Menopause Matters Forum
Menopause Discussion => Other Health Discussion => Topic started by: Baby on August 29, 2020, 10:19:38 PM
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Help me ladies f you can. I have a telephone appointment withan endocrinologist in two weeks because my hormones are so f.....d up. Despite trying various HRT. Nothing works my anxiety and panic is so bad at times I just want to die. I am absolutely shattered all the time and ache all over yet another day I feel like I could do anything like the other day I felt great cooked a three course meal for eight people. The next day I didn't stop crying all day.i have about two days a week I feel good the rest crap. It is literalliy driving me out of my mind. I have no endorphins. I don't feel joy, For instance I have joined a gym to try and help wth the anxiety or pass the time till I can go back to bed. Anyway you now when you are on the treadmill and pushing yourself and see yourself improving you get like an endorphin rush at the end nothing just sweaty and fla. Anyway I am crap on the phone, always have been so what can I say question wise to help me. By the way I was borderline hypo with thyroid and am on 25mg thyroxine. Doc says there is nothing wrong with my level now. :(i
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Hi,
I am sorry to hear the way you are feeling, and hope you will get some good advice from endocrinologist. Are you still in peri menopause or post menopause stage already? I have also been having borderline hypo thyroid issue when peri menopause started and not everyone feels fine with e.g. TSH level just below 4. For thyroid function it is also relevant which levels T3, T4 are at aside from TSH. Some people feel fine with TSH between 3-4 and for others this may be not enough but I am not a medical professional but just wanted to point this out. I would ask endocrinologist about this. Are you on HRT? This can help with symptoms as well. Wishing you all the best and seek further medical help if need be. This is a difficult time for many women and you are not alone feeling like this at times. Things can get better again. AG
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Should have maybe added to make things clearer: TSH > 4.2 (or 5 it used to be) is usually being monitored for potential hypothyroid function, if TSH < 1 then it can potentially be hyperthyroid (if T4, T3 are at high end of range). AG
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I think I am early meno. Only had standard tsh tested. Level was 2.5 when I had it tested from5.5. Am on my fourth try of HRT.
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Ok, TSH of 2.5 sounds pretty reasonable. I had TSH flaky over peri, could be anything from 3.5 to 5.5, not on thyroid meds (yet) but will get another test done. Menopause symptoms on their own can make one feel pretty bad from one day to the next and HRT can help with this. I noticed an immediate improvement from even a low dose of oestrogen but cannot tolerate progesterone unfortunately. Are you looking at continuous HRT (for post menopause), or still cyclical (oestrogen only for a few days, then both oestrogen plus progesterone for rest of the 28 or so days)? I hope you find a combination that works for you but it can take a bit of time. All the best, AG
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At the moment on a cyclical regime and am going to try this for three months with a view to trying continuous if no improvement.
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Was just wondering whether it may be worth doing a blood test to see how well you are absorbing the HRT (some people do absorb HRT that well when on patches for instance). All the best, AG
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Hope ok to jump in on your post and ask if anyone can tell me if my thyroid blood results is ok my dr says yes. My Tsh 0.65 and ft4 is 11.8 I’ve noticed by past blood tests it’s going down and wondering if it’s why I have bad aniexty since menopause.
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Hi Donna-paul, your TSH is quite low but so is your FT4, which I would expect to be higher than that with a pretty low TSH. Can I ask do you have a diagnosed thyroid condition, other endocrine disorder or another illness ongoing?
To answer your other question, a low TSH when associated with an overactive thyroid can give rise to feelings of anxiety, but again I'd expect your FT4 to be towards top of ref range if you were becoming hyperthyroid. Your TSH looks to be still within ref range (so not classed as abnormal) - did they give you the ref ranges for the lab that did your tests & did they test FT3?
Wx
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No I don’t have diagnosed thyroid condition. I have m.e and chronic infection embedded in my bladder. The ranges tsh .35-3.50 ft4 7.5-21.1 they didn’t test ft3 or antibodies.
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Thanks for the info Donna-paul. Reason for asking about other health conditions was that sometimes these can cause TFTs to look a bit odd, so might perhaps explain why you have both low TSH & lowish T4, which don't usually go hand in hand.
Sorry to know you have both M.E. & a chronic bladder infection to cope with. Are you on long term antibiotics for that? I was in that situation many years ago & had nearly 9 months on low dose antibiotics which did eventually clear the infection, so everything crossed for you.
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They think I’ve had this uti for 12+years then became chronic last year low dose antibiotics don’t work when it’s in embedded in the bladder. I’ve been on high dose for a year and still have it I’m under the only clinic in England so keeping everything🤞 I will get rid of it eventually a real battle. Then menopause on top what a joy.
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Hi, sorry to hear you're feeling crap. I'm on a similar roller coaster but have been reading through previous posts on the forum and am throwing everything at my symptoms :
1 blood test including thyroid - all ok
2 HRT from Studd clinic - feeling more normal on my good days
3 GP adjusted Antidepressants - worse so adjusted them back
4 Counselling started - so far ok
5 Vitamins D - very low again so supplement spray. Had this before when it dropped to 13 fatigue & low mood was awful
6 Started probiotics, magnesium, vit B complex, chromium, fish oil & Q10
9 Healthier diet & 30 mins exercise everyday
10 staged return to work (if I can concentrate)
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Oh Donna 12+ years? Poor you. Mine was interstitial trigonitis with horribly uncomfortable retention. Had 3 months standard dose antibiotics followed by nearly 6 months lower dose at night only but had to stop sooner than planned as they began to make me feel very sick. Still did the trick, thankfully. So I wish you luck with that. :hug:
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Well spoke to endocrinologist yesterday by telephone. No help at all. I asked about having my oestrogen levels checked. No need because I am on HRT he said. Asked about t3 being checked in thyroid. No need he said because my tsh was fine on levothyroxine. Maybe I am mad and I am making myself I'll on purpose. Just sick of being a nervous wreck and feeling like I am dying all the time. :'( :'( :'( :'(
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Baby, so sorry to hear how disappointing your consultation was. It's such a let down when we get psyched up for those & it feels unsatisfactory in the end. :hug: Can I ask was the 2.5 TSH you mentioned above the last time you had it tested? Also how long have you been on Thyroxine?
