Hi all. I just want to thank you all in advance for reading my post and hopefully responding : )
I have been in and out of the doctors for about 7 mo's, with swollen lymph nodes (sub clavical and cervical, etc.) and low grade fevers with extreme fatige and just overall sick feeling. After a CT Scan (normal) MRI, Thyroid Uptake scan (normal), Thyroid Ultrasound, Bone Scan, Gallium Scan and a huge amount of blood work, the doctor finally thinks it's thyroid issues. lol! Here is my Ultrasound impression....
Heterogeneous hyperemic thyroid gland consistent with diffuse thyroid disease.
Bilateral cervical lymph nodes that demonstrate lack of a normal fatty hilum.
These may be reactive or neoplastic.
After this ultrasound the doctor ordered blood work for my thyroid and these were my results as of 9/12/12
TPO AB 101 Range <35
THO AB 29 Range <20
TSH 2.40 Range 0.34-4.82
FT3 2.89 Range 2.3-4.2
FT4 1.14 Range 0.8-1.80
I told the doctor all of my symptoms
Dry, breaking and falling out hair
Dry burning eyes
Extreme fatige
Joint Pain
Irritability
Lack of Focus
No drive whatsoever
Major Hot flashes and sweaty hands and feet
sore and Swollen lymp nodes throughout neck
Chest pain & tightness
Heart Palpitations
Shortness of Breath
Overall just ill feeling
So she decided to order me some Armour 15mcgs
I took it for only 3 days and started to have the following symptoms so I stopped
Increased heart Palpitations with chest tighness and anxiety
chest and back pain
She said she didn't think it was the meds causing it since It takes longer to work that 3 days but told me to stop them anyway. She ordered more blood work (cardiac enzyme test, CBC and another TSH)
These were done on 9/25/12 just 12 days after the last labs and my TSH went down from 2.40 to 2.23. Do you think this is due to the 3 days of armor?
Also right after I stopped taking the Armour I started having a weird sensation in my upper arms like numbness mixed with weakness and heaviness. They just ache in my should and bicep area and I just feel like squeezing them and holding them up because they feel so heavy and weird. Is this also a symptom of Hypothyroidism. This is what scares me the most as I worry about it being heart related.
I would love to hear what you wonderful people think about my labs and symptoms? Do you think i have Hashi's? I don't even know what to think anymore and just want some answers as to what is wrong with me..
Sorry to hear that you're feeling so tired and sick..
From looking at your bloodwork your TPO is elevated which is thyroid peroxidase antibodies which is one of the signs of Hashimotos. Did she say your thyroid gland was enlarged? That's another sign of Hashimotos. Also your free t3 is low which is why you feel so tired.
What she started you on is 1/4 grain of Armour which is a VERY low dose. Did you feel like your heart was racing or is it possible that it could be anxiety related? Also what was your iron level at?? If your iron is low it can cause you to not tolerate thyroid meds so if it's low you might need to work on increasing it and then trying the armour again.
I feel for you I've been having some similar symptoms.
Is your heart palps and sob constant?
Your antibodies are elevated so without a doubt you have hashis? What did your doc say about your antibodies being elevated?
Your free T3 is low as well.
Why don't you get a full work up by a cardiologist? I actually saw two cardiologist when ally symptoms starting happening. All my test came back normal which did give me some peace.
I'm not sure why the armour would make you feel worse maybe someone else could answer. One thing with hashis tho is you can swing from hyper to hypo or vice versa...fun:/
One more thought actually that I just learned you need to have your reverse T3 checked because if that's high taking T4 can make you feel worse. Then you may want to try T3 only. Also thyroid and adrenal problems go hand in hand so I would start learning about adrenal fatigue if your doc doesn't know much about it. You can't "fix" your thyroid without addressing those adrenals.
Yes, you have Hashi's. Your doctor told you that, right? It's right there in your labs. (BTW... I never heard of THO antibodies. Maybe you mistyped that?)
