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What Causes Hot Flashes While On Thyroxine?
Question: my gal age 55 has hypothyroidism and is treated with thyroxin. She has finished her periods months back but is having heat flashes... high skin temp and is just plain hot all the time. It seems that everyone around her has a problem and she swears it is not her. So can you help me logically lay out how hypo/hyper thyroidism works with Thyroxin supplement on top of her going through menopause. She feels that it is us and not her at all. She is getting angry with me for trying to encourage her to see her physician for other answers and wants to refuse hormone supplements. Please advise. She really thinks that her double condition has no bearing on her being hot all the time and that she is only comfortable when with her parents in high air conditioning or sleeping with the door open on cold nights...Thank you sincerely!
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Brief Answer:
How much drug is she receiving?
Detailed Answer:
Hi and thank you so much for this query.
I am so sorry to hear about this problem of heat that you daughter has. On possible side effects of thyroxine is that it causes symptoms such as always feeling hot even when others may complain of cold temperatures, fast heart rate, sweating more than usual, being restless, easily irritable, etc. I know this is the context of recent menopause onset can be very tricky to understand and identify the cause. My advise is to listen to you gal and get a TSH level done. This test would tell us whether she is receiving more than needed hormone supplement which may explain her symptoms. If this is normal, then we would use this as objective evidence to counsel her on the fact that menopause is the possible cause of her symptoms and not the thyroxine.
I hope this helps. I wish you well. Thanks for using our services and do feel free to ask for more information and clarifications if need be.
How much drug is she receiving?
Detailed Answer:
Hi and thank you so much for this query.
I am so sorry to hear about this problem of heat that you daughter has. On possible side effects of thyroxine is that it causes symptoms such as always feeling hot even when others may complain of cold temperatures, fast heart rate, sweating more than usual, being restless, easily irritable, etc. I know this is the context of recent menopause onset can be very tricky to understand and identify the cause. My advise is to listen to you gal and get a TSH level done. This test would tell us whether she is receiving more than needed hormone supplement which may explain her symptoms. If this is normal, then we would use this as objective evidence to counsel her on the fact that menopause is the possible cause of her symptoms and not the thyroxine.
I hope this helps. I wish you well. Thanks for using our services and do feel free to ask for more information and clarifications if need be.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
I'm sorry but understand I am in medicine and I asked for an endocrinologist to address this issue. What I needed was an explanation of how the thyroid regulates the bodies temperature and how it might be affecting her doubly and why. With all due respect. I am not satisfied with your answer. She has been on Levothyroxin 100 mg and Lisinopril 10 mg both once a day. for years now and the dose is mg. She recently also had a knee replacement that is causing her pain and might possibly be lose or is being rejected with a mild elevation in temperature at the site with no apparent infection. She is being evaluated currently by orthos and a physiatrist. She is not my daughter she is my girlfriend. Your comprehension of the English language is being lost in translation. This is not an adequate response. Please refer to the physician category that I requested with a more comprehensive answer. Good day and God bless my friend. Thank you for trying.
Brief Answer:
I understand you fully!
Detailed Answer:
Hi and thanks for your detailed follow up precision.
I am so sorry. When I saw gal, to me it sounded like your girl and I apologize for taking this to mean your daughter and not your girlfriend.
Back to her symptoms, truth is that each imd we are on thyroid medications there is a risk of going down with symptoms of excess supplementation. Because she constantly reports higher temperature than others around her would report, I will not pass by without evaluating her treatment for low thyroid. If the numbers do not suggest this, them I will consider other options.
Menopause is a possible reason for the hot flashes, her irritability, etc. With menopause, comes changes in the amount of the proteins that bind thyroid hormones. This allows a higher concentration to circulate in her system and be active which exposes her to toxicity from higher active doses in her system.
My response is that first things should be considered first. I will not want to get too complex when we can adopt a logical approach to identifying and resolving her problem. I still recommend that her thyroid drugs get evaluated first before other possibilities are considered if no answers are obtained.
Best wishes in all your undertakings and let me know if there is something more you would like me to do for you at this time.
I understand you fully!
Detailed Answer:
Hi and thanks for your detailed follow up precision.
I am so sorry. When I saw gal, to me it sounded like your girl and I apologize for taking this to mean your daughter and not your girlfriend.
Back to her symptoms, truth is that each imd we are on thyroid medications there is a risk of going down with symptoms of excess supplementation. Because she constantly reports higher temperature than others around her would report, I will not pass by without evaluating her treatment for low thyroid. If the numbers do not suggest this, them I will consider other options.
Menopause is a possible reason for the hot flashes, her irritability, etc. With menopause, comes changes in the amount of the proteins that bind thyroid hormones. This allows a higher concentration to circulate in her system and be active which exposes her to toxicity from higher active doses in her system.
My response is that first things should be considered first. I will not want to get too complex when we can adopt a logical approach to identifying and resolving her problem. I still recommend that her thyroid drugs get evaluated first before other possibilities are considered if no answers are obtained.
Best wishes in all your undertakings and let me know if there is something more you would like me to do for you at this time.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
TSH, T3 and T4 are in normal range with the current meds. I still was hoping to get an answer that she could read along the lines of "The Thyroid controls your body's temperature like a furnace... Here is why your feeling hot flashes and it could possibly be your medications need adjusted. You should not be feeling this way.. etc., etc. My recommendation to you is...
That is why I paid for an endocrinologist. Thank you for trying though. Your answers in a normal sense would be fine but I asked for specifics to educate her from a physicians point of view. Please forward to the endocrinologist if you will and see if he can answer this to help me help her to realize that her being so hot is not normal but could be caused by... ? ? ? so that I may help her. Otherwise she will continue to be irritable, hot and miserable. I am trying to help her with a scientific reason and explanation so that we together can better educate her to get her the proper help that she needs or she will continue to do nothing and accept sub par medicine from her attending physician that is not looking out for her best interest in my opinion.
Thank you.
That is why I paid for an endocrinologist. Thank you for trying though. Your answers in a normal sense would be fine but I asked for specifics to educate her from a physicians point of view. Please forward to the endocrinologist if you will and see if he can answer this to help me help her to realize that her being so hot is not normal but could be caused by... ? ? ? so that I may help her. Otherwise she will continue to be irritable, hot and miserable. I am trying to help her with a scientific reason and explanation so that we together can better educate her to get her the proper help that she needs or she will continue to do nothing and accept sub par medicine from her attending physician that is not looking out for her best interest in my opinion.
Thank you.
Brief Answer:
See below!
Detailed Answer:
Hi and thanks for the details.
This question wash;t directed to an endocrinologist. That said, the possible causes of her feeling hot in order of priority to me are:
1. Her thyroid medications
2. Hormonal changes following ,menopause.
I hope this helps. I wish you well.
See below!
Detailed Answer:
Hi and thanks for the details.
This question wash;t directed to an endocrinologist. That said, the possible causes of her feeling hot in order of priority to me are:
1. Her thyroid medications
2. Hormonal changes following ,menopause.
I hope this helps. I wish you well.
Note: For more information on hormonal imbalance symptoms or unmanaged diabetes with other comorbid conditions, get back to us & Consult with an Endocrinologist. Click here to book an appointment.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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