Thiroid issues in male

[born_1971]

I am a male patient and i have had hashimoto since i was a child but i was diagnosed diagnosed almost 30 years later but i never had neither visible thyroid symptom nor pain there,  this issue had been "ruled out" by an endocrinologist years ago. Only it got swollen after i began taking the thyroid hormone. I have had some anxiety issues that i have always managed with exercise all my life. In my teenage i developed a right foot pain and a right groin pain as well, sometimes getting worse this pain after sexual intercourse in the groin area and affecting my sexual life. Sometimes i feel a current in my back but not frequently. Is this pain in the groin and foot, Anxiety? Somatization of the disease? Is a thyroid neuropathy? And how it can be controlled. All the issues started few months after a tonsil surgery at 12 and i had a sort of nerves attack a couple of hours after this surguery. I developed Carpal Tunnel Syndrome in my left wrist few years ago, low right back and right leg pain that improved with the homone treatment. Also i have and cholesterol issues. Sometimes I feel palpitation on my thyroid right side and the thyroid like burning inside. Now only taking T4 synthroid treatment and statins for cholesterol. I would appreciate any advice and Thanks.

[born_1971]

Thanks for your reply.  I have never ever taken T3, i will ask for it the next time i will visit the endocrinologist in June. I have some results from last September before the weather became colder. I adjusted the dosage from 50mcg to 75mcg during winter season. I can not tolerate warm weather really.

My results from Sept, 2010:
FT4  1.47    0.90-1.81
FT3  2.97    2.57-4.20
TSH 3.12    0.270-5.500

Of course this results change depending on the season, now i am doing more exercise but i am getting more peripheral nerve pain but i am not foggy as the winter season. When i began to take the hormones i became completely hyper and Doctors had many problems adjusting the dosage. I was switching them until i found a good one.

Thanks for any advise.

PS. By the way i think i posted this twice. Is this Dr. Lupo forum? I am new to this site.

[gimel]

You and I have  a lot in common regarding Hashi's, delayed diagnosis, etc.  I was on T4 meds, with a TSH of about .05,  for well over 25 years and still had lingering hypo symptoms until I learned on the Forum about the importance of FT3.   After getting mine tested, I found I was in the very low end of the so-called "normal" range and managed to get my meds revised to Armour thyroid.  Now my FT3 is just at the upper third of the range, and my FT4 about midpoint, and I feel best ever.  

By the way, during a time when I was in the process of switching my meds around because Armour was not available, I also came up with carpal tunnel symptoms.  After getting my FT3 and FT4 levels straightened out it went away.  I had never realized that it was an infrequent symptom of being hypo.

A few things that you should be aware of are that frequently when taking thyoid meds, the TSH is suppressed.  That does not mean that you are hyper and need your meds reduced.  You are hyper only if having hyper symptoms due to excessive levels of FT3 and FT4.  Another thing is that frequently when taking thyroid meds, FT3 lags well behind FT4, due to lack of conversion of T4 to T3.  This is why it is so important to test for FT3 as well as FT4 and TSH.  When FT3 is lower in the range than FT4, that is when a source of T3 needs to be added to meds.  This is why we often hear from patients that adding T3 made a big difference in how they feel.

A good thyroid doctor will treat a patient clinically by testing and adjusting  FT3 and FT4 as necessary to relieve symptoms, without being constrained by resultant TSH results.  Symptom relief should be all important, not test results.  Test results are valuable mainly as indicators during diagnosis and then afterward to track FT3 and FT4 as meds are increased to relieve symptoms.


If you would please post your thyroid test results and reference ranges shown on the lab report, members will be glad to help interpret and advise further.