Quote:
Originally Posted by bishrl
So she decided to order me some Armour 15mcgs
I took it for only 3 days and started to have the following symptoms so I stopped
Increased heart Palpitations with chest tighness and anxiety
chest and back pain
This is a very, very small dose containing a very, very small amount of T3. It's probably enough T3 for an especially anxious, sensitive person to feel the effects, though. If given a fair trial period, a body - particularly a young body - would very likely get used to it within a few weeks to a month.
Quote:
These were done on 9/25/12 just 12 days after the last labs and my TSH went down from 2.40 to 2.23. Do you think this is due to the 3 days of armor?
No. That is essentially no change at all. TSH can fluctuate up to 3 full points within a day's time, morning to evening. The difference you saw might be just the timing of the blood draw. Three days of medication cannot make a difference in hormone levels.
HypoT can cause the kind of arm/shoulder pain you're talking about. The onset of treatment with replacement hormone can cause new symptoms or exacerbate old ones. Patience is needed to get through it until your reach your optimal levels.
Anxiety also might cause all manner of odd symptoms irrespective of hormone levels.
__________________ "We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses." Abraham Lincoln
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sorry to hear that you're feeling so tired and sick..
From looking at your bloodwork your TPO is elevated which is thyroid peroxidase antibodies which is one of the signs of Hashimotos. Did she say your thyroid gland was enlarged? That's another sign of Hashimotos. Also your free t3 is low which is why you feel so tired.
What she started you on is 1/4 grain of Armour which is a VERY low dose. Did you feel like your heart was racing or is it possible that it could be anxiety related? Also what was your iron level at?? If your iron is low it can cause you to not tolerate thyroid meds so if it's low you might need to work on increasing it and then trying the armour again.
Hope this helps!
Thank you for responding : )
My doctor did not say my thryoid gland was enlarged. Actually my US says it's of normal size but was heterogeneous and lacked a fatty hilum. and was indicative of reactive or neoplastic. Consistent with thyroid disease.
Not sure that my heart racing was related to anxiety but I will be sure to have my iron checked as well before beginning a new thyroid med.
Yes, you have Hashi's. Your doctor told you that, right? It's right there in your labs. (BTW... I never heard of THO antibodies. Maybe you mistyped that?)
This is a very, very small dose containing a very, very small amount of T3. It's probably enough T3 for an especially anxious, sensitive person to feel the effects, though. If given a fair trial period, a body - particularly a young body - would very likely get used to it within a few weeks to a month.
No. That is essentially no change at all. TSH can fluctuate up to 3 full points within a day's time, morning to evening. The difference you saw might be just the timing of the blood draw. Three days of medication cannot make a difference in hormone levels.
HypoT can cause the kind of arm/shoulder pain you're talking about. The onset of treatment with replacement hormone can cause new symptoms or exacerbate old ones. Patience is needed to get through it until your reach your optimal levels.
Anxiety also might cause all manner of odd symptoms irrespective of hormone levels.
Thank you Midwest for your reply Yes the Dr. did tell me I had hashi's but only once I asked her. I almost felt like she was just trying to give me some answer to why I have felt like crap for so long. lol So i honestly was doubting if she was accurate. I did mistype the THO. It was suppose to be Thyroglobulin AutoAB but I don't know that abbreviation for that. lol
I changed from Levo to Armour about 11 days ago and I feel worse now then before I was even on no medication. I have a call in to the doctor so YES Armour can make you feel worse. I finally figured out I feel really good about the time that the Armour wore off and about 2 hours after I take I am crashing literally. It takes me all day to get over that - just about the time it is to take it again - I feel much better, then take the 2nd one of the day and I crash again. So hang in there and get them to check everything! Good luck!
Thank you Midwest for your reply I did mistype the THO. It was suppose to be Thyroglobulin AutoAB but I don't know that abbreviation for that. lol
It's abbreviated Tg.
__________________ "We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses." Abraham Lincoln
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I've been having some similar symptoms. 
Re: Can someone please help me? I am desperate. 
It's abbreviated Tg. 
