Can anyone help to define my thyroid condition???

[burtlancast]

post 106667 Well,

I guess I forgot to mention, that the reason they put me on the propranolol, is to control my HR, which used to get up 185+ and actually sent me to the ER several times. My BP would also go through roof.

My HR prior to going on propranolol was around 90, with occasional spikes as high 185. My BP would also get around 200/125. It was very scary.

I am mostly cold, not hot. Toes/hands/feet/legs all cold.

These are major cardiac symptoms, right there.
A 185 HR spike can of course cause the high blood pressure.

Your cold extremities could be tied to your circulatory problems, as would the fatigue and confusion, in case you alternate between high and low BP .

Logic would dictate this has more to do with a cardiac problem than an endocrine one.
Have you already done a 24 hour recording of your cardiac parameters ?

And is that correct you don't eat any processed food ?

 

[DanteNXS]

I have had every heart related test possible. Event monitor for a week, CT scan, stress test w/ultrasound, echo cardiogram, multiple ekgs. My cardiologist says my heart is good, but I do have tachycardia.

I do not eat processed food.

 

[Sea]

post 106684 Prior to this happening (7/22/15) I always ate fairly well. Since my symptoms have begun, my appetite has disappeared. I still eat healthy, drink nothing but water, but do not eat a lot.

I eat salads, veggies, turkey, small amounts of fruit, organic yogurt, steel cut oatmeal, nuts...

I was exercising 2 times a day, but now I cannot exercise at all, due to fatigue and HR issues.

My teeth are good, no dental work.

Some things to consider are ditching the nuts(high in pufa), cutting out the salads/veggies until you reach a higher calorie intake, upping the fruit and adding other sources of fructose like honey, soda, or fruit juice, and trying greek yogurt which is higher in protien if you aren't already. Ray Peat's research shows that all humans need at least 80 grams of protien/day so always aim for at least that much with significantly more calories as carbohydrates.

And, water isn't advisable as it provides no calories or nutrients and wastes energy because the body has to process it. I recommend only drinking beverages with added sugar or fruit juices that already have sugar by default. Here is Ray Peat's article warning of the dangers of water:

http://raypeat.com/articles/articles/water.shtml

 

[burtlancast]

post 106690 I have had every heart related test possible. Event monitor for a week, CT scan, stress test w/ultrasound, echo cardiogram, multiple ekgs. My cardiologist says my heart is good, but I do have tachycardia.

I do not eat processed food.

Did you have low blood pressure episodes ?

Do you take supplements ?

 

[DanteNXS]

My BP prior to was always ~ 133/84, now with the meds is stays around 126/76.

Sometimes it does get lower ~117/76

I am not taking any supplements currently.

 

[DanteNXS]

I have a iodine uptake scheduled next week. Is that a good idea?

 

[DanteNXS]

post 106692 Some things to consider are ditching the nuts(high in pufa), cutting out the salads/veggies until you reach a higher calorie intake, upping the fruit and adding other sources of fructose like honey, soda, or fruit juice, and trying greek yogurt which is higher in protien if you aren't already. Ray Peat's research shows that all humans need at least 80 grams of protien/day so always aim for at least that much with significantly more calories as carbohydrates.

And, water isn't advisable as it provides no calories or nutrients and wastes energy because the body has to process it. I recommend only drinking beverages with added sugar or fruit juices that already have sugar by default. Here is Ray Peat's article warning of the dangers of water:

http://raypeat.com/articles/articles/water.shtml

Is there anyplace this diet/supplement information can be found on this site?

 

[Giraffe]

post 106605 Here are my symptoms: Cold extremities/mild anxiety/palpitations/brain fog/tremors/fatigue/insomnia

I have also lost 40 pounds in the last 4 months and have no appetite

I agree with the others that your current symptoms are suggestive of hypothyroidism. Can you check with your doctor if you can reduce the dose of your meds?

post 106670 I am truly at my wits end here and I greatly appreciate all the advice and information everyone is providing. Please keep it coming.

Maybe it helps if you eat something at the slightest sign of anxiety & co. Sodium, magnesium, sugar might help. Check if certain foods cause discomfort. Keep warm. How does a hot bath feel? Have you tried bag breathing?

post 106684 Prior to this happening (7/22/15) I always ate fairly well. Since my symptoms have begun, my appetite has disappeared. I still eat healthy, drink nothing but water, but do not eat a lot.

I eat salads, veggies, turkey, small amounts of fruit, organic yogurt, steel cut oatmeal, nuts...

Don't drink plain water. Try fruit juice, hot milk with honey, coffee with milk and/or sugar if you can tolerate them.

I would keep nuts and oatmeal to a minimum. How about well-cooked potatoes, white rice, eggs, cheese? Go for food that is nutritious and easy to digest.

 

[burtlancast]

post 106779

TSH = .185 .261 .314 (uIL/ML)
FT4 = .09 .09 .09 (NG/DL) normal: 0.8 - 1.8 ng/dL
FT3 = 3.3 2.5 3.1 (pg/mL) normal: 2.3- 4.2 pg/mL

.

