thyroid fluxuations

[lovesyoga]

My TSH has varied from 31 to almost normal to 24 since January.  Right now it is almost normal but I am fluxuating between feeling so tired I have trouble doing anything, freezing cold to having night sweats, inability to sleep and totally ampted up.   What is going on.  Could it be my thyroid acting up, my adrenals (my blood cortisol level at 8 am was normal) My synthroid was raised from ,88 5 days a week and 1msg twice a week when I was at TSH of 24 to 1msg 5 times a week.  In 5 weeks I went from 24 TSH to normal.  My endocrinologist say I am exquisitally sensitive to synthroid.  But she just says have your TSH tested in a month.  This is so uncomfortable.  I really don't know what to do. What could be happening to me.

[Barb135]

I certainly disagree with your doctor regarding the T3 and T4 -- unless she's talking about Total T3 and Total T4, then I'd agree, because those tests are considered obsolete and of little value.  

That said, FREE T3 and FREE T4 are the actual thyroid hormones that are utilized; I don't see how she can ignore either of them.  TSH is so undependable as a diagnostic and dosing tool, it shouldn't even be used. It fluctuates constantly and doesn't correlate with symptoms.

[gimel]

I am sending you a PM with a link to a site that is the most comprehensive info on thyroid issues that I have found in all my searching.  Some of the many articles might have great value for you, and if you give copies to your doctors, both the Internist and the Endo, and ask them lots of questions, and push them a bit, you might break through their obstinacy and get the testing you need.  

[lovesyoga]

I'm sorry I meant mcg. My doctor says that she doesn't need the T3 or T4 because they really don't give good information.  She says she knows that I have Hashimoto's but hasn't done a test for it.  I asked my internist for a ultra sound of my thyroid and every thing is ok but I still feel like there is an abstruction around my thyroid when I swallow. The endocrinologist said that was because my thyroid is probably inflamed. What can I do if my thyroid is spurting hormones? The endocrinologists in my area will only do the TSH test.  I would have to go to a homeopathic doctor

[Barb135]

I don't understand your dosage.  What is 1 msg?  Synthroid is measured in mcg; was that a typo and do you mean that your synthroid was raised from 88 mcg/day to 100 mcg/day?  Please clarify.

Is your doctor only testing TSH?  You need also to have Free T3 and Free T4 tested, as TSH, alone, is totally inadequate as a diagnostic/treatment tool.

Do you know if you have Hashimoto's thyroiditis?  Hashimoto's is an autoimmune disease in which the body produces antibodies to attack and destroy the thyroid, ultimately causing a person to become hypothyroid.

It sounds like you are either over medicated or your thyroid is "spurting" hormones; it's also possible that you may have nodules on your thyroid that are producing hormone independent of the thyroid. All of these things could cause to to swing back and forth between hyper and hypo.

If your doctor refuses to test the Free T3 (FT3) and Free T4 (FT4), you should find a different doctor, because this one will undoubtedly keep you ill.