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Stressed and run down

Posted , 5 users are following.

lovelylady1602
lovelylady1602

Hi,

I've been diagnosed with hyperthyroidism for just over 6 months and am currently on carbimazole and propranolol.  I was feeling a lot better once I got the meds right.

I had some time off work about 2/3 months ago as I was feeling like I was at 'rock bottom'.  I got myself sorted and went back to my normal life. I am now starting to feel very stressed and run down. I'm getting cold sores etc which I only ever get when I'm very run down.  Is this part and parcel of life with a overactive thyroid?  I asked my doctor and he did say that as well as the thyroid issue reducing my immune system the carbimazole does too?!  What chance do I stand to lead a normal life if I'm feeling like this every few months?  I will say that my original symptoms are better but I'm left with this issue.

Does anyone one else have this problem?  How do you manage with it please?  

Thanks x

1 like, 13 replies

13 Replies

  • linda187
    linda187 lovelylady1602

    Posted

    It helps if you can post what your thyroid blood test results are. For me, when I was diagnosed my T3 and T4 were only slightly above normal but my TSH was less than 0.01 for two years After starting on 10 mg of methimazole, though my T3 and T4 returned to the middle of the normal range, my TSH remained at less than 0.01 for 2 years until I started on 1,000 mg of L-Carnitine and 1,000 mg of Acetyl-L-Carnitine. Then my TSH rose to the normal range and my eye symptoms lessened. Carnitine is an amino acid that is normally found in the body but gets depleted from the muscles of hyperthyroid patients through urine. It needs to be replaced. When I did this, I also got rid of my Graves antibodies and felt more normal. Your doctor will not know about this or endorse it. You can obtain the Carnitines through your health food store.
    • hope4cure
      hope4cure linda187

      Posted

      Hi Linda.

      Thanks for the reminder.

      I agree I take the same supplements. I heard about them on good ol dr Oz.

      great maintenance  dosage is different for everyone..... Ck with UR dr..

       

  • linda187
    linda187 lovelylady1602

    Posted

    PS. After starting on the Carnitines, I was able to reduce my Methimazole dose which I had not been able to do for the first 2 years.
  • glennis99709
    glennis99709 lovelylady1602

    Posted

    Hi

    I felt exactly as you do, I take 1000mg of vitamin C in water with a spoonful of manuka honey every day and if there are any nasty germs around the office particulary in the winter I increase the vit C to 2000mg. I've found this helps, I also take Vit D3, Co enzyme Q10 (these I have been taking for some time, before the thyroid was diagnosed) and I also take the L Carnitine as recommended by Linda, whether my TSH has increased I don't know, but it seems to help with the depression. it has taken me a year to convince my Doc that I should see the result of the TSH test, it is at 0.2 at the moment, described as being low on the thyroid chart. I have been told that I should take Zinc, but I find this makes me more hyperactive. Does anyone else out their have a problem with Carbimazole making you hyperactive. I'm told this is a result of the thyroid, but I wasn't like it before the Carbimazole; (only if I eat E numbers). I will admit to stopping taking the carbimazole when all the symptoms get too much, I leave it off until my body regulates itself and then start to take it again. Probably not advisable, but it works for me,

    • linda187
      linda187 glennis99709

      Posted

      Are you taking the regular L-Carnitine or acetyl-L-carnitine? I take both now. What I found for me was that the Acetyl at a dose of 1,000 mg along with Methimazole raises my TSH more and faster than the regular Carnitine alone.
  • stormfyre
    stormfyre lovelylady1602

    Posted

    I've found that different doctors say different things, because there's wildly varying levels of knowledge (and ignorance) about this disease within the medical community, with the majority of doctors (and specialists) relying on whatever they're told by drug company reps - so it pays to gain as much knowledge for yourself as you can, so you can make your own informed choices.

    In my instance, the longer I was on the meds, the worse the condition became and the biggest mistake I ever made was allowing a specialist to psychologically bully me into having RAI, which severely exacerbated the condition, not alleviated it.

    Since then, I took matters into my own hands because I had a kind of epiphany that nobody is ever going to care about my health, but me.

    That meant ceasing all meds, firing all doctors and specialists, totally overhauling my diet, drinking a lot of water every day, researching and investigating various herbs that might help, which I can use as teas, learning about natural foods, avoiding all the usual suspect stimulants, and keeping my life as stress-free as humanly possible....because I just can't afford a long list of supplements, so I'm relying solely on diet and nutrition.

    It was Hippocrates, after all, who admonished, "Leave your drugs in the chemist's post if you can heal the patient with food".

    My question (that no doctor or specialist has ever attempted to help me answer) has always been, "Why sent my body into this state of dis-ease? What's the root cause?" I believe that once I discover the answer, I'll also discover my own cure.

