Aa
Aa
A
A
A
Close
Avatar universal

Has anyone managed to overcome emotional lability

Twenty years ago I had a sub-total thