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Trauma Triggered Hypothyroidism
hi to everyone here,
Has anyone experienced hypothyroidism that was triggered by very severe, continuous emotional trauma? My story is long and profoundly painful, so much so that I am unable to write about it all in detail.. All I am able to say here is that the first of what were a succession of very severe physical and emotional traumas happened to me starting in the Fall of 2011. Before this, I felt I was very healthy and my thyroid was functioning well. In January 2012 my hair started falling out, and it has not stopped since. There is also no regrowth. In August 2014 I began to develop numerous symptoms of hypothyroidism, and is when my thyroid tests began to suggest my thyroid function was starting to decline.
Does anyone know if severe physical and emotional trauma of long duration permanently damages the thyroid, or is there a possibility it could recover on it's own without having to go on thyroid medication. I am female and now 56 yrs old.
Thank you to everyone who reads my post,
hoping someone might have some experience/insight into what has happened to me.
Has anyone experienced hypothyroidism that was triggered by very severe, continuous emotional trauma? My story is long and profoundly painful, so much so that I am unable to write about it all in detail.. All I am able to say here is that the first of what were a succession of very severe physical and emotional traumas happened to me starting in the Fall of 2011. Before this, I felt I was very healthy and my thyroid was functioning well. In January 2012 my hair started falling out, and it has not stopped since. There is also no regrowth. In August 2014 I began to develop numerous symptoms of hypothyroidism, and is when my thyroid tests began to suggest my thyroid function was starting to decline.
Does anyone know if severe physical and emotional trauma of long duration permanently damages the thyroid, or is there a possibility it could recover on it's own without having to go on thyroid medication. I am female and now 56 yrs old.
Thank you to everyone who reads my post,
hoping someone might have some experience/insight into what has happened to me.
One of the problems with your labs is that the tests ordered haven't been consistent. So, it's hard to see any kind of pattern. Looking at just the last three tests, you can see that TSH is not tracking FT3 and FT4 at all. As FT3 and FT4 go up, so does TSH. As the frees go up, TSH should go down.
TSH levels can vary as much as 70% intraday just depending on the time of day the blood was drawn. FT4 levels are more stable, but FT3 also varies considerably. All have a circadian rhythm.
Can you relate your coldness to eating in any way? Panic attacks (anxiety) can be symptoms of both hypo and hyper.
I don't see evidence of your thyroid starting to fail in your FT3 and FT4. FT4 is on the high side, and FT3 is right where it should be. TSH is all that's off, and TSH is usually best ignored anyway. TSH causes no symptoms. You can see that your FT4 is considerably higher now than it was in what you consider your baseline.
T3U is considered an obsolete test. Despite its name, it's actually an indirect measure of T4. FT4 is a direct test and much more reliable.
Has RT3 ever been tested?
TSH levels can vary as much as 70% intraday just depending on the time of day the blood was drawn. FT4 levels are more stable, but FT3 also varies considerably. All have a circadian rhythm.
Can you relate your coldness to eating in any way? Panic attacks (anxiety) can be symptoms of both hypo and hyper.
I don't see evidence of your thyroid starting to fail in your FT3 and FT4. FT4 is on the high side, and FT3 is right where it should be. TSH is all that's off, and TSH is usually best ignored anyway. TSH causes no symptoms. You can see that your FT4 is considerably higher now than it was in what you consider your baseline.
T3U is considered an obsolete test. Despite its name, it's actually an indirect measure of T4. FT4 is a direct test and much more reliable.
Has RT3 ever been tested?
I forgot to say that I had the T3 updake test done on 3/30/15 with these tests.
3/30/15
TSH 3.36 FT4 1.24 FT3 3.0
T3 UPTAKE
range 24.0 - 39.0 %
my value 36.0
3/30/15
TSH 3.36 FT4 1.24 FT3 3.0
T3 UPTAKE
range 24.0 - 39.0 %
my value 36.0
goolarra, do you know what the T3 Uptake test result means? I had this test done also, but I'm having a hard time understanding what the result means:
T3 UPTAKE
range 24.0 - 39.0 %
my value 36.0
T3 UPTAKE
range 24.0 - 39.0 %
my value 36.0
Thank you for writing again goolarra. My thyroid tests have been all over the place. When I was feeling well, before all this happened to me, I had these tests done, so I think these values are close to what my baseline was:
5/11/10
TSH 2.7 FT4 1.17 FT3 didn't have done
My problems began in Jan-2012. These were my tests from then up to now:
Ranges:
TSH 0.450-4.5
FT4 0.82-1.77
FT3 2.0-4.4
1/1/12
FT3 3.3
4/11/13
TSH 2.46 FT4 1.22
7/29/13
TSH 2.57
9/25/13
TSH 3.36 FT4 1.27
8/25/14
TSH 4.28 FT3 3.36
10/25/14
TSH 3.36 FT4 1.09 FT3 2.6
3/30/15
TSH 3.36 FT4 1.24 FT3 3.0
5/26/15
TSH 5.26 FT4 1.46 FT3 3.6
I have read that thyroid levels follow a circadiam rhythm, but that they should not fluctuate all that much throughout a 24-hour day. I couldn't understand my last lab values at all. At around 1-2pm I suddenly become freezing cold every day, and that is when I went to the lab to have my blood drawn. I was expecting the values to be very low, but they were the highest they've ever been. The doctor said the TSH is high because my thyroid is starting to fail and so is needing more and more TSH to stimulate it to produce hormones. When I mentioned about thyroid hormone resistance, he did not say anything.
It really scares me to start hormones, not only for the reasons I mentioned earlier, but because I am afraid I could not tolerate high doses. I already suffer from terrible panic attacks now which are unbearable and have worn me down terribly. It feels like huge surges of adrenaline that just hit me, and I get burning hot and break out into a drenching sweat.
Where I live, it would cost a fortune to see a private therapist goolarra. I did check a few of them, but they all charge well over $100 for only 45 minutes that must be paid upfront, and none of them have a sliding fee scale. This for-profit health system in this country is just horrible. I feel as though I am just falling into a black hole.
5/11/10
TSH 2.7 FT4 1.17 FT3 didn't have done
My problems began in Jan-2012. These were my tests from then up to now:
Ranges:
TSH 0.450-4.5
FT4 0.82-1.77
FT3 2.0-4.4
1/1/12
FT3 3.3
4/11/13
TSH 2.46 FT4 1.22
7/29/13
TSH 2.57
9/25/13
TSH 3.36 FT4 1.27
8/25/14
TSH 4.28 FT3 3.36
10/25/14
TSH 3.36 FT4 1.09 FT3 2.6
3/30/15
TSH 3.36 FT4 1.24 FT3 3.0
5/26/15
TSH 5.26 FT4 1.46 FT3 3.6
I have read that thyroid levels follow a circadiam rhythm, but that they should not fluctuate all that much throughout a 24-hour day. I couldn't understand my last lab values at all. At around 1-2pm I suddenly become freezing cold every day, and that is when I went to the lab to have my blood drawn. I was expecting the values to be very low, but they were the highest they've ever been. The doctor said the TSH is high because my thyroid is starting to fail and so is needing more and more TSH to stimulate it to produce hormones. When I mentioned about thyroid hormone resistance, he did not say anything.
It really scares me to start hormones, not only for the reasons I mentioned earlier, but because I am afraid I could not tolerate high doses. I already suffer from terrible panic attacks now which are unbearable and have worn me down terribly. It feels like huge surges of adrenaline that just hit me, and I get burning hot and break out into a drenching sweat.
Where I live, it would cost a fortune to see a private therapist goolarra. I did check a few of them, but they all charge well over $100 for only 45 minutes that must be paid upfront, and none of them have a sliding fee scale. This for-profit health system in this country is just horrible. I feel as though I am just falling into a black hole.
I agree with your assessment of the medical industry, which I refuse to call the health "care" system. The art of medicine has all but gone by the wayside, and we are left with a pile of numbers that we are expected to conform to. However, I do think there are still caring people out there; you just have to ferret them out, which can be a daunting task.
It's not easy to decide if symptoms are physical or psychological. Of course, the "rule" is to eliminate the physical first. If you find something amiss, correct it and see if that helps. It's a process of elimination, and it takes time.
You have suffered trauma before, but each situation is unique. Your support system has probably changed considerably over those traumas.
Your FT3 is a little bit on the low side relative to your FT4 (57% vs. 67%). Typically, FT3 should be a higher percentage of range than FT4. When it's not, a conversion issue is suspect. It's the conversion of T4 to T3 that is slowed by trauma, etc.
There is a condition called thyroid hormone resistance (THR). People who have this condition often have to have FT3 and FT4 levels extremely high (sometimes several times the upper limit of the test ranges), or hormones can't get into cells. The saturated levels seem to allow the hormones to enter cells. I always envision this as a kind of "egg and sperm" scenario. Only one sperm (a little bit of thyroid hormone) makes it into the egg (cell), but it takes millions of sperm (very high levels of thyroid hormone) to bust into the egg (cell). Your FT3 and FT4 are pretty high to still have elevated TSH, and that is a symptom of THR.
