Hypothyroidism and Hyperthyroidism

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madworld1
madworld1 Posts: 524
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A few years ago (2 maybe) my blood work showed hyperthyroidism. I lost a ton of weight... so much that I was sick. They sent me for a scan and it showed that my thyroid was totally INACTIVE. So, my doctor sent me to a specialist and my blood work was miraculously normal. He wanted me to come back every few months. I never saw him again because our insurance copay is a lot for a specialist. I thought it was just a fluke (and maybe it was).

Fast forward and I have gained almost 30 pounds. Try as I might, the scale won't budge. I run, bike, and lift. I am careful with my calories. My journal isn't accurate because I also keep a written journal. Sometimes I just don't get things entered into MFP.

Have any of you had this experience? Is it possible that my thyroid never really started "working" again? What would you do if you were in my situation. I hate being one of those people that goes to the doctor and has a lot of needless tests done.

Have any of you ever had a scan such as mine but normal blood work? My doctor used the correct thyroid tests because he was a specialist. I've just heard that it sometimes takes a very long time for thyroid levels to show abnormal enough for meds.

Sorry so long.


ETA: The original blood work showed hyperactive, but the scan showed hypoactive.

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  • chaoticrunner
    chaoticrunner Posts: 32 Member
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    I've done a lot of reading on thyroid issues since I started having problems. My best guess would be that you had a bout of hyperthyroidism, your thyroid was showing up as inactive because it was finally getting the message that you had an abundance of thyroid hormones and didn't need anymore. Many times, an occurence of hyperthyroidism is followed by hypothyroidism due to a burnout. The thyroid gets exhausted by the hyperthyroidism and needs to take a rest. This type of hypothyroidism can reverse itself or can be permenant. Best to just go ahead and get the blood work done! No need to see a specialist again, your primary can order labs, then if your results are off, you can return to the specialist. Wouldn't want to waste time and money for a specialist if you don't need to!

    And also, the levels might have returned to normal when you went to the specialist since your thyroid was already heading back to normal at the time of the scan.
  • Syriene
    Syriene Posts: 238
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    Yeah, it sounds like you might have ventured into hypo now and facetious chaos is right-sometimes it can be permanent. :( However, it is treatable.
    I tried for years to lose weight and couldn't and the doctors kept telling me my tests were "normal". I didn't know they were only testing my TSH and nothing else. All I knew was, I felt like crud and they were telling me nothing was wrong.
    My prob was my Reverse T3. Never would have known had I not found a doc that knew what to look for.
    Find a doctor (within your insurance network) that will do ALL of the tests (T4, T3, Reverse T3, etc). You can find a list of tests on Stopthethyroidmaddness.com
    Also, most people feel their best with a TSH of 1, not the (out of date) range on most labwork.
    Good luck!
  • RozayJones
    RozayJones Posts: 409 Member
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    For two years my thyroid bounced from hypo to hyper - talk about a roller coaster. I had test after test for two years - then they found Hashimoto's and after that cancer - I am NOT saying this to scare you but to say you can never have too many tests done. If you are not feeling right or you think something is wrong have it tested and yes ask for all of your individual thyroid levels to be checked. It's amazing what all your thyroid can and cannot do for you.
  • Syriene
    Syriene Posts: 238
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    Many times, an occurence of hyperthyroidism is followed by hypothyroidism due to a burnout.

    It's interesting that you mention that. I'm going to have to check it out, because I think that may have happened to me. Was severely stressed out a couple years ago over a long period and I almost wasted away to nothing. Then all of a sudden, the weight is back, plus some and it won't budge. When I was diagnosed as Hypo, I was told I also had adrenal fatigue. They tend to go hand in hand and you have to treat the adrenal fatigue for the other meds to truly help the thyroid.
  • madworld1
    madworld1 Posts: 524
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    Thank you all for your responses. I have never heard of the reverse T3. I will ask for that as well.

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