    In the meantime, I've lived through several thryoid storms in the 9 years I've had this disease and it's always boiled down to stress having been the main trigger (for me, anyway). Once I remove the stress, the symptoms settle down.

    I spoke with a clinical hypnotherapist a few years ago, who's husband, at that time, had had the disease for 15 years. She told me that she uses hypnotherapy weekly with him to help keep it under control. That might be something else to consider?

    • linda187
      linda187 stormfyre

      Posted

      I absolutely know that my Graves was caused by stress.  I had an abusive co-worker and the abuse went on for about 6 months before I was able to put a stop to it and my body's response was this autoimmune disease.  I have also had skin conditions due to stress.  I had a welt come out on my forehead which I know was due to stress and was autoimmune, and the only thing that cured it was cortisone scalp lotion rubbed on it daily until it went away.
  • stormfyre
    stormfyre lovelylady1602

    Posted

    Mine was also caused by workplace stress - I stood up to a deparmental head who was unashamedly bullying an elderly co-worker on a regular basis.

    Makes you wonder how many cases of this disease are caused by workplace situations.

    • linda187
      linda187 stormfyre

      Posted

      There's a lot of emphasis now placed on stopping workplace harrassment.  Really difficult thing to do.  Often it is the person being harrassed that needs to learn new assertiveness skills and sometimes it is just the set up of the company that needs to change to address this.  Also person feeling harrassed has to religiously document occurrences.
    • hope4cure
      hope4cure linda187

      Posted

      Linda hello,

      i agree with u. My sis works in Human Resourses for a major Iron corp. she has seen it all. Work place stress can cause not only stress but addictions.

      In my situation I was in a position where I was able to cut back on my hours. My blood level were crazy. My muscles were soooo weak, and a lot of that muscle tone did not come back, but I suppose my age doesn't help. I also, had that feeling of muscle tension as tight as a drum. The docs thought it might be a problem with my adrenal glands. It was as if my body would get a rush of adrenaline for no reason and I would spin like a top.

      Just plain old anxiety and panic was the result go the adrenalin rush. I have a high level of adrenalin and the dentist cannot add any to nimb my teeth or he will have to scrape me off the ceiling.

      In my opinion, there is not much of a mind/body connection when you are hyper. Sometimes, the body just seems to go off the rails, other times it's mind or moods. I try to stay MINDFULL and breath or meditate my way back to feeling batter.

      Essential oils like lavender and bergamot were the most helpful. I still put lavender oil on my pillow case every night. Aroma therapy is a great relaxer all the stress in my body just falls away. If you feel a lot of anxiety meditations helps me a lot too.

       I have a recipe from  Dr. Oz elixer that really helped me. Iodine is critical, but when I was severe hyper, I was put on a low/no iodine diet, rather than supplementing iodine. As long as you are going to the doctor, you may want to ask about that iodine levels. Magnesium is said to help with muscle cramps helps my legs at night.

      It really does sound like you are getting on the right side of this. Being hyper is one thing, but thyroiditis is quite another. I always said that I felt like my body was taken over by aliens.

      Good Luck 

      HOPEconfused

        

    • linda187
      linda187 hope4cure

      Posted

      The muscle problems are probably due to the Carnitine that was lost from your muscles during the worst part of your disease.  That's why people with hyperthyroidism feel better when they take L-Carnitine for replacement.  Your relaxation techniques, i.e. lavender oil on your pillow, etc. sound excellent as well.
    • hope4cure
      hope4cure linda187

      Posted

      Hi Linda..

      try it i... I guarantee  u will float off into a peaceful place.even candel turn up the olfactory. I like to use my iPod ear phones listen to my fav tunes.

      HOPE biggrin

  • acd
    acd lovelylady1602

    Posted

    Hi all

    I totally with you Stormfyre on needing to take control of your own health, and yes the docs & so called specialists do not know it all.

    I am trying to put my Graves into remission by using natural treatment methods, this is not easy & I am yet to see some visible results but I'm certainly not giving up & truly believe I am still doing the right thing.

    So my advice to anyone is research as much as you can it will empower you, remember its not your thyroid that is broken its your immune system not functioniing correctly not that any endo or doc will be interested in getting to the route cause of your problems.

    Out of interest has anyone heard about treating Graves with Low Dose Naltrexone?  This is a littke known drug that can help to calm your immune system & has been used to successfully treat many auto immune problems including Graves, MS, rheumatoid arthritis, crohns disease, lupus, etc etc, the list is very long!  Whilst I know this is not a natural treatment I believe it may help me on a temporary basis to calm everything down.  The drug is used in very small doses with minimal side effects.  The drug companies are not interested in funding any research because they would see little benefit as the drug is very low cost, another example of who holds the power!  Have a look if it is of interest, LDN.

    I hope you all find a way to get better soon.

    Regards

    Ann

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