HELP*Dizzy & sudden weakness,chest pain*Hypo at its worst

Lady50

Hi Jenny, I am so sorry your feeling bad. I have also had RAI and really had ups and downs for the first year. It can take up to 10 years after RAI to kill off the thyroid. Approximately 1 year after RAI, most people are taking 100mcgs of t4.

After RAI my thyroid hormones increased dramatically for awhile. Things have finally calmed down a bit now, and of course hypo.

I had chest pains when hypo from the RAI, while on antithyroid drugs. My blood pressure got very high, had edema very bad, constipation, major depression.Was unable to do much of anything.

It does get better, only if you are taking the right amount of thyroid replacement.

__________________
** RAI ablation for Graves disease 2004**

merrillin

Jen,
Hey sorry to hear you are feeling so bad. A good friend of mine had RAI and said it took her over a year to just get her thyroid levels to stop jumping. She said for her the RAI has been a constant battle. There is another lady at church that had it too and she said it is awful..............why don't dr's know more about the dosing of the RAI?

Karen

zekat

Oh sweetie. I have been exactly where you are at now and I know how terrible it is. I, too, had RAI done & it took me a few years to get straightened out. About a year after having RAI done, I started having these spells where I thought I was going to faint. I also walked around in a fog & had the constant feeling that something wasn't right. These fainting sensations caused me to start having panic attacks. I was so miserable. By this time, my TSH was considered normal, but we realized that my Free T3 was very low. I could not find a doctor to treat me because my TSH was within the normal range. I finally found a doctor who gave me Cytomel. While it was not the magic pill I thought it would be, it did help lift the brain fog which made me start feeling saner. I hate to say that by the time I got treatment, the panic and anxiety had taken on a life of their own. For a 6 month period, xanax was my absolute savior - as when I would get the faint feeling & think I was going to pass out and die, I would take one and it made me feel sane again. I also suffered from chest pains, high blood pressure & terrible headaches. All of my symptoms fed off of each other and ultimately in order to truly heal, I went on Zoloft for a few months. It helped me tremendously, but there is NO WAY Zoloft would have helped had I not also had my Levoxyl dosage upped and had the additional prescription of Cytomel.

To give you a timeline:
I had RAI in November of 2002. By August of 2003 I was taking 100mcg Levoxyl & started the severe brain fog, dizziness & panic attacks. By December of 2003 I was up to 150mcg of Levoxyl and .25mg of Xanax as needed. In March-June of 2004 I was on 200mcg of Levoxyl & 10mcg of Cytomel. Within a month, the brain fog started lifting & I didn't feel as dizzy. Not too long after starting Cytomel, I started Zoloft & it helped me get out of the "mind-rut" of my panic attacks. By December of last year I was off Zoloft and no longer needed xanax. I'm still on 200mg of Levoxyl & 10mcg of Cytomel daily & I feel good. I feel like the last 2 years of my life were lived in a fog, but I'm so thankful that the veil has lifted and I'm better now. I, too, have completely regretted my decision to have RAI to treat my graves disease. But that's spilled milk now & I'm glad I'm better. My best advise to you is to NEVER GIVE UP. Just keep fighting for the best care possible. GEt the labs you need and the meds you need. Also, remember to have patience from time to time when trying a new med as it does take time for the full effect. I'm pulling for you girl!!!!

jennyVee

Hey guys thanks so much for your support and sorry for taking so long to write back, but I have been feeling so so sick and been to the Er 2x this week, well last time i went they told me I had bronchitis since my chest and lungs hurt so bad.

anyway YES Kant this is a constant battle because everyday I feel different one day I could be fine then the next I am sick as a dog, I dont knwo why doctors do this to us, they should get put in jail for commiting the crime of giving us RAi , I never ever had this kind of on going sickness in my life, so sad because I never ever have energy and cannot do much with my kids or for myself, never knew I could feel so useless in my life.

anyway now that I am feeling better from the bronchitis, I cannot get my thyroid condition straightened out, first I have a doc that has no idea what he is doing he doesnt know much about thyroid issues so what I do is make up a list from reading this board, and take it to him and then I also ask him about tests I should have done etc.. by the way I am on 125mcg of synthroid only, when I take 150mcg I get severe chest pain.

anyway at this point I am worrying so so much because i dont know what is wrong with me, my tsh shows to be in the upper 4 range and that is considered normal but I feel sick, It seems to me that when my tsh is in the .18 range that I feel 100x better than I do now, I mean I have been getting these episodes that scare me to death and my blood pressure has been low and I have gotten a bunch of palpitations here is how they start I get one after another

1- heaviness in chest
2-get palpitations -pulse gets about 106
3- Blood prssure drops to 80/50
4-bad migraine
5-tremors
6-severe neck pain
7-numbness and tingling around top of head and neck,face
8-passing out feeling and dizzy
9- chest feels very uncomfortable
10- Body feels very weak and tired and it shows in my eyes
11-hot flashes/sweating

I get about 2 or 3 episodes a day and they las for about 3 hours, they usually start right after I eat, very scary to say the least and the worst thing is that my doc is focusing on my heart, and I am scared that I might have a heart condition, even though I have had about 10 ekg's this year and 1 nuclear stress test all normal,

he wants me to get another one next week, but I dont knwo if I shoudl even focus on the heart issue, I am thinking its either adrenal fatigue or just the hypothyroid being out if control, I dont even know what to think or do, I was thinking of getting a saliva test to check my female hormones, I am also thinking that it might be the nodules making me sick? goodness I am so thankful for you all, I am not sure what I would do without you since its been so hard for me to find a good doc, anyway I will try calling a top doc for the list tomorrow and pray that this one will know whats worng with me, cause this has me terrible ill.

by the way i had some blodowork done on friday that my doc should have already, he testes the Free t 3 and free t4 too,I will call tomorrow and will post them here thans again you guys great!


by the way Zekat thanks for sharing your story, so glad your feeling better,
what are your levels that you are on 200 mcg, I am thinking about cytomel maybe I need some, I wish I could take xanax since god knows I need some, but my Blood pressure is low and xanax can lower it even more, I have some 0.5 mg pills and so tempted to take them but afraid of it lowering my BP even more.

rav4grl

Hi..I had RAI last summer and am on 112 of Levoxyl. I too have dizziness...headaches...hot feeling...nervousness ...panic attacks and feel depression coming on. I recently moved from NJ to Florida dnleft nehind my family and friends. I also have not seen an Endo down here yet to get my bloodwork done. Last time I had it done was in June so maybe my levels are off. I notice feeling a little depressed before I moved but now it is coming on very strong.
My regular MD back in Jersey called in a prescip for me for Paxil but after reading the depression healthbord I would nevedr even take one of those pills. Too many side effects and too addictive....HELP! Need advice fast.
Donna

jennyVee

Hi I would not take paxil either its horrible, I got oanic attacks in the middle of the night whiel sleeping this is by far the worst drug ever at least for me it was...I am also pretty depressed but i dont wanna take any of these pills for now, just taking it one day at a time,