[mjessie1985 October 7, 2016 at 4:39 pm Post count: 7]

#1060787

So I was just diagnosed with hyperthyroidism and they don’t know at this point if Graves or postpartum thyroiditis, I’m on about 3.5 weeks of methimazole now and still getting tightness in my chest. Please tell me this is normal because I’m already freaked out about it. I hope this will go away eventually. It scares me so bad. I literally was in a mental facility because of the severe paranoia and panic attacks since I’ve been diagnosed, I was only there 4 days but still was there. Thought they’d gotten my meds right but still having problems. :'(

[KimberlyOnline Facilitator October 7, 2016 at 5:23 pm Post count: 4294]

#1184786

Hello – We are fellow patients here, not docs, so we’re not able to give medical advice. This is obviously causing you concern, so I would recommend contacting your primary care doctor or endo. If the offices are closed, they should have an on call number, or you can visit an urgent care center.

[mjessie1985 October 7, 2016 at 5:29 pm Post count: 7]

#1184787

I know you’re not, was just looking for someone to tell me they have the same symptoms with their anxiety. I’ve left a message with my endo and she told me to increase my propanolol which I can’t do because my BP is already on the low side

[emmtee October 9, 2016 at 1:48 am Post count: 148]

#1184788

You mention that your BP is on the low side. Do you have a home BP monitor? I do, and it’s good for my peace of mind. I try to take my blood pressure on a regular basis and keep a log. They say it’s best to take it at the same time each day. Also, you can take your home monitor to the doctor with you and see how it compares to the BP measurements on their unit. It’s important to position your arm correctly when taking your BP to get an accurate measurement.

I’ve never felt a “tightness” in my chest, but there are times when I feel my heart racing or pounding. I felt this in the hospital the evening of my thyroidectomy, and I had the nurse check my blood pressure. It was completely normal, so I concluded that I was just extra sensitive after my surgery.

If you don’t feel you can follow your endo’s advice, you should call back and explain. Also ask what is the soonest you can have your thyroid hormones tested again. It’s possible that your dose of methimazole is too low, but you need to give it time to start working. If you retest too soon, it could delay settling on the right dose. Looking back at my list of blood tests, I see that when I was settling on my dose, I usually had them 6 weeks apart, but once I had a test after only one month. (I had a difficult case, and it took a long time to get my dose right, but my symptoms cleared up much sooner).

You might want to look into meditation as a way to handle stress. I read a whole book about it once, and it has many health benefits.

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