how long should thyroid pain last?

[Bcbake]

hi, i am a 25 year old male and i have been having thyroid issues now for over 7 months. it initially started with extremely high blood pressure (158/130) and crippling headaches that felt like pressure was built up in my head so i had multiple cat scans to be sure that wasnt the problem.  After seeing primary care dr and neurologists  for 2 months they determined my TSH level was 22% of what would be considered normal and  then i was sent to a general surgeon because in my location there is not an endocrine doctor available. At this point the symptoms were extreme (pressure headaches, confusion, forgetfullness, sweating, sleeplessness, anxiety, neck pressure, weight loss, no appetite) i thought i was literally dying. My thyroid ultrasound showed multiple small multinodular goitres and i was then told that they were benign and i had subacute thyroiditis and started a cocktail of medications to treat the symptoms, propanalol, amlodipine, migraine meds, muscle relaxers, benzos, ambien, narc pain meds, zoloft, amytriptaline, zomig, anti inflamatory meds, steroids, fioricet, tramadol, praxotine, promethazine and who knows what else i forgot. This was accompanied by 8 ER visits and probably a dr appointment every third day for months. It is now 7 motnhs later and tho the extreme headaches have gotten somewhat better i still have a pressure tingling-like feeling  in my throat in a U shape leading up to behind my ears that is painful and somewhat feels like a rope is tied around my neck (accompanied by blood pressure consistent around 135/100 even when taking beta blockers daily).  The dr insists that its subacute thyroiditis and it will go away on its own but i dont see how anyone could deal with a feeling like this for this long especially now that i am not taking any meds but the blood pressure meds to help be more comfortable.   Does anyone have any input on how long to wait to finally go the 200 miles and see an endocrinologist?  Is it normal to have this much discomfort for this long and not have any other tests done to be sure that the diagnosis is correct?  All replies are appreciated ... thanks.

[Barb135]

If you have copies of the labs done in Feb, with the T3, T4 and TSH, please post them, with the reference ranges, so we can see exactly what the levels were and where they fell within the ranges.  I, like many others on this forum, have an aversion to the word "normal" when it comes to lab values because just being "in range" is not good enough for many people.

[Bcbake]

Yes they did all those tests back in february and T3 T4 AND TSH every six weeks but the last 3 times the levels were back to normal status.  This is why im concerned that the pain in my neck seems to be worsening at times.  I am told that if i just forget about it it will "go away" eventually but its easy for a doctor to say just forget about it when theres so much pressure in my throat all the time.  and yes it was hyper thyroid, but theres no labs that support that i am still hyper thyrdoid all that is there is the pressure and pain which kind of alarms me to maybe theres an issue with bleeding with the multinodular goitre.  thanks for the reply.

[Barb135]

What was the exact level of TSH?  I'm assuming that you are hyperthyroid?

Have you had any blood tests, other than the TSH, done?  You should be tested for Free T3 and Free T4 - those are the actual thyroid hormones.  If so, please post the results, along with the reference ranges from your lab report.

In addition to the FT3 and FT4, there should have been some antibody tests done to determine if you have Graves Disease or Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, which are both autoimmune thyroid diseases.  Graves Disease is most often associated with being hyper, and Hashimoto's is most often associated with being hypo, but can marked by periods of hyper.

Along with the testing mentioned above, your doctor should be giving you anti-thyroid medication to slow down thyroid function.  

You should probably call the endo and ask how they would treat someone in your situation, then decide whether or not to make an appointment to see him.