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Concerned about my thyroid
I have been dealing with thyroid issues for 2 years now. I was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism 2 years ago and was put on meds for it. I left the meds alone because I am horrible with keeping up with them and I started losing weight. After about a year and a half I started to go the opposite direction out of no where. Weight gain muscle aches and stiffness hypo symptoms. I was referred to endo and my t3 was 30 and tsh is 64. I'm having almost all the symptoms of hypo. Was put on levothyroxine 150 mcg I am 250 pounds. After 3rd day I started having horrible insomnia, anxiety, and throbbing headaches. Could it be I'm on too much hormone to start off with? I'm a bit of a hypochondriac so as you can guess my symptoms make me feel like I'm closer and closer to pushing up daisys every day that passes. After letting my endo know he has told me to stop the meds and wait 2 weeks for new labs because there could be a possibility of error. But how can I go from hyper to hypo all of a sudden. When I was hyper I weighed 180. Over the course of a year I have gained 70 pounds. It doesn't help that I do eat a lot of junk food. But I have never had problems with weight until now. I'm only 21.
COMMUNITY LEADER
First things first... I'm sure you feel very bad, with a TSH of 64 and T3 of 30, but we need more information. I'm pretty sure I can tell you that you aren't going to be pushing up daisies any time soon, though, even though it feels that way right now...
So - Is that a Free T3 or a Total T3? It should say on the lab report. It should also tell what the reference range is. Ranges are, typically, listed right beside the test result, in parenthesis. Ranges vary from lab to lab, so have to be posted with results.
Was there a Free T4 test done at the same time?
In addition, were there any antibody tests done to determine the cause of your hyperthyroidism? There are 2 main autoimmune thyroid conditions, both of which can cause hyperthyroidism... One is Hashimoto's Thyroiditis and the other is Graves Disease. Graves Disease is the most common cause of hyperthyroidism and while Hashimoto's is most often associated with hypothyroidism, beginning stages often include periods of hyper, switching to hypo or even periods of normal.
In order to determine which condition you have, you'll need to have antibody tests done, if you haven't already. The tests for Hashimoto's are Thyroid Peroxidase Antibodies (TPOab) and Thyroglobulin Antibodies (TgAb). The definitive test for Graves Disease if Thyroid Stimulating Immunoglobulin (TSI).
If you've had any of these tests performed, please post results with reference ranges.
All of that said, your current symptoms of anxiety, insomnia and headache could very possibly be from being started on too high a dosage of levothyroxine. It's, typically, best to start on a lower dose, testing and evaluating symptoms ever few weeks, than to start on the higher dose right off the bat.
I'm not sure why the endo told you to stay off the medication for 2 whole weeks when you've only been on it for 3 days, since it takes 4-6 weeks for it to reach full potential in your blood... it would have made much more sense for her/him to simply put you on a much lower dose and start working up more slowly, because those same symptoms can also be present with hypothyroidism...
So - Is that a Free T3 or a Total T3? It should say on the lab report. It should also tell what the reference range is. Ranges are, typically, listed right beside the test result, in parenthesis. Ranges vary from lab to lab, so have to be posted with results.
Was there a Free T4 test done at the same time?
In addition, were there any antibody tests done to determine the cause of your hyperthyroidism? There are 2 main autoimmune thyroid conditions, both of which can cause hyperthyroidism... One is Hashimoto's Thyroiditis and the other is Graves Disease. Graves Disease is the most common cause of hyperthyroidism and while Hashimoto's is most often associated with hypothyroidism, beginning stages often include periods of hyper, switching to hypo or even periods of normal.
In order to determine which condition you have, you'll need to have antibody tests done, if you haven't already. The tests for Hashimoto's are Thyroid Peroxidase Antibodies (TPOab) and Thyroglobulin Antibodies (TgAb). The definitive test for Graves Disease if Thyroid Stimulating Immunoglobulin (TSI).
If you've had any of these tests performed, please post results with reference ranges.
All of that said, your current symptoms of anxiety, insomnia and headache could very possibly be from being started on too high a dosage of levothyroxine. It's, typically, best to start on a lower dose, testing and evaluating symptoms ever few weeks, than to start on the higher dose right off the bat.
I'm not sure why the endo told you to stay off the medication for 2 whole weeks when you've only been on it for 3 days, since it takes 4-6 weeks for it to reach full potential in your blood... it would have made much more sense for her/him to simply put you on a much lower dose and start working up more slowly, because those same symptoms can also be present with hypothyroidism...
Also I have read online it could just be secondary hyperthyroidism having to do with the pituitary gland in the brain causing high tsh levels. I'm so confused!! My doctor says free t3 tests are the least accurate tests
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