A few months ago I saw a Doc for a running related injury that was bothering me. As I was new to his care, he did a full physical with blood test.
I came back a TSH of around 16. He explained how common (man, do I know now) hypo is in society. He put me on 50mcg of synthroid. Great I thought, at least I know why I'm unusually tired all time.
Within a few days of starting it, I was raving mad. I felt like I couldn't communicate correctly, was terrified of god knows what (anything), felt like my motor skills were impaired to the point where I shouldn't drive, had ringing in my ears. These anxiety/panic attacks are not like classic 5mn horrible ordeals. Thay can and do go on for hours. I feel like I've taken some kind of street drug. I'm not talking about a little inconvience here, this is full insanity.
It has totally altered my thinking. I can look at an lifeless object (street light, moon rise. . anything really) and feel like crying.
I made an emergency appt and told him what was going on. Well, there really are no side effects to this stuff, but lets knock you down to 25s cut in half so your only getting 12.5mcg. He also had me go and get a blood test at the same time, same day. My number had dropped to about 9. This is a good sign, he said, you body is taking it. We might just need to work up. I did it, went great. After 10 days, with his consent I upped to the full 25, knowing I'd have to anyway for the TSH to come down.
[I should point out here, that I had few if any recognizable symptoms of hypo prior. It only turned up because of this blood test in a physical.]
So, the saga continues, I go up to 25mcg. Have some good days, where I feel fine. And I have bad days where I feel atrocious and mad. I always feel like there is someplace I'm supposed to be or something I'm supposed to doing and I don't know what it is.
After all this, and not quitting the 25, my first 6week blood check comes around. I decide to skip the pill on the morning of my meeting with the Doc a few days later, just to see if I can feel "normal" again. He says, that my 9.? has stayed the same, not moved a bit. Is it possible that a TSH, over a six week period of time and measured as finely as it is, has not moved a decimal point? Could the lab have merely sent the second test results, on the day of the emergency appt where we first saw 9.?
Could these be the symptoms of having hit some sort of hyper status? And instead of the 9.? I'm really lower in TSH?
The doc sent me to an Endo. He's great, seemed to listen to my feelings about insanity. Put me on 5mcg of Cytomel. I will give the endo credit, he said he'd never heard of this happening but I shouldn't take the synthroid any more. I took one dose and the whole damn thing happened again. I had four hours of hell, and what felt like the hangover of an emotional breakdown!
I write this today as a cry for help. I'm what I thought was a healthy 40 year old father. I love my wife and kids, but now they just irritate me.
I know people who 225mcg of synthroid a day and don't feel a thing.
Is or has any of this happened to anyone else? Am I alone in this? What if I had a standing blood test/appt with a endo every three months and didn't treat it with hormones? From what I understand, the main concern is high chloesterol and I cut mine in half through lifestyle changes (quit smoking, don't drink, low fat high fiber diet, lost 60lbs while supposedly hypo) in the year prior to diagnosis. Plus, I'd rather take Lipitor than this ****.
I'm sorry for the longwinded nature of this. It stands testement to how wired and panickey these drugs are making me and my own desperation. I wish they never would have found this.
Any help would be appreciated.