Hypothyroidism Problem

[Egret46]

I recently read a question by a woman who had hyperthyroidism and was wondering if she could still have the symptoms even while taking the medication.  I was actually wondering this same thing about my husband, who has been on medication for hypothyroidism for the past 15 years and still shows the anxiety and mood swing symptoms on a regular basis.  I was just thinking that it was his personality, however, a recent discussion with my brother about his wife, who also has hypothyroidism, made me rethink this.  Could these symptoms be lessened if his thyroid medication is tweeked?  I would like to think that there is a way to somewhat control these symptoms, as they are often disruptive to our family.  Any ideas?

[Mark Lupo, M.D.]

Research suggests that "tweeking" does not improve symptoms - the target TSH in most people's mind is about 0.4-2.5 -- tweeking within this range in my experience has not been helpful in most cases.  Furthermore, adding T3 has not been shown superior to T4 (synthroid type meds) alone, but some patients feel a little better.

[Egret46]

Dear Dr. Lupo,

Thanks for your feedback on my question.  Since "tweeking" the medications will not help that much for my husband then I guess that we have to learn to live with the anxiety and mood swings.  Any strategies for coping with this?  Would it help if I explained to my husband that one reason he has the emotional outbursts is because of his hypothyroidism?  I'm just trying to develop some coping strategies for me and my family.  Thanks.