Colds and Thyroid Disease

Hi, i'm Alison, i'm 18 and i was diagnosed with hypothyroidism about a year ago.  I finally was diagnosed after i got blood tests after complaining for what seemed like forever about how sore i was after soccer workouts and how i couldn't stay awake all day.  I would take naps and wake up tired.  i was groggy all the time.  I finally got diagnosed and have been on 50 milligrams of Levothyroxine for a year.  since then i have gotten gradually better with the soreness and grogginess.  But I am constantly sick.  If anyone in school was sick, i got it and it would last longer than it was supposed to.  I was tested for mono around december but it had said that i had had the virus, but i didn't have it at the time i was tested, i had it back in november. i've been told that it can hide and that one will show no symptoms for a while and then they will just pop up.  that's what this one did.  that lasted about a month at least.  and since then i've had countless "colds".  mostly they end up turning into a brutal cough where i cough so hard i throw up and there is always an endless amount of snot.  i do have spring allergies but i can control them. another big sickness i got was around february during the Right To Life March in Washington, D.C. I was sleeping on a charter bus and i just woke up with drainage and a cough.  thank goodness for nyquil.  after school ended i did pretty well all summer.  i went to L.A. and had no drainage or snot whatsoever.  i always have to blow my nose even when i'm not sick.  i got back from L.A. and immediately got the sniffles, but not a cold.  during the time i have been out of school i have gotten a cold twice.  right now it's a sinus infection. and today i coughed up a ton of snot, and now i'm trying to keep from throwing up from coughing too hard.   it's getting around time to move to college.  I just want to not be sick anymore.  i'm tired of telling my friends, "i'm sick i can't"  i've missed out on many things this year. HELP!
also, i did have my tonsils taken out whenever i was 4 or 5, i can't remember

if anyone can just tell me why i get sick all the time and if there's anyway to fix this or if it has something to do with my thyroid problem let me know.  thank you for reading this

-Ali

[gimel]

I seemed to have sinus infections or upper respiratory infections frequently when I was under medicated and still hypothyroid. I was taking 200 mcg of T4 daily for well over 25 years and still had lingering hypo symptoms.  After finding this Forum 4 years ago and learning about the importance of Free T3, I got mine tested and confirmed as low in the range.  My doctor agreed to switch me to a T4/T3 combo type thyroid med and after some bumps in the road and some tweaking, my Free T3 is 3.9 (range of 2.3 - 4.2) and my Free T4 is 1.19 (range of .60 - 1.50), and I feel best ever.  Among those symptoms that I almost never have any more, are sinus infections and upper respiratory infections.  In fact, I can't even remember the last one of either.  

If you will post your thyroid tests and their reference ranges, we can try to assess the adequacy of your testing and treatment.

[gimel]

I seemed to have sinus infections or upper respiratory infections frequently when I was under medicated and still hypothyroid. I was taking 200 mcg of T4 daily for well over 25 years and still had lingering hypo symptoms.  After finding this Forum 4 years ago and learning about the importance of Free T3, I got mine tested and confirmed as low in the range.  My doctor agreed to switch me to a T4/T3 combo type thyroid med and after some bumps in the road and some tweaking, my Free T3 is 3.9 (range of 2.3 - 4.2) and my Free T4 is 1.19 (range of .60 - 1.50), and I feel best ever.  Among those symptoms that I almost never have any more, are sinus infections and upper respiratory infections.  In fact, I can't even remember the last one of either.  

If you will post your thyroid tests and their reference ranges, we can try to assess the adequacy of your testing and treatment.

[Brucergoldberg]

I get this every single time i raise a dose of my meds.  it never ends.  even the slightest increase for me will 100% bring on a sinus infection...

[Barb135]

I never have been prone to colds/sinus infections and still am not.  I "might" get a cold once/year, which usually includes a sinus infection, but haven't had either, now for a couple of years.

I'm one that doesn't get them often, but when I do, it's hits like a ton of bricks.

[AliRenae12]

can you explain what T3 and all that is? I'm still learning about all of this

[kl42]

cold seem to hit me harder also with thyroid. like i go hypo again till cold passes.

[Barb135]

You aren't going "hypo" when you get a cold -- you're sick and it makes you feel badly, which often has same symptoms as hypo... it's simple. Test next time you get a cold and see if you're really hypo... doubt you will be; just sick.

[Barb135]

T3 is a hormone, produced by the thyroid gland.  It's the one mostly responsible for metabolism, heart rate, body temperature and more.  

Thyroid 101.... (in a nutshell)

The body produces both T4 and T3....... of both of those, a majority is bound by protein that renders them unusable by the body...... therefore, we test for FREE T3 and FREE T4....  Free T4 is pretty much a "storage" hormone, which can't be used directly, by the body; it must be converted to T3 - remember that part of the T3 is bound by protein and unusable.... The usable (FREE) T3 is the hormone that's actually used by our individual cells...... it pretty much "drives" our body and, along with other hormones, vitamins/minerals pretty much keeps us going.

Remember, this was "in a nutshell", so feel free to ask more questions.