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Suggest Treatment For Symptoms Of Hypothyroidism
Question: Hi, my mother is on thyrox 75 mg. She recently got sick; not eating, sleeping almost all day, puffy eyes, dry skin, irritable, not able to speak and is always trying to clear her throat.
Also, her tongue had a white mucus film and seemed swollen. Normally, she has a very good appetite and lives to talk. Her PC did blood work and says the thyroid is normal. Doctors ruled out a host of other things by way of CT exam. She also saw the ENT who says no problems there. She is 93 years old and seems to be very uncomfortable. Should I ask for more extensive thyroid testing?
On 12/8/2016 her basel body temp (underarm) reading is 95.7 taken at 7:15AM EST
Also, her tongue had a white mucus film and seemed swollen. Normally, she has a very good appetite and lives to talk. Her PC did blood work and says the thyroid is normal. Doctors ruled out a host of other things by way of CT exam. She also saw the ENT who says no problems there. She is 93 years old and seems to be very uncomfortable. Should I ask for more extensive thyroid testing?
On 12/8/2016 her basel body temp (underarm) reading is 95.7 taken at 7:15AM EST
Brief Answer:
Your mother has the symptoms of hypothyroidism.
Detailed Answer:
Hello
I have gone through your question.
I can understand your concern.
Your mother is on thyrox or thyroid hormone replacement therapy,so i can deduct that very probably she has hypothyroidism.
Most of her actual symptoms like: sleeping almost all day, puffy eyes, dry skin,extreme weakness ,not able to speak and eat,are symptoms of low thyroid function.
Since the main purpose of thyroid hormone is to "run the body's metabolism," it is understandable that people with this condition will have symptoms associated with a slow metabolism.
It is strange that her thyroid tests are normal with a lot of symptoms that can be attributed to hypothyroidism.If your mother was my patient i would ask to repeat in another lab ,all the thyroid function tests:TSH,freeT3 and freeT4.
This results are important to understand her actual thyroid condition and to do the necesary dose adjustment of Thyrox.
At the other side in my opinion, she has the symptoms of an upper respiratory inflammation(mucus in her throat and white tongue.)
White tongue is the result of an overgrowth and swelling of papillae on the surface of the tongue. The appearance of a white coating is caused by debris, bacteria and dead cells getting lodged between the enlarged and sometimes inflamed papillae.
In older people the causes of this condition can be dry mouth and fever.
Anyway if her ENT says that she has no problem,i can eliminate my hypothesis.
Let me know the results of thyroid function(i insist that hypothyroidism is the culpit of her actual condition)
Hope I have answered your question. If you have any further questions I will be happy to help.
Thank you for using HCM.
Wish you good health.
Your mother has the symptoms of hypothyroidism.
Detailed Answer:
Hello
I have gone through your question.
I can understand your concern.
Your mother is on thyrox or thyroid hormone replacement therapy,so i can deduct that very probably she has hypothyroidism.
Most of her actual symptoms like: sleeping almost all day, puffy eyes, dry skin,extreme weakness ,not able to speak and eat,are symptoms of low thyroid function.
Since the main purpose of thyroid hormone is to "run the body's metabolism," it is understandable that people with this condition will have symptoms associated with a slow metabolism.
It is strange that her thyroid tests are normal with a lot of symptoms that can be attributed to hypothyroidism.If your mother was my patient i would ask to repeat in another lab ,all the thyroid function tests:TSH,freeT3 and freeT4.
This results are important to understand her actual thyroid condition and to do the necesary dose adjustment of Thyrox.
At the other side in my opinion, she has the symptoms of an upper respiratory inflammation(mucus in her throat and white tongue.)
White tongue is the result of an overgrowth and swelling of papillae on the surface of the tongue. The appearance of a white coating is caused by debris, bacteria and dead cells getting lodged between the enlarged and sometimes inflamed papillae.
In older people the causes of this condition can be dry mouth and fever.
Anyway if her ENT says that she has no problem,i can eliminate my hypothesis.
Let me know the results of thyroid function(i insist that hypothyroidism is the culpit of her actual condition)
Hope I have answered your question. If you have any further questions I will be happy to help.
Thank you for using HCM.
Wish you good health.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Veerisetty Shyamkumar
Dr. Elona,
The other thing noted about her condition this morning is her basal body temperature (BBT) was 95.7 (underarm temp reading).
Question: Do you know of a doctor in the NYC (Brooklyn NY) area who is familiar with this type of tests who might do house calls. She been through so much since November 11th (PC visit, ENT visit and ER visit), that I really would rather not take her out for further testing unless it is absolutely necessary.
Thanks for your help. It is much appreciated!
The other thing noted about her condition this morning is her basal body temperature (BBT) was 95.7 (underarm temp reading).
Question: Do you know of a doctor in the NYC (Brooklyn NY) area who is familiar with this type of tests who might do house calls. She been through so much since November 11th (PC visit, ENT visit and ER visit), that I really would rather not take her out for further testing unless it is absolutely necessary.
Thanks for your help. It is much appreciated!
Brief Answer:
I don't live in your area,so i'm unable to answer your question correctlly.
Detailed Answer:
Hello dear,
1. You can see that your mother's body temperature this morning is 95.7℉ or 35.4 Celcius.
Hypothermia occurs as your body temperature passes below 95 Degree F (35 C).
So,the result of this morning is slightly hypothermia and even this sign can be attributed to hypothyroidism(as we've discussed earlier)
2. I'm sorry , I don't know a doctor in your area who can be familiar with the type of tests you need (I'm a practicing doctor in Albania, Europe), but you can easily find the House call service in XXXXXXX New York if you search in internet (Google it perhaps).
Hope my information is helpful.
Take care.
I don't live in your area,so i'm unable to answer your question correctlly.
Detailed Answer:
Hello dear,
1. You can see that your mother's body temperature this morning is 95.7℉ or 35.4 Celcius.
Hypothermia occurs as your body temperature passes below 95 Degree F (35 C).
So,the result of this morning is slightly hypothermia and even this sign can be attributed to hypothyroidism(as we've discussed earlier)
2. I'm sorry , I don't know a doctor in your area who can be familiar with the type of tests you need (I'm a practicing doctor in Albania, Europe), but you can easily find the House call service in XXXXXXX New York if you search in internet (Google it perhaps).
Hope my information is helpful.
Take care.
Note: Consult an experienced Otolaryngologist / ENT Specialist online for further follow up on ear, nose, and throat issues - Book a Call now.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Arnab Banerjee
Answered by
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