Your body runs out of reserves and you crash. I don't know. Just another thought.

[jrcaleb]

Funny, when I started having hyperthyroid type symptoms (I'm actually hypo, I would get the same feelings) almost like low blood sugar before lunch.  But it was not low blood sugar because I'm a diabetic and would check my levels.  They were always normal during these times but I would still get the heart palps, high blood pressure, anxiety, etc.  My dosage of synthroid has since been dropped and my symptoms are better but I still get them from time to time.  Get your labs done again to make sure you are not overmedicated.  

[jeblondon]

Hi and thanks for the thoughts.  Yes, I have been eating my brekkies since the op' 5 weeks ago.  As I have not been working I have made myself eat breakfast every day so don't think it is to do with skipping meals or anything.  Just wish it would stop - mu hands are really trembling as I type so have to keep correcting my mistakes!!
J

[AR-10]

I would get those symptoms when I was in the early stages of hypothyroidism. I always attributed it to low blood sugar, but that was never verified.

It was tied directly to my skipping breakfast. If I didn't eat in the morning, I would be shaky and weak by 9:00 in the morning. A couple of doughnuts would have me feeling better in ten minutes. Yeah, I know, doughnuts are not a good breakfast.

I don't know if it was tied to the thyroid, or low blood sugar, or what. Since I have been eating properly every morning, it has not been a problem.

[jeblondon]

Hi there, thanks for your reply.  Yes, did have nodule on my thyroid which was removed along with the left lobe and isthmus 5 weeks ago.   Nodule benign, MPC found in gland and now having CT scan in two weeks to determine if the small nodule in remaining part of thyroid is poss sinister too (and if it is then will prob have rest of thyroid removed - TT).
The removed part of the gland was showing thyroiditis and docs reckon I will need thyroxin at some stage but my levels showing ok and within ranges at the moment HOWEVER I feel ****!!!  
My questions to the forum are just to try to get some understanding of what could be put down to my thyroid or not.  I have felt 'ill' for several years and now believe that thyroid could have been at the root of my probs all along.
In the past I have been treated with anti-anxiety meds and beta blockers which were a comlpete waste of time.  I take nothing at all now and am 'ok' but trying to work my way through this minefield of confusing symptoms without my Doc thinking I am just another 48 year old peri-meno basket case!!  
Thats why I come here :)
I get dreadfully light headed too when I get this shaky feeling - it is really bad today.
Thanks so much for your comments
J

[EMT9549]

Well the shakiness really was not a symptom for me when I was first diagnosed with hypothyroidism...my personal symptoms were always recognized when i was in a public place like a class room when i was taking classes in college this last semester... I would get extremely nervous to go to class and when I got there my heart was going crazy, I was lightheaded, I never noticed being tired but now that I am being overtreated I do notice what I used to be. ... if it runs in your family go get it checked out... another thing that I noticed is that my thyroid gland in my neck was HUGE.... really noticeable... go look in the mirror and swallow if you can see a rather large lump then you might want to get that checked out