# Male 48 needs help!



## foosfos (Oct 17, 2010)

This past year has been tough. One night I started getting really claustraphopic in my own home. I went to the doctor. He said I had anxiety and gave me some zanax which helped, but my blood test showed my thyroid levels were off. My TSH was 6.48 with range 0.4 to 4.0., T-4 Free 0.61 range 0.70-1.48. The thyroid meds made me feel worse. Which was called levothroid .50mcg. 6 months later my last test was TSH 8.29 range 0.35 to 4.00uiu/ml and T-4 Free 0.80 range 0.81-1.54 ng/dl. I asked my doctor for something natural and was put on Armour throid. Once I stopped taking the Levothroid to take the Armour Throid I noticed that I was feeling great. I then started taking the Armour Throid and now after the about 2 weeks I am starting to feel the symptoms I felt with the first medicine. So I stopped for a couple of days and am feeling better again but, I notice I was getting tired alittle quicker. The systems are some various pains in my chest but ekg was good and what feels like a ghost on the left side of my neck and my ears clog up like I am sitting on the bottom of a deep swimming pool. I still take about a half pill of the zanax a day to keep my anxiety down. But' I don't know what to do and am helping for any advice. Thanks alot!


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

foosfos said:


> This past year has been tough. One night I started getting really claustraphopic in my own home. I went to the doctor. He said I had anxiety and gave me some zanax which helped, but my blood test showed my thyroid levels were off. My TSH was 6.48 with range 0.4 to 4.0., T-4 Free 0.61 range 0.70-1.48. The thyroid meds made me feel worse. Which was called levothroid .50mcg. 6 months later my last test was TSH 8.29 range 0.35 to 4.00uiu/ml and T-4 Free 0.80 range 0.81-1.54 ng/dl. I asked my doctor for something natural and was put on Armour throid. Once I stopped taking the Levothroid to take the Armour Throid I noticed that I was feeling great. I then started taking the Armour Throid and now after the about 2 weeks I am starting to feel the symptoms I felt with the first medicine. So I stopped for a couple of days and am feeling better again but, I notice I was getting tired alittle quicker. The systems are some various pains in my chest but ekg was good and what feels like a ghost on the left side of my neck and my ears clog up like I am sitting on the bottom of a deep swimming pool. I still take about a half pill of the zanax a day to keep my anxiety down. But' I don't know what to do and am helping for any advice. Thanks alot!


Hi and welcome. Sorry to hear you are feeling so bad. When titrating the thyroid med, sometimes you don't feel so good at certain levels. That is why it is important to stay the course and get labs every 8 weeks so the doctor can titrate either up or down as needed until you feel well. This is called the euthyroid state.

Stopping and starting your meds is a huge disservice to yourself. What is the current dose of Armour that you have been Rx'd?


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## foosfos (Oct 17, 2010)

1/2 grain, 30mg on the Armour thyroid.


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

foosfos said:


> 1/2 grain, 30mg on the Armour thyroid.


That is a low dose which is the appropriate "starting" dose. Have you been on this dose 8 weeks?

I am a very active 68 year old female and I am on 3 1/2 grains daily but I did not start on that. Like you, I started on half grain, got labs every 8 weeks and so on.

Also, have you had any antibodies' tests such as below?

TSI (thyroid stimulating immunoglobulin),TPO (antimicrosomal antibodies) TBII (thyrotropin-binding inhibitory immunoglobulin), Thyroglobulin Ab, ANA (antinuclear antibodies), (thyroid hormone panel) TSH, Free T3, Free T4.

You can look this stuff up here and more.........
http://www.labtestsonline.org/unders...s/thyroid.html

By the way, we do have men here but the forum is rather quiet on Sunday. So, I know you will get other responses.


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## midgetmaid (Jul 22, 2010)

My husband is 48 and hypothyroid, also. One of his symptoms is anxiety. He's found that he has to cut the starting dose in half for a few days or even a week, then take full dose one day, 1/2 dose next. He works up to the full dose slowly, and does the same with a dose increase.

He's also low on testosterone, and gets a shot once a month. The two conditions often occur together, but we had to ask for the test.

Renee


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## foosfos (Oct 17, 2010)

I did have a t4 test. The rest of my blood test did not contain any of these that you listed. I did have a complete cbc done and all were normal. Its tough trying to talk to someone who seems to not understand what your feeling.


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## foosfos (Oct 17, 2010)

Thanks for letting me know theres more men here. What dose is your husband on? And does he feel better in the afternoon or at night when he takes the med in the morning? Also, does he drink coffee? For some reason I've had to quit coffee and he would like for me to quit the nicotine gum. I use to smoke but doc says he would like for me to get off the gum. Don't know what that has to do with my thyroid but I have slowed down though, and the anxiety got worse. I was wondering if I was having withdraw syptoms from the coffee and the gum. I don't really like taking zanax for anxiety. Leaves me cloudy in the mind. Is there other natural solutions available that has no side affects?


