Thyroid, peri or just dying?
Posted , 17 users are following.
I have been experiencing symptoms of what I thought was perimenopause since around March or April of this year. Since that time I have had pretty consistent night sweats and sometimes very definite hot flashes but only very in early in the morning between 5 and 7 AM. panic attacks/anxiety/dread every day esp in morning. No hot flashes during the day. I also became hypothyroid from Hashimoto’s for the first time after Suffering from Graves’ disease flareups in my 20s and 30s. Over the last six months my period for the first time has become irregular even skipping one and the rest arriving every three weeks instead of 30-32 days. I was convinced this all was peri but my endocrinologost called me and said my labs show "I have the ovaries of a 20-year-old" (I'm 47!) and my FSH is 5.
My TSH is 5 but not as bad as it was last year when it was 12. I still have a goiter with 4 nodules which the levothyroxine is not helping go down. Biopsy was negative thank God. Feels like there’s a lump in my throat and neck every day and the sensation is quite painful. fatigue getting worse. horrible allergies and sinus problems too. ENT sick of seeing me.
obviously I am very worried that my night sweats and other symptoms mean I have some sort of cancer since the labs indicate I am nowhere near perimenopause. My other lab work results were normal except for my prolactin which was high which is supposedly from my thyroid also. Can anybody make sense of all of this? anyone had night sweats etc but normal hormone tests?
2 likes, 24 replies
Belinda1971 andrea05399
Posted
I have experienced the sweats, hot flashes, doom, emotional rollercoaster and changes to the length and sched of my periods. I also had normal hormone tests with no drop in levels. I am 47 also. There have been plenty of times I let the idea that it could be some deadly disease creep into my mind when I am at my lowest and experiencing pain. I
Guest andrea05399
Posted
I was told many times i was nowhere near meno, even though i was early 50s and my cycles were changing and i had so many symptoms and was convinced i had something fatal. The same endocrinologist tested me recently and now announced i was full meno. Got my period soon after.
So I say, if you are having changes in your cycle and exhibiting symptoms than it's most likely for sure perimeno causing everything including the hashimotos issues.
andrea05399
Edited
thank you ladies for responding. so many symptoms and so tired of being scared all the time. its exhausting. ❤ doctors look at me and say nope! you are too young for symptoms! which makes me feel like even more of a nutcase 😃
Belinda1971 andrea05399
Posted
you are not too young. Women in their 30s can show symptoms of peri. I began to have night sweats at age 41. By 44 my periods were heavy and unpredictable. My dr never mentioned peri once after going in multiple times for one ailment after another. I would say you are in peri.
sara97862 Belinda1971
Posted
I can second this. I was mid-30's when I started feeling like I was going through puberty again... mostly headaches, acne and nausea back then. I always chalked it up to stress, working too many hours, etc.
Even after it took 3 years to conceive our child, it didn't really click that I might be approaching menopause.
I am 48 now, and now it's obvious... periods are all over the place. Hot flashes. Anxiety through the roof. In addition to the acne and tummy issues and headaches.
My old gyno told me just last year I was too young, but my gp has told me many times "gals my age" have these issues well before they actually reach meno... it's like puberty but in reverse. 😡
I also have the lump in throat feeling, and my allergies have been the worst in my life over the past several springs/summers... waking me up at night when the flashes don't do it first.
It sounds like peri to me, but get tests for other things if you need reassurance. No harm in getting that confirmation nothing sinister is going on.
Take care, and hugs!!
Sara
andrea05399 sara97862
Posted
Like many of the ladies on here I’ve had just about every MRI and CAT scan of every part of my body. I have a mechanical issue with my cervical spine which will have to be dealt with at some point but is stable. Went to the emergency room in August because I felt like collapsing. Turned out to be a panic attack. ER doctor said my blood work looked better than his (he was youngish). embarrassing!! but no matter how I try to reassure myself I’m still convinced I’m dying. i have just always been so healthy and energetic and this whole insomnia/hot flashes/migraines/thyroid/anxiety thing is making me feel like a sick person.
Belinda1971 sara97862
Posted
Its a bit strange that a gyno would say you are too young. Of all the specialty medicines, you would think the gyno would recognise peri.
sara97862 andrea05399
Posted
I am so with you, Andrea!! I can't seem to find my balance point for more than a day or two no matter what I do. I have historically been confident and adventurous and happy-go-lucky. These days, I just want to stay in, but I can't really settle to anything when I do, because I feel so 'yuck' so often.
I miss my confidence and faith that my body can handle things, so much.
Sorry to hear it seems similar for you too... am grateful for your story, and am here to vent if you need.
Take care!!
sara97862 Belinda1971
Posted
That's what I thought too!! I had been seeing her for years, she knew my history, she delivered my child.
But when it came to the ups and downs of peri, there wasn't much she was able to offer...
I recently saw a new gyno... first visit was good. Typical exams etc. I go back in a couple of weeks for follow up.
Fingers crossed.
vicky77852 andrea05399
Posted
It sounds like peri to me. Blood tests aren't accurate during peri due to hormonal changes. Ask for help and find someone who knows! 😃
AJacynM andrea05399
Posted
I am 46 and started going through all of this at 40ish. Blood tests were normal... until one day I went and suddenly they weren't... i was in full meno. Then... the next time I had bloods they were normal again! This went on a while and my doctor said that hormones can change throughout the day greatly so aren't the perfect way to diagnose meno or not and that going off symptoms is a better way?!
I've now been on HRT for over a year and still feel totally crap plus its getting worse... no hot sweats now but ache everywhere, no energy at all, feel anxious all the time, can't think straight as I'm so tired, I've started to itch everywhere and now have really bad heartburn all the time... it truly is awful and i too am wondering if I'm just slowly dying!! It's dreadful... I hope you feel and get relief soon.
xx
staci88515 andrea05399
Edited
My blood work was normal too. My obgyn was not convinced I was perimenopausal (nearly 44). However, she did say that you don't need a huge imbalance to have symptoms. She said it just has to be an imbalance for you. Many women think it is the loss of estrogen that causes all the symptoms, but it is the imbalance related to progesterone. You can have normal estradiol levels, but if your progesterone level is low, there is an imbalance. Even if both levels are normal, it might not be the normal balance for you.
Clare1971 andrea05399
Posted
HI Andrea your TSH is high and you say you have hashimotos , have you tried a gluten free diet , i have been gluten , wheat ,rye and barley free for over a year now and feel so much better , although i suffer peri symptoms as in heart palpatation anxiety mood swings list goes on i dont have the stomach ache or bloating any more or the headaches
andrea05399 Clare1971
Posted
thank you! I thought Hashimoto’s was just regulated with medication and that diet wasn’t really part of it. But I just went to the grocery store and bought everything gluten-free! At this point I’m willing to try anything to feel better
lucy48229 andrea05399
Posted
Hi Andrea,
So sorry that you are so suffered! I had almost the same symptoms you have. My throat is painful and clogged.And I have more than 4 nodules in my thyroid. I had hyperthyroidism last year, but my blood work came back normal. In the end, it was found I had functional hyperthyroidism by checking iodine uptake. If your TSH is 5, you may have hypo. But when you have hypo, the doctor would not order iodine uptake for you to check if you are in functional hypo. Because my blood work was fine, I did not get any treatment. I found some herbs in Amazon to help control my symptoms.