What i don't understand is these results do not indicate hyperthyroidism.
FT4 is clearly on the low side, and FT3 is dead average.

So, if your doctors put you on anti hyperthyroidy medications, what was their basis to do so ?

"The diagnosis may be suspected based on signs and symptoms and then confirmed with blood tests. Typically blood tests show a low thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) and raised T3 or T4. Radioiodine uptake by the thyroid, thyroid scan, and TSI antibodies may help determine the cause.[3]"

Which of these other hyperthyroidy tests did you do ?

 

[tara]

DanteNXS

Here's some more non-expert questions and opinion. :)

post 106645 They prescribed me meds for Hyper, but they make me feel like @#$%.

post 106663 Hyperthyroidism isn't an actual problem, but if you were hyperthyroid you would feel amazing and you would be eating a ton of calories with no problems, it would really be the best time of your life.

I think mild/ hyperthyroid may be harmless or sometimes positive. But I'm not sure that more extreme hyperthyroid is harmless. My understanding was that it can occasionally throw the heart rhythm out in potentially serious ways.

post 106667 Well,

I guess I forgot to mention, that the reason they put me on the propranolol, is to control my HR, which used to get up 185+ and actually sent me to the ER several times. My BP would also go through roof.

My HR prior to going on propranolol was around 90, with occasional spikes as high 185. My BP would also get around 200/125. It was very scary.

I am mostly cold, not hot. Toes/hands/feet/legs all cold.

Heartrate of 90 seems fine as far as I know, if it is running on thyroid and not mainly adrenaline. Peat says a resting heartrate of 80-90 is consistent with good thyroid function. Do your temps go up or down from waking till 30-60 mins after breakfast?
Are the cold hands and feet and legs and the 97.5 body temp side-effects of the propranolol, or did you have them before too? If you were this cold before the propranolol, I'd agree with the others about hypothyroid being more likely than hyper.
If you were warmer before, do you have records of resting body temps from pre-medication?

I took propranolol a few years ago, and didn't like that it slowed me down seriously in my normal activities.
I'm not sure, but I thought the propranolol is usually prescribed against high blood pressure, and tends to be anti-adrenaline. So if your heartrate and blood pressure were elevated by adrenaline, then being reduced by propranolol makes sense to me. I don't know if it is also anti-thyroid. Are you taking other anti-thyroid meds?

post 106684 Prior to this happening (7/22/15) I always ate fairly well. Since my symptoms have begun, my appetite has disappeared. I still eat healthy, drink nothing but water, but do not eat a lot.

I eat salads, veggies, turkey, small amounts of fruit, organic yogurt, steel cut oatmeal, nuts...

I was exercising 2 times a day, but now I cannot exercise at all, due to fatigue and HR issues.

My teeth are good, no dental work.

Peat's not that keen on large amounts nuts (too much PUFA and anti-digestive substances), salads (except carrot), yogurt (lactic acid), turkey (PUFA, anti-metabolic amino acids), grains (too much PUFA and anti-digestive substances) as major components of diet. Nor of drinking water beyond thirst (can create over-dilution and stress).
http://raypeat.com/articles/articles/vegetables.shtml
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=20

How many calories is not eating a lot for you? How much were you eating before?

 

[tara]

post 106698 My BP prior to was always ~ 133/84, now with the meds is stays around 126/76.

133/84 does not seem to justify medicine to lower it?

 

[DanteNXS]

Good morning,

I have had a TSI test and the results were: THYROID STIM AB, 22

I am scheduled to have an Iodine Uptake test done next week.

The cold sensations were occurring prior to taking the Propranolol, but I they have prescribed me so many different meds, then switched them, that it could be the meds, but lately it is getting colder and accompanied with chills and muscle twitches.

My ENDO said to to only take 5mg of the Methimazole, until they can figure out what's going on. She tested my Creatinine which was high 2336 as well.

I am just baffled that it is taking the medical "professionals" this long to diagnose me.

I am probably eating less than 1200 calories/day right now. However, I am planning to up that and eat the foods from the list I was given yesterday on this site.

DanteNXS

 

[burtlancast]

For how long have you been healthy beforehand ?
How old are you ?
Male or female ?
Any people around you with similar health problems ?

 

[tara]

post 106809 I am probably eating less than 1200 calories/day right now. However, I am planning to up that and eat the foods from the list I was given yesterday on this site.

Whether you are hypo or hyperthyroid, this is very unlikely to be even half enough. How much were you eating before you lost your appetite recently? How long has it been this low for? Sounds like you already know it is important not to starve yourself. Starving often has the effect of reducing thyroid metabolism (and other systems).

post 106809 I am just baffled that it is taking the medical "professionals" this long to diagnose me.

The human body is very complex and drs don't know everything.

I imagine if you have been using lots of drugs, it may be getting even harder for the drs to sort out what was your original underlying difficulty, and which symptoms arise from the drugs.