I really don't think you have much to lose in trying thyroid meds. It would be very hard to feel much worse, and if you do, you simply stop taking thyroid meds. Of course, as I've said before, taking thyroid meds is not like taking an antibiotic...results are not immediate...so, barring any severe reaction, you do have to stick with it for a while. Some people have a reaction to the fillers in thyroid meds, but the active ingredients have almost no side effects, over medication being the primary one.
I also think you have to find a therapist. You've obviously been through a lot. Sometimes we can't do it all on our own. Therapy is another thing like thyroid hormone meds...results are not immediate. It can take many months of building trust before any real improvement is possible. I would suggest you start by finding a therapist who is as self-employed as possible. It's hard to do these days, but at least stay away from the ones employed by the huge medical complexes. I tend to find doctors who are truly in "private practice" to be much more responsive.
You have to start somewhere. Even if where you start is wrong, it will eliminate one more unknown.
It's not easy to decide if symptoms are physical or psychological. Of course, the "rule" is to eliminate the physical first. If you find something amiss, correct it and see if that helps. It's a process of elimination, and it takes time.
You have suffered trauma before, but each situation is unique. Your support system has probably changed considerably over those traumas.
Your FT3 is a little bit on the low side relative to your FT4 (57% vs. 67%). Typically, FT3 should be a higher percentage of range than FT4. When it's not, a conversion issue is suspect. It's the conversion of T4 to T3 that is slowed by trauma, etc.
There is a condition called thyroid hormone resistance (THR). People who have this condition often have to have FT3 and FT4 levels extremely high (sometimes several times the upper limit of the test ranges), or hormones can't get into cells. The saturated levels seem to allow the hormones to enter cells. I always envision this as a kind of "egg and sperm" scenario. Only one sperm (a little bit of thyroid hormone) makes it into the egg (cell), but it takes millions of sperm (very high levels of thyroid hormone) to bust into the egg (cell). Your FT3 and FT4 are pretty high to still have elevated TSH, and that is a symptom of THR.
I really don't think you have much to lose in trying thyroid meds. It would be very hard to feel much worse, and if you do, you simply stop taking thyroid meds. Of course, as I've said before, taking thyroid meds is not like taking an antibiotic...results are not immediate...so, barring any severe reaction, you do have to stick with it for a while. Some people have a reaction to the fillers in thyroid meds, but the active ingredients have almost no side effects, over medication being the primary one.
I also think you have to find a therapist. You've obviously been through a lot. Sometimes we can't do it all on our own. Therapy is another thing like thyroid hormone meds...results are not immediate. It can take many months of building trust before any real improvement is possible. I would suggest you start by finding a therapist who is as self-employed as possible. It's hard to do these days, but at least stay away from the ones employed by the huge medical complexes. I tend to find doctors who are truly in "private practice" to be much more responsive.
You have to start somewhere. Even if where you start is wrong, it will eliminate one more unknown.
Thank you for writing again on my post goolarra. I was hoping you would come back. While you were away, gimel and others have been offering their thoughts to try to help which I appreciate so much. Thank you to all of you.
yes, I am suffering with severe emotional trauma goolarra. I was feeling well before all of this happened to me. It all started with a physical trauma I suffered, and then several very emotionally traumatizing things happened one after the other shortly afterwards.
no, I am not in any therapy. I tried, but it just does not work for me. People I think do not understand that there is a very dark, hidden side to the medical field throughout, and an especially dark side to anything having to do with the mind. One does not realize this until something terrible happens to them and they try to find help. This is a very big subject really, there is so much to say on it.
I can say though that one of my traumatizing events was actually at the hands of people in this field of medicine. Not only was I made to feel inferior and condescended to and worse, but I was given a drug that closed off my throat. I found myself at 3 in the morning nearly suffocating to death and had to force my fingers down my throat to keep my airway open. I suffered like this for hours until the horrible drug began to finally wear off, but I honestly though I was going to die. And this did not happen to me once, but three times. When I told the doctor about it, she just looked at me with a cold, blank stare.
I tried seeing a few counselors but was met with the same soul destroying attitude. There are probably a few counselors that truly do care and convey this to their patients, but from my own awful experiences, I feel there are also many who do not care, or have just become callous over time from spending their days listening to people talk about their problems. Every time I hear medical people on news stories saying that help is available and to go see these people when one is experiencing difficulty I absolutely cringe. The way the system works, and this type of care in particular, is very seriously flawed. I believe a lot of people are harmed and made even worse by what they're put through. I'm sorry for writing so much,.. I am trying not to, it's just so difficult.
