[Jorge_Dieguez]

#1019437

Hi every body,
This is my first time here. First, I would like to thank all of you by taking your time reading my post. English isn’t my original idiom, so I apologize for any mistake. After having a pretty good health for many years, I got sick during 2008. Time of overstress, junk food, craving from sugar, took me to an UT infection. My doctors prescribed me with antibiotics , but they were for nothing. Candida was the cause. After many blood tests, my thyroid profile came back abnormal. Here are the numbers, 07/2008 T3 UPTAKE 38 (22-35) FREE T4 INDEX 4.0 (1.4-3. TSH 0.20 (0.40-4.50). At this time, I saw an endocrinologist who didn’t put me on any treatment. After that, I lost my job and my insurance and no test were done until 02/2009. I began to take methymazole in 01/2009, 30 mg by day. After 20 days on this medicine, I was tested T4 FREE 1.77 (0.61-1.76) T3 108 (85-205) TSH 0.44 (0.45-4.5). I don’t know if I have Grave’s disease and if there is some type of test to confirm this. My symptoms are more linked to my gut than any other thing. For example, I feel my intestinal motility going fast, hyperdefecation, bloating, undigested food, etc. Could all these problems be linked to my thyroid condition? What do you advise me to do? Thanks for any help.
Jorge.

[Ski]

#1071644

The short answer is yes, digestive difficulties can start with a thyroid imbalance. It doesn’t mean that all of your digestive troubles are due to Graves’, but test results that show you are hyperthyroid are clear evidence, and you must address that imbalance no matter what else may be going on.

A large majority of hyperthyroid patients are hyperthyroid due to Graves’ Disease. The other major cause of hyperthyroidism is a virus causing thyroiditis, in which case your thyroid hormone levels would resolve on their own in about six weeks.

A positive test for Graves’ antibodies or an iodine uptake/scan can confirm the diagnosis of Graves’, though a negative antibody test may not be conclusive (in other words, the antibodies rise and fall while we have Graves’, and if we test during a period when the antibodies are low, it would not mean that we do not have Graves’). Talk with your doctor about their findings so far, and whether they feel it’s possible you do NOT have Graves’. Keep on asking questions if you do not feel satisfied with the answers you have received ~ it’s important to understand.

[Jorge_Dieguez]

#1071645

Thank you for your answer. I am lack of energy. I really don’t know if this issue is more prominet in a hyper or hypo state. Please, give me some advice how to adjust my methimazole doses by myself. I don’t believe I can be tested soon again, so any help will be important for my health. Thank you. God bless you.

[Ski]

#1071646

You are welcome! We’re glad you found us.

You cannot adjust your methimazole dose by yourself, it MUST be done using blood tests, and you MUST wait a while between blood tests to determine exactly what’s going on. We feel all kinds of weird with Graves’ Disease, and our feelings are completely unreliable when it comes to finding out what our thyroid hormone levels are, unfortunately.

Talk with your doctor about typical time periods between testing, as well as symptoms you would want to look for that may signal severe hypothyroidism or side effects of methimazole, and discuss the ways you can reach the doctor in the event that you think any of these things are happening to you. It may be something you just have to wait through, or it may be something that signals a change of medication or at least a blood test, but it’s always best to consult with the doctor (or one of his designated staff members) when you wonder.

Also ~ fatigue can go with both hypo and hyper (one of the many reasons we can’t judge for ourselves where we stand). With hypo it’s because our body just has very little energy in it, literally. With hyper it’s because our body is worn out ~ being hyperthyroid is like being a car with a brick on the gas pedal, it’s EXTREMELY tiring.

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