overactive thyroid
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Hi, on monday july 13th I was diagnosed with hyperactive thyroid, I am 32 years old weighing 9 and a half stone and ever since I was roughly 23 I have been trying to put weight on but gave up everytime due to never putting weight on. I was an active person who never had any issues mobility wise. The past month I had been experiencing symptoms one after another until I had a whole bunch of symptoms, I hide a lot of myself, whether its my feelings, pain etc. I decided to go and get myself checked out and sure enough I was told I had a hyperactive thryoid.The symptoms I had were hyperactivity, I had mood swings (anxiety, irritability, nervousness), sleeping was terrble, I would toss and turn about 50 times before I finally fell asleep, muscles in my legs in the morning were terrible they took about 15 minutes before I could walk with no pain or stiffness and going up the stairs felt like I had gone up hundreds, urinating 5 times more than i normally do, diarrhea, I couldnt stand being hot, even when i was cold i was clammy and would still sweat, i lost loads of weight although i was eating almost 2 meals of each a day, breakfast, lunch and dinner with snacks in between, a loss of interest in sex, my heart rate was going over 140 bpm, I would shake 4 to 5 times a day not just my arms but my whole body, warm moist skin. Now looking at the Graves disease, I have eyes feeling dry and gritty, i am now very sensitive to light, double vision but only at a distance but noticable, I also have pressure behind my eyes but not always. I have been started on 40mg of propanolol and 20mg of carbimazole. My heart rate has slowed down, roughly 120bpm and I can only slightly feel it thumping inside rather than it shaking the bed at night or when I was sat up shaking me forwards and backwards, I seem to have lost my appitite and im not drinking as much, shakes in my body has gone. I'm just quite worried about this and what to expect of my body in the future, would just like to chat to anyone about this.
1 like, 8 replies
lindsay76800 richard10651
Posted
I, too, suffered a whole range of symptoms before being diagnosed with sub clinical hyperthyroidism. I go again the grain because I have put weight on (which indicates hypo) but I definitely have hyperthyroidism. Unfortunately for me my bloodwork was nearly always normal and I felt I was going mad (plus thyroid troubles in women mirror menopause) so for 10 years I was fobbed off. However, it turns out I have a very large multinodular goitre on my thyroid which presses on the windpipe. I had radioactive treatment to no avail and am now having surgery. I will be glad to see if this makes any difference to my symptoms which are similar to yours except for the weight gain. My endocrinologist says not everyone loses weight! I would say to you to be persistent (even if your bloodwork reads normal) because they can be wrong. I have fought and fought for a diagnosis and spent years/months trawling internet sites looking for similar illnesses. Also I developed Atrial Fibrillation which means I am now on warfarin, beta blockers etc. Again there is a link between hyperthyroidism and irregular hearbeats. Don't give up, don't be afraid to pester your doctor. You are not alone and far too young to be suffering. I was 49 when I was diagnosed and still suffering at 60 but hoping the surgery might improve things. If it doesn't even I don't know where to go after it.
Lindsay
sarah00123 lindsay76800
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Sue1247 richard10651
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linda187 richard10651
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I was diagnosed with Graves approximately 8 years ago and am doing really well with regards to it. It was triggered by stress (I had an abusive coworker for 6 months and suffered from a lot of anxiety because of it) and it is known that stress often triggers it. Most endocrinologists will institute antithyroid meds initially but will push for radioactive iodine ablation or thryoid removal by surgery. However, I knew I did not want to give up my body part. I also had dry, red, irritated, gritty eyes. My opthalmologist put collagen plugs in my tear ducts to keep more moisture in my eyes and that helped a lot. I was started on Propranolol while I was waiting to complete the tests for diagnosis but I did not have to take it after I was started on Methimazole 10 mg (same as Carbimazole in England). The tests they use to diagnose and follow Graves are thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), Free T4 and Free T3. My Free T3 and T4 normalized immediately upon starting Methimazole but my TSH remained at less than 0.001 for two years until I read a research article by an endocrinologist in Italy who found that hyperthyroid patients benefitted greatly from the addition of the supplement L-Carnitine at a dose of 3,000 mg to 4,000 mg a day. Carnitine is an amino acid that is naturally produced in the body but gets lost from the muscles of hyperthyroid patients thru urination. I also found out I was deficient in Vitamin D and Magnesium as are many if not most, hyperthyroid patients. So I started taking these supplements along with a few other ones for inflammation as well as my Methimazole and my TSH began to rise and I was able to gradually decrease my dose of Methimazole. Currently I take 2.5 mg a day but my antibodies have normalized and my Endo says I can go off the Methimazole any time. You need to do a couple of things to become an empowered patient. First make sure of your diagnosis. Some patients have Graves disease only, some have Hashimoto's that sometimes starts initially with hyperthyroidism and others have both Graves and Hashimoto's together. So the antibodies to check for Graves are TSI and in Canada TBII but in the States they check for TSI and TRAb. Also anti-TPO (which measures the amount of inflammation) and I believe they need an ultrasound to diagnose Hashimoto's. So ask your doc if he has done or is willing to do these antibody tests. Always, always, always get a paper copy of your lab results and keep your own file on them. They will show your result and the range for normal right beside your results. You can chart your progress this way. Avoid the artificial sweetener Aspartame. Try and eat a healthy diet of fruits, vegetables and protein, and avoid gluten and sugar. The more proactive you are and the more you speak to patients who are successful and let you know what worked for them, the more likely you will also recover. If your eye disease becomes more pronounced with eyeball bulging, you may need to see an ocular surgeon or ophthalmologist to treat that aspect of Graves (called thyroid eye disease or TED for short).
sarah00123 linda187
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sarah00123 richard10651
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sandra94977 richard10651
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jean34329 richard10651
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I have just opened up your posting. I too have and still am experiencing everything that you have written about here.
I have fluctuated between hyper and hypo. I find the mos condition is the fact that the anxiety, depression, muscular stiffness and pain so overwhelming.
My TSH has fluctuated between normal and 0.16.
I need treatment but the problem is in getting a dr to commence the appropriate treatment.
Jean