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I've been lightheaded for 4 weeks now. Hypothyroid with Hashimoto's but recently turned hyperthyroid

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latoyahughes
latoyahughes

Hi everyone. I was diagnosed with hypothyroid about 4 years ago along with having hashimoto's. In July of this year my TSH levels decided to go crazy and put me in the hyperthyroid status. (Last check was 6 weeks ago and they were .050) They put my on a dose of 150 mcg daily. I've never had issues until July. I have anxiety and panic attacks now for now reason, my endo & pcm are telling me it's because of my tsh levels being off. For the past 4 weeks or so I have been dealing with lightheadedness and being dizzy on a daily basis, some days are so bad I can't even get out of bed. Could this be a symptom of being so hyperthyroid right now? I'm trying to do research myself and figure out what's going on. I've had ct scans and an mri all of which came back fine. I'm currently waiting for my appointment with a neurologist(can't get in until Mid-January). 

Has anyone dealt with this before? What did you do to help?

I sometimes take Meclizine and Phenergan to help with the dizziness. I've also tried taking Benadryl. Nothing I've tried has gotten rid of it completely, just manageable. 

Thanks.

0 likes, 17 replies

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  • Guest
    Guest latoyahughes

    Posted

    Hi, it is not clear what you mean by They put me on a dose of 150 mcg daily. Are you referring to anti-thyroid medication? Do you happen to know your FT4 and/or FT3 values? 

    • latoyahughes
      latoyahughes Guest

      Posted

      I've been taking Tirosint for my thyroids for about 2 years now. My current dose is 150 mcg daily. I don't know my current values. I just had labs drawn this afternoon to check them. I've been on the 150 dose for 6 weeks. I will post my levels as soon as they are posted on my charts. 

  • Mike61308
    Mike61308 latoyahughes

    Posted

    Hi Latoya,  What kind of med (150 mcg) you have been taking for 4 years? Still taking now? Sounds you are in hyper now. What are your T4 T3 numbers? When your "endo & pcm are telling me it's because of my TSH levels being off", did they say anything about changing med dose?  (Only) I think you are over-medicated that now your thyroid level becomes too high? Can you ask your endo or pcm to lower your med dose? 

    • latoyahughes
      latoyahughes Mike61308

      Posted

      I was taking 175 mcg of the Tirosint for a while, then my labs went the other way so she upped them to 200 mcg. Then she took me back down to 175 for 6 weeks, after those TSH labs were still super low she took me down to 150 and that's what I've been on for the past 6 weeks. I just had labs drawn today to check my TSH, T3 and T4. I have recently asked to be switched to Synthroid. My endo won't change my dose until I stay on the current one for at least 6 weeks, which I find strange. I've been complaining of being light headed for a long while now and she still won't do anything until I had these labs drawn today. Also, can you tell me if being hyper will cause panic/anxiety attacks? I've never had them until my levels started going crazy and now I'm on a low dose of Xanax every day to help keep them manageable. 

    • Mike61308
      Mike61308 latoyahughes

      Posted

      Yes, before and after I was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism/graves disease I suffered serious panic, anxiety, and some depression symptoms. It was terrible, but doctors seemed to pay little attention. I hope you get test result and switch to natural thyroid hormone (low dose) for better.
    • Mike61308
      Mike61308 latoyahughes

      Posted

      Welcome. I am actually in euthyroid now for about one month. Those bad mental symptoms are long gone. GL
  • linda187
    linda187 latoyahughes

    Posted

    I have seen postings on this Board from people who have Hashimoto's and the pattern seems to be when they are on Methimazole for hyperthyroid, they go hypothyroid very quickly and when they are hypo and are given levothyroxine they go hyper.  One lady posted to this Board about this (Linnet).  She got stabilized by treating her disease with Regular L-Carnitine, 3,000 mg.  For some reason, because the problem lies in the actual thyroid gland being attacked by autoimmune antibodies rather than the TSH receptors as in Graves disease, the gland is too sensitive to prescription medications.  She posted her story on this Board.  Perhaps you can find it though it was quite some time ago.  I am so happy she stabilized and was able to get a good doctor who worked well with her.

    • latoyahughes
      latoyahughes linda187

      Posted

      Thank you. I'll try to look in to that. I was actually reading about L-Carnitine this morning, but didn't get too far in to it. I'll definitely look more in to it in the morning. 

  • latoyahughes
    latoyahughes

    Posted

    Update:: My labs came back from yesterday 

    THS.. .090

    T3... 140

    T4...  .97

    My endo is switching me from Tirosint to Synthroid per my request and lowering my dose to 137. The dosing seems like an odd number to me, but all of this is still confusing to me..

    Any suggestions or advice?

    Has anyone switched from Tirosint to Synthroid before?

    Thanks!!

    • linda187
      linda187 latoyahughes

      Posted

      You need to post the ranges for normal in your lab for each test along with your actual results as these differ from lab to lab.  Otherwise, we can't properly comment.  For instance all your levels seem high to me and I wouldn't take thyroid hormone replacement if my values were high.

    • latoyahughes
      latoyahughes linda187

      Posted

      Standard range for TSH 0.340 - 4.820 uIU/mL (MIne .090 uiU/mL)

      Standard range for T3, Total  60 - 181 ng/dL (Mine 140 ng/dL)

       Standard range for T4 Free  0.77 - 1.61 ng/dL (Mine 0.97 ng/dL)

      These are the ranges for my endo's lab

       

      Didn't realize they would be different. Hope this helps.

    • Guest
      Guest latoyahughes

      Posted

      Tirosint and Synthroid differ only as far as the inactive ingredients go.

      Tirosint is a capsule containing T4 and gelatin, glycerin, and water.

      Synthroid is a tablet and contains T4, acacia, confectioner's sugar (contains corn starch), lactose monohydrate, magnesium stearate, povidone, talc, as well as colour additives.

      Both preparations are available as a 137 mcg dose.

      There could be a difference with respect to the speed of absorption. Hope you are doing better taking the new supplements and the reduced daily dose. Would be great if you could post an update after you tried Synthroid.  

    • Mike61308
      Mike61308 latoyahughes

      Posted

      I can understand that you request lowering dose, but switch from Tirosint to Synthroid? Why? Usually, it's the way of switching from Syn to Tiros to improve absorption and lessen symptoms (as I know of). According to your test result, T4 and T3 are in the range, only TSH down too low like in the subclinical hyper situation? In some cases, hypo patients can face difficulty finding the right dose of thyroid med. But then, some people report that they quickly get the right dose and keep it for a long time without life interference. Hope you the same.

    • latoyahughes
      latoyahughes Guest

      Posted

      Thank you. Of course, I'll be sure to keep everyone updated on my progress. I will start to new dose in the morning. 

    • latoyahughes
      latoyahughes Mike61308

      Posted

      I hope they are getting close to finding my right dose. The mental issues that come along with low tsh levels are hard to deal with on a daily basis. I have several family members taking Synthroid so I thought it would be a good idea to try it considering they have had long term success with it. 

       

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