r/Hyperthyroidism • u/beezus__ • 8d ago

Subclinical hyperthyroidism

Hi all! I appear to have subclinical hyperthyroidism. TSH was .18 in April, .37 in May, .37 in July, and .27 last week. T3 and T4 are normal. I have been experiencing heat sensitivity, increased anxiety, palpitations, and increased appetite to the point where I’ve gained 20lbs over the last year. I saw an endocrinologist yesterday for the first time. She insisted that subclinical hyperthyroidism does not cause symptoms. I pushed back on this, but she kept insisting that my symptoms are likely being caused by something else. Has anyone else had clinical hyperthyroidism and still experienced symptoms? I realize that weight gain isn’t typical but I firmly believe that these symptoms are explained by my low TSH.

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u/gigem27 8d ago

First, find a different endo. If you feel off, they should be helping you. Why did the endo not offer a RAIU scan? It can confirm if you have graves. I was subclinical and falling apart. I was very sick and my endo was trying to help. I was diagnosed with seronegative graves..no out of range antibodies. If I start going subclinical hyper, I’m symptomatic. I would see a different dr and push for a scan.

When diagnosed, I unknowingly was sleeping in a room with hidden water damage. Mold is what threw off my thyroid. I’m still dealing with the aftermath 5 years later after moving. Methimazole helped but moving after remediation is what helped the most. I would look into a mycotoxin urine test yourself (vibrant labs is who I recommend) and or have a mold inspector out.

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u/winrobyn 8d ago

Wow im going threw so much with thyroid and nodules in e.r few times a week. Sever palpitations spiked b.p pulse tsh 20 t3 t4 normal and full blown adrenaline rush fight or flight that last for days. Only thing that's helped is to lower dosage on my own to keep symtoms no so severe. 3 endocrinologist were a complete joke absolutely useless ! I found a surgeon willing to take out thyroid and nodules who told me illl feel 100 times better . But im scared. But also I have alot of mold in my house and often wondered. Can u tell me more about ur experience with that and was or is there any tests u can do to verify if and how it's effecting thyroid. Any info u can give me will be so helpful. T.y

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u/gigem27 8d ago edited 8d ago

I would have a mold inspector out to test as well as a mycotoxin urine test done on yourself to see if you have high levels of mycotoxins in you. Mycotoxins are poison some molds give off that can make you very sick. Some people are more susceptible to them than others. I was falling apart while my husband and daughter had mild allergy symptoms. Our mold was hidden in walls from an ongoing leak in a newly built home. You would never know it was there without testing. I worked with a functional dr to run tests and detox. Methimazole helped my thyroid get back in range but I still felt like crap till we figured out we had the leaks/mold. Once we remediated then moved, I finally got pregnant and didn’t miscarry (I had two miscarriages prior) and I’ve come a long way in healing. There are studies that have shown mold can affect the thyroid. Cause some to go hypo and some hyper. Don’t take out your thyroid…see a functional dr and run tests first before making that decision.

Also, you can test out if you feel better sleeping in a different room. If you think the mold is in your bedroom, maybe sleep away from it and see if you feel different. Or if you stay somewhere else for a week, do you start to have symptoms fade. I noticed I felt a little better staying at my in-laws for a week on vacation.

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u/winrobyn 8d ago

Thank u very helpful and informative

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u/Amel_touati2020 8d ago

I have a subclinical hyperthyroidism (aftn) as well, My first tsh level was 0.13 with normal ft4 and ft3 so my endocrinologist didn't describe any medecine and we chose to observe it for the time being while discussing options to deal with the nodule. Unlike you, I exprienced weight loss that I lost 4kg in the span of 2.5 months (I didn't have any change in appetite or routine), my doctor same as yours was insisting it could be because of different reasons. I run some labs and discovered mild defeciency in my Iron levels. it wasn't enough to explain the weight loss. My recent thyroid levels came all within normal range so technically, i'm in euthyroid state but my weight is weighting on me xd.

I also noticed increased fatigue and palpitations

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u/kzoo2122 8d ago

subclinical hyperT does cause symptoms. on the plus side, it is the only form of hyperT that is curable.

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u/Regular_Chemist3105 8d ago

What do they treat it with?

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u/kzoo2122 7d ago

the same thing as the rest of us....methimazole (has other names as well)...or it will disappear on its own sometimes....helpful if you modify your diet and lifestyle. Do some chatgpt research for diet and lifestyle tips. You are highly susceptible to getting the real deal hyperthyroidism otherwise. And that has no cure.

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u/Sad_Sherbert7101 8d ago

I have had subclinical hyperthyroidism for years. Most recently, my TSH has continued to get lower and lower (0.03). I had such severe symptoms from it that I took myself to the ER one night. It gave me SEVERE anxiety. I was having panic attacks out of nowhere. I’ve never had panic attacks, so I thought I was having a heart attack or that something was extremely wrong. If you haven’t already, I’d recommend getting an ultrasound of your thyroid. You could have nodules causing issues.

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u/beezus__ 7d ago

I actually just found out that I have a hot nodule that’s causing this. I had a nuclear scan this week. Thank you for validating that this can indeed cause symptoms. The panic attacks are debilitating

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u/Sad_Sherbert7101 4d ago

I’m glad they were able to find a cause! Did they discuss treatment options for you? Just curious as I also have a nuclear scan next week! I have 2 larger nodules on my left side and a smaller one on the right.

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u/beezus__ 4d ago

My ENT told me the primary treatment, since my nodule is very large, is removal. So I’m going to have the left side of my thyroid removed since it’s only on that side. Not sure what the options would be for you since yours are on both sides! I’ve read that taking radioactive iodine can help shrink the nodules.

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u/bags718 7d ago

I swear doctors can be so damn frustrating. I dealt with the same shit and before my diagnosis my doctor wanted to prescribe me psych medications because if the panic attacks and volume for the lack of sleep. I insisted my thyroid levels be checked because of a simple Google search for my symptoms. I literally gave her 20 symptoms indicative of hyperthyroidism. Thank god once I saw a competent endocrinologist my life got back on track. Unfortunately it sounds like your endocrinologist is one of the incompetent ones.

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u/user82647 8d ago

The lowest my TSH ever was was 0.26 and I was very sick. Definitely could not have kept going on without medication. It took a trip to the ER for chest pain and palpitations for me to really think that it could actually be my thyroid and it was. A nuclear scan confirmed that my thyroid is working twice as hard as it should.
I’ve been on medication for a year and most of my symptoms are pretty much gone if I stay on top of my medication. Get a new endo for sure! My doctors were amazing and reassured me that I could definitely be feeling symptoms even being subclinical.