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## chopper (Mar 4, 2007)

Hey foos...Im a 40 year old male....same deal...low testosterone, low thyroid, lots and lots of anxiety. I happen to have high TSI and high Hashi's antibodies, TPO and TG.

Have you ever been tested for TSI (Thyroid Stimulating Immunoglobulins)? To me, TSI is the anxiety antibody. When my TSI goes down Im as cool as a cucumber but when its high as it normally is, I crawl out of my skin. You should get that tested. Like you, I cannot take meds either which is why I have been screwed up for almost 8 years now. I tried Synthroid a few times and thought I was going to have a stroke. Now Im pursuing getting my thyroid ripped out. Once I get surgery and have no thyroid I'll be able to take meds and be normal again - no more skin crawling.

I don't think its a matter of going nuts either. I guess its always a possibility but I've always been a real guy's guy sort of dude - drag raced cars, drank lots of beer, like guns and hunting and football and stuff but once my thyroid started acting up I started getting over nervous about everything. I too have had tons of scripts for Xanax but I just feel its useless. If I want to mellow out I can go back to drinking and pound down a half liter of vodka. I prefer to actually get the problem fixed somehow than use drugs to mask what's really going on.

With that said, I'll bet you end up with high TSI and that will be the culprit of your frazzled nerves. I know for sure it is for me.


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## CA-Lynn (Apr 29, 2010)

Foosfos,

What's the status on the anxiety attacks?

Also, I'm one of those people who has to start any new med at a low dose and gradually work up. My body goes into ballistic mode if something is given to me at full dose the first time.


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## chopper (Mar 4, 2007)

PS....read this piece I wrote and see if it's got your name on it:

http://www.thyroidboards.com/hashitoxicosis


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## CA-Lynn (Apr 29, 2010)

It has MY name on it.....for two years now. EXCEPT that I don't get the heart palpitations or perceive any of the changes you mention, Phil. It's just my lab work that is like a yo-yo.

I was a nice stable Hashi patient for 17 years before I jumped into yo-yo-ville. And I blame it all on the Tdap booster shot I received. It rocked my world.


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## chopper (Mar 4, 2007)

So Lynn, you FEEL stable but your labs are all over the place? That's interesting. For me, my labs have been around the same exact place for nearly 8 years now yet I get these crazy-ass spikes and valleys. One minute Im totally ramped up and the next Im down in the dumps. If my thyroid wasn't broke I would swear I was bi-polar. The heart palps are one of the worst things for me. I simply hate them. Sometimes I wish something would just "break" and be off the charts already so I can hopefully get fixed but no, my labs just sit there around the same area always - except TSH. My TSH goes from 5.5 to 22 and back.


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## foosfos (Oct 17, 2010)

Okay, first things first. I am going to have more blood test done and have them do all the test everyone has recommended, Hopefully once I have accomplished that. I'll be able to show everytone the results. I'm sure we've all been there.
And to Ca-Lynn the anxiety goes away when I take the zanax but if I didn't, I would say they are mostly mild. Sometimes they really get to me but I take a quarter of a zanax before they increase in size.
Want you all to know I appreciate hearing about your problems too. They seem to make my world not so small. They should have found a better cure than the meds they have.


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## CA-Lynn (Apr 29, 2010)

Foosfos,

I'm not trying to pry, but have you discovered the source of your anxiety? And if so, what are you doing about it?

I don't know if this is the case for you, but far too many doctors hand out Xanax for anxiety like they are M&M's without determining the cause of the anxiety and working towards rectifying it. In the end this does no patient any good.


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## CA-Lynn (Apr 29, 2010)

Phil,

My mood is stable regardless of which way the meter is running. I think what confounds the issue is that I have multiple autoimmune diseases and they all drain my energy. So if I were hyperthyroid, I'm probably not likely to feel it because the other diseases tend to override any thyroid symptomology.


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

midgetmaid said:


> My husband is 48 and hypothyroid, also. One of his symptoms is anxiety. He's found that he has to cut the starting dose in half for a few days or even a week, then take full dose one day, 1/2 dose next. He works up to the full dose slowly, and does the same with a dose increase.
> 
> He's also low on testosterone, and gets a shot once a month. The two conditions often occur together, but we had to ask for the test.
> 
> Renee


Husband should get ferritin checked if he has not done so. Let me know.


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## foosfos (Oct 17, 2010)

Ca-Lynn no we haven't figured out the anxiety yet but my doctor would like for me to see a psychologist {don't know if I spelled that right}. I just don't know if that would help. Don't like telling other people my problems. Can your thyroid cause anxiety?


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## midgetmaid (Jul 22, 2010)

Yes, an out-of-whack thyroid can cause anxiety. My husband's is much improved as his thyroid levels come closer to euthyroid. Anxiety occurs with hypothyroidism in some people who never had it before.

Renee


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