psychological effects of hypothyroid?

[bcmxm]

Hi all - I'm hoping somebody can help me make sense of the psychological symptoms I am currently having, I am really just hoping that I can chalk them up to my thyroid and not something more serious...

I'm a 26 y/o female, a few months ago I began to feel really irritable, becoming irate and aggitated over trivial things, talking down to my boyfriend, etc., disinterested in everything, humorless and miserable...the whole time totally aware of the fact that this isn't how I would normally act. Afterwards I became very active and  I began to get really bad panic attacks (not sure if they were just a product of being frightened that I didnt feel like myself, but brutal nonetheless), and would start to feel really confused, like everything was "wrong"...my house didn't feel like my house, I didn't feel connected to my boyfriend, and was having trouble completely remembering any positive memories.

So I spoke to my mom, who suggested I see a Dr. and get bloodwork run to check my thyroid (she's Hypo, but has never had any of these symptoms). Sure enough, results came back low and I was put on .50 of synthroid. I started to feel a little better, but still not the same. Still have days where I feel very depressed, and my mind tends to run alot (being a negative thinker, these thoughts are never usually good ones). Last night, I was feeling especially down (on the first night of my period, too) and I had forgotten to take my thyroid in the morning, so I took it around 7 when I got home from work. Toward the end of the night, I was feeling really terrible and could not stop crying, eventually I started to fall into another panic attack where I felt like I was literally going insane...I horrified my boyfriend who is luckily being extremely supportive right now, and I started to feel so guilty about putting him through all of this.

I told my regular Dr. last time I was there about the psychological symptoms I was experiencing, but he didn't seem to know anything about their connection to thyroid disease...could anybody here tell me if they have ever gone through something similar? I don't really trust psychiatrists, and would hate to resort to seeing one if it's something that will eventually improve when my thyroid is stable.

thanks

p.s. this is actually something i believe i went through several years ago (minus the panic attacks), where I became depressed and irritable, gained a ton of weight and grew disinterested in things that normally i enjoyed but I thought it was just the result of a bad relationship. Once it ended and I was living alone, I became very active and healthy, eating well and exercising alot and i started to feel alot better. Lately, i have but on a little weight again and my eating habits aren't the best (not horrible either though), could this have something to do with it? I don't want this to wind up ruining another relationship as I was really happy with it until these symptoms came back...

thanks again for any help :(

[lampowell1]

Hi! I have hyperthyroidism that went undiagnosed and untreated for over 2 years.  I suffered a complete and total mental breakdown due to the delirium I experienced from not being treated.  Unfortunately, instead of getting the help that I needed, I was sued by my ex husband that started a "going on 4 years' custody battle, even though I have been back to myself for 2 years - after months of leveling out on the medication needed for the hyperthyroidism.  Many people, including the Courts, and even many physician do not understand the effects on your mental state due to thyroid problems.  I am so so sorry you experienced them and had to go through all of that and hope you are recovering well with medication.  :-)

[tangerinelz3]

Sorry, wrong post!

[tangerinelz3]

Could you send me that recommendation?  I live in the Atlanta area also.

[gimel]

Sending recommendation for good thyroid doctor by PM.

[danie17075rm]

I will work on getting them together.  I have a major powerpoint presentation and paper due on Sunday (topic is hypothyroidism and anxiety) so I have gathered a lot of research.  I will send it to you both as soon as I get them all together.  If not today, definitely tomorrow.

[bcmxm]

that would be great, thanks! i sent you a message w/ my email address

[danie17075rm]

If you send me pm of an email address I can send you a load of them.  Since it's from my school library, I might have to copy and paste and place them in word.  I have at least 20 studies related to the topic.

[tangerinelz3]

Could you send me those studies you mentioned danie17075?  I would love to read them.  Any other info you have at your fingertips about thyroid and anxiety/depression.

[danie17075rm]

I could give you some peer-reviewed studies correlating hypothyroidism with anxiety and other mental illnesses.  I am working on my master's in health psychology and this is my main focus (as I too have experienced the effects).  It most definitely messes with your body and your mind.  I hope you start to feel better.  You are not alone!

[flyingfool]

You really need to get the FREE T3 test.

