dianainsc
April 6th, 2008, 03:05 AM
hi,
My name is Diana and I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism in 1992. Doctors have played around with the levels of hormone replacement and since 2001 my family doctor has managed my treatment with a daily dose of .200 mg Levoxyl.
In July of 2007 I began having "spells" or episodes where I would have palpitations, very high blood pressure, loss of balance and other odd symptoms. I've had approximately 7 of these episodes and ended up in the ER twice.
Over this period of time, my blood pressure which had previously been pretty manageable became unmanagable. I went from Lotrel 5/20 and HCTZ, to Lotrel 10/40 and Triam. I still have edema and pitting in my ankles and lower legs if I am on my feet for any period of time at all.
A Doppler echo on my heart showed that I have left mild atrial enlargement and mild left ventricular hypertrophy.
I seem to be tired all the time, get short of breath on the simplest activities and I am not sleeping well. My arms and shoulders ache quite a bit.
After my second visit to the ER because of the episodes, the ER dr. referred me to an Endocrinologist. He orderd a thyroid scan with fnab if any nodules were found. Several nodules were found but only one was biopsied. The Dr. called me yesterday and said that there was no CLEAR cancer present but they couldn't rule out cancer because the cells were very suspicious. He is recommending that I have a full thyroidectomy. He said that if the pathology shows there is cancer, we will deal with that then.
The endocrinologist also said that my TSH levels were very low and the dose of Levoxyl I've been taking all this time has been too high for my system.
I'm kind of confused. I thought that hyperthyroid meant you had energy galore and lost weight. My entire experience has been the exact opposite.
Do you think the excess hormone could be responsible for the high blood pressure being hard to control and the enlarged heart>?
Also the fatigue and weakness?
Has anyone here had a similar experience in that treatment for the disease at one end of the spectrum caused you to have disease at the other end?
oh I also have arthritis in my cervical spine, lumbar spine, and both knees.
could the excess hormone make these conditions worse?
One of the MRI's on my brain showed that my pituitary is also slightly abnormal and the stalk compressed. I am scheduled to have another one specifically for the pituitary with contrast imaging. Just waiting on the nurse to call with date and time.
I'm sorry that this post is so long and convoluted, but if anyone has any insight or information to share, i'd greatly appreciate it.
thanks
diana
My name is Diana and I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism in 1992. Doctors have played around with the levels of hormone replacement and since 2001 my family doctor has managed my treatment with a daily dose of .200 mg Levoxyl.
In July of 2007 I began having "spells" or episodes where I would have palpitations, very high blood pressure, loss of balance and other odd symptoms. I've had approximately 7 of these episodes and ended up in the ER twice.
Over this period of time, my blood pressure which had previously been pretty manageable became unmanagable. I went from Lotrel 5/20 and HCTZ, to Lotrel 10/40 and Triam. I still have edema and pitting in my ankles and lower legs if I am on my feet for any period of time at all.
A Doppler echo on my heart showed that I have left mild atrial enlargement and mild left ventricular hypertrophy.
I seem to be tired all the time, get short of breath on the simplest activities and I am not sleeping well. My arms and shoulders ache quite a bit.
After my second visit to the ER because of the episodes, the ER dr. referred me to an Endocrinologist. He orderd a thyroid scan with fnab if any nodules were found. Several nodules were found but only one was biopsied. The Dr. called me yesterday and said that there was no CLEAR cancer present but they couldn't rule out cancer because the cells were very suspicious. He is recommending that I have a full thyroidectomy. He said that if the pathology shows there is cancer, we will deal with that then.
The endocrinologist also said that my TSH levels were very low and the dose of Levoxyl I've been taking all this time has been too high for my system.
I'm kind of confused. I thought that hyperthyroid meant you had energy galore and lost weight. My entire experience has been the exact opposite.
Do you think the excess hormone could be responsible for the high blood pressure being hard to control and the enlarged heart>?
Also the fatigue and weakness?
Has anyone here had a similar experience in that treatment for the disease at one end of the spectrum caused you to have disease at the other end?
oh I also have arthritis in my cervical spine, lumbar spine, and both knees.
could the excess hormone make these conditions worse?
One of the MRI's on my brain showed that my pituitary is also slightly abnormal and the stalk compressed. I am scheduled to have another one specifically for the pituitary with contrast imaging. Just waiting on the nurse to call with date and time.
I'm sorry that this post is so long and convoluted, but if anyone has any insight or information to share, i'd greatly appreciate it.
thanks
diana