I had a total thyroidectomy 22 years ago. Over the last 12 months, I have had the joys of hitting menopause. I should also say that I had a hysterectomy 23 years ago.
The hot flushes are killing me. The night sweats are horrific. I can't have HRT because it makes my already high blood pressure shoot up to stroke level. Thing is, I also have symptoms that to me speak of my thyroid levels being wrong. I have them regularly and my GP cannot see past the blood tests (they are using out of date levels to judge them, too) and when I saw an endo for the first time earlier this year, he had already decided on a diagnosis before he saw me. He agreed to put my levels back up and all the symptoms that he said were menopause vanished, bar the hot flushes (night sweats had not yet begun.)
If you've made it through all that, well done. My question is, does the menopause make thyroid symptoms worse? The reason I am so sure this is thyroid and not menopause is because the hairs on my chin are not growing, never mind the body hair, hair on my head, the hideously sore thumbs and hips, weight gain, brain fog, dry skin and so on. The hot flushes are hideous, as my body takes ages to cool down from them, although the flush itself has gone. Then I am back to being cold, as usual.