Can symptoms come and go?

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-04-2003
Can symptoms come and go?
5
Wed, 03-09-2005 - 3:38pm

I had a baby 10 months ago and around 3 or 4 months afterwards, I started feeling depressed and tired all the time. I am bipolar, so my doc prescribed a new anti-dep thinking I was becoming depressed. I also too a thyroid test which was on the low side, but not "officially" low. So for a few months I am okay. Then I got what they said was phenumina (sp), very cold (body temp 96) tired ALL the time, horse voice. So they put me on meds, started feeling better after a few weeks, but not great. So recently, I started to feel the same symptoms and took a bunch of blood tests. Came back a little on the low side, but not officially low. The doc said it could be hypothyroid and to start synthroid. Is it possible for symptoms to come and go? Would a little on the low side give me such severe cold and tiredness? Thanks

Kristin

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-01-2003
Wed, 03-09-2005 - 5:35pm
Hello, and congrats on the baby! I was just diagnosed with hypothyroidism a few days ago, so Im no expert. But I,ve been reading alot about it. I start my synthroid tomorrow and Im hoping for positive results because Im sick of being tired! I have read that alot of doctors misdiagnose hypothyroidism as depression and prescribe anti-depressants, which is what I feared would happen to me. Im not depressed...just tired and cold, hoarse, aches and pains and a few other hypo symptoms that were not going away. Maybe being bi-polar and on anti-depressants has something to do with your 'come and go' symptoms. Or maybe you need the next higher dose of synthroid, I hear it takes a while to get just the right dose to work right. Im starting on 50 mcgs. Hopefully you have a good doctor that you trust and be sure to report all your symptoms so they can help you get the right dose. Theres alot of info on the web about this and Im still learning, so Im probably of no help to you....but good luck anyway!
iVillage Member
Registered: 05-19-2004
Thu, 03-10-2005 - 9:23am

They should also test your free t3 and free t4. Which is sometimes not an easy task to have done. Most docs don't feel it's necessary.

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-09-2001
Sat, 03-12-2005 - 8:23pm
Hi kristin and welcome! I don't think it's so much that the symptoms come and go but that you are experiencing fluctuations in your thyroid hormone - among others and that affects your symptoms and how you feel. And that's very normal, especially after a baby. That is called postpartum thyroiditis and it's hypothyroidism that is caused by the pregnancy. It can go away completely on it's own within 6 months to a year but if your doc is giving you medication for it, take it!! You'll be monitored every 3 months or so to see how your TSH level is and your medication can be adjusted up or down at that time. Or perhaps your body will level off on it's own and you won't need the medication after a time. Hypothyroidism is notorious for causing depression so there's a good chance the meds will help you feel better that way, too. Take it on an empty stomach, first thing in the AM, without taking any food for an hour afterward. Take any other medicines, vitamins, etc at least an hour afterward. And take calcium and iron 4 hours after taking your meds. It takes about 4 to 6 weeks and up to 3 months to feel better but some people are very sensitive to it and start to feel better about 2 weeks after starting. Stay in touch and let us know how you're doing! Cathy :)
iVillage Member
Registered: 05-04-2003
Wed, 03-16-2005 - 4:44pm

The coldness went away, but that was because I was in Tucson! I still am having some problems, but the being cold all the time is better. As for taking the meds on an empty stomach, that has been a challenge! I love to eat and I have been waiting for one hour after I take the synthroid before I eat. My friend Debbie, the ICU nurse, told me she just gives all her patients their synthroid at 10 am weather the have eaten or not. As for my vitamins, I will have to take those after lunch along wtih my anti dep. As for being depressed, I have had this problem for 15 years and have gone yearly for thyroid checks becasue of the depression and family history of thyroid problems (my great grandmother died from complications due to hypo) and have always been very normal. Just this last 6 months my two blood tests came up normal but on the low side with a questionable TSH4. Fun, fun!

Kristin

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-09-2001
Wed, 03-16-2005 - 8:37pm
I know - the whole thing can be very challenging. About taking your meds at a set time whether you have eaten or not, that isn't the way to get the best results. And with all due respect to your friend who is a nurse, she isn't helping anyone by sticking to an arbitrary time for meds. Thyroid hormone needs to be taken on an empty stomach because that it how it is best absorbed!! If your stomach is emptier at bedtime, that's a second option though 1st thing in the morning is best. I know some people who wake up early just to take their meds and go back to sleep for an hour or so, then they can eat breakfast when they wake up! That might work for you. But good for you for waiting!! I hope the medication helps your depression. It did wonders for my daughter when she finally got on the dose that was right for her and started taking it consistently. She's like a different person now, very stable whereas before, she was always always up and down emotionally. I know this is all very hard. Hang in there!! Let us know how you're feeling in a few weeks, ok? Cathy :)