unusual thyroid test results due to adrenal insufficiency?

[tigerbutterflygirl]

My family doctor has been treating me for my hypothyroidism.  I was just diagnosed in September.  My Dr. has been gradually increasing my Synthroid  on a monthly basis as my test results have continually returned hypo.  My last lab results from 02-05-09 she said was unusual. My TSH was 3.3  and my T4 was 14.5.  She said it was unusual because she's never seen a TSH in the normal range and the T4 at such a high level.  I told her I still have not been feeling well.   I have been feeling terrible despite the adjustments.  Exhausted and I keep getting one infection after another.  It's like I can't fight off the different bugs going around.   My Dr.  wants to try for one more month to get me stabilized on Synthroid (she just upped me to 75mcg which now I am finally having some energy again!) and then if I don't improve she will send me to an endocrinologist.    She wasn't sure what would cause such odd test results.  She knows I've been researching online trying to learn and understand more about this disease.  I let her know I would try to find out more and bring any information that might help to her.   In my reading I came across a post that suggested these type of test results might be linked to adrenal insufficiency.  

Is it true that adrenal problems could affect thyroid performance and thus affect the thyroid test results?   I would greatly appreciate any help with this!  Other symptoms I have alternating chills then sometimes hot flashes, thin dry crepey skin on hands-I slather the lotion on a lot and skin still gets dry.  Joint Pain as long as I keep moving around I feel ok but after working 8-12 hrs on my feet I go home and collapse on the couch completely exhausted.  My joints hurt bad especially knees, elbows and ankles.  When I get up the joints audibly crack loudly (which disturbs the family members greatly) and sometimes it is painful to even stand and walk again.    My ankles and feet swell badly (I've been wearing compression socks which has helped) sometimes my face, stomach and hands  swell as well stomach to the point of distentions that customers have inquired if I was pregnant.   The joints and swelling are relieved by sleep though.  However sometimes I feel I need abnormal amounts of sleep 9-12 hrs (to recuperate) so that my body feels good to go again.  A lot of times I can only get around 7 hrs. then it seems like a few days of that I get totally drained then I pick up a  "bug" and end up having some infection going back to the doc to start antibiotics and get "healthy,"  again.  I get a lot of numbness and tingling sensations in hands, arms, legs and feet. I have heart palpitations sometimes. My cholesterol is high  from the thyroid disease.   I told Doc it feels like someone put like a rubber band around my heart pulled then let go.  It feels very uncomfortable sometimes.  My Dr.  thinks a lot of these symptoms are being caused by the thyroid disease.  

There is some relief  from the medication but not as much as I thought I would have.   I break out in hives a lot. I used to think I had a lot of allergies but now I understand that could also be related to thyroid?  

When I  work the 12 hr shifts my co-workers  can actually see me around the 8 hr. mark getting physically fatigued ; they say I start dragging-moving slower, my eyes actually get puffy underneath and darken, it gets harder for me to concentrate and I start hurting.  
In any event my body is not the same.  I used to be able to run, work out and enjoy a lot of physical activity.  Now it seems excruciating and it takes almost all my energy  just to make it through work take care of home life and  then I collapse.  I have to rest well so I can make it through the next day if  I don't  then I try to make it through the next day exhausted and if I do this for more than one day I end up physically drained then I "crash" and end up getting sick.  

Do adrenal dysfunctions cause anything like this?  I would greatly appreciate any info and help in regards to my condition and test results.   Thank you for your time and hopefully forthcoming information.   Have a good night or day!  

[bradlsdkahtekhrekhhrk]

You have a tone of symptoms, many the same I used to have, it's clear there is more than one thing going on. If you have any GI issues at all, even if it's just bloating I bet my life on it that you have leaky gut, maybe even SIBO, both causing all sorts of immune reactions in your body, hence allover discomfort and fatigue. I wouldn't hesitate to get tested for food sensitivities and sibo and nutrient deficienceis. I had to work with a nutritionist outside of Kaiser to help me. Kaiser didn't want to, they don't believe in this stuff, they don't even test for SIBO or offer food sensitivity testing. Kaiser is a joke. Anyways, I had all of your symptoms and now I have none. Wish you the best.

[andydandy]

