# hyperthyroid



## oceanluvr (Apr 27, 2010)

These are my test results....TSH 0.31...Ref 0.34-5.60
Free T3 5.2...Ref 3.0-6.8
Free T4 11...Ref 9-24

My doctor won't do anything about it even though I have the following symptoms,Anxiety,panic attacks,depression,irritability,mood swings,aggression feeling like arguing with people,brittle nails,hunger,shakiness,shortness of breath,muscle weakness,unable to cope with stress,my mind feels like its in the clouds...foggy thinking,sweating,I feel cold but sweaty at the same time.

My doctor put me on Valium when I told her my symptoms....she has increased it to 25mg 4 times a day.

Can someone PLEASE HELP ME.


----------



## GD Women (Mar 5, 2007)

Wow! Your Labs look like the other duds. You two must be from the same country.

low T4 level could mean a non-functioning pituitary gland which is not stimulating the thyroid to produce T4 especially when the TSH is not high. Also low TSH with low FT-4 could be from Cushing Syndrom or due to prescription drugs.

Sometime there can be interference in our test that gives a wrong reading or false reading. I would suggest to test again TSH and both FTs. If there is another miss reading retest again in 6 weeks after the first test to see if they repeat thereabouts. Sometimes it might be necessary to do a third test at another lab. Your Labs are a little on the wired side.

Here are some professional guidelines:

http://www.aace.com/pub/pdf/guidelines/hypo_hyper.pdf
TSH 0.3-3.0 is just a suggested target level for already diagnosed and treated patients

*US Government panel guidelines set forth by U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) Jan 14, 2004 as follows:*
*Hyperthyroidism * - TSH below 0.1 mU/L are considered low and values above 6.5 mU/L are considered elevated.

*Subclinical Hypothyroidism *With Serum TSH of 4.5 to 10 mIU/L early levothyroxine therapy does not alter the natural history of the disease, it may prevent symptoms and signs of overt disease in those who do progress. Individuals with TSH levels between 4.5 and 10 mIU/L have symptoms compatible with hypothyroidism and Physicians and patients must understand that there is insufficient evidence to expect therapeutic benefit in patients in this group. The available data do not confirm clear-cut benefits for early therapy compared with treatment when symptoms or overt hypothyroidism develop. Therefore, the panel does not recommend routine levothyroxine treatment for patients with TSH levels between 4.5 and 10 mIU/L, but thyroid function tests should be repeated at 6- to 12-month intervals to monitor for improvement or worsening in TSH level. Levothyroxine therapy is reasonable for patients with subclinical hypothyroidism and serum TSH higher than 10 mIU/L.

*Overt Hypothyroidism:* TSH Higher Than 10 With normal or low normal F/T-4


----------



## Lovlkn (Dec 20, 2009)

oceanluver,

Take the Valium in the mean time to help with your symptoms.

GD Women gave you some excellent advice.


----------



## hillaryedrn (Dec 14, 2009)

I think you need to find another doctor!! I hate when they immediately go to anxiety instead of looking at other possibilities!


----------



## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

oceanluvr said:


> These are my test results....TSH 0.31...Ref 0.34-5.60
> Free T3 5.2...Ref 3.0-6.8
> Free T4 11...Ref 9-24
> 
> ...


Hi there Oceanluvr!! Welcome. I am so so sorry to hear this and I do think you have some sort of thyroid issue based on your labs because FT4 is very low. It should be mid-range or maybe a bit high and the FT3 "appears" to be creeping up there. I can't be sure w/o previous labs but I am suspecting that because your TSH is also very low.

This sort of points to hyper and combined with the symptoms you listed, I think maybe so.

One way to find out is to have the following labs on antibodies run.

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

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

You should have no TSI; if you do, that indicates hyperthyroid.

Are you having arrhythmia/palps of the heart? Trouble sleeping? Are you exhausted? Frequent bowel movements?

If this doctor won't comply with your wishes, I am going to suggest that you find a doctor who will.

Valium is highly addictive. I hate to see you on it for no good reason.


----------



## CA-Lynn (Apr 29, 2010)

I have a real pet peeve about doctors handing out Valium and neurotropic meds.

Is this an endocrinologist who's treating you? If not, I would certainly find an endo-doc.

For what it's worth: have your Vitamin D level checked when you have your next lab work done. I speak from experience when I say that a tanked Vitamin D can cause all sorts of symptoms [such as those you mentioned] and existing diseases to run amuck. My TSH levels bounced all over the place for a year or so before my doctor ran my Vitamin D.


----------



## GD Women (Mar 5, 2007)

"I have a real pet peeve about doctors handing out Valium and neurotropic meds."

Sorry about your pet peeve......however!

Mind and emotions certainly can and *do* play a big part in thyroid for some of us. Never heard of *Graves' Rage *or * Myxedema Madness/Myxedema psychosis?*

Psychiatric disturbances can accompany hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism disorders and mimic mental illness. People with an overactive thyroid may exhibit marked anxiety and tension, emotional liability, impatience and irritability, distractible overactivity, exaggerated sensitivity to noise, and fluctuating depression with sadness and problems with sleep and the appetite. In extreme cases, they may appear schizophrenic, losing touch with reality and becoming delirious or hallucinating. An underactive thyroid can lead to progressive loss of interest and initiative, slowing of mental processes, poor memory for recent events, fading of the personality's color and vivacity, general intellectual deterioration, depression with a paranoid flavour, and eventually, if not checked, to dementia and permanent harmful effects on the brain. In instances of each condition, some persons have been wrongly diagnosed, hospitalized for months, and treated unsuccessfully for psychosis.

Nothing wrong with taking medication for this. It doesn't necessarily mean forever, but just until thyroid illness is controlled and thyroid levels stable and where they should be. After that medication might not be needed. It helps us get over the hump of illness to wellness.

Personally V-D didn't help me in this area. We all are different - what is good or helps you might not for another person. Besides its Niacin!

*Graves' Rage*
http://www.suite101.com/lesson.cfm/19330/2904/6
*myx•e•de•ma (m k s -d m ) *A disease caused by decreased activity of the thyroid gland in adults and characterized by dry skin, swellings around the lips and nose, mental deterioration, and a subnormal basal metabolic rate
*Madness*The Madness part means just what it says: hypothyroidism can cause emotional problems ranging from minor worries and anxieties to full-blown panic attacks and psychiatric conditions like schizophrenia.
*Masked "myxedema madness*http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/596232?dopt=Abstract
*Hypothyroidism Presenting as Psychosis: Myxedema Madness Revisited nih/gov*http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC419396/
*Prevalence of Psychiatric Disorders in Thyroid Diseased Patients*
http://content.karger.com/ProdukteDB/produkte.asp?Doi=26545
* Depressive and Anxiety Disorders in Hashimoto's *http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16285879?dopt=Abstract
*Psychiatric symptoms in endocrine diseases*http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3983024?dopt=Abstract


----------



## CA-Lynn (Apr 29, 2010)

I'm not saying that appropriate drugs should not be used in the treatment of ancillary [to Graves, et. al] symptoms. I AM saying that such psychiatric symptoms found in the disorders mentioned in the above post are often psychiatric in nature. As such, they should be treated by a *psychiatrist.* Not a general practitioner, not an endocrinologist......

Far too many non-psychiatrists issue script for drugs such as Valium and other psychotropics too easily and too frequently. Valium is a muscle relaxant. It may not be the appropriate drug to use in cases of endocrine-related anxiety symptoms. A psychiatrist is best qualified to treat such symptoms.


----------

