Can't Breathe!

[JKristina]

I am wondering if anyone is familiar with the symptoms I have been experiencing. I have had hashimotos for 4 years I still have not found my "correct" dose; I seriously believe that it does not exist; and I am doomed to swing hyper and hypo forever. However my most concerning symtom right now is that I feel like I can't breathe! I've noticed the past few weeks I have been startled out of my sleep because I need to take a breath! I can't get any sleep, last night I slept for maybe 3 hours. I feel like I don't want to eat because it makes the shortness of breath worse. I just had a TSH test done and it was 6 so they increased my levothyroxine I'm pretty sure this will help but in the mean time I am going crazy becasue I can't get any air. Help!

[jakebrett]

The doctor decided surgery was necessary as I have a large nodule on my left side that is the size of a golf ball and 3 on my right side that are the size of gum balls and theyare still growing. They also are growing inwards and she was afraid they may start growing under my chest. I will post y lab works later.

[jakebrett]

The doctor decided surgery was necessary as I have a large nodule on my left side that is the size of a golf ball and 3 on my right side that are the size of gum balls and theyare still growing. They also are growing inwards and she was afraid they may start growing under my chest. I will post y lab works later.

[gimel]

Please post your thyroid related test results and reference ranges shown on the lab report.  Were you diagnosed as having Hasimoto's Thyroiditis?  Why did the doctor decide that surgery was necessary?  Those symptoms are frequently related to being hypothyroid.  

[jakebrett]

I was diagnosed with a thyroid condition after I became very ill after spine surgery last year. My endocronologist has done nothing for me and is useless. I did get a referral from him and am now having my thyroid removed on June 1st. My symptons are weight gain, fatigue, labored breathing, depression, hot flashes, and a maltitude of others. My doctor tells me these are not related to my thyroid and I feel like I am beating my head against a wall. I am not on medication and y nodules are growing inside and that scares me as they can wrap around my windpipe. Any suggestions, comments, please!

[yogi527]

hi this is yogesh , i m on med 75mcg from last 4 months , i am hypothyroid i came to know when on one night i was having difficulty in breathing . but now also i m having  this problem sometimes. kindly suggest uptill when i have to face this horrible exp.

[LindaTX]

You probably should start a new thread as this one is almost 3 yrs old. That way your question would get a lot more attention.  I did have, and still do have a thyroid nodule that has remained unchanged in size.  My Dr put me on .025 mg of synthroid when I first was diagnosed with the nodule, about 5-6 yrs ago.  I had the ultrasound and then a fine-needle biopsy which was said to be inconclusive.  It has never gotten larger and I do go for an ultrasound every year or two. I don't really worry about it anymore, it's fairly common.  Your shortness of breath could be anxiety.  I would try to relax and take several deep breaths...and make the appt for the ultrasound....believe me, it's no big deal.  Let me know how it all comes out.  You'll be fine!

[k20012]

Can anyone give me some advice, or had anyone gone through this.... I found out a few months ago (November) that i have an overactive thyroid. Dr put  me on meds right away and i had a blood test done a month later, which came back looking great! Dr said thyroid still felt big and told me to keep taking meds and come back in a month. Well i just had another blood test last week and when I went into the doctor, he said everything looked great again but that my thyroid still felt big. So now I have to get an ultrasound on it and I'm really terrified. I don't want it to be cancerous. Has anyone gone through this? &btw. I am 22 and have one child. I have also been extremely short of breath. Almost where it feels like I'm gonna stop breathing.

[JKristina]

Anyone reading this post that may be having similar issues please consider natural progesterone cream. It fixed my breathing problem.

[MichelleH.]

Hi JKristina,

I've been dealing with the air hunger issue as of late too(I also wake up at night gasping for air). I'm Hypo, and my TSH came back two days ago at 6.2, My doctor asked me if I had been taking my meds because my TSH was high, and I told her that I had been taking half a dosage due to palpitations but i was working my way back up to my regular dosage of .125 mcg of Levothyroxine.

With the shortness of breath I've also been experiencing extreme fatigue, muscle weakness, muscle pain/spasms, and brain fog. I'm also Anemic, so I'm sure that it's contributing to it.

