Question for those of you who have had TT

[danie17075rm]

Can you see your pulse in that notch in your neck?  I tried not to google it too much because I found some very bad things.  I can look in the mirror and see my heart beat.  Yesterday I felt like something was in my throat so I jumped out of bed (obviously adrenaline was high) and I could see it.  I am hyperthyroid though so maybe my heart is just beating hard?  This morning I could KIND of see it if I looked really hard.  I still kind of have a lump in my throat when I swallow.  I get this while hyper though for whatever reason (before and after thyroid removal).  I have chest pain, left arm pain and even jaw pain A LOT.  I have went though an echo, ekg's 24 hour holter and even a stress test.  They told me it was not my heart.  It still scares me because what is it?  I am not skinny so this is not the reason I see it.  I do have like a BIG indentation though, kind of sunken in with no thyroid.  Can anyone else see this (not feel it, but see it)?

Thanks,

Danielle

[danie17075rm]

Thanks for sharing.  I guess I'm one of the only ones with a pulse in the middle of my neck.  At least I am not the only one lol. I have it in my stomach too, but I know for a fact I've had that one for years.  

Your experience with anxiety is why I am hesitant to call it anxiety.  I believe it is an organic bodily experience and not the typical "anxiety" we find in mental health.  I believe health care is lacking in this area, because the distinction does impact treatment!

[ElleMet]

Also, I never had anxiety until I became thyroidless, when extremely hypo, I had it, and also when Hyper.  Never knew what real anxiety was before that, it was awful and it is definitely medication related, not anxious at all when dosage is stable.

[ElleMet]

I am thyroidless but do not have the pulse in the neck thing, I do tend to have a higher pulse now that I am on thyroid meds though.  You are the first person I have seen mention the left arm pain, I have that, too - I believe it may worsen when I am hyper, not sure though.

[danie17075rm]

I also note that the typical xanax and ativan they gave me during my so called anxiety didn't do a THING to help me.  I had to take my beta blockers.  I was like a crack addict with them lol.  I am off of them now, but I am considering starting again now that I am hyper.  It was the only thing that got me through and stopped the adrenaline and heart racing.  

I like to think I'd be able to admit I had anxiety, and perhaps I am more prone to it than others.  I just know my only experience with it is when my thyroid is nutty.  In my research, studies do show a large connection between anxiety and thyroid disorders.  There are different types of anxiety in my opinion though, so I am hesitant to label it that in cases of hyperthyroidism.  I was hit upside the head with it majorly myself the first night I ended in the emergency room. That was the day I found out I was EXTREMELY hyperthyroid.  That was literally the worst year of my life.  Luckily, it is not AS bad this time.  I am dealing with the hyper, but just wish I could figure out this heart stuff.  It is really hard to perform when you have chest pains, left arm pain, and jaw pain ALL of the time.  Apparently gerd can mimic coronary heart disease so .... that is probably the next avenue I need to pursue.  

hope4thegoodstuff-- I have not visited a chiropractor since I was a kid.  I used to have horrible episodes of back and neck pain.  I still do.  I was kick boxing a few years ago when I was actually healthy and while I was punching the bag I hurt my shoulder/ back area on my right side.  It constantly hurts.  I never got it checked out because I live at the doctors for all my other problems as it is.  I'd love to try reflexology, I just honestly think there is some major cause to this chest pain.  It's not normal to have your heart ALWAYS hurt along with your left arm and jaw.  I don't really have the money to go to one anyway though.  I definitely believe it could be very helpful though.  Thank you for the suggestion.  I also have TMJ which could cause my jaw pain, BUT its just the timing that it happens when my heart is hurting and also my left arm that is more concerning.

[hope4thegoodstuff]

So going out on a limb here.  Have you thought about massage therapy and a good chiropractor?  I notice when I get tense often my jaw aches. or if I am extremely out of line in my back and I can tell, then my arms may ache or get tingley and numb.  I get a back adjustment two or three times a year and I get massage therapy occasionally.  When really tense, I feel like I am getting a well what I call an "Elvis snarl"  One corner of my lip starts to pull up.  So I get my face massaged. Right into the joint on my jaw.  Life is so much better for me after massage.  I really like reflexology.  When they are done and I sit up on the table I just feel like puddle of mush.  : )

[Barb135]

I was never prone to anxiety either, nor was I willing to admit I had it; nope didn't feel the least bit anxious and refused to consider it, until I finally got hit "upside the head" with it.

[danie17075rm]

I am also very deficient in ferritin and border on and off between full blown anemia.  If my heart is not causing issues, I just want to know what is.  It's very disturbing to have chest pain, left arm pain, and jaw pain.  I have it for days at a time when it happens.  It will not go away.  I also had numbness in my head.  This all did start when I was found to be anemic.  The doctors said I was not anemic enough to cause all this, but then again I have been told I was not "hyper" enough when I was feeling extremely hyper.  My body is very sensitive.  I read anemia could cause the pounding in the middle of the neck.  Apparently it is normal on the sides of your neck to see a pulse, but a healthy individual should never see it in that middle notch where mine is.  The only thing I can come up with is that I have some type of Gerd mimicking coronary artery disease, my low ferritin is causing the issues, OR they missed something in my heart.  I was feeling great for approximately one month of my life and now I'm a mess again sigh.  My chest pains are constant when I have them too.  They last for days and are always bad during around my period.  When my thyroid was "normal" for one month, I did not have them at all.  The doctors can't really give me an answer and the pulsating neck is another sign of a heart problem.  