What you said about my traumatized emotional state is something I have been trying to find out about for a long time, that being that some of my symptoms could also be caused by this. I was well before all this happened to me. All the trauma came first, so it must be having an effect. It is another reason why I am afraid of the thyroid meds, yet somehow I feel that many of my symptoms are being caused by my thyroid hormones not acting on my cells the way they should. The lowest thyroid levels I've had were last October, but my symptoms began to develop beginning in early 2012. They were:
TSH
Range 0.450-4.5
mine 3.36
fT4
Range 0.82-1.77
mine 1.09
fT3
Range 2.0-4.4
mine 2.6
I have had alot of emotional trauma in my life (the death of my husband, brain surgery, many other things). I survived them all though, never suffering as badly as I am now.
How can I know which is causing more of my symptoms than the other (malfunctioning thyroid vs. effects of emotional trauma)? I have read that in severe emotional distress cortisol and the other stress hormones suppress 'production' of many hormones, but I have had a hard time finding much information on whether high stress hormone levels also block thyroid hormones that are naturally available from entering cells. It's all so complex. If my naturally produced hormones are not getting into my cells, supplemented hormones won't get into them either.
so this is where I am at goolarra. I am getting worse by the day, actually feel critically ill, and not knowing what to do to recover from all that is happening to me.
It is why I turned to this forum, hoping some of the members would be willing to share their thoughts and advice. I appreciate so much yours and everyone's comments that have been shared, and your willingness to try to help me.
yes, I am suffering with severe emotional trauma goolarra. I was feeling well before all of this happened to me. It all started with a physical trauma I suffered, and then several very emotionally traumatizing things happened one after the other shortly afterwards.
no, I am not in any therapy. I tried, but it just does not work for me. People I think do not understand that there is a very dark, hidden side to the medical field throughout, and an especially dark side to anything having to do with the mind. One does not realize this until something terrible happens to them and they try to find help. This is a very big subject really, there is so much to say on it.
I can say though that one of my traumatizing events was actually at the hands of people in this field of medicine. Not only was I made to feel inferior and condescended to and worse, but I was given a drug that closed off my throat. I found myself at 3 in the morning nearly suffocating to death and had to force my fingers down my throat to keep my airway open. I suffered like this for hours until the horrible drug began to finally wear off, but I honestly though I was going to die. And this did not happen to me once, but three times. When I told the doctor about it, she just looked at me with a cold, blank stare.
I tried seeing a few counselors but was met with the same soul destroying attitude. There are probably a few counselors that truly do care and convey this to their patients, but from my own awful experiences, I feel there are also many who do not care, or have just become callous over time from spending their days listening to people talk about their problems. Every time I hear medical people on news stories saying that help is available and to go see these people when one is experiencing difficulty I absolutely cringe. The way the system works, and this type of care in particular, is very seriously flawed. I believe a lot of people are harmed and made even worse by what they're put through. I'm sorry for writing so much,.. I am trying not to, it's just so difficult.
What you said about my traumatized emotional state is something I have been trying to find out about for a long time, that being that some of my symptoms could also be caused by this. I was well before all this happened to me. All the trauma came first, so it must be having an effect. It is another reason why I am afraid of the thyroid meds, yet somehow I feel that many of my symptoms are being caused by my thyroid hormones not acting on my cells the way they should. The lowest thyroid levels I've had were last October, but my symptoms began to develop beginning in early 2012. They were:
TSH
Range 0.450-4.5
mine 3.36
fT4
Range 0.82-1.77
mine 1.09
fT3
Range 2.0-4.4
mine 2.6
I have had alot of emotional trauma in my life (the death of my husband, brain surgery, many other things). I survived them all though, never suffering as badly as I am now.
How can I know which is causing more of my symptoms than the other (malfunctioning thyroid vs. effects of emotional trauma)? I have read that in severe emotional distress cortisol and the other stress hormones suppress 'production' of many hormones, but I have had a hard time finding much information on whether high stress hormone levels also block thyroid hormones that are naturally available from entering cells. It's all so complex. If my naturally produced hormones are not getting into my cells, supplemented hormones won't get into them either.
so this is where I am at goolarra. I am getting worse by the day, actually feel critically ill, and not knowing what to do to recover from all that is happening to me.
It is why I turned to this forum, hoping some of the members would be willing to share their thoughts and advice. I appreciate so much yours and everyone's comments that have been shared, and your willingness to try to help me.
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