Could I have hyperthyroidism?

[hopeful1004]

Dr. Lupo,  

I have been having some symptoms that have changed my life for the last six weeks.  At first the tremors, muscle twitches and weakness in my arms and legs were the worst symptoms.  Those symptoms lasted for five weeks.  The tremor was a constant resting and positional tremor.  I have an appointment to see a neurologist May 18th because I have a family history of familial ALS.  (Four have had it and two are being tested now.)  

The doctor checked my thyroid and my TSH was .5.  He said it was in the normal ranges.  We do not know of anyone in the family that has been diagnosed with hyperthyroidism, but just wondering if this sounds like it could be.  Currently, my worst symptoms are extreme fatigue in my arms, hands and legs and a total, physical exaustion if I attempt to do anything as simple as walking my daughter two blocks to school. It is like my body melted.  Any stress will start the tremors again, they get so bad that I can hardly walk. (Like the phone or doorbell ringing when I am resting.)  In studying hyperthyroidism I noticed that I have had many of the following symptoms most of my life. Some just changed or began recently with this episode of tremors that began March 25th.

fine, dry hair, early hair loss
dry skin
edema in hands, ankles and feet
waves of nausea
irritability with noise that is getting worse. (Some days I wear ear plugs so I don't cry.)  Kids (5) do not know.
eyes very sensitive to bright light
extreme forgetfulness and distractability
shortness of breath (besides asthma) recently
my normally very low blood pressure is now raised to 130/82
normally cold, but have been having hot flashes recently
tremor (resting and positional in entire body)
soft bowel movements about 2X a day
insomnia, sporatically and recently
puffy, red face
40 lbs. over weight/ Lost 9 lbs in last 6 weeks
muscle twitches, weakness, and- recently

Please tell me if you think this sounds like a possible case of hyperthyroidism.  Thank you.

[mtkst13]

a tsh of 5 indicates HYPOthyroidism.  you need a thorough thyroid panel done since your tsh is high.  get tsh, ft3, ft4, thyroid antibodies before your next doctor appointment.  most of your symptoms are hypothyroid symptoms.

you have to post on the expert forum to post a question for dr. lupo.  he was on vacation for the month of april.  he may be back now.  keep trying to post your question.  eventually it'll work.

[redheadaussie]

I think mtkst13 misread your decimal point on the post you wrote. It is hyper that you are experiencing. It may well also be that you have adrenal problems too. You need to get that tested as well.
  Did you have your Free T4 and Free T3 tested also? Just having a TSH done is not 100% enough to know if you are hyper. Based on your symptoms it would seem it is a high probability that you are.
I presume since your doctor told you that you are in normal range, that you do not take any medication?

[mtkst13]

sorry about that.  and thanks redheadaussie for catching my error.

[hopeful1004]

Thank you so much for writing me back.  I am new at this so I do not know if I can e-mail you both this way, but I will try.  I have not had the antibody test done.  My ft3 is 121 and my ft4 is 8.3.  Both appear to be in the middle of the ranges.  I will write the decimal like this from now on.  (.5)   Do you have hyper or hypo?  Do you ever have "meltdowns" where your body completely melts and you cannot move, even though you are not asleep?  Have you had whole body tremors and twitches and incredible fatigue?  Sorry for all of the questions, but I am getting so tired of this problem controlling my life with no answers for six weeks.  If I knew what it was and I was doing something about it I think I would feel better.