[danie17075rm]

Anxiety can be devastating.  I study its connection with thyroid disorders extensively in my master's program.I do not have anxiety however.  When I am hyperthyroid, I automatically get panic attacks.  I do not have any type of anxiety when my thyroid is normal.  I don't like to classify this as anxiety because I believe it is medical and not a true state of anxiety.  For example, I am jittery and shaky with my heart racing.  This causes me to have a high startle response and to literally go into a panic because of the constant high adrenaline during hyperthyroid.  It really does impact me that bad.  For a while, I was hyper so long I thought I was crazy.  When I finally got out of hyperness I had NO issues, nor have I had anxiety at any other time of my life other than while hyper and in some cases when I am very hypo.  I was not staring at my neck looking for anything.  I was completely relaxed and very tired.  I went to lay down to go to bed and felt this big thing in my neck choking me. I sat up really fast and couldn't swallow so I grabbed a mirror to see if there was something in my throat.  I look often because I have a rare autoimmune disease in my mouth that has to be examined daily.  Anyway, I wanted to see if maybe that had moved to my throat or something.  As I was holding the mirror, I just happened to see the middle of my neck bouncing up and down really bad.  I now notice it does it all of the time.  It does not go away even when my heart rate is low I can see it.  I called the nurse to ask if this was a normal action and she told me it was not.

[Barb135]

I have not had thyroid removed, nor am I skinny, and I can see my heart beat in my neck once in a while.  Remember, you do have pulse points in your neck.  

I can also see my heart beat in my stomach - for that I was checked for an aneurysm, which I don't have.  

I have had the complete heart work up, and there is nothing wrong.  I do, also, have anxiety, which can do some pretty scary things to us.   If we long and hard enough, we could find all kinds of odd things happening to our body.  Anxiety is often harder to control than the thyroid issue.

[blsdnsvvd]

Do you have Anxiety issues? I do, and that caused my heartbeat to be seen and heard on many occasions. I have a habit of checking my heartrate often just to make sure that it isn't racing. I've had every test under the sun under the care of my cardiologist and the only problem seen is an extra beat, which i feel all the time but i believe it has lessened over a period of two years.    

[danie17075rm]

The swallowing gets better and worse.  For some reason I get this every time I am hyperthyroid regardless of my thyroid or not.  The pulse is visible at all times.

[Brucergoldberg]

Weird I was was thinking about this today (the caving in)


You have relief in swallowing now, right?   I feel like the thyroid was a bad tumour that should neverbof been there.   Even thinking back as a kid.


Are you any better?

[danie17075rm]

I guess its semi-normal in skinny people.  I definitely don't have that problem though.

[Totie]

I guess I would if I paid attention to it.

I can see the pulse in my wrist, however, I am skinny & no body fat..

[danie17075rm]

I'm 33 and although not skinny (stupid thyroid or lack of thyroid, keeps me the same no matter what I do), I eat very very healthy.  I eat a lot of raw fruit and veggies, healthy veggies juices, no preservatives, and very little meat (only because I am anemic).  My BP has been high while hyper before, but it is completely fine normally.  I am hyper again, and it was normal at the endos office a few days ago.  I suppose it could be going high again.  I might need to start the beta blocker again.  You made me feel better though.  Thank you so much.

[danie17075rm]

Really?  See, I think it has something to do with that too.  I mean we have one less structure in our neck than others.  Plus, it REALLY caves in on me right there.  I can see my pulse in my stomach too, but I've noticed that for years.  I never looked at my neck before so that could have been there too.  I just happened to notice it while looking to figure out why I have a lump in my throat.  Mine has the exact tempo of my heart as well.  WEIRD!

[hope4thegoodstuff]

I'm pretty heavy and I couldn't see it before surgery.  Afterwords, it looked like I had a little bird trapped there and it was fluttering away.  But it appears to have the right tempo.  

[danie17075rm]

Thanks for your reply.  At least I am not the only one.  I wonder if a lack of thyroid makes it easier to see on me? I don't know.  It does worry me since I have all the heart stuff, but I saw my fam doc, a cardiologist, and several ER docs.  They all think its NOT my heart.  I just called the nurse from my docs office and she said "no, that is not normal".  Now they want to see me tomorrow, errrrr.

[hope4thegoodstuff]

OH  I definitely can.  LOL  My daughter keeps pretty good track of me with that while we are excercising.  
Your symptoms would make me be concerned about heart as well if I had those, but  so many things can cause those symptoms, so if you are content that they are correct about your heart, then move on and try to figure out whats happening elsewhere.  If you still have concerns, there are always second opinions.
I do know that the little pulse ticker at the base of my throat was a bit disconcerting at first.  Now I just see and think "yep,  still working".