If you read a few of Peat's articles you'll see he talks about some systemic misinformation in the medical system arising from misunderstandings of the science influenced by the profit motives of pharmaceutical companies and other irrationalities. You can't patent supplementary hormones like triiodothyronin or thyroxin or progesterone, or many of the other substances Peat talks of as useful, or the general avoidance of common toxins.

Methimazole inhibits the enzyme thyroperoxidase, which normally acts in thyroid hormone synthesis by oxidizing the anion iodide (I-) to iodine (I0), facilitating iodine's addition to tyrosine residues on the hormone precursor thyroglobulin, a necessary step in the synthesis of triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4).

That you are getting colder and colder makes me wonder if the methimazole may be causing you more trouble by reducing your thyroid metabolism too far. I don't have any medical expertise, so please don't rely on anything I say without investigating yourself, and getting medical opinion. But I wonder if it would make sense to continue the propranolol in the meantime to limit adrenalin and tachycardia, but consider stopping or reducing the methimazole.

 

[DanteNXS]

Hello everyone,

I've not been online for the past few days, but thanks for your feedback.

I have started to consume more calories, using the food list of Dr. Peat. It is not easy to find everything on the list, but I am doing my best. I do feel a little better, still having sporadic bouts with symptoms though, but overall I feel a little better. I just wish I could get rid of the constant lightheadedness and blurry vision. Any advise????

I have stopped taking the Methimazole, weaned off it due to an upcoming Iodine test this week. This might also have something to do with my feeling better. I am sleeping a little better too, still only getting about 5 hours per night though. I just want all this madness to be resolved.

I am also getting an Antinuclear Antibodies blood test done, to rule out any infections and alike, and I am going to see a holistic doctor this week to hopefully get a plan of action to follow.

If anyone has any additional feedback, or advice, please feel free to let me know.

Wish me luck.

DanteNXS

 

[youngandold]

You may have thyroiditis thus alternating between hyper and hypothyroid.

Get tested for thyroid antibodies and have a thyroid ultrasound test done.

 

[sans]

maybe thyroiditis, I had same symptoms. you seesaw between hypo and hyper. i was low iodine and started getting sick more and more often (flu, ear infections etc...) caught a cold virus which then went to my thyroid and made it go bizerk! (subacute thyroiditis) took almost a year to get diagnosed. tests were within normal range until i ended up in emergency with chest pains due to high t4 almost thyrotoxicosis. had to do my own research and it went away with a little iodine (potassium iodide) from the health food store. but not before they did the uptake test and wound up with a permanently damaged thyroid due to absorbing so much radioactive crap they give you for the scan when they are looking for cancer. they found a nodule which can also make your thyroid malfuntion. avoid goitrogens which includes anything with soy. look up dr. david brownstein (holistic MD) he has a few books on thyroid and iodine. and continue doing your own research, you can't count on the health system alone.

 

[HealthisWealth]

post 106672 What do you eat ?

Are you taking measures to avoid known food poisons like aspartame, MSG ( and all it's hidden forms) ?
Do you have good or bad teeths ?
Have you had recent dental work ?

Hi sorry for chiming in but what will happen if you have recent dental work?

 

[tomisonbottom]

That indicates a period of high adrenaline which occurs when your liver runs out of stored glycogen and can be corrected with the quick consumption of a high fructose food like honey. All of the drugs you have listed I don't think are safe to use and I would be cautious with even the safer drugs and supplements discussed in this forum until you can manage to consume enough calories. A normal amount is 2500 for a female or 3000 for a male but when you are hypothyroid the body can need even more calories than this to heal the condition.

So, I've always wondered, how do you deal with eating more when hypo? Because hypo often causes lack of appetite. So if you can't use hunger as a gauge for when to eat, how to you avoid over eating? Do you just go for a certain number of calories? And if you're hypo, won't you gain weight eating a lot with a slow metabolism?

 

[Giraffe]

So, I've always wondered, how do you deal with eating more when hypo? Because hypo often causes lack of appetite. So if you can't use hunger as a gauge for when to eat, how to you avoid over eating? Do you just go for a certain number of calories? And if you're hypo, won't you gain weight eating a lot with a slow metabolism?

For me the most important thing is to have breakfast, without it I could go until 2 pm before suddenly feeling ravenously hungry. If I had breakfast, I am moderately hungry around lunch time.

As to when to eat when not having appetite? Headaches or feeling irritated (kind of bad mood), the need to pee often, I take as reminders to have at least a snack, usually a piece of fruit, some fruit juice, (hot) chocolate, some cheese or jello. Feeling cold asks for a decent meal.

How much? In times when hunger or appetite don't guide me, I try to have three meals per day. I usually stop eating when I feel satisfied or not hungry any longer, this is way before the point where I couldn't stomach any more. If it turns out that it was too little, and I get hungry again within an hour, I have more.

I am not good at counting calories, but I make sure that I have enough protein in each meal. Weight control becomes an issue for me when I skip meals. At the point of being ravenously hungry, I eat whatever junk is quickly available, and I don't know when to stop. Plus running on stress hormones wrecks havoc on metabolism.