Let’s assume for this post, that a persistent symptom is one that never quite leaves us.
As we all know, symptoms can sometimes be categorized by hormone. For example, a low or high T3 symptom or a low or high T4 symptom. But often times symptoms can just be from overall total hormone, either high or low. Who knows, maybe we can also look to our TSH for some symptoms.
Symptoms are tricky though because sometimes they can play on both teams. Just when I think I have a symptom put nicely in it’s category, it betrays me. A good example is weight gain, for me that can be a hypo or a hyper symptom and so can constipation. So, I have to be careful when assuming I understand what is causing certain symptoms.
I would have to say that I have 2 persistent symptoms that no matter what, they stay with me at some level.
Number one on my list is anxiety. Since my very first tablet of Synthroid 33 years ago, I have had very few days without anxiety. Things can go south so fast with my mental health, it’s crazy. My observations thus far are that I tend to have more anxiety when my FT4 is too high for me. When I say high, I mean that my FT4 is much higher than my FT3, or otherwise known as being “lopsided”. I have discovered that a FT4 level that keeps my anxiety at bay is around 30% of range but… and there is always a but, a 30% FT4 level means that I have to take more T3. So there is always a trade off. I have also begun exploring the idea that my anxiety is related to my super suppressed TSH which is generally in the .01-.03 range.
Since perimenopause, I have taken medication for my anxiety, both a daily SSRI and a benzo when needed. Although, I have found that when my FT3 and FT4 levels are really out of whack, even the medications can’t save me. Anxiety is a show stopper for me. My whole world comes to a halt. When my anxiety is out of control I’m a recluse until I have pulled it out of the gutter. This usually means waiting patiently while my thyroid levels get straightened out. So, while I always have some level of anxiety, it is the profound 24/7 debilitating stuff that brings me to my knees. If you would like to read more about my mental health struggles that I feel are related to my thyroid levels see this post.
My other persistent symptom is tinnitus/ear ringing. I’ve had it since my thyroid surgery. It varies in volume and pitch but usually it’s always there. Some days it is maddening and some days I can ignore it. I really can’t put my tinnitus in a hormone category because it is fickle liar. Sometimes I think my ears are ringing because my T3 is low but then when I have a higher in range FT3 I also get tinnitus. I’ve given up trying to figure it out. It is what it is. It seems to be a common symptom for anyone with thyroid issues but more common after thyroid surgery. A quick google search tells me that a lot of us suffer with it. If you would like to read more about my adventures with tinnitus and other ear issues hop over here!
These are my persistent symptoms, what are yours?
Because this is a chronological blog you guys get to experience our failures and successes in a time stamped fashion. We hope that this will enable our readers to learn from our past experiences, symptoms and screw ups while gaining knowledge from what we have been through.
Please always keep in mind that our posts are written from our experiences. We too are always learning, reading, researching and trying to figure out the needs of our bodies. Sometimes what we say in our posts changes over time: we do more research or we have settled into a dose that we thought was right but now just isn’t. Things change…. and so do we!
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