[shemoran]

Also, most people with Hashimoto's can't convert T4 to the usable T3, so if you are only on the T4 meds, you might not be getting the help that you need. Your body might feel hyper when the dose is raised, but you aren't getting the thyroid help that you need.

[shemoran]

I also wanted to add that maybe your adrenals are playing a part of what you are experiencing. Have you ever had an adrenal saliva test? I saw your other post about the muscle weakness, etc. I had those symptoms with my hypo problems also and began having adrenal problems from being hypo for so long.  I added supplements to strengthen my adrenals. It's a never ending battle. Again, good luck.

[shemoran]

Hi, I had a hard time with shortness of breath also. Before I was diagnosed with Hypo, I was using my inhaler more and more, I thought that I was having asthma problems. However, my shortness of breath or air hunger as I've seen it in many symptoms of hypothyroidism, went away once I started my Armour. Your TSH was pretty high, maybe that is what is triggering the shortness of breath. I also had trouble sleeping, insomnia with my hypo symptoms too. I hope your higher dose helps. Have you considered Armour? Good Luck.

[TamraW]

I don't have much of a goiter, slightly enlarged. What sometimes takes my breath is my large isthmus. My last endo didn't even tell me about it, but my new endo showed me my isthmus is over 2 X the normal size on the ultrasound. No wonder I've been choking!

Barb from this forum told me to take selenium once a day. I take 200 mcg daily. It sure has helped. As does Motrin. When the swelling is awful, I take Tyleno III, but only for extreme times.

:) Tamra

[LazyMoose]

Many people have the radiation more than once.  

Usually RT3 is in people that still have there thyroid and its treated with T3 med only, no additional T4 hormone replacement at all.

Yellow box on top is for posting a new question.

[Thyrogram]

Thank you so much!  I was not quite sure how to post my own so I tagged on to these comments!
I think you are so right.  I have felt all along that the remaining thyroid was still acting up!

[LazyMoose]

Your situation is unusual. You had Graves (hyper) and now the doc thinks you have or had Reverse T3 after your thyroid was radiated?

I think you need to have a somewhat working thyroid gland to have Reverse T3.

Armour has a lot of T3 in it, to take additional T3 is a lot in your body.

Taking any dose of T3 all at once will give you incredible short lived (4 hours) energy. That why many take T3 or Amour in the morning and late morning or afternoon. Taken at night can keep you awake.

If you need more info, please make your own posting and title - others will answer.

[6hashi]

I have no experience in Armour ,compound or reverse T3 ,
maybe some one else can help you !

[Thyrogram]

OOps..first part did not post
I am new to this forum, but a longtime thyroid patient
had Graves...radiated ...on synthroid for years and did not work
put on t3 time released due to reverse t3
eye started twitching after 4 years...too much t3
newest Dr had me on Armour, then Thyrolar back to Armour  Since it was available again (I wanted natural) but then I could not breathe..an inch of thyroid is still there after radiation..maybe it kicks in..felt like thyroiditis after reading about that.
take D3 and took adrenal rebuilders
Pharmacy compounds plant derived t3 and t4 for me now
best 2 months ever
I take 12.5 cytomel and compounded t3/t4 (9/38) in am
compounded t3/t4 (9/38) 12 hours later

I will be talking to Dr. soon and want to be prepared.

After blood tests maybe I will not need the cytomel
they do a ratio of total T3/Reverse t3
NP says it is the same as Free T3
ratio should be 10 - 12?
I am wondering if I have to take meds two times in 24 hours or if it can all be in one dose...maybe not because of the T3 in the compound?

Thanks for all of the knowledge all of you have!  Even the questions are helpful!

[Thyrogram]

Also, I took the Armour (60mg) twice a day with 12.5 cytomel in am
I am supposed to take the compunded 123 hors apart.  I wonder why I cannot take  120 in am, but I guess that would only get me through 12 hours.  I will be talking to dr. soon and wanted to be informed as she charges by 15 min increments.

[stella5349]

The symptom of hard to breathe can be swung with both hyper and hypo symptoms...

on the hypo end - which I think you may be is - inflammation start to form in the lungs - the little vessels start to swell and that can trigger asthma like symptoms...

on the hyper end - there really is no swelling  - but the hyper creates a symptom like hyperventilating so you are really breathing harder and the lungs get tired of over preforming.

