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Bloat & HyperThyroid/those overmedicated
I'm a hypo patient and my current results came back as slipping slightly into the hyper range. The results look good on paper, but I've been losing hair, bloated, can't sleep, too anxious to do much. Anyway, my dr suggested that a pull back on my dose a bit. I thought for sure that the labs would come back as hypo because my period was off and I've gained 2 lbs even though I eat less and I'm working out more than in the summer months. It is this puffy bloat that really has me stumped. I'm aware that other symptoms can overlap. I've been on 2x the amount of meds that my body required when I was treated by a quack and it seems that when I go hyper (even just a little) I gain weight and bloat. Is this common for anyone else? .
You mentioned that your TSH shows your are hyper. Just because it is below range does not mean that you are hyper. In reality you are hyper only if having hyper symptoms due to excessive Free T3 and Free T4 levels. TSH is a pituitary hormone that is affected by so many variables that it is totally inadequate as a diagnostic for thyroid issues. Even though TSH supposedly represents your thyroid hormone levels, it cannot be shown to correlate well with either Free T3 or Free T4, much less with the most important variable, which is symptoms.
TSH is even less reliable when already taking thyroid meds, because it will be frequently suppressed below the reference range, without attendant hyper symptoms. Not understanding this, many doctors want to reduce meds, even though you may still have hypo symptoms. While taking 200 mcg of T4 med, my TSH was about .05 for well over 25 years without ever having hyper symptoms. In fact I continued having lingering hypo symptoms all that time until I learned about the importance of Free T3, from members of this Forum. Testing confirmed my Free T3 to be low in the range. After switching to a T4/T3 combo med, and doing some dosage tweaking, my Free T3 is now 3.9 (range of 2.3 - 4.2), and I feel best ever.
TSH is even less reliable when already taking thyroid meds, because it will be frequently suppressed below the reference range, without attendant hyper symptoms. Not understanding this, many doctors want to reduce meds, even though you may still have hypo symptoms. While taking 200 mcg of T4 med, my TSH was about .05 for well over 25 years without ever having hyper symptoms. In fact I continued having lingering hypo symptoms all that time until I learned about the importance of Free T3, from members of this Forum. Testing confirmed my Free T3 to be low in the range. After switching to a T4/T3 combo med, and doing some dosage tweaking, my Free T3 is now 3.9 (range of 2.3 - 4.2), and I feel best ever.
I get so puffy and bloated when Hypo. Also hair loss and anxiety. My TSH shows I'm hyper, but I know I'm still hypo. Think I need to get my T3 up.
I have to say that with all those hypo symptoms, he doesn't seem to be treating you very well. Please post your thyroid test results and their reference ranges so that we can better assess the adequacy of your testing and treatment.
My doctor treats his patients based on #'s and/or symptoms. Each case is treated individually.
It isn't just being on Armour, it is having the right dosage to get your Free T3 and Free T4 levels high enough in their ranges to relieve symptoms. Armour was required for me to raise my FT3 level. Could you please post your thyroid test results and reference ranges so we can assess your status?
I'd bet my last dollar that your doctor has the "Immaculate TSH Belief" by which he thinks that TSH is an infallible diagnostic for thyroid. Wrong. TSH is a pituitary hormone that is affected by so many variables that at best it is an indicator, to be considered along with more important indicators such as symptoms and also the levels of the biologically active thyroid hormones, Free T3 and Free T4. FT3 is the most important because it largely regualtes metabolism and many other body functions. Scientific studies have also shown that Free T3 correlated best with hypo symptoms, while Free T4 and TSH did not correlate.
TSH is even less useful when you are already taking thyroid meds. For example, my own TSH has been about .05 for well over 25 years without ever having hyper symptoms. In fact I had lingering hypo symptoms until I learned about this Forum and the importance of Free T3. After getting tested for Free T3 and finding it low, I got my meds changed to include a source of T3. Now, after some problems when Armour was no longer available, and some dosage tweaking, I feel best ever.
The problems I mentioned occurred when I had to change meds. I did not handle it very well and became hypo again. I thought it would interest you that during this time I had terrible acid reflux and bloating, even though I was taking 20 mg of Prilosec twice a day. After Armour was available again, I switched back to it and literally in 2 days, my bloating and acid reflux were gone. I even stopped taking the Prilosec fdor a while and still had no problem. All this improvement was a result of getting my Free t3 level back up again.
If you will please post your thyroid test results and their reference ranges shown on the lab report, members will be glad to assess the adequacy of your testing and treatment. Even if you have been tested previously for Free T3 and Free T4 (not Total T3 and Total T4), I expect that we will see that your Free T3 levels are in the lower half of the range, which frequently results in hypo symptoms.
TSH is even less useful when you are already taking thyroid meds. For example, my own TSH has been about .05 for well over 25 years without ever having hyper symptoms. In fact I had lingering hypo symptoms until I learned about this Forum and the importance of Free T3. After getting tested for Free T3 and finding it low, I got my meds changed to include a source of T3. Now, after some problems when Armour was no longer available, and some dosage tweaking, I feel best ever.
The problems I mentioned occurred when I had to change meds. I did not handle it very well and became hypo again. I thought it would interest you that during this time I had terrible acid reflux and bloating, even though I was taking 20 mg of Prilosec twice a day. After Armour was available again, I switched back to it and literally in 2 days, my bloating and acid reflux were gone. I even stopped taking the Prilosec fdor a while and still had no problem. All this improvement was a result of getting my Free t3 level back up again.
If you will please post your thyroid test results and their reference ranges shown on the lab report, members will be glad to assess the adequacy of your testing and treatment. Even if you have been tested previously for Free T3 and Free T4 (not Total T3 and Total T4), I expect that we will see that your Free T3 levels are in the lower half of the range, which frequently results in hypo symptoms.
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