# Question about hyperthyroid



## MrsLabrat (Nov 19, 2011)

What all symptoms do you have or had ?


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## miguel (Jul 18, 2011)

These were my symptoms:

Increased appetite
Weight loss
Excessive sweating
Heat intolerance
Tolerance to cold
Despair
Difficulty swallowing
Fatigue
Difficulty concentrating
Tremor
Headaches
Weakness
Tachycardia
High Blood Pressure
Depression
Nervousness

Is pleasant feel normal again.


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## MrsLabrat (Nov 19, 2011)

Can you tell me what your labs were when they diagnosed you?? And how long did you have these symptoms before you got help??


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## nikkij0814 (Jul 13, 2011)

My TSH was .002, and it has taken almost a YEAR to get it ironed out. So, if it takes a while, try not to lose hope.

My symptoms were:

***Anxiety
Anxiety alternated with depression
Hair falling out
Tremors
Shortness of breath
Insomnia
Chest pain
Dry skin
Weight loss
Lack of appetite
Nausea
Hopelessness
Phases of being really "out of it"
Complete and utter lack of concentration
Body aches
Emotionally unstable - crying all the time, alternating with being kind of okay

That's what comes to mind ... I had a list about 2 columns long I kept calling my doctor with. It was awful, awful, awful. Now that I'm feeling better I feel almost like I've practically blocked it all out. Strange, really...


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## MrsLabrat (Nov 19, 2011)

Those are also my symptoms along with cold feet and hands. A hot face at times and feeling off balance. The one that bothers me the most is the rapid heart beat. The anxiety attacks and just wanting this to Ho away so I can feel myself again. 
What did you have and what caused it? Did u take meds and have they helped?


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## miguel (Jul 18, 2011)

MrsLabrat said:


> Can you tell me what your labs were when they diagnosed you?? And how long did you have these symptoms before you got help??


Graves' began in the fall of 2008, the first symptoms that I felt was an increase of appetite, feeling hot and mood swings. The summer of 2010 was horrible, I could not stand the heat and I always felt desperate. I was diagnosed with a thyroid panel, my endo never run an antibody test. In November I began to receive medical attention, my endo put me on Tapazol 20mg and 60mg Propranolol (20 mg three times a day) , I really felt much better, except for the loss of hair.

When my treatment started my goiter was not noticeable, except for the bulging eyes. In June 2011 was stabilized my hormone levels (45 mg of Tapazol), but my goiter grew so much and my endo decided that I should have surgery. The pathologist showed me the gland (like a liver) was a disaster. The gland weight 505 gm. Anyone know why my goiter grew so much?


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## I DClaire (Jul 31, 2011)

Rapid heartbeat was the initial symptom that sent me to the doctor app. 3 years ago. One Sunday I was eating out with my family when, out of nowhere, my heart started racing so fast I could barely swallow. A day or two later there was a minor emergency at my home and I honestly thought I was going to have a heart attack plus it was hot and humid and the air felt like it was so heavy I couldn't breathe. I didn't know what was happening but I did know something wasn't right.

My first tests indicated I was hyperthyroid but the doctor I was seeing back then said not to worry, that most women enjoy being slightly hyperthyroid, and we'd re-do the tests in 6 months. Six months later a couple of tiny nodules on my first ultrasound had grown and more were visible, though very small. I felt horrible, I had every symptom miguel and nikky0814 mentioned, but my internist still acted like I had nothing at all, she said my real problem was depression and prescribed Cymbalta.

A few weeks later I insisted on a referral to an endocrinologist and got an appointment with another doctor in this same practice who ordered more tests...then as flippantly as a person could speak said, "Well...I don't know. It could be Graves or it could be Hashimotos...I don't really know but I think you're just depressed."

More time passed. Finally, I went back to my internist and demanded a referral to see another endocrinologist in a nearby town I'd heard about. I had to wait probably three months before I finally got to see her but 5 minutes later I knew she would help me. I took Methamazole (?) for several months and it made me "biochemically normal" but I felt so bad I just did not know what to do so I asked about having surgery? The endocrinologist supported the idea and I had my thyroid removed on September 23 - the surgeon found it "filled" with nodules, cysts and a tiny cancer and it was three times bigger than it should have been. All those months and years of tests every six months and the surgeon was _surprised!_

I do not remember ever having cold hands and cold feet but I'll never forget how totally heat intollerant I was. I'd try to walk my dog at daybreak and I felt like I would not be able to survive being outside for 30 minutes. I could not bear any sun. I kept our A/C running 24/7!!