With Hashi's automimmune - there may also be swelling directly with the thyroid called thyroiditis... if that is happening then the windepipe can be pushed and breathing can be difficult too. Nodules can cause this too. Thyroiditis is NOT goiter related at all.

Hashi's can be very hard to regulate. The antibodies have no rhyme or reason at times and can swing up and down frequently... Its hard for the doctor and the patient to go through...

To eliminate the Hashi's theory - you should read on suppression - regardless if there are causing - or not causing this issue... The thyroid will still die off - but the attacks will not be so hard on you... Read about selenium.. and antibody suppression.

Vit D - is not a vitamin... its a hormone.... and a very good one... There is research out there confirming low vit D can be a major culprit of thyroid disease... Seriously, if you look at the Vit D intake recently - it makes perfect sense your meds probably weren't right after starting that. Really - when starting any new supplementation - the body will react and things ( meds) may need tweeking. Its common law within the body.

One thing and you are of dozens in this cycle... You must not based your thyroid condition soley on the TSH... Reading btwn the lines I can bet you are not getting the FT3 and FT4 thyroid tests... Most likely total labs that do nothing...

My advice is for you to read - read - read about reading ratios of those frees and track your symptoms after you get those labs.... then look at the TSH - but last...

In your condition with the little stated... You sound like you are not regulated at all... I don't believe you are in the norm as many Hashi's patients find with the FT3 - a bit higher ( in 3/4 range on the reference) and the FT4 mid/ low on the scales... If you want to look at the TSH - then utilize that around a 1.0 or a tad below that - with those ratios of frees and you may find relief.. again suppression is key also on those antibodies.

[chickamin]

I had the breathing problems and it did'nt matter what dose I was on , or what I was on, I don't know if this would make any difference in your case but I had TT on Feb 4th and after I woke up from surgery I noticed right away I did not have any more problem with the breathing nor swollowing. My doctor told me that the nodules were pressing so hard on the windpipe and throat that it was causing me all the problems I had with the breathing etc. I would say in my case this must of been so as surgery certainly changed it all for me and I have not been faced with this problem since.  Just a taught.

[Danni526]

Try to hang in there Im going through the same thing with swinging hyper to hypo. Changed levothyroxine dose 7 times since October 2009. Went hyper on 150mg, then still hyper on 125mg, then extemely hypo on 100mg, then still hypo on 112mg, So now i'm on 125mg again for two weeks. Then I'm suppose to increase again to 137mg and hopefully stabalize.I'm some what nervous because Im starting to get anxious and panicky on 125mg. I can feel my heart rate increasing at times, short of breath, and off balance/dizzy feeling. But I definitely need this increase and I have a better understanding of the side effects with increasing meds so I'm going to try and stick it out for the next 6 weeks-8 weeks for blood work to see if I'm getting closer and then hopefully my body will just adjust on its own. I know it really ***** but hang in there! You are not alone! My vit D is also low so I'm starting vit D supplement  tomorrow. Hope that helps my mood and does not make more hyper.

[JKristina]

Thank you for the great advice.

I know it is very important not to rush this thing; it is sooo hard for me not to do that. But I am going to try very hard; maybe I can finally feel better.

It's just so frustrating, especially because I am soo sensitive to the meds. For example at the beginning of all of this (4 yrs ago) dr's started me on 50 mcg levo. After 8 weeks the dr. called in a panic saying my TSH was "barely detectable" and to stop levo and come in so they can check my heart. Then went to 25 mcg levo; after 8 weeks my TSH was 9.6! It's just been a nightmare.

I'm going to try very hard 3-4 months!

Thanks again!

[6hashi]

OK,you should take this dose each day the same dose at the same time on an empty stomach, and repeat the blood test in 3-4 months ,if you do blood test in 6 week you might see that the numbers reacted to the dose but you might not see that they rise again indicating a need for dose increase .

The best thing is to have a thyroid endo ,who knows how to increase your dose properly rather than going hypo and hyper all the time ,it would be wise to tell him the problems you face when increasing , and the journey you have been through.

By the way ,adding T3 should be the last option,once you stable your TSH properly,and if you remain symptomatic ,then you might want to try natural thyroid replacement or adding/combining T3/T4 .

don't try to rush it ,you will just loose time for vain .