Normal or is this normal?
Find a Conversation
Normal or is this normal?
| Tue, 07-13-2004 - 10:30am |
I am new to this board...but have a question. This past fall I was diagnosed with both Graves and Hashimotos. My doctor has spent the past 6-8 months trying to find the right balance of meds. (I am currently on Synthroid and PTU.)
My main question is this....Does the battle with emotions ever balance out or do I need to look forward to spending the rest of my life in this "funk"? I have been really fighting tears the past almost two weeks straight. I can barely watch the news these days without fighting back the urge to cry....let alone deal with a recent break-up in a rational way. I think I cry myself to sleep most nights lately. :-( I HATE feeling like this.
I have an appt with my endo in a little over a week, and have a list of questions for her since finding this web board. Can any of you help me?

I am so sorry to hear about the way you are feeling. I've been going through times of being really emotional too, and it is frustrating, although it sounds like you are constantly emotional. Our thyroids do have a major impact on how our body functions. Hang in there, maybe your doctor can do something to help you out. Especially with hormones. I know when its time for my PMS cycles I get extremely sensitive, and the thyroid directly affects a woman's cycle, which in turn will effect the hormone levels in our bodies.
I am confused about how your doctor could consider you to have both grave's and hashimotos. Did that mean that you have an autoimmune thyroid condition and its just undiagnosed right now? That's basically what's going on with me, but I'm not hyper or hypo (my TSH levels are not in the hyper of hypo range) so there's nothing medication-wise that I can do for the time being. It just seems very odd to me (& believe me, I am not a thyroid expert) that they would treat you for both of those conditions at the same time. From my researching I've learned that you have to be considered at least mild to moderate hyperthyroid--overactive for them to treat with PTU, let alone also with a thyroid hormone supplement. Usually your blood work has to indicate that you are hypo to be treated with thyroid supplements.
What are your TSH, T3 & T4 levels?
It seems to me that the ptu & synthroid would counterract each other because how will you be able to benefit from the medications? synthroid is designed to increase your thyroid stimulating hormone, and ptu is designed to lower the hyper issues. See how this doesn't make sense?
Is your family doctor treating you or is this an endocrinologist or another specialist dealing with your thyroid condition?
You should definatley ask every question you have to your doctor and don't leave until you feel as though they have answered them. This is a very unique situation, I've never heard of anyone having both Grave's and Hashimotos.
I wonder if you are having fluctuations in your test results. Maybe your tsh levels were low (meaning your body is using a lot of tsh) (hyper) and so they thought they would give you PTU , and then your tsh levels went high (your body is not using the tsh) (hypo) so they gave you synthroid. It sounds like your body needs time to balance itself out and be allowed to go either hyper or hypo on its own. The changes in your medication may have been made between the ptu & syntroid to counterbalance what the one had done. So, maybe you had too much PTU which drove you to be hypo, then they figured opps now she needs syntroid, which has taken you hyper.
If you are not satisfied with this next appointment I suggest you find a different doctor for a second opinion. This is your body, your health, and your life. Don't let some doctor tell you what's best for you. You have to make those decisions for yourself along with the council of a medical professional.
We are here to help you, anytime you have questions, post them. Cathy and Calley, the community leaders, do a great job of finding the answers you need, as well as alot of the other ladies here.
I wish you the best of luck on your journey to wellness. --Lisa
There really is so much to consider when treating a thyroid disorder...I feel like I am just scratching the surface of it all. I was first sent to an Endo by my gyno because she said by looking at me my thyroid was really enlarged...she did tests and my numbers were really high....so she sent me to an endo.
My endo then sent me for the radioactive iodine uptake test. All the tests confirmed I have the antibodies for both Graves and Hashimotos but that I was Hyper. So she started me on Tapozal(sp). But that did something to my liver so she changed me to PTU. After a while my tests came back with elevated numbers for Hypo...so this last time she added Synthroid.
I need to get my T3, T4, and TSH levels when I go in next time. I never thought to write them all down as I started treatment. It took me a while to realize that this is something I need to do and help "manage" this and as I have been feeling worse I have been searching for more answers.
