Desperate.

[omicardenas]

I am a 25 year old female recently diagnosed with hyperthyroid, there is a family history of thyroid problems as well as psoriatic arthritis from my maternal grandmother, I have a beautiful 3 year old daughter. I had a thyroid uptake scan done on 7/08/08 with results of hyperthyroidism with no hot or cold spots present. My labs have been as follows:

Lab #1 on 5/29/08:
TSH .004 (range: .350 to 5.500)
Testosterone: 66 (range 14 to 76)

* This was a general exam done so I only have this as a general result.

Lab #2 on 6/06/08:

TSH: .005 (range: .350 to 5.500)
T3 Uptake: 29 (range 24-39)
Free Thyroxine Index : 3.2 (range 1.2 to 4.9)

* From this result my PCP wanted to do a thyroid uptake scan.

Thyroid uptake scan results:

Impression:
Hyperthyroidisim
Heterogeneous thyroid scintigram without demonstration of hot or cold spots.

* I have an appt with the endo on 8/04/08.

Symptoms:

*tired, severe joint pain, hives (they are sporadic, they have only happened twice, but are driving me crazy), weight gain (i'm 5'2 200lbs) , sweating, diarrhea / constipation,hair loss, thin hair, irritability, depression, muscle pain, bone pain, change in color of skin darker pathces,  insomnia (I am physically tired but I can not sleep average about 4 hrs of sleep) , stiffness, forgetful, extremely hungry, palpitations, ear ringing...

This is all I can remember at the moment.

Medication:
* Toprol XL 25mg 1/2 a pill daily PO (since 6/14/08)
*Ambien 10mg 1/2 a pill at night for 1 week. (I haven't started it yet since I am afraid to die in my sleep, I live by myself with my 3 year old daughter and have this fear that i won't wake up)

What do I have  and how can i naturally alleviate some of the symptoms? Is there a way to cure hyperthyroid naturally? Do I have Hashimoto's disease because of they hives? Somedays I feel so terrible that I can't even pick up my daughter. What can I do? I live in a small town although I do trust my doctor whole hearted I need to know that I am on the right path or at least that I am not alone.  

Thank you.

[medicmommy]

Your treatment course depends on your diagnosis...if you have thyroiditis (simple inflammation caused by an attack from a virus or an outside source (eg. chemotherapy)), the HPT usually "flips" to hypothyroid, and then hopefully normalizes after a period of time...if it's caused by Graves disease, It will probably remain hyper and need further treatment to knock it down a bit...(Meds or surgery) Have you been tested for thyroid antibodies as yet? How about a Free T4 level? Is your Dr an endocrinologist? If not, have the tests done, and have your Dr refer you. An Endo is going to know the best treatment, and may offer you some more palatable treatment options than you currently have...also, 12.5 mg of Toprol XL is a very low dose...Usually 25 mg is the norm for controlling the blood pressure and heart rate while HPT...Hang in there...Hope this helps...((((((((((((((((((HUGZ)))))))))))))))))                                             ~MM

[omicardenas]

thank you!

[cbread]

I think you see go see the specialist. Weight gain is a bit abnormal for such a low TSH but excessive eating is common. An endo is your next step so I hope you are going to see someone knowledgable about thyroid disease. Good luck!