feuervogel (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
feuervogel) wrote2011-04-13 11:54 am
feuervogel) wrote2011-04-13 11:54 am
Entry tags:
heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeen
That's what it sounds like in my ears.
While I was on 50 mcg of liothyronine (T3), the tinnitus had abated and I felt pretty good overall. Then I started feeling off, saw my doctor, and the T3 blood levels came back high enough that my TSH was undetectable, so I went to half-tablets.
T3 has a 2.5-day half-life, which means it's gone from the system in about 2 weeks (5 half-lives), and that it takes 2 weeks to reach a new steady state concentration. Toward the middle of the 2 weeks after changing my dose, I felt better, and the tinnitus wasn't so bad. Since the two weeks have been up (about 4/7), I've felt worse, and the tinnitus is driving me NUTS. Also, my eyes are dry again, and my nose is bleeding. I wasn't having that problem on the higher dose of T3.
I've also noticed that my eyebrows are bleaching/falling out, which happened last summer when I had The Nausea, then got better with added T3. Wikipedia just told me that's an actual sign of hypothyroidism. Huh. I'm going to look through our vacation pictures from last summer.
So, my medico-scientific curiosity was piqued, and I decided to look up if there's any known link between hypothyroidism and tinnitus. Google turned up a bunch of less-than-reputable and woo-based sites, so I turned to PubMed, where I had it search for hypothyroidism AND tinnitus. It turned up 8 articles. This one is a case study of a woman who presented with both typical and atypical symptoms, and they mention tinnitus in the abstract. The full text does not appear to be online.
A very old article in an ENT journal found that the incidence of hearing/inner ear issues was correlated with severity of hypothyroidism. That one's full text *is* available online, but not for free, so I can't access it.
I'm also feeling more and more off as time progresses on this lower dose. More migrainish symptoms (facial tingling) and the actual migraine I had last week, for example. I can't concentrate on anything. I don't want to call my doctor's office today, because she doesn't work Wednesdays, and I'll end up having to speak to someone who doesn't have the full history again and get unsatisfactory answers (like "you should get your levels checked again 8 weeks after changing the dose." Well, I'm symptomatic, can we check my levels SOONER? But last week I wasn't convinced of being symptomatic; this week I am. So maybe I'll call again tomorrow. Eight weeks is still a month from now, though I have a pre-physical labs appointment 5/6, and if I don't go in soon, I'll ask to include T3, T4, and TSH in that panel.)
I don't want to be one of those patients, but this is having a very negative effect on both my quality of life and my ability to work.
While I was on 50 mcg of liothyronine (T3), the tinnitus had abated and I felt pretty good overall. Then I started feeling off, saw my doctor, and the T3 blood levels came back high enough that my TSH was undetectable, so I went to half-tablets.
T3 has a 2.5-day half-life, which means it's gone from the system in about 2 weeks (5 half-lives), and that it takes 2 weeks to reach a new steady state concentration. Toward the middle of the 2 weeks after changing my dose, I felt better, and the tinnitus wasn't so bad. Since the two weeks have been up (about 4/7), I've felt worse, and the tinnitus is driving me NUTS. Also, my eyes are dry again, and my nose is bleeding. I wasn't having that problem on the higher dose of T3.
I've also noticed that my eyebrows are bleaching/falling out, which happened last summer when I had The Nausea, then got better with added T3. Wikipedia just told me that's an actual sign of hypothyroidism. Huh. I'm going to look through our vacation pictures from last summer.
So, my medico-scientific curiosity was piqued, and I decided to look up if there's any known link between hypothyroidism and tinnitus. Google turned up a bunch of less-than-reputable and woo-based sites, so I turned to PubMed, where I had it search for hypothyroidism AND tinnitus. It turned up 8 articles. This one is a case study of a woman who presented with both typical and atypical symptoms, and they mention tinnitus in the abstract. The full text does not appear to be online.
A very old article in an ENT journal found that the incidence of hearing/inner ear issues was correlated with severity of hypothyroidism. That one's full text *is* available online, but not for free, so I can't access it.
I'm also feeling more and more off as time progresses on this lower dose. More migrainish symptoms (facial tingling) and the actual migraine I had last week, for example. I can't concentrate on anything. I don't want to call my doctor's office today, because she doesn't work Wednesdays, and I'll end up having to speak to someone who doesn't have the full history again and get unsatisfactory answers (like "you should get your levels checked again 8 weeks after changing the dose." Well, I'm symptomatic, can we check my levels SOONER? But last week I wasn't convinced of being symptomatic; this week I am. So maybe I'll call again tomorrow. Eight weeks is still a month from now, though I have a pre-physical labs appointment 5/6, and if I don't go in soon, I'll ask to include T3, T4, and TSH in that panel.)
I don't want to be one of those patients, but this is having a very negative effect on both my quality of life and my ability to work.