I feel insane

[Moostera]

I was diagnosed as hyper last week and started on medication 5 days ago. Meanwhile, I feel so ill. I feel on the verge of panic attacks all the time. I'm hardly sleeping, but when I do I'm having terrible nightmares [maybe the beta blocker?]. My daughter is 7 and has Aspergers and the new school term has just started. She has explosive behaviour and I really do feel insane and very depressed right now.

I got up this morning feeling a bit brighter, a bit more energy. But have crashed and burned since then. I just feel like I'm not coping. No energy and my heart is still up around 100 even though I've been on the beta blockers for 1 and 1/2 weeks now.

Am I going insane?      

[Moostera]

Hi Mac

My TSI wasn't back yet. Have to wait until Wednesday now. Not that the TSI result will change how I'm being medicated.

[McMillanNelson]

Hi Moostera, Did you get the results of your TSI back?

I sent you this in a message also, but for the benefit of others I will post it here too.

If you are low on potassium even a little, this could be a huge factor in your heart racing and blood pressure, and headaches as well as muscle aces. Do you have recent lab work that shows your potassium level?

Some foods that contain potassium are: Kiwi, Bananas, Figs, Apples, Cantaloupe Apricots, Brazil Nuts, Brown Rice, Honeydew.The best way to get your daily potassium and the micro-nutrients is to eat some of those foods, there other foods of course that contain potassium also, that is just a short list of some.

The migraine thing could be a variety of issues, related to thyroid or not. Do you take Estradiol or any other female hormone replacement ? If you miss a couple of days of that, under the right circumstances that could give you a migraine, especially if you get a migraine right when you wake up in the morning.

Glad they took you off the beta blocker, I had a similar experience on Atenolol  

Do you have a home blood pressure kit to take your blood pressure at home?  They are pretty cheap these days.

Mac

[Moostera]

Thanks Peggy, Ann & Fergman.

I had cluster headaches back today. It happened a month ago, too. Doctor thinks it could be related to my thyroid. Ach. What next?!?

Doc wants me to stop beta blockers due to nightmares, hallucinating, manic and hyper episode etc. She wants to see if the Neomercazole is helping now, and therefore bringing my heart-rate down. My heart is still over 90, so I feel a bit wary about stopping the beta blockers. I don't feel very good.

Thanks heaps for taking the time to write to me, it means a lot! :)  

[Fergman]

You sound hyperthyroidic to me.  I had the same symptoms as you, i.e, the cold, the shakiness, the heart palpitation, etc.  I was a real mess.  When I went to pick up a glass, my co-workers noticed how much I was shaking, and they thought I was hung over it was so bad.  I opted for the RAI procedure which eliminated the hyper stuff but now I'm hypo which carries its' own set of problems.  Like I hate being fat right now, but it's a side effect.  Trying to get some energy together to live my life is like a daily chore.  I could sit in front of the tv all day if left to my own devices.  I emphasize with you.  All the best.

[ann4512]

no it's the hyper that is causing nitemares,at least your on a good hi dose my doc put me on 30mg for 7 week's started to go hypo so cut med's down to 10mg you will feel better in a week or so,and ya my elbows were very sore it happen's every time i'am heading hyper,make sure you get your bloods done in 6 weeks so you can keep an eye on thing's you don't want to go to hypo.you will start to sleep better as time goes on stay off coffee don't eat to late at night,well that work's for me,i no it's hard i'am still going true it but feel much much better it's like being normal again what ever normal is.keep taking beta blocker it's important at the start you can cut it out down the road i still take a half a blocker,keep's the palp's away xx

[peggy64]

Just so you won't feel alone, I will tell you my experience with this. Before I was diagnosed, for about 6 months, I kept telling this friend of mine, I am losing my mind, I am losing my mind. It was a horrible feeling. The only thing is I have hypothyroidism.

I just kept telling myself, if I really were going crazy, I would not be realizing it. Since I have been on the armour, I am not back to normal, but that is one thing problem that has gone away. I still have the brain fog, can't remember what I had for breakfast yesterday, but at least I don't feel like I am losing my mind.

