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Going from hyper to hypo :(

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cheryl08343
cheryl08343

So I haven't been feeling well so I had my doctor run some tests and my tsh levels are raised. I then called my endocrinologist who said my body is very sensitive to the littlest change in my thyroid hormones because from my last tests to these tests my free t4 only changed by 1/10. He is now prescribing me levothyroxine. I'm suppose to start tomorrow on a very small dose. He wants to see me in 3 months and he said this may be something that I have to monitor for the rest of my life if my body's going to be so sensitive to tiny hormones changes. Any advise for the hypo phase. Today marks one year to the date that I was in the emergency room fighting for my life because I was having a thyroid storm. I was hoping to be better by now but I'm not this is such a long process to recover. I'm still on a very small amount of atenolol for my heart rate. I go see a cardiologist for that on the 3 rd. I could really use some words of encouragement for this whole mess. I have a severe case of phobia when it comes to taking meds especially ones I haven't take. Is levothyroxine a relatively safe drug? My doctor said it is because it's a hormone my body makes naturally but I'm still having fears about taking them.

0 likes, 7 replies

7 Replies

  • madge1979
    madge1979 cheryl08343

    Posted

    Hi Cheryl

    I'm not clear at all on what your situation is now !

    It would be better if you were to get a fresh set of blood results .. or at least your latest results ... and print them on here ...in full Including figures in brackets to make clear your situation at present!

    If you had Thyroid storm a year ago ... how did you become HYPO ? With Carbimazole ?

    And .... is it your intention to become HYPO ... perhaps would it be more achievable to become Euthyroid .. i.e. ... balanced ... normal ... as I and many others here have achieved with designed achievement.... after Graves' disease

    It is very possible Cheryl and it really was not difficult for me to do , once I had done the research and bought myself a collection of vitamins , minerals and nutrients ... never mind a weird diet ... it's not necessary ...

    But ... the science behind it is simply to replace , in your case , all that your thyroid storm took from your ravaged body ..

    To replace it all is the answer

    And the place to start is ....

    within your GUT !

    As that is where 80% of your immune system lies ...

    So if you have not had vitamins tested I would advise you ask your dr. To do that for you .. so you know where to start

    B12

    D3 Plus K

    Magnesium

    Iron

    Vit C

    Zinc and Iron

    Are a few of those that thyroid patients are lacking and as soon as you start to replace them ... the sooner you will start to become normal again ...

    what do you have to lose ... nothing ... and you have ALL of your good health to regain if you start now ..

    Best of luck

    Luv mx🌹

  • linda187
    linda187 cheryl08343

    Posted

    I usually see a pattern of hyper to hypo in patients who have Hashimoto's thyroiditis or Graves and Hashimoto's thyroiditis.  In Graves disease, the antibodies attack the TSH receptors in the pituitary gland, in Hashimoto's the antibodies attack the thyroid gland directly making it extremely sensitive to either thyroid-blocking meds or thryoid replacement hormone.  By the way, the Levothyroxine that is prescribed is not identical to what your body produces, it is a synthetic T4.  So ask your doc to check you for both types of antibodies, i.e. either TBII or TRAb for Graves and anti-TPO and TGAb for Hashimoto's.  If it gets confirmed that you have Hashimoto's, you would do better regulating the excessive thyroid hormone with Regular L-Carnitine, which is an amino acid that the body normally produces but which gets depleted in patients who are hyperthyroid.  There was a lady who posted to the Board called Linnet and she suffered as you did but got her disease under control by using L-Carnitine and vitamin D.  Most thyroid patients are deficient in vitamin D as well so supplementing for any vitamin, mineral or amino acid deficiencies will aid in your recovery.  In addition, I agree with what Madge said.  I got all my values normalized when I undertook replacing vitamin, mineral and amino acid deficiencies in addition to taking a very small dose of Methimazole.  Once I got my TSH up into the normal range, my values have varied a little up or down but have remained within normal range now since 2009 and my antibodies are not detectable now.  So there is hope but you need to take responsibility to learn all about your disease and take positive actions to heal your body.  I know my Endo did not know about supplements but was pleased at my progress.  He took responsibility for adjusting my meds dose and I took responsibility for adjusting supplement dosages.

  • Guest
    Guest cheryl08343

    Posted

    Hi cheryl08343, from your previous posts I am gathering that you were diagnosed with Hashimoto's thyroiditis. Many patients with Hashimoto's go through an initial phase with elevated thyroxine values (or are oscillating between hyper and hypo) but eventually, the thyroxine output gradually reduces. 

    That is why your endocrinologist has recommended thyroxine replacement therapy.

    Now it is important to get the L-thyroxine dose right so that your thyroid values normalise again. That will mean blood tests every couple of months and dose adjustments. A good endocrinologist will also take into consideration how you feel on a specific L-thyroxine dose.  

    L-thyroxine is usually taken in the morning on an empty stomach to maximise absorption. Many Hashimoto's patients take L-thyroxine daily and lead a normal life.

       

     

  • cheryl08343
    cheryl08343

    Posted

    I was hyper last year and then I went normal and my normal level stayed normal even though I still had symptoms of hyper and then I started having symptoms of hypo now just recently I have labs and now they are showing that my TSH has risen my doctor put me on meds but I have not started taking them because it says do not take them with a beta blocker which I am on a beta blocker my Doctor is on vacation until the 17 th of July so I'm left guessing if I should take the meds with beta blockers. I did have my labs done and I was OK on everything but my vitamin D which I have been taking supplements of and now I am in the normal range with I also take multivitamins along with vitamin C and folic acid. No we did not purposely want me to go into hypo but my doctor said that it is sometimes common for people who were hyper to go to hypo after a while which he says is now happening

    • Guest
      Guest cheryl08343

      Posted

      Hi again, it was found that Propranolol decreases the conversion rate of 

      L-thyroxine (T4) to L-triiodothyronine (T3). (T4 is the prohormone, whereas T3 is the more active thyroid hormone with effect on the metabolism.)

      In other words, Propranolol makes the L-thyroxine that you are taking less effective. It might be that your doctor has already adjusted your L-thyroxine dose to take into consideration that you are taking Propranolol as well.

      The best thing to do is to ring your surgery and ask for advice. Most surgeries arrange for a locum if the doctor is on holiday. 

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