Wx
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It was 2.5 in June. I have been on levothyroxine about seven months. X
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Oh dear, I had hoped you might have been on it for a fairly short while in which case I'd have said give it 6 months. Do you know what your T4 level was with the TSH of 2.5? And can I ask how old you are? It's just that some people, especially when younger, find they need their TSH to be really close to bottom of ref range to be asymptomatic. But if anxiety is a problem, then more Thyroxine might make you feel more jittery & 2.5 is close to what's considered optimal for TSH.
What did the Consultant say about your symptoms not resolving with what he considered an acceptable TSH?
Also how far into your 3 month trial of your latest HRT are you?
Sorry Baby - a lot of questions. No need to answer of course, especially if you need time off from thinking about it all.
Wx
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I am in the third month of my HRT. My free t4 was only done once in Nov 2019. It was 17.9 with normal range between 12.00 22.00. He said my symptons just sounded like a terrible menopause
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OK, well that T4 was pretty good then.
What's your gut feeling - do you think it could be "just" a terrible menopause? I know it's so hard to be sure when so much is changing from what we've known for decades as adults. I was so unsure what was going on with me in peri & far from convinced it was just that. But I'm hypothyroid too & many years on that still complicates the situation.
Are you under a Menopause Clinic or is your GP overseeing your HRT? Sorry if I've missed that. Was it a one-off Endocrine consultation or will you be reviewed?
Wx
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Just a one off consultation. I had a video consultation with newson health in April, they just advised the gel and to up the dose. I did up to eight pumps over four months. No difference, so they advised can't think what it's called but it's another kind of liquid spray but no difference.. I am wondering if the levothyroxine could be making me worse if my body doesn't really need it as I was only borderline 5.5 originally. Just fed up with feeling crap. Gp advised the latest hrt tablet. I have never had my oestrogen progesterone tested. Scared to in a way because if they were to come back as good levels I now I must really be going mad. :'( :'(
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I am 52 and a half.x
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Oh, pity Endocrinology are not going to review you.
If you didn't need Thyroxine then yes it could make matters worse but your 2.5 June TSH (on Thyroxine ?4 months) didn't indicate you had had no need of it. If the Thyroxine were more than you needed at that time your TSH would have been suppressed.
Do you have any symptoms of over-treatment other than anxiety - eg feeling permanently too hot for the conditions (I know flushing & night sweats can make it hard to tell), weight loss, diarrhoea, fast heart/pulse rate? If so I would alert your GP as they may want to repeat the TFT sooner rather than, later.
On the other hand, if you are hypothyroid & on oral oestrogen that will probably affect your thyroid status, increasing your requirement for Thyroxine.
"Good levels" of sex hormones & those related to them, such as FSH & LH found on testing at around menopausal age would not necessarily indicate you are not menopausal. It's a potentially very unreliable snapshot during a time of great hormonal fluctuation, which is why they prefer not to test. But you are not going mad. Or if you are, you are in good company here!
Wx
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I lost a stone in weight earlier in the year in two weeks and when I started this latest HRT I put it back on after two weeks of starting it. No change in diet. Before meno I always had constipation, now within five minutes of getting up I go and its always loose. OnlY go once a day. One thing I have noticed is I feel uncomfortable in the sun even if it's not that warm. Was never a problem before meno only f it was realliy hot. I used to work with a girl who was hyperthyroidism and she couldn't keep still, she used to be like a little rocket around the workplace. She drank absolutely gallons of coffee and I remember her hands used to shake. She was treated with radio iodine I think its called. X
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I lost a stone in weight earlier in the year in two weeks and when I started this latest HRT I put it back on after two weeks of starting it. No change in diet. Before meno I always had constipation, now within five minutes of getting up I go and its always loose.
That weight loss in 2 weeks was a lot if your diet hadn't changed. Did your doctor have any explanation for it?
Do you know your thyroid antibody levels?
If your tummy seems abnormally loose as opposed to an improvement on the former constipation, that's something else I would mention to your GP. Do you need to change your diet to manage it do you think? If you were used to eating a lot of fibre to try to manage the constipation is it possible you need to reduce it a little now the Thyroxine may have resolved the sluggishness?
Or if you are now on a low fibre diet, depending on the nature of "loose" some bulk might help hold things together. They sometimes prescribe bulking agents for looseness as well as for constipation. Also, if you are hypothyroid there's increasing thought that a gluten-free diet can be beneficial systemically (not just for the digestive tract) to keep inflammation down.
That you are uncomfortable in the sun could be either menopause or thyroid related. I have exactly the same problem with heat intolerance & it's so far not been fixed by HRT.
Yes radioiodine is used to treat hyperthyroidism.
Wx
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The doctor just matter of fact said it's just stress dear with the weight loss. Never heard of thyroid antibodies levels and on checking my paperwork I've never had them checked.
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The antibody tests give an idea of whether there is an autoimmune condition affecting the thyroid, that's why I asked. Seems odd they haven't checked this as they have started you on Thyroxine.