Hashimoto's Toxicosis and going hypo and hyper

[terri thyroid]

This is kind of a survey/question to those of you diagnosed hypothyroid Hashimotos but who feel or actually are cycling into a hyper (not hypo) state. Do you seem to have symptoms of hyper like red in the face, hi b.p., shakiness, depression, hot all the time not hot flashes, hot tempered, double vision or poor vision etc etc but yet you feel run down, tired, fuzzy mentally, slow gastro processes so you go to the doctor and he/she says you are right in target range for tsh below 3.0 or thereabouts and great free t4 free t3 levels and all else looks good so maybe they raise your thyroid med dose thinking you're still a little hypo (not hyper) or have you lower dose in case you are actually hyper and for a short while you feel better or feel worse right away so now you don't know if you're up or down ? Yes, that is a run on sentence but hopefully I'm clear - here is my theory - maybe you have gone so hyper your body is shutting down or slowing down to protect itself or it's just breaking  down altogether - Has anyone had this experience and if so what do you do about it or what does your doctor do or say to help you? And if our thyroid gland worked normally would pituitary and other supporting systems output consistently same amounts ? I know this is a good question for Dr. Lupo as he actually believes there is a phenomena as Hashitoxicosis unlike my past 3 endos. I'm curious what you folks think about this and what your experiences have been.

[beenewt3]

hello i am amazed at all the people here with hypo/hyper symptoms..i too can relate..i was dianosed with hashies then went hyper on synthyroid the dr took me off the meds and im still hyper i have a multinodular goiter and i feel awful im very tired my eyes are so bad (double vision).and muscles ache ..sooo many symptoms of hypo but my tsh is very low ..so the dr says im hyper..im just learning about all this stuff.as i was diagnoised only a year ago...dr now says fybromalgia is the the cause of muscle soreness..i dont know ..i still think i have hypo symtoms even though they say im hyper i think i should be back on synthyroid as it did make me feel more energetic..the dr prescribes meds for nerves and sleeping ..i dont like taking pills that just hide what is relly going on...please advise..im scared and tired of feeling this way........thankyou.for letting me vent

[joystitching]

I was diagnosed with Hashinoto's 7 yrs ago. My thyroid levels went up and down for 4 yrs. It was awful and I couldn't go on medication for fear it would be the wrong one at the wrong time of the cycle. I finally had my tsh go way below 0 and I was also tested for Graves markers which also came back positive.  So, I had both. My endo doc told me a small percentage of Hashi people flip to Graves but still have Hashi markers too.

I went on anti-thyroid med and after 10 months went into remission with my Graves.  I've been in remission almost 2 yrs now. I always have the possibility of it coming back. And I also have the possibility of my Hashi's kicking in as well.

[havehashi]

Please, please tell me the name of your internist.  I'm really scared and can't take these symptoms anymore.

[medicmommy]

Hi. If you were having a thyroid storm, the ER should have put you on Beta blockers to control it. I can understand the Ativan use as thyrotoxicosis can cause a very high level of anxiety. I had a thyroiditis episode that gave me two different thyroid storms while I was being treated with a chemotherapy. Unbeknownst to me I was a Hashi's patient and the Interferon really ticked off my immune system, causing it to wage war on my thyroid. The beta blockers were temporary and they controlled the high heart rate and blood pressure that the thyroiditis caused.
It sounds like you may have been in a hyper state when you were started on the meds. Do you have any labs that the more knowledgeable can see from that time and now? They may be able to tell you what was going on...~MM

[DreamNaut]

I was having terrible symptoms with a normal thyroid level. The antibodies however were high. My endo started me on a lose dose of Synthroid. I then complained that I was just getting worse so he tripled my dose. I ended up in ER a few times afterwards because I thought I was going to die. Doctors felt it was a thyroid storm, but there was nothing ER could do for me but give me ativan.  Well, A few days later I ended up in the hospital for psychosis, apparently I wasn't really sleeping and was up for 72 hrs. The theory of my psychiatrist was thyroid toxicosis since I never really had any issues afterwards. Needless to say I did not visit my endo again (he apparently had some law suit issues I was not aware of).

[SwanSong]

Wow! You've been through hell and back. How awful! Hugs.

I had pre-myxedema and was quite ill so I know what that is like. By the time a doctor treated me with a high enough dose of thyroid medication she told me I had about three weeks to live. I could barely lift my hand to pet my cat who was sitting on my lap.


The first doctor to treat my thyroid disease under treated me. As a result I suffer from the bounces - back and forth between hyper and hypo. She also told me I have "garden variety" hypoT and so did the next doctor who treated me. However, my endo says I have Hashimoto's.

Right now everything is okay for the most part. I just got over being hypo again after being close to hyper again, my TSH was .71 and I was losing lots of weight without much effort. What sent me over the edge was another attack of thyroiditis this last winter.

I haven't been stable since first treated in late 2003.