hypothyroidism to hyperthyroidism?

[som8722]

I am a hypothyroid patient. I find it very hard to keep my levels in balance. I initially started with 50 mcg, then over the next year it was elevated to 75mcg. when i started the dosage it was fine my hair loss stopped , i was feeling great . Gradually after 6 months i started experiencing tremendous hair loss, fatigue, unable to sleep inspite of being tired, lightheadedness. my TSH is 0.891 and my T4 is 1.36ng/dL.
Did i just become hyperthyroidc? Coz all the symptoms i am experiencing now looks like it. should i ask for a lower dose of synthroid?


This discussion is related to Overdose of Synthroid.

[goolarra]

Now you're haunting my thoughts!

Have you ever had antibodies tested...TPOab and TGab...to see if you have Hashi's?  Those of us with Hashi's often experience peaks and valleys in the thyroid hormones our own thyroids produce as the thyroid is being destroyed by the antibodies.  These can cause fluctuating symptoms of hypo and hyper.

Were you hypo for a time before starting meds, and are you sure that what you are experiencing is hyper and not hypo?  I don't doubt your assessment, it's just that many symptoms can "cross over", i.e. some are common to both hypo and hyper.  What's important is that what you're experiencing now is different from what you experienced when hypo.

I become hyper at very low levels of FT3 and FT4.  If my FT3 gets off the very bottom of the range, I start having hyper symptoms...insomnia, tachycardia, gastric distress, restlessness, etc.

Even though I had felt fine and was asymptomatic for over a year, it was really difficult for me to convince my endo that I didn't need further meds increases.  After the last increase from 75 mcg to 81.5 mcg (hardly worth talking about), I really got miserable, and that finally prompted him to back off to 75 again.  At this point, I'm feeling like I may still be at too high a dose although my hyper symptoms are in the "tolerable" range at this time, i.e. every once in a while I actually sleep through the night!.

We're all different, but doctors have a tendancy to make us want to "conform" to the standard.  Sometimes that just doesn't fly.  Convincing them of that, however, can be excrutiating.

[goolarra]

You might ask your doctor to order free T3 (FT3)  along with TSH and FT4.  FT3 correlates to symptoms better than either of the other two.

According to your labwork, you are not hyper.  However, some of us are more comfortable low in the FT3 and FT4 range and start feeling hyper at lower levels than others.

You'll probably have a hard time convincing your doctor to lower your meds with your labs.  But, I'd sure give it a try.  You may have to spend some time convincing him that he needs to treat you and your symptoms, not the numbers.  You know yourself best, so, yes, ask him to cut back to a lower dose.