Thyroid, hrt and hot flashes

I'm totally confused. Saw my thyroid dr. today and asked him if my thyriod could be causing problems with my hrt and giving me hot flashes. He said no, not at all. Then, because my blood levels are on the fence he upped my dose from .05mg to .08mg. Thing is the pharmasist told me that because of the increased dose I could suffer hot flashes. Great, just what I need when I'm having them now. Which got me thinking that if my levels are on the fence then maybe my increased hot flashes could be due to the .05 I'm on now. I wonder if I should just stop the thyroid meds and see what happens. Since I'm on the lowest dose possible I don't think it would hurt me. I have no idea what to think anymore. I'm going to see a gyn on July 8th and hopefully she can help me.
My troubles started in Feb. when I had a reaction to Estrace. I began having night sweats and feeling dizzy and faint. So I stopped the 1mg I was on. My gp gave me estraderm 50 patch to try but after three days I had to take it off. I kept having increased hot flashes while on it and couldn't handle it. So I'm hoping this gyn can help me otherwise I may be out of luck and have to do without hrt.

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Originally Posted by marcatbak I'm totally confused. Saw my thyroid dr. today and asked him if my thyriod could be causing problems with my hrt and giving me hot flashes. He said no, not at all. Then, because my blood levels are on the fence he upped my dose from .05mg to .08mg. Thing is the pharmasist told me that because of the increased dose I could suffer hot flashes. Yes, increasing your thyroid meds, usually means you have to increase your estrogen HRT. They compete for the same binding sites, and unless you add progesterone, you will continue to need to adjust one after you change the other. Great, just what I need when I'm having them now. Which got me thinking that if my levels are on the fence then maybe my increased hot flashes could be due to the .05 I'm on now. I wonder if I should just stop the thyroid meds and see what happens. Since I'm on the lowest dose possible I don't think it would hurt me. I have no idea what to think anymore. I'm going to see a gyn on July 8th and hopefully she can help me. I wouldn't recommend stopping the thyroid meds, especially without dr consent. If you stop the thyroid meds, you will have more estrogen available but will mess up the balance in the long run since when you go back on thyroid meds, you will have to adjust the estrogen again. My troubles started in Feb. when I had a reaction to Estrace. I began having night sweats and feeling dizzy and faint. So I stopped the 1mg I was on. My gp gave me estraderm 50 patch to try but after three days I had to take it off. I kept having increased hot flashes while on it and couldn't handle it. So I'm hoping this gyn can help me otherwise I may be out of luck and have to do without hrt.

Usually the hot flashes are due to too LOW estrogen. So I wonder if perhaps the patch dose was too low for you and you might have needed more. Dizzy and faint is usually too high a dose of estrogen - esp if you also have bloating and nausea.

I would definitely try to fix the thyroid or get it in balance first, before changing anything. It's near to impossible to get the correct estrogen balance if your thyroid is out of whack.

Remember, first fix adrenals, then thyroid, then estrogen, then progesterone, then testosterone....

Then .... exit the jungle!!!!

Were you taking the Estrace at the same time as your thyroid med? I have read that those meds should not be taken at the same time. I would most definetly NOT stop the thyroid med before talking with your doctor.

Hi

You pharmacist was right, you may experience some hot flashes with the increased dose. It's nothing to do with whether the dose is too low or high, that's just how our bodies respond to a change in hormone levels. They should die down after a few days. It happened to me every time I adjusted my dose. If they get worse or just won't go away after a couple of weeks, you should inform your Dr.

Hi

The endocrine system, involves all of our hormones. Whenever I change the dose of one, it affects the levels of the others. Anytime I have one of my HRT hormones changed, my Dr tests the thyroid in 6-8 weeks.

I have also been told that it is very important to begin with the thyroid, then after it is at an optimum level for me, to then begin tweaking the estrogen. My Doctor only changes one hormone at a time, and waits 6-8 weeks before changing the dose on another. This is because it can take that long to get the full effects of any hormone change, and if you change more than one at a time, the symptoms can be confusing.

Hot flashes are caused by fluctuating hormones. I get hot flashes from estrogen, thyroid and insulin fluctuations. Of these, the estrogen hot flashes are actually my mildest.

I agree with (((Kim))). I was told to NEVER discontinue my thyroid, or even change the dose without seeing a Dr first.

I have some very good Doctors. However, the family Dr who see's the rest of my family doesn't see me anymore because he doesn't understand the relationship between all of my hormones. I had to find a who was more knowledgeable with the endocrine system and surgical menopause.

There are so many types of ERT available, and it is not unusual for a woman to have to try several before she finds the best fit for her. I can't use gels or creams. I love the convenience of the patch, but estradiol alone doesn't seem to be the best for me either. I have just recently been switched to a compounded troche (again). I have been working on finding my best "fit" since my surgery in 2005. For some of us, it just takes longer. I do find comfort however, in knowing that each change brings me one step closer to balance .