Thanks for your encouragement. I think it is going to help to talk to other who are dealing with this and not just take my doctors word on everything. I will be sure to start getting all the copies of my blood tests from here on out....
gidgetdc
You are absolutely right that you have to manage this disease and learn all you can about it. It's almost the only way to stay healthy and on top of the situation. The other way is to get lucky!! :) And few of us are lucky!!
How long have you been taking Synthroid, what dose are you taking and when do you go back? These are important questions and it's the way you'll want to look at what you're feeling and decide what to do about it. usually you'll go for blood tests every 6 weeks to see how your TSH levels are doing. They should be in the 1.0 to 2.0 range, although some doctors wil keep them as high as 5.5, because that's what the lab range is. This is something you'll have to learn to judge for yourself - How you feel at different levels. Some people do fine at 5.5, others just fall apart. I'm in the "fall apart" category. :)
Once your blood is retested, the doctor will then increase your dose, keep it the same or lower it. In the first few months after being diagnosed, your dose is usually raised after each blood test. It will take anywhere from 2 weeks up to 3 months to feel the full effects of your medication, even if it is too low for you. It will be adjusted and you should continue to feel the benefits of it. All these things that you're feeling now are very typical symptoms of hypothyroidism and they stink!!! :) It's like advanced PMS or something. There's nothing wrong with you! It will pass. Honestly!!
Take your medication first thing in the morning on an empty stomach and then don't take anything else for at least an hour after. Don't take calcium or calcium supplements anywhere from 1 hour up to 4 hours after your medication. I take mine about an hour or two after and it's fine for me. Don't even take an aspirin with your medication. Anything taken with it can interfere with its absorption.
There would be nothing wrong with you calling your doctor's ofice and asking for the numbers on your test results. You may have to be ore assertive than you're used to being to make sure that you're being treated correctly but it's worth it. And I know it's hard to be assertive when you're feeling so bad but, it has to be done! You really need these test results as a baseline to judge the next blood test by. Plus , you need to know how high your TSH level is right now o get an idea of what to expect in feeling better. If your TSH is 200, you have a longer way to go to feel better than someone who's TSH is 8.0. So I hope you make that call and find out what your numbers are. I hope this helps. Feel free to ask whatever questions you have. Cathy :)
((((HUGS)))) to you on the emotions.
Powered by CGISpy.com
I did start getting really emotional just before I started my cylce and through the cycle....so that probably has something to do with this all but it hadn't been that bad in previous months when I was on my cycle. Although I know I was having more "off" days as we really start moving my meds all around. I honestly just don't want to think I am going to have to go through life like this, with these fluctuating emotions. All of this is exacerbated by the circumstances I also find my life in....waiting for everything to come together at the same time....romance, career, buying a home, etc....
I was afraid to make any posts here when I started but I am glad I chose to ask for everyone's help! Thank you all so much.
Yes, I am still on both the Synthroid and the PTU....I think she cut the dose in half because the emotions were not subsiding and I was having more frequent heart palpitations in the last couple of weeks. I do go in for my blood work tomorrow and then see the doc on July 26. My last blood work was done over 6 weeks ago...so maybe she figured with the symptons I was complaining about she should cut the dose in half. It is hard to say sometimes if the exagerated emotions I am feeling are from my thyroid or from the loss of my boyfriend at the beginning of May. Since the emotions are not getting any milder with time I think it is from my thyroid. Anyway, I only know that according to my tests I have both Hashimotos and Graves and we started with treatment for hyper and after a while each time I went into Hypo so now she is treating for both.
I bought the book by Dr. Ridha Arem, "The Thyroid Solution." I have not had a chance to read through it yet as this week has been crazy....but Sat I will be sitting in the hair salon with that book in my lap as I get my hair done for a wedding. Trying to pamper myself a little more these days. :-) Thanks so much for everything.
All I can do is hope the meds keep helping and that the B Complex helps with the depression stuff. Thanks for all the help and encouragement.