Years ago a fellow worker remarked that I looked like I had developed a goiter!  I went to the mirror and by golly she was right. She explained it suggested a thyroid problem...and I was thrilled!  Strange reaction but I was feeling tired for years and never could figure out why.  I went to the Dr...he ran whatever tests but they said I was normal.  He gave me a low dose of synthroid anyway and said that might reduce the goiter.  In other words try it to see.  I did..felt no different..goiter remained...so I did not take.  I was in my 30's, young and not very knowledgeable concerning health issues.  Over the years I began to feel really sick like in the mornings...after a shower really weak but as the day went on OK.  I went to three or four different Drs over the years and always my thyroid tested OK.  I knew there was something and lost faith in Drs.  Finally I had a Dr for a client...and as we were talking one day, he asked me who my personal physician was.  I said I didn't have one and told him why.  He said Ann, you are in your 50's, you must have a Dr. & recommended one he thought would fit with my personality.  I went and liked him but still no thyroid resolution.  Eventually I went to this Dr for something. maybe this sick feeling and he ran a thyroid test along with others.  When I returned he placed me on thyroid saying the test had shown a problem.  I filled the prescritpion, took for awhile but nothing, so I stopped taking them thinking he did that to pacify me.  Went back to the Dr awhile later on another matter & he happened to ask me if I was taking my thyroid.  I told him no...and explained that it did nothing for me and that I thought maybe he was just pacifying me.  Now that I think back, that was rather childish and dumb of me but after all those years (was now in 50's) my trust level was low.  He showed me the test and said I must take them.  So I did, faithfully.  But no real help as far as how I felt.  Years passed..now 60 years old. Went to the same Dr for URI...he felt glands and found nodule on Thyroid..sent me for scan..then to the surgeon!  Needle biopsy..no cancer but suggested removal.  I asked if he would remove if I was his wife..he said yes...what else, he's a surgeon!  He had given me the option of watching it to see if it grows but I trused (unusual for me) that he thought it wise to remove.  Best decision I ever made.  When he walked out of the operating room he told my husband  "the worst case of Hashimoto's Thyroiditis he had ever seen...should have been taken care of medically years ago!"  I did not even know what that was!  When I returned home from surgery I researched on the computer and learned a great deal. About.com is one of the best sites to learn about this tiny gland that can affect so much of your health.  Most Drs do not fully understand the thyroid..of course they would never tell you that..they run the test they are taught ..if it shows normal they stop there and think you are a hypocondriac.  I was just too young and nieve to persist in finding an answer.  I never had a sick day after that!  Sounds like you have a caring Dr who will search for answers with you. Your symptoms suggest you definitely have a problem and with the right Dr you should be able to find out what is causing your symptoms.  But it can be a long and arduous task to find the answer.  I tell you this story so you can be aware of what can happen if you don't persist in finding the answer.  Let me end this disseration with a warning about endochronaligists ... if you must go that route, you must find thr right one.. they are not all good.  This site I believe has a list of those Drs over the US who are very thyroid knowledgeable that they recommend.  Good luck and be persistant!

[tbcs32]

It is not uncommon to have adrenal issues and low thyroid at the same time. What makes it difficult is that the symptoms are very similar. If the adrenals are the issue then over time it can cause hypothyroidism and it also happens the other way around too. Unfortunently allot of conventional doctors don't recognize this until the conditions are in the late stages.

[rumpled]

Has anyone checked you for high cortisol? The symptoms you are describing sound more like high cortisol than low. I had Cushing's disease along with my thyroid problems and could not get my thyroid regulated as a result - my TSH was bouncing all over the place.
I would get ACTH, cortisol ( UFC, blood and saliva so  you can cover all times), renin, aldosterone, IGF-1, the male/female hormones... even vitamin D. Keep in mind renin and ACTH are very fussy and need to be spun immediately after the draw or the results will go low. The tech has to freeze it right after it comes out of the centrifuge - they get messed up all the time... and we get judged on them.  Keep your UFC cold no matter what. And if your doc only wants to do a dexamethasone test, get another doctor - that is not a test of exclusion. I failed them all and still had it like many others.

[tigerbutterflygirl]

Dear Stella,

Thanks for responding to my post.  I am only taking a multivitamin at this time.  

My doc was trying to get me between TSH 1-2 since I was still feeling yuck at 5, then 4, then 3.3.  It's just the T3 is going down gradually but in the meantime the T4 is climbing.  My doc said if she can't get me levelled out by next month she will send me to Endocrinologist.    

My doctor said she would also like to run tests to see if I have vitamin and mineral deficiencies especially vitamin d deficiency and she wants to run CBC.  She wants to also check for immune deficiencies because I keep getting sick with infections.  

Thank you Stella for suggesting I need more tests...but what tests might that be?  I'm a newbie to all this.  I've been trying to read sometimes when I have free time but that's hard in between work and taking care of home.  

Stella, what  supplements help convert T4 to T3?

There is so much info. out there to sort through.  It's a little overwhelming to sort through it all.  But I'm trying.  I really just want to feel better.  I just am so draggy and sick  all the time  I think I've had maybe 3 or 4 days where I felt ok in the last 3 mo's and those were usually after coming off of antibiotics and after having lots of rest.  

I appreciate any help with knowledge and advice.  

Thanks so much Stella.  I hope to hear from you again. Have a great night!  Mia

[stella5349]

The adrenals work hand in hand with thyroid, but I feel you are not recieving proper thyroid treatment either.

If your T4 is consistanly high your doctor should be able to simply run free T3 tests to see if you are on the low end there too. It shouldn't require a specialist to run additional tests. Also it wouldn't hurt to see if you are autoimmune hypothyroid ( Hashimoto) that also is a simple blood test.

At your TSH of 3.3 with a high T4 that would indicate you are not doing well with hypothyroid symptoms. Usually anything around a .5 to a 1.5 is best for most paitients - including the Free T3 being in the upper ranges too.

I don't think your Synthroid is giving you enough of a T4 conversion to rid you of your symptoms. I think you need more tests. You may need to add supplements to help you convert that hormone. Can't tell without tests.

Are you taking any supplements?