Can't get Diagnose that helps me

[primitivx]

I am a man of 47 years/old, overweight but working out when I can and eating reasonably well.

I have been diagnosed with hypothyroism and take medications for that (Synthroid). I also have chronic pain and some fibromyalgia and take Hydrocodone. Finally I have chronic sleep problems and take Ambient CR.

The problem I cannot find the cause is as follow. Several times a day, I start to feel weak, my abdomen feels empty, I get light headed, and often I also feel like thousand pins and needles all over my chest, sides, and abdomen, and sometimes I start to sweat profusely. I also get quite cold and I start to shake. I check my sugar and it is usually between 80 and 100, which should be normal but for me is too low. I also started to check my blood pressure when this happens and I read a little high (around 160/85).

The only way I can get back to normal is to eat something sweet, take glucose pills, or drink orange juice. Then after a little while the symptoms go away. But a few hours later  it starts again. This forces me to eat more than I would like to and makes it very difficult to get my weight down.

Sometimes, the symptoms will cease for weeks, then they come back. But for the last few months they have not stopped and I deal with this every day. I checked for diabetes and got medication but my numbers are within normal and technically I am not diabetic. I could have hypoglycemia but I am starting to believe it has something to do with the adrenal gland.

If anybody experienced the same symptoms and can help me pinpoint the problem I would be really grateful because this condition is having quite an impact on my life at this point.

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,

I would advise you to get your thyroid levels reevaluated as these symptoms can be due to hyperthyroid state of the thyroid. Taking too much thyroid hormone medication is actually quite common. Excessive doses of thyroid hormones can frequently go undetected due to the lack of follow-up of patients taking their thyroid medicine. A thyroid scan will be better.

In my opinion you should consult an endocrinologist and get your thyroid levels reassessed.

Hope it helps.Take care and pls do keep me posted on how you are doing and if you have any additional queries.

[KatEyes]

I would assume you have periodic bloodwork to confirm your synthroid levels are therapeutic.

I have a friend who gets spells of shaking, sweating, weakness and a panicked desperation to get something sweet in her fast. Her blood sugar is not extremely low at these times, but it is thought a quick drop produces the symptoms. Maybe you could try a grazing type eating pattern that would lessen the liklihood of fluctuations in blood sugar for a while to see if it allieviates the symptoms. This is recommended for those with low blood sugar.

About the chronic sleep problems - have you had a sleep study to rule out a treatable sleep disorder?  Also, sleep problems can in some contribute to weight gain and appetite, and increased sensitivity to pain. I'll leave that alone since you didn't really ask about that.

[primitivx]

I want to add that the Doc tried me on Prednisone for a few days, and my body went bunkers. I started to sweat like crazy, got extremely cold, and it took like 2 weeks to feel better, and maybe a month to feel more normal.