I very, very much have been bothered by a sense of poor coordination/balance, shakiness/jittery, mental/emotional symptoms too numerous to list. Thyroid imbalance can turn your world upside-down...and some people are woefully more sensitive to it's problems than others. My endocrinologist says she thinks I'm more sensitive than most patients but that I'm definitely not alone. Right now I'm having a hard time getting my thyroid hormone replacement right but I've about come to the conclusion that if I've survived what I've already been through, I'll get this last hurdle behind me sooner or later.

Good luck. Nobody understands more than I do what a lonesome battle you're fighting right now. Everything that has anything to do with thyroid disease seems to be complicated and sometimes I can't help thinking good thyroid doctors are few and far between.


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## webster2 (May 19, 2011)

I think the first thing I really noticed was insomnia. When the others got going, it was fluffed off as menopause. The worst symptom was the mood swings, absolutely horrible. I thought I was insane, and I am sure others might have felt that way too.


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## I DClaire (Jul 31, 2011)

webster2 said:


> I think the first thing I really noticed was insomnia. When the others got going, it was fluffed off as menopause. The worst symptom was the mood swings, absolutely horrible. I thought I was insane, and I am sure others might have felt that way too.


I never thought about insomnia but only recently have I been sleeping normally after years of such sleep deprivation that one of the doctors I've seen during the past 3 years actually suggested insomnia could have triggered and/or played a part in the development of my hyperthyroid problems.

This same doctor (though I can't remember exactly how she explained it) said there are maybe more receptors in the brain that can be affected by thyroid imbalances than any other part of the body. After I went to bed last night I was still thinking about this thread and remembered back to the time when I honestly felt so bad - not only physically but mentally and emotionally - I felt like the day was fast approaching when I would not be well enough to keep trying to find answers...and I've often wondered if that's not what happens to a lot of people with undiagnosed thyroid problems who end-up in mental hospitals or drugged to the point where their mental/emotional symptoms totally engulf them?

In many respects, finding this online community changed my life - for too long I thought I was going insane and if it hadn't been for my endocrinologist and the support and information I found here that many times alerted me to questions to ask her, I'd probably still be feeling like life was slipping away from me due to crazy symptoms I didn't know how to understand myself much less discuss.


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## webster2 (May 19, 2011)

I know I would still be thinking I was a candidate for the loony bin, if I had not found this community. I think a lot of people end up being treated for depression, and that is as far as it gets for some, and they never really feel better. My heart breaks for them.

So, in my "real life" world I have become some what of an advocate for thyroid issues. If someone mentions that they are not feeling well, or have vague symptoms, I always ask if their thyroid has been checked, and give them a list of tests beyond TSH that they might want to ask to have done.

A library patron asked me about Graves disease last week because she knew I had it. Her doctor feels she may too. It is nice not to feel alone, and this board sure helped with that!


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## MrsLabrat (Nov 19, 2011)

My labs keep coming back very normal but last month it showed TSI at 92%. I can't help but wonder if all my symptoms are related to this or that my ferritin is at 14. It says it can cause rapid heartbeat too. What should I do??? I need help. I have seen 2 endos and my pcp and none of them are concerned.


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## curious (Nov 21, 2011)

MrsLabrat said:


> My labs keep coming back very normal but last month it showed TSI at 92%. I can't help but wonder if all my symptoms are related to this or that my ferritin is at 14. It says it can cause rapid heartbeat too. What should I do??? I need help. I have seen 2 endos and my pcp and none of them are concerned.


I feel for you. I'm still in the middle of diagnosis myself. I got borderline hyperthyroid-normal levels so I am still finding out what is causing my symptoms. When you have normal levels doctors might blow you off, or chalk it up to anxiety (which ironically can be caused by thyroid disorders).

Did your doctors explain why they were not concerned? If they're just blowing you off I'd find a new set of doctors. Make sure to ask a ton of questions every time you go in.


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