Confused by Thyroid issues and other symptoms.

[gracious granny]

Hello all! its been a long time since I have posted and let me say I really miss Dr. Judy:(
But I will share my experience and maybe some of you ladies can give me some insight.
Here goes..At 50 1/2 I am 3 years post meno. My transition was really not bad at all, something which I marveled at constantly. No hot flashes to speak of ( I was cold instead:()
Really no sleep problems, etc. Mostly just nervousness and anxiety. After 2 attempts at HRT, and not liking the side effects, I have been taking black cohosh with good results. But....
A few months ago I began to feel extremely unwell, extreme fatigue, weakness, muscle aches and pains,brittle nails, memory/cognitive problems and some feelings of being hot. This was not normal for me. I saw my Dr. the first week in June and after exhaustive blood work/tests I was diagnosed as Hypothyroid and placed on Synthroid 25 mcg. I began to feel better within a week or so!! It was unbelievable!! And my brain began to function better than before menopause I started the Synthroid at the end of June. But now I am finding that while I still feel generally more energetic, more "with it" brain wise, and all the good things that came from the medication ,I am also suffering from severe heat intolerance, or hot flashes, I don't know. We are in the middle of a heat wave here where I live (temps in the mid 90's for over a month) and I have gone from someone who had to wear a sweater in an air conditioned room to someone who is just hot all the time!!!
I am wondering if: 1) this "hotness" is a side effect of the Synthroid or 2) My menopausal transition was not what you would normally expect because my thyroid was not functioning properly and now that the thyroid is being replaced I am experiencing what a typical post menopausal lady goes through? Thoughts/ ideas anyone??? G.G.

[minniepauz]

I'm no Dr. Judy, but I would venture to guess the answer is 1,2 & 3!!! I definitely think #2 is the main factor and I can tell you for sure that many of the "heat" issues remain long after post menopause. Like you, I went through it fairly early, but had major hotflashes for at least 5 years after my periods stopped.

I believe the medical world has done us all a disfavor by trying to put menopause into a neat little, time-controlled package. We've been led to believe that once you go through certain stages then you're on to the "After Pause Glow"....this is why I'm working on a new section of my site for those of us who are still having to deal with many hormonal and other health issues.

I am searching for someone who might be able to fill the hole left by Dr. Judy's absence.

[gracious granny]

Thanks Dee for your reply, it is all confusing isn't it? Wish it was only that easy, to tie it up in a neat little package and know that once you are a certain no. of months/years post that all the symptoms will magically disappear. I have a Dr. app. on the last day of August to have thyroid levels checked again and I am also going to ask for hormone level testing as well. I suppose it is possible that my estrogen stores took this long to be depleted.
I'm feeling disheartened though as today I went to the local convenience store and the lady working there was about my age and we began to talk as us women always do, LOL. We were talking about the heat wave and I shared with her the issues I have been having and she told me that she, too, is on Synthroid and that her Dr. told her that this medication causes heat intolerance and that she was also on HRT for a period of time(along with the Synthroid) and was still flashing like crazy:( on both meds. But I will post what I find out at the DR. G.G.

[RacerWife7]

The hotness isn't a side effect of Synthroid, but rather a symptom of hypothyroidism that hasn't been correct by the use of Synthroid. And it's likely that with the barrage of T-4 that you've been putting in your body (by feeding it Synthroid, which is a "T-4 only medication"), you're throwing your other hormones out of whack. What you probably really need rather than the overused, horrible Synthroid is natural thyroid replacement. (AKA bioidentical hormones)

I was on Synthroid for 20 years with continuing symptoms of hypothyroidism (like hot flashes, to name just ONE). Within 3 days of being on natural thyroid, I felt 1,000 times better. I was put on Armour (brand name) thyroid. But, natural thyroid can also be compounded at any compounding pharmacy, too. Both work well - and both work infinitely better than synthetic thyroid (Synthroid).

Unfortunately, not all doctors believe in natural thyroid. But, there are (literally) thousands - if not millions - of thyroid patients who have proven them wrong repeatedly. The medical education system has not caught up with us patients yet, though. So, they still keep churning out these misinformed doctors - especially endocrinologists - who believe that synthetics are the way to go. They're not only NOT the way to go, neither is the idiotic TSH test they use to base their dosing on.

I hope that, for your sake, you find a different doctor - one who believes in natural thyroid replacement therapy and the proper testing to get there. You will be a much happier and healthier woman in the long run.

For more info, you can read up on this at http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com - that's how I found out about all this and it's what helped me feel human again after years of mistreatment with synthetic hormones. Good luck!