Don't give up. If you have access to a compounding pharmacist, you might ask them for referrals to Doctors who are knowledgeable with both surgical menopause HRT and thyroid. This doesn't mean that you have to use a compunded hrt, but it is a good way to find a good who will work with you to find what is best for YOU.

Hang in there. Patience has become one of my best friends.


Kay

[quote=Calypso;2934167]Usually the hot flashes are due to too LOW estrogen. So I wonder if perhaps the patch dose was too low for you and you might have needed more. Dizzy and faint is usually too high a dose of estrogen - esp if you also have bloating and nausea.

I would definitely try to fix the thyroid or get it in balance first, before changing anything. It's near to impossible to get the correct estrogen balance if your thyroid is out of whack.

Remember, first fix adrenals, then thyroid, then estrogen, then progesterone, then testosterone....

Then .... exit the jungle!!!![/QUOTE

My estrogen levels were not too low when I started having hot flashes. My dr. checked them and they were at mid range levels. I never had nausea but I always bloat on hrt no matter what kind it is.
The dizziness and faintness can be a side effect of estrace and the patches. The phamlet that came with the patches lists it and it also says you have to stop taking it if this happens.
I was only taking 1mg in a divided dose.

I want to thank everyone for your replies. I haven't stopped my thyroid meds and have started the new dose. What I have done is stopped all hrt and since I've done that I haven't had too many hot flashes at all, which is a surpise to me.
I am seeing a gyn on July 8th and will discuss what we can do when I see her. I have been on some form of hrt for 21 yrs now and I'm 51 now. Maybe I won't need anything beyond vaginal help but I do know, after having tried premarin cream, I don't like it at all. Not that it's messy but I hate the fact that it was increasing my hot flashes. At least I think it was.
Anyway thanks again everyone.

Well, I see that I'm posting here late, but this thread wasn't here in the middle of May when I first started dealing with all this, and I just FINALLY saw the endocrinologist on Friday.

The endocrinologist said hot flashes and night sweats can be caused by incorrect thyroid levels as well as too little estrogen. He recommends some because there's less interference that way. I don't have any absolute answers for myself yet, but my regular doc has changed my thyroid dose 4 times in 10 weeks and I've been going nuts - the endo picked a dose and said we're not touching any other meds for at least six weeks. That by itself is an incredible relief since in addition to changes in thyroid meds, I was put on blood pressure meds that were also switched around and three different doses/types of estrogen. At least two meds changed about every two weeks since the middle of May, I have TEN, yes TEN meds in my cabinet that I took for a little while then got switched off of, and I've seriously been thinking of setting my own doses and staying completely out of doctors' offices. How can anyone feel decent with that many changes?

I'm 20 pounds heavier than I was before my surgery and I've been eating better than I have in YEARS. My regular doc was giving me a hard time about the weight gain, but I KNOW it's from the med/hormone changes.

Sorry about the long rant, but this has been going on for almost three months now and I felt FINE before my surgery, thank you very much.

Whew. I'm done.

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Originally Posted by nfreel Well, I see that I'm posting here late, but this thread wasn't here in the middle of May when I first started dealing with all this, and I just FINALLY saw the endocrinologist on Friday. The endocrinologist said hot flashes and night sweats can be caused by incorrect thyroid levels as well as too little estrogen. He recommends some because there's less interference that way. I don't have any absolute answers for myself yet, but my regular doc has changed my thyroid dose 4 times in 10 weeks and I've been going nuts - the endo picked a dose and said we're not touching any other meds for at least six weeks. That by itself is an incredible relief since in addition to changes in thyroid meds, I was put on blood pressure meds that were also switched around and three different doses/types of estrogen. At least two meds changed about every two weeks since the middle of May, I have TEN, yes TEN meds in my cabinet that I took for a little while then got switched off of, and I've seriously been thinking of setting my own doses and staying completely out of doctors' offices. How can anyone feel decent with that many changes? I'm 20 pounds heavier than I was before my surgery and I've been eating better than I have in YEARS. My regular doc was giving me a hard time about the weight gain, but I KNOW it's from the med/hormone changes. Sorry about the long rant, but this has been going on for almost three months now and I felt FINE before my surgery, thank you very much. Whew. I'm done.

I ended up having to stop thyroid meds at the end of July because the endo had upped my dose and my body went into hyper mode. He said it wasn't the pills but my GP and pharmasist said I was definitly hyperthyroid. My TSH had gone from 2.9 to 0.17 which is way below normal levels.
So I'm off thyroid pills til a blood test on Aug. 21st to see where my levels are. If I am hypo, again, I will have to start back on the meds and slowly build up. I think I began being hyper back in Feb. when the hot flashes started at night. When I know what my levels are I'm asking for a referral to a new endo as I don't trust this one anymore. Not after him telling me it wasn't the pills. I'm not taking anything in hrt right now either and the hot flashes have tapered off to almost being non-exsistent. I'm feeling better now, off everything, than I was when on the meds. We'll see what happens next.