# Symptoms after a PT



## Eliza79 (Jul 23, 2013)

I had a PT a little over 3 weeks ago to remove what turned out to be a benign hurthle cell adenoma. Other than feeling daily hot flashes and fatigue, especially in the afternoons, my recovery has been going well and I actually started jogging again last week. I am not on any meds, other than vitamins.

Here is my question: For the past three nights I have been unable to sleep due to night sweats, a racing heart, and a feeling of anxiety. I am tired but when I try to sleep I end up tossing and turning for hours. If I do fall asleep, I will wake up suddenly covered in sweat. This seems more like a symptom of hyperthyroidism, which does not make sense in my case since I only have 1/2 a thyroid left and I am not losing weight or full of nervous energy. During the day I am abnormally tired but try to ignore it and go about my daily activities. I've also noticed some mild hair loss lately.

Is it possible that my symptoms are a result of fluctuating thyroid levels? I know I am supposed to wait 2-3 more weeks before being tested again but dread being unable to sleep every night while I wait for things to stabilize or find that I need thyroid replacement.

Any thoughts or comments would help. There is not much info about life after a PT out there.


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## melissafitz (May 5, 2013)

Ugh, I have been getting night sweats for the past year or so, and I know it is not pleasant. In my case, I think it's been perimenopause, but I'm sure someone here will be able to speak to the thyroid connection.

Good for you for starting jogging again! That is great!

I hope you will find some answers, and especially start getting a good nights sleep soon!


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## Lovlkn (Dec 20, 2009)

Go see your doctor and ask for the labs to be run now.

You are symptomatic - something is up and it's likely your body needing some replacment


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## KarenB (Jul 19, 2013)

Eliza, I didn't have any of those symptoms after my PT, but I did immediately after my CT. I have read that the trauma of the surgery can cause your thyroid to 'dump' hormone into your system - maybe this is what's going on? It sounds to me like you're definitely hyper - the 'wiped and wired' feeling is something I am familiar with! Hopefully after some time it will ease up for you.


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## joplin1975 (Jul 21, 2011)

Lovlkn said:


> Go see your doctor and ask for the labs to be run now.
> 
> You are symptomatic - something is up and it's likely your body needing some replacment


This.

It's not a symptom exclusively tied to hyper. I had a TSH of 121 and had the exact same symptoms. It took about eight months to resolve the issue. If I had called my doctor sooner, my quality of life would have been much, much better.


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## Lovlkn (Dec 20, 2009)

Request they run your FT-4 and FT-3 to see what's happening. TSH is useless for dosing, can lag 6 weeks and also be impacted by antibodies.


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## catherinelyn (Jul 17, 2013)

Hi Eliza,

I am 2 weeks post PT. My heart rate and B/P were up since surgery along with sweating an horrible night sweats. Those seem to be quieting down a bit but now I'm having anxiety and more trouble sleeping and fatigue seems to be getting worse each day. Are you on thyroid replacement meds? I'm on the same dose I was on pre-surgery. Labs are not due to be drawn for a couple more weeks.


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## toddsgal (Aug 16, 2013)

Eliza I too am nearly 3 weeks post-op and I'm dealing with the same thing!!! Sweating and waking in the night!!?? My husband is snuggled under the comforter and I'm sweating and tossing & turning My surgeon says he doesn't recommend any blood work yet (I still have the left side of my thyroid) no med's necessary based on blood work done during & after surgery! He said it could take 6 months for things to settle!! And said no blood work till after the 6 month mark!?
It's frustrating and uncomfortable, I had horrible heart palpations before my surgery & hoped they would end with surgery but I'm still having mild ones!?
It's frustrating and my doctor recommended keeping a journal of my symptoms just in case!
I feel for you and hope this settles soon (bor both of us)!!
Be well! Sue (toddsgal)


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## Eliza79 (Jul 23, 2013)

Thanks to everyone who responded here. School just started, for myself and my kids, and I am behind!

I appreciate all of your comments and have called my GP to have my blood work done later this week. It will have been almost 5 weeks since the surgery by then, so hopefully my levels will have leveled out some since the initial thyroid dump and wonkiness. I'm not on any thyroid medication and was slightly hypo prior to surgery. My symptoms are still the same: hot flashes, fatigue, insomnia, brain fog, weight gain, general irritability, and just a general "off" feeling. My husband can really tell I am not quite myself and the low-level sleep deprivation isn't helping!


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## Eliza79 (Jul 23, 2013)

Quick update:

Blood test confirmed low thyroid levels, so I will be starting on 50 mcg of Levothyroxine tomorrow. I hope it helps. Being tried and irritable, and gaining weight despite exercising regularly and eating well, is getting old. I'll go back to my Dr in a few months to see if this is a good dose for me. Apparently, the remaining 1/2 of my thyroid is still working but it's not quite able to cope. My levels were normal a year ago and then became increasingly hypo once my nodule showed up last spring.


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

Eliza79 said:


> I had a PT a little over 3 weeks ago to remove what turned out to be a benign hurthle cell adenoma. Other than feeling daily hot flashes and fatigue, especially in the afternoons, my recovery has been going well and I actually started jogging again last week. I am not on any meds, other than vitamins.
> 
> Here is my question: For the past three nights I have been unable to sleep due to night sweats, a racing heart, and a feeling of anxiety. I am tired but when I try to sleep I end up tossing and turning for hours. If I do fall asleep, I will wake up suddenly covered in sweat. This seems more like a symptom of hyperthyroidism, which does not make sense in my case since I only have 1/2 a thyroid left and I am not losing weight or full of nervous energy. During the day I am abnormally tired but try to ignore it and go about my daily activities. I've also noticed some mild hair loss lately.
> 
> ...


I do agree w/Lvlkn; please let your doctor know what is going on. Even though you are "seemingly" hypo (is that your diagnosis?), you could be having a thyroxine dump from an angry thyroid. This is conjecture.

And that is why your doctor is so important. He/she should be able to get to the bottom of this.


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