Graves disease, RAI, now hypo with questions about Levoxyl with 2 wierd symptoms

[suggi]

Hi, I had felt "off" since 1/17 and was going to the PC with different symptoms until she said "you cant come in here so often, I could get audited and lose my license" instead of doing blood work and a thyroid test.  By the time it was  caught in late August, it was so severe I was deathly ill  and had to have RAI . The endo gave me 20 millicuries instead of 10 which I found out is the normal dose of RAI for that.  I immediately went into a thyroid storm so the hypeer got worse and then slowly I felt like my old self except for  a big weight loss...only 112 lbs to start and down to 98 and unable to gain them back no matter what I ate/eat..I also lost a great deal of muscle mass.

My labs howed I was getting hypo, my TSH was 25 so the endo put me on 25 mcg Levoxyl.  Numbers went up to 72 in 2 weeks so now on 50.  Now she wants me on 75 mcg w/o repeat blood test .  Have to go for that in 4 weeks.  Since starting the Levoxyl I got a rectal prolapse, perhaps from the loss of muscle tone as my cheeks went from firm to flabby???  Went to solorectal surgeon for eval and she said it wasn't bad and if kegeling did not help to push it in manually, which I ended up doing and giving myself an anal fissure on top of everything.  It has gotten so bad I try so hard but it just keep s popping out and afraid to do it manually now so washing my insides in the shower, etc. which is making everything worse....the prolapse, the fissure.  It is so bad that I am actually leaking water (absolutely no color) from the anus which runs to the front and burns and now I am afraid of getting a UTI and maybe a vaginal infection.  I read that can happen if there is irritation or inflammation in the area.  I also noticed I am peeeing less and drinking the same amount.

Could these 2 things be from the Levoxyl??  I really do not want to up my dose to 75 til I find out what is going on.  Thank you for any advice.

[Barb135]

First off, I've never heard of a doctor who would lose their license because they saw a patient too often...perhaps  she knew she wasn't doing her job well... :-(

At any rate, please explain more fully about what happened.  Thyroid storm is a known effect of RAI, no matter what the dosage, because the thyroid is known to "dump".  This, often, happens prior to one going hypo.

Once you started on the Levoxyl, what numbers went up to 72?  Was that the TSH?  Is that what your endo was basing your dosage on?  What about Free T4 and Free T3 levels?  Is she ordering those?  If you have results for them, please post them along with their corresponding reference ranges, which vary from lab to lab and have to come from your own reports.

As for the Levoxyl causing a prolapse - no, that's not the cause, though hypothyroidism is notorious for causing constipation and that could have something to do with a prolapse, if you're straining or have very hard stools, though it shouldn't happen that quickly... I've had hypothyroidism, suffered constipation for many years AND I take Levoxyl and have never had anything like that.  

You're saying you have a "fissure" - is it a fissure or a fistula, which is a direct opening between the colon and the bladder?  That could account for the liquid coming from the colon.

It's possible that all this could cause a UTI or vaginal infection, but good hygiene would help prevent that.

It sounds like you need a new endocrinologist to start with, then possibly a new surgeon, who will be more helpful with the prolapse.