[Moostera]

Hi McMillan

I like a good ramble :).

Have had about 3 hours sleep, so not feeling too bright right now.

How long have you had Toxic Multinodular Goiter? Is medication the best way to treat that? That sounds very difficult with it jumping back and forward. I was thinking yesterday that I am so over this, would love to get the thing taken out and just get on with it [even though I'm sure it isn't that simple] ... so people who are going through far worse than me [TMG sounds horrible and unpredictable!] and for far longer must really be tired of it.

I had an ultrasound and a nuclear scan of my thyroid on the same day. I'll type in some of what the results were... do you want lobe measurements? I think my lobes are Ok for size... Ok it said that "the gland is diffusely heterogenous" ... hmm only just noticed that and don't know what that means. "There is a hypoechoic nodule ... which measures 13mm. Vascularity is decreased. Conclusion: Heterogenous thyroid gland which is normal in size, there is a hypoechoic nodule at the lower pole of the left lobe. The changes are non-specific.' That's from the ultrasound.

This is from the nuclear scan: "Adenoma in lower left pole on the left 13mm. Echopattern abnormal throughout. Findings: The thyroid uptake is almost homogeneous with no retrosternal extension of thyroid activity. Visually the uptake is mildly abnormal and over active".

I don't think this is a hot nodule. I don't know what sort of nodule it is... I don't fully understand all of that! I don't really get pain on that side, but my throat has been irritated/sore right at the bottom of my throat when I swallow for about 6 weeks. Slightly more irritated on the side of the nodule. The doctor thinks it's a cold type thing ... not sure about that. Throat started to be sore around the same time my eyesight changed dramatically overnight, I started to forget things etc etc. I thought it was because I turned 40 hehe. But now I think it was to do with my thyroid.

Thanks for all the diet info. My diet has been pretty sucky for a while. I'm craving bananas today. I will try dark chocolate but usually don't like it much.  

2 days ago I had the TSI and something else ... hmmm ... forget so much these days ... Thyroid R something .....lol ...... will hopefully have the results when I see the doc today at midday and will let you know.

Thanks again McMillan. It sure helps to have people who understand and let you gibber on in an obsessed manner :)))

[McMillanNelson]

HI Moostera, It can be crazy. At times I too feel wide awake and bouncing off the walls and at the same time too exhausted to do anything.

I had big problems with my knees, wrists and shoulders and especially fingers.  I play football often and jam my fingers occasionally and it takes much longer for the pain to go away than it used to.  The joint pain can defiantly be related to your thyroid problems.

My joint pain was much worse until I started to control my diet three months ago.  I have stopped eating any fast food, no processed food, cut way back on caffeine and soft drinks and also no longer eat goitrous foods.  This alone made a huge difference in how I feel.  As Annmarie pointed out, she is also already feeling a difference from changing her diet.

Some things you might want to avoid  or eat in moderation, and see how you feel without them are foods that interfere with thyroid function, like kale, cabbage, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, spinach, turnips, soybeans and I even avoid peanuts. I have terrible problems with any kind of Soybean. I might also be allergic to it and did not realize, but I  am much better if I avoid soy, and if I eat the other things I mentioned I make sure it is well cooked and not raw or just steamed.  You can find out a lot about what to avoid and what might be helpful by googleing “goitrous foods”  etc.

To answer your question about my condition,  my diagnosis was "Toxic Multinodular Goiter"  which several toxic nodules on both sides of the thyroid. This means that the nodules produce hormone on their own and it is not regulated (in a healthy thyroid the hormone is regulated by the pituitary gland which is your TSH, Thyroid Stimulating Hormone) so they nodules are randomly producing lots or little hormone causing me to constantly swing between HyPER and HyPO. It is very difficult to control, however eating less of the kind of thing that produces hormone helps to keep me more level. I was on Methimazole but that was bad in my case because it caused me to go too HyPO.

I am glad Doctor Lupo answered your question.  I had not heard of Marine-Lenhart Syndrome so I have something new to study. I believe that I have some underlying condition like Graves or Hashis or both which led to the nodules over time.

