Hyperthyroid after covid vaccine

[zhiyunq]

I have hypothroidism since the removal of half of my thyroid (the right one) in 2000 (when I was about to start high school). I have been on thyroid medications since around 2013. I am now on armor thyroid. Very interestingly, right after taking the covid vaccine (moderna in my case), I feel the need to reduce the dose of my thyroid medication. This happens for every single vaccine shot that I took.

Before my first shot, I was on 120 to 135mg armor thyroid daily. I was initially not aware of the effects on my thyroid and still maintained the same dose after the shot. I was not able to fall asleep and had frequent heart palpitations. After a few days, I somehow realized that it might be the thyroid and started reducing the dose to about 15mg. After a few weeks, the dose stabilized at around 30 to 45mg. Then after the second shot, I had to reduce the thyroid dose again to 15mg which lasted for a few weeks, and then back to about 30 to 45mg. After the third dose, yet again, I reduced it to 15mg for a few weeks and slowly ramped up to 75mg (after 10 months or so). Two days ago, after taking the 4th vaccine shot, I again dropped it to 15mg and I feel great. My energy, focus, and stamina. In fact, I feel so good that I can stop taking a lot of other medications as well, e.g., adrenal fatigue related supplements.

Does anyone know what is happening in my body? Is this a good thing or a bad thing? I have a hypothesis that it is a good side effect where the vaccine wiped out something bad in my body, e.g., non-covid-related long-term infections, but have no evidence for that (I don't think I had Lyme or other infections based on past testing).

[gimel]

Thyroid med is typically not additive to your prior thyroid levels.  That is because taking the med causes the output of TSH to drop, thus reducing the output of the thyroid gland.   So you may not be getting much thyroid hormone from the remaining 1/2 of your gland.

It is good that you are taking Armour thyroid since it provides a source of both T4 and T3, which iare frequently needed to feel well.  The question I have is what are your Free T4 and Free T3, and TSH levels, along with their reference ranges shown on the lab report?  Also, symptoms are even more important to know so please tell us about any symptoms, if any,  you were having before all this started.

[zhiyunq]

Thanks for the followup. I used to be monitoring closely my T4 and T3 (free or total), and TSH. However, they are not really indicative of how I feel. I was struggling a lot even when the numbers are in the top quartile. I then discovered that I had adrenal fatigue and have seen a few functional medicine doctors who really changed my life. I became stabilized and functional at a reasonable level (perhaps 70%-80%). However, I still never quite felt the same as I used to. Funny enough, I now feel 90 - 100% with the vaccine shot. I do not feel afternoon slumps and maintain good energy into the evening as well. I wish I could live my life full this way forever.  

One other important note is that upping the thyroid med never had the same effect. I can go into hyperthyroidism with more med but I would have trouble falling asleep and still have afternoon slumps (perhaps due to the sleep problem). With the vaccine shot, it is my original 1/2 thyroid working more productively. I do not have any sleep problem. All I did was reduce my thyroid med to a minimum (15mg a day).  Unfortunately, this state doesn't last. I would slowly need to add more thyroid med back and my energy level would drop to 70%-80%.

[gimel]

IF you do a little searching you will find numerous mentions of that effect.  The Covid vaccine seems to  sometimes cause subacute thyroiditis which  is usually a "temporary condition causing increased thyroid hormones circulating in the blood . During this phase you may experience symptoms such as nervousness, tremor, palpitations, insomnia and feeling warmer than usual. This is sometimes followed by a period of reduced thyroid function (hypothyroidism), when you may experience the opposite symptoms I.e. slowness, fatigue and feeling colder than usual. In some patients, subacute thyroiditis resolves itself without treatment, or with the help of anti-inflammatory drugs (i.e. steroids). You will usually recover completely in two to five months although in five to twenty per cent of cases it may lead to permanent thyroid hypofunction.  In these cases, you will be prescribed levothyroxine.

Researchers have been studying the rate of subacute thyroiditis in Covid-19 patients."

[zhiyunq]

Thanks for the response. I did found similar discussions online. I guess it kind of makes sense. But I wasnt sure still because I already have hypothyroidism and have been on thyroid medication (now armor) since ~2013. I never really felt this good even when I am on armor and synthroid (I have also tried compounded slow-release thyroid powder). That is why I was suspecting the vaccine had some other side effect that helped my body somehow.

For example, I was on about 10 other supplements daily (including adrenal fatigue supplements which are crticial to me). Now after the vaccine shot, I just dont feel like I need any of them. If this is purely an effect of hyperthyroid function, I guess armour thyroid or other thyroid medications are just not working well enough for me (and certainly not replacing the function of my original/remaining half thyroid gland).

In any case, appreciate the response!