[rkam2616]

#1059016

I am a 60 yr old thyroid cancer survivor. Three years ago my thyroid was completely removed. I have been on Synthoid/Levothyroxine since. I have never felt “right” since. Many of my symptoms run along “hypothyroidism”: fatigue, weight gain, pain/stiffness of joints, constipation. But I also have some “hyper” symptoms: insomnia, hair loss, difficulty concentrating. Recent blood tests show TSH at 0.02, indicating “hyper” and T4free at 1.5, which is normal. In trying to sort out why I am experiencing both “hypo” and “hyper” symptoms while technically diagnosed as “hyper” I came across Graves Disease as a factor that dramatically influences the thyroid gland’s ability to produce TSH. My question is: As I don’t have a thyroid gland for Graves to affect, can Graves Disease affect how my body is absorbing the synthetic Levothyroxine? This would explain how I’m “hyper”, but gaining weight (a definite hypo symptom). Any comments would be really appreciated. I have never been tested for Graves and am just digging into why I might be having these conflicting signals. Thanks.

[Bobbi]

#1171583

Well, rkam2616, some folks who are hyper DO gain weight instead of losing it. Losing weight is not a reliable symptom of hyper levels of thyroid hormone.
We also feel fatigue while hyperthyroid. It is not a condition that leaves us feeling “energized” over time. Constipation, on the other hand, is most associated with the hypo state, but there can be other things causing that as well.

Levothyroxine IS thyroid hormone. It is chemically identical to our body’s own T4. So, if you are on too high a dose of it it will give you hyper symptoms.

One other point: TSH stands for Thyroid STimulating Hormone, and it comes not from the thyroid but from the pituitary gland. The pituitary acts as a kind of “thermostat” for thyroid hormone levels. If the pituitary senses too much thyroid hormone (whether from levothyroxin, or from normal thyroid production) it reduces its TSH trying to lower the levels of thyroid in the blood. If it doesn’t sense enough, it raises it’s production of TSH to try to stimulate thyroid cells to produce more hormone.

I do hope you are feeling much better soon.

[rkam2616]

#1171584

Bobbi – Thank you for the response. I realized fatigue, etc. could be symptomatic of both hypo/hyper. The weight and concentration things, by all the web sites I looked at, were exclusively hyper. Such was my dilemma. Your pituitary comment is very enlightening and makes sense. We’ve reduced my dosage and we’ll check it all in a few months. I’m trying to get educated enough to ask intelligent questions of my doctors. They’ve been great. I’ll do a follow up post.

[Tissy]

#1171585

Hi, I really just wanted to send you some sympathy

I had my thyroid treated with RAI after I became hyper, and now take levothyroxine too. Like you, my TSH is very low, while my TS3 & TS4 are ‘normal’. I too feel many of the symptons you have written about, weight again, feeling slow, constipation, and I don’t have very much faith in my blood tests, I am not sure whether I am actually hyper or hypo.

Good luck to you. I hope you get on really well and I am interested to hear how things are for you.

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