newly diagnosed hypothyroid

[Wendy]

Hi,

 

I was just diagnosed hypothyroid about 2 month ago. The reason I went to doc. was because I started having severe panic attacks. In addition I had been feeling quite sick prior to that. Example, low energy, mood swings, muscle aches, poor concentration, low temps, ect... I never expected a thyroid problem.

 

Now that I have been on Synthroid for approx. 7weeks I still feel bad, but in addition I've noticed that I have more symptoms. Example, sweating palms, shakiness, dizziness, irratibility, nausea, feeling like im going to pass out, sometimes I notice these feelings are worse when I go without eating for extented periods of time. I am a hairdresser, and sometimes we dont get a chance to eat on time.

 

I already called doc., but she is out over the holidays. I talked to the nurse, and requested a Glucose Tolerance Test. It was the only thing I could think to request. I'm not looking for you to diagnose my symptoms, but rather a suggestion of whether or not I'm on the right track. Should I ask for any other tests in addition to/ or in place of the Glucose Test.

 

Any suggestions, would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!

[Tony T]

You don't need to be asking for specific tests. It's up to your doctor, a highly skilled trained and licensed medical doctor, to know what to order.

 

A lot of these additional symptoms are probably due to side effects of the medication plus the need to adjust the dosage. They may even be due to your own anxiety about the condition you have...yes, nerves and nothing more. There may be a possibility you need to get on a different medication.

 

Thyroid problems can play havoc on your body. It's very important to watch your diet, exercise, and generally take good care of yourself. Low blood sugar turns up very rarely and I doubt you have that problem. However, if your doctor suspects you may be suffering from that...or diabetes...you will be given the GTT or other appropriate tests.

 

Stop trying to diagnose yourself. Be sure to get in to consult with your doctor as soon as possible. Meanwhile, if your situation worsens go to your nearest hospital emergency room.

[Just A Girl2]

I have a form of hypothyroidism myself (called autoimmune thyroiditis, diagnosed with it about 2 yrs ago).

 

From the reading I've done on it (extensive), I don't really recall "panic attacks" being a symptom of hypo....I could see that more with being HYPERthyroid.

 

So obviously, your Hypo diagnosis was made based on bloodwork? (TSH, T4)

 

What dose of Synthroid were you started on? Based on the symptoms you're having now, it almost sounds like you've gone Hyperthyroid.

 

For me, I was started originally on a very very low dose...0.25mg (25mcg)....mostly because the family doc I saw admitted to know jack sh*t about correct dosing....so instead, she referred me to an endocrinologist (which is something you should be requesting, too....because they are specialists when it comes to thyroid conditions, etc)....and it was my Endo who upped my very low dose (he laughed at how low it was) to 0.125mg per day. I've been on that ever since...and i can say that within a couple of weeks, I was feeling wonderful.........no longer had the horrid symptoms of hypo such as: constantly freezing, always tired, insomnia at night, poor memory/concentration, dry skin, feeling like i was in a 'brain fog', feel very down at times, etc.

 

You might want to do some reading online, on the symptoms of HYPERthyroidism..which can occur if too much thyroid hormone (synthroid) is given.........which can be very detrimental to a person......can be very hard on the heart, too.

 

Off the top of my head, symptoms of HYPER: anxiety, heat intolerance (often very hot, sweating a lot), restless, voracious appetite but actually losing weight (due to the elevation in metabolism), heart palpitations, edgy, hyper, can't sleep, etc.

 

I'm not sure why you requested a Glucose Tolerance Test. That would be done (one of the tests) to check for diabetes. Do you suspect diabetes? A history of it in your family? The most common initial symptoms of diabetes are: increased thirst, increased peeing, increased appetite, etc.

 

Can you explain WHY you think this particular test should be done?

 

If anything, I think you should be having your TSH, T4 and T3 levels checked.......to see if you've gone HYPERthyroid...and I'd get this done ASAP. It's possible that your dose of Synthroid needs to be decreased to be more in line with your thyroid hormone levels.

 

From what I've read, there really ARE no side effects from synthetic thyroid hormone replacement (Synthroid)........just effects of receiving too much (becoming HYPER).

 

If your family doc is not available, I'd encourage you strongly, to find a walk-in clinic if you have such things where you live, or if not, go to your local Emergency Room.....take with you, your bottle of Synthroid..so that they can see exactly what dose you're taking. You need to have the above mentioned bloodwork done, to check your levels, to see if you've gone HYPER.....and likely have your med dosage changed/reduced accordingly.

 

I would NOT delay in doing this. A severe hyperthyroid episode can become life-threatening if left untreated. I would even encourage you to seek medical assistance NOW...tonight. NOt trying to scare you, but you do sound HYPER to me.

 

There are some excellent Thyroid Forums that I found a couple years ago........some specifically for people with Hypothyroidism and Autoimmune Thyroiditis (aka Hashimoto's Thyroiditis)......and I learned more from the folks there than i ever did from a doctor (and I'm a nurse). I'll find the website address to these forums for you now, I'll be right back with it.

 

Sienna

[Just A Girl2]

Okay, this entire "Thryoid" information site, including all the various forums, were set up by a lady named Mary Shomon..who herself has hypothyroidism, and I believe she's written a few excellent books about living with hypothyroidism, getting educated about it, how doctors generally know very little about it, how to find a good doctor, etc.