But the labs show that you were and still are hypo.  Most people will say they need to get the free T3 and free T4 in the upper half to upper 1/3 of the range to feel good.  So the tests above show that you not even to mid range on your T4.  So it would seem an increase in dosage of your meds would be in order.

I'm sure others will comment as well.

[bcmxm]

thanks for the suggestions, i was looking at a couple of books a few weeks ago and happened to just get an amazon giftcard from a friend the other day, i think i know what i will use that for now :)

I got the results back from the Dr. this is what came up - i'm not 100% sure what i'm looking at so let me know if this doesnt make sense...

TSH 3RD GENERATION (1st Test)
40.00  H - Ref. Range 0.40-4.50 mIU/L
(no second test for this)

T4, TOTAL
4.6 - Ref. Range 4.5-12.0 mcg/dL
T4, TOTAL  (2nd TEST)
6.4 - Ref Range 4.5-12.0 mcg/dL

T3 UPTAKE
26 - Ref. Range 22-35%
T3 UPTAKE (2nd TEST)
31 - Ref Range 22-35%


T4, FREE, CALCULATED
1.2  L - Ref Range 1.4 - 3.8 units
T4, FREE, CALCULATED
2.0 - Ref Range 1.4-3.8 units

T3, TOTAL
88 - Ref. Range 76-181 ng/dL
(no second test on this one)

I also came up deficient for Vitamin D so i've been taking a supplement for that also
1st test : 14 - Ref Range 30-100 ng/mL
2nd test : 66 - Ref Range 30-100 ng/mL

I live in Long Island, NY...I was able to find a few suggestions for good thyroid doctors online just before, but I would love to hear if anyone has other reccomendations.

cant thank you enough for your help!!!

[tangerinelz3]

Almost forgot...there are some great books out there that really explains how the thyroid works.  I found some on Amazon that helped me alot.  Not sure if I can post them here so I won't.  I know it helps me to know as much as I can about what is going on with me.  Helped me to not feel so much like a freak!

[gimel]

I'd like to suggest that what you need is a good thyroid doctor.  That does not automatically mean an Endo.  They are typically very rigid in their "Immaculate TSH Belief" and their use of "Reference Range Endocrinology", both of which frequently leaves their hypo patients with lingering hypo symptoms.  By comparison, a good thyroid doctor will treat a hypo patient clinically by testing and adjusting the biologically active thyroid hormones, Free T3 and Free T4, as necessary to relieve symptoms, without being constrained by resultant TSH levels.  Symptom relief should be all important, not just test results.  

If you will tell us where you are located, perhaps members can recommend a good thyroid doctor in your area.

Please do post those test results and reference ranges.  

[bcmxm]

wow thanks so much for your responses, I'm so glad I found this forum I already feel so much better that this isn't as uncommon as I thought (I did find some research online on the matter, but nothing that seemed really conclusive and the stuff you find out there can sometimes be scarier than they symptoms themselves!)

My doctor didn't provide me with copies of my bloodwork, I am sure whatever he ran was not very extensive as he didn't initially seem convinced I had a thyroid issue in the first place (I am strongly considering a new doctor) - just got off the phone with them now though, and they are faxing the last 2 lab results over - will most likely make an appointment with an endo this week and bring those results with me...will post them shortly!

thanks again :)

[tangerinelz3]

I am sorry you are going through this and you aren't alone.  I have been battling hyper to hypo and finally got a diagnosis of Hashimoto's and its beent he worst experience of my life.  I have had horrible panic attacks and shortened temper, everything pisses me off.  I go from being exhausted to having too much energy.  I make myself believe that eventually all of this will even out.  I hope you find some relief soon. Exercise seems to really help me when I can work up the energy to get going.  Again, hope you feel better soon.
Almost forgot, my Endo told me that everyone is different and some people are VERY sensitive to hormone changes, you just might be one of those people.  I know I am.

[gimel]

Hypothyroidism can definitely have psychological effects.  There is even a scientific study I found one time that used brain scans to quantify the effects of being hypo, on cerebral blood flow, and the specific areas affected most.  As a start, how about posting your thyroid test results and reference ranges so that we can see what tests have been done and where the results fall within the ranges.