overmedication

[st34]

I am a 38 year old female, diagnosed with hypothyroidism. I take synthroid. A month ago, I started experiencing flu like symptoms (including fever, diarrhea, etc), followed by extreme anxiety and nausea and continued " fast " digestion. I have lost 11 lbs.  My TSH tested normal at .87 this week. My dr doesn't test T3, T4 or anything else.  I had something similar happen 4 months ago and reduced my synthroid from .1 to .88 and that seemed to help. At that time, my TSH was .47 prior to reducing the dose. Is it possible I am being overmedicated even though I am in the normal range or is it more likely that I have a major anxiety problem? My dr reduced my dose to .75 three days ago. If it is simply an overmedication issue, how long will it take for the anxiety and other symptoms to subside, now that I am on a lower dosage?

[goolarra]

Please provide your actual T3 and T4 results.  Include reference ("normal") ranges from your own lab report as ranges vary lab to lab.

Was the RE talking about a more normal TSH?

Please list your other symptoms in addition to fatigue.

What did your doctor prescribe for you?

[07sunshine]

Hello all;
I have been recently diagnosed with Hypothyroid by one doctor and the other doctor has said I do not have a problem. The T3 and T4 were normal. And, the endocrinologist said, that I did not have the antibodies, either.  The first doctor is a Reproductive Endocrinologist and said, in order to get pregnant you need to have a more normal number to get pregnant.  However, when I got a second opinion from another endocrinologist he said I was okay and did not need medication.  I went with the first doctor because my symptoms were so plagued with fatigue etc. and I would like to conceive and read that if you are ttc you should normalize your thyroid.  I am consumed as to what to do.  Should I take the Synthroid and go back to the RE or follow the orders of the other Endocrinologist?  I did take some tablets this week and have and major bathroom issues and felt extremely exhausted.  If anyone has any advice please fee to let me know what you may have expereinced, and what you know.  I am knew to this disorder and feel very confused.

[Red_Star]

I had hyperthyroid episodes on and off mildy due to the Hashimoto's thyroiditis and a far more severe two month bout of hashitoxicosis due to the presence of TRAb (TSH receptor antibody) also known as TSI (thyroid stimulating immunoglobulins).

From the medical journal of European Endocrinology - Hashitoxicosis – Three Cases and a Review of the Literature...

"It should be pointed out that, especially in the US literature, the term ‘hashitoxicosis’ is sometimes used to describe an autoimmune thyroid disease overlap syndrome of Graves’ and Hashimoto’s disease.  In this article the term is strictly limited to the ‘leakage’ symptoms of active Hashimoto’s disease."

[goolarra]

It's very possible that you're overmedicated.  Without FT3 and FT4, it's very hard to determine if you are overmedicated or not.  

The last time I was overmedicated, my endo advised me to stop taking my meds for three days and then to resume at a lower dosage.  Most of my symptoms went away in those three days, but it was 10 days to 2 weeks before they were completely gone.  You might ask your doctor if you could try that.

Since this has happened more than once recently, you really should insist that your doctor order FT3 and FT4.  With just TSH to go on, you're really just blindly reducing meds.  Many symptoms can "cross over" and be symptoms of both hypo and hyper.