 

Mary Shomon's Thyroid Site/Forums - click here

 

When you get to this page above, you'll see links on the bottom half of it...under the Heading, "Mary Shomon's Thyroid Forums", the one you'll want to go to, is "General Thyroid Support and Information." You can 'read' any of the posts on these forums sa a "guest", I believe, but to be able to post, you need to register (I strongly advise).

 

You'll find there, that the hundreds and hundreds of women there, are a wealth of support and knowledge.....many "newly diagnosed" hypo people.....and many who have lived with it for some time..and a great source of info and guidance, and directing one to the info they need. You'll find folks there, too, who've been diagnosed w/ hypo, but ended up going hyper...either due to too much hormone (synthroid/eltroxine)......or other related problems with their hormone, which cause the levels of hormones it produces, to fluctuate greatly.

 

You might also consider asking for a Thyroid Ultrasound. When you were diagnosed, did the doc even bother to FEEL your thyroid gland, for nodules or enlargement? It should be a 'given' that a doc would do this, but so many docs don't bother, as I personally found out (even the endocrinologist I saw, who's supposed to be one of the best, he didn't even bother, until I asked him to, for pete's sake). Many times hypothyroidism is caused by benign (non cancerous) growths/nodules on the thyroid gland.....or, like with those of us who have autoimmune thyroiditis (aka Hashimoto's), we become hypothryoid because for some reason, our body views our thyroid gland as a 'foreign agent'..and it responds by attacking our own thyroid gland..resulting in chronic inflammation of it, varying degrees of enlargement (due to the inflammation).....and it puts a real strain on the thyroid and it sort of 'wears out' and then we become HYPO.......

 

Although a lot of doctors don't "know" this, it's essential, too, for a person with suspected hypothyroidism/underactive thyroid, to have "thyroid antibody" levels done.

 

Here's a good link with info on Hypothyroidism....and scroll down to the section on "Side Effects"..and you'll see a paragraph that explains about Hyperthyroidism that can occur.....and the symptoms (which are what you describe):

 

Hypothyroidism Article - click here

 

Generally, as long as a doctor doesn't start a newly diagnosed person on "too much" Synthroid (or Eltroxine), it's safe to have them return for bloodwork after about 4-6 weeks, to make sure things are good, and to see if any adjustments to the med is needed. BUT..if a doc starts someone on TOO HIGH of a dose to start with, problems can occur (eg..hyperthyroidism) within a relatively short period of time. There are no known SIDE EFFECTS of Synthroid/Eltroxine ......a person only experiences "side effects" per se, if they're either not receiving enough, or are receiving "too much." Synthroid is a relatively slow acting med.....which is why newly diagnosed patients are usually told to come back for repeat bloodwork, in a month's time....but again, if a person was started out on 'too much' to begin with, they could notice a 'big difference' much sooner...eg) symtoms of HYPERthyroidism.

 

Are you taking your Sythroid as close to every 24 hours as possible (the way it should be taken...around the same time each day)....or not?

 

It's possible, too, that you're not truly hypothyroid....and you had some type of virus affecting your thyroid gland, causing it to cause YOU to be 'temporarily hypothyroid'.....and now things have cleared up in this regard, and you don't really NEED to have the Synthroid.....but because you're still taking it, you're body is receiving too much "thyroxine" (from the med, and from what your thyroid is naturally producing)..and you're becoming HYPERthyroid.

 

I strongly strongly advise you to try and get into an Endocrinologist. Family docs just don't know enough about this very common disease...which is a large part of why it's one of the MOST UNDERdiagnosed diseases in women (sad but true).

 

On Mary Shomon's site, she also has a link there, called "Top Docs"...where you can search for a highly recommended Top Thyroid Doc/Endo" in your state, etc. Good docs are hard to come by, let me tell you.

 

If you want more info on the side effects of HYPERthyroidism, go to: Google Search Engine - click here ..and in the search box, type in: Hyperthyroidism Symptoms

 

 

You'll find tons of excellent articles and links on Mary's site, in addition to the Forums there.

 

How long after you began the Synthroid, did you start to feel the symptoms you currently have? And again, what dose are you on?

 

What age are you?

 

 

I would advise you strongly, to get into any doctor you can first thing tomorrow...and have them order bloodwork.......get that done, so that you know where things stand......and I'm not telling what you should do, but if I were in your shoes, I'd get that bloodwork done ASAP, then I'd consider stopping the Synthroid (or maybe taking half a pill per day) til I could discuss the results with the/a doc. From what I understand....being 'hypo' is not nearly as serious as it is to be HYPER...being hypo, for the most part (unless severely severely hypo) is more of an inconvenience than anything (the symptoms).

 

HOpe this helps. Check out Mary's site. And if you have any questions, feel free to ask.

 

Sienna

[jan]

wendy, tonys answer to you made me kindof mad. you shouldnt get carried away trying to diagnose yourself, but we do know our own bodies! nothing wrong with requesting a test. I am hypoglycemic, severely so Icant have the least bit of sugar, or anything like sugar,maltital,sorbital, etc. or i will feel like crap! Ihave to have a snack every 2 hours and eat on time. easy to control but takes time. my doctor couldnt believe I was so sensitive. Iam waiting now for results of a thyroid test because I have some symptoms, and just dont feel right! Some doctors dont even believe in hypoglycemia!