Thanks for posting your Labs, boy your antibodies are very high indeed.  Have you had an ultrasound ? Is that how you discovered the nodule?  If so can you post the radiology report for that? There was only one nodule?  Do you have any pain the neck on the side where the nodule is?  I tend to have pain in my nodules when I am “Hypery” . (Is that a word? LOL)

How big is the nodule ?  Many doctors prefer an Ultrasound prior to a Thyroid and Uptake scan, often times they will be able to see more nodules if they are present and also identify the size of them with an ultrasound. It is important to know what the type of nodule it is.  Did the scan show it was hot or cold?

If you crave chocolate, try eating Dark Chocolate like Lindt 70% coco. For me, that satisfies the craving and is not too bad for you.

I urge you to learn as much as you can about your condition and the thyroid in general, I suspect you know fair amount by now already since you have a history of thyroid problems in your family.  You might want to check out this web site http://www.endocrineweb.com/hyper2.html  there is a lot of good information there.

Will be interesting to see what your TSI looks like, did they order any other tests besides that, like TRAb, TSAb or T3RU (sometimes called T7) ?

Sorry for the long post, I tend to ramble!   I hope that helps some.

McMillan

[Moostera]

Also, I'm wondering if anyone with hyperthyroid has sore joints? My knuckles are very sore, as well as elbows etc. But my fingers are the sorest.

[Moostera]

Thanks Annmarie! I'm taking 30mg. Beta Blockers were just increased yesterday ~ but they are giving me nightmares!! Do you or did you have trouble sleeping?

I feel a bit better today. I feel like doing a million things but very tired at the same time lol. Makes a change from feeling like a tired blob.

[ann4512]

hi i'am annmarie i have graves diagnosed 1 year 4 months but who's counting,it will take at least 4 weeks for med's to kick in but u will feel better soon keep taking the beta block how much carbimazole are you taking ? start watching what your eating ive only started to do that and its made a big diffrence it's a see saw ride so takes a while for thing's to settle but they will i'am coming out the other side so chin up take care.keep loging on the girls are great for for any info you might need.xxxxxx

[Moostera]

Thank you for replying McMillan :).

I have a nodule but also have high thyroid antibodies. Here are the results and ranges.

TSH  .01       Range   0.40 - 3.50  
FT4   27.6     Range   9.0 - 19.0
FT3   10.7     Range   2.6 - 6.0  

Thyroglobulin Ab:  67      Range   0 - 40
Thyroid Peroxidase Ab: 317    Range 0 - 35  

I wrote to Dr Lupo about the antibodies and the nuclear scan and here is what he said:

"The antibodies are high - could be a combo of graves and a nodule that is overactive (this combo is called Marine-Lenhart syndrome).  I often don't fully trust the nuclear scans in this setting, so if not clearly a hot nodule that is suppressing uptake in rest of gland (which this appears not to) would do FNA biopsy..

Also test TSI and TBII which are more specific antibodies for Graves."

I had a TSI test today and should know the results in a few days. My brother has Hashi's disease but started out as hyper when he was first diagnosed. My mother also has a faulty thyroid.

I'm taking Neo-Mercazole (Carbimazole).

Hey, tonight I felt a little spring in my step that lasted for about 20 minutes :). Gave me hope lol. I usually feel a bit better at night.

I've had to cut down the coffee too... not that I drank heaps ...

Thank you for the good advice! I've been craving chocolate ~ probably the feel good factor!

What's your story, McMillan?

[McMillanNelson]

HI Moostera, No you are not going insane, but I can sympathize with those symptoms and the difficult days.  Are you on any anti thyroid drug like Methimazole or PTU ?

What is the source of your Hyperthyroidism ? Graves etc?

I have lots of problems if I drink too much caffeine.  I have cut back on that as well as sugar and I don't any fast food or processed foods anymore. Simple as it sounds, that made a big difference in my depression and sleep problems and heart rate.

Can you tell us a little more about your diagnosis ? Perhaps post your lab work?   There are many people here that are going though and have gone through what you are so you are in the right place. Give us some details and I am sure many of us can share some thoughts to help you.

McMIllan