Swinging Between the Opposites – Hyper and Hypo Thyroid

I am always talking and writing about the opposites in life, so I guess I deserve this. But what an education! The body is so f–king amazing.

Just to make things interesting for me, I got to experience not only the hypo-thyroid state, but also the racing heart, palpitations, breathlessness, anxiety, dizziness, lack of appetite, muscle weakness and aches, and foggy brain of the HYPER thyroid state for a last few weeks. Turns out the dosage the doctor suggested that I start with was way too strong for my body. My blood tests still show up in the hyper range. These hormones will take weeks to get out of my system. It is like being accidentally drugged and waiting for the spell to pass. On the worst days I felt like I was on speed (yes, for those of you wondering, I have done speed before in my youth), but with muscle weakness and fatigue. You have all these things you want to do, and you can’t physically do any of them!

I think it is more uncomfortable than the HYPO thyroidism state that is my general problem. For years I kept the symptoms at bay with amino-acids, acupuncture, Chinese herbs and yoga. Despite my efforts, the hypo-thyroid peaked in the last few months as my thyroid got more dysfunctional. The symptoms were fatigue, extreme dizziness, drunk feelings, slight depression, weakness, aches, and stiffness. Some people gain weight, loose hair, and get dry skin, but my worst symptom was the vertigo-like dizziness that lasted for months (see earlier blog experiences).

It makes me wonder how many people are really NOT mentally anxious or depressed, but are being misdiagnosed. People think they are going crazy when these symptoms start happening. You feel like your body is not yours. Your whole experience of being alive in your body is different. It is very disconcerting.

The American Thyroid Association http://www.Thyroid.org suggests that men and women over 35 get their thyroid hormone levels tested, mainly TSH level, every 5 years!

Who knew? The thyroid and thyroid hormones affect everything and you would die without these hormones. Your muscles use them, your heart, your lungs, the endrocrine system, etc. Without thyroid hormone your muscles, heart and lungs would waste away.

I thought I would pass on this information to plant the idea that your symptoms might not just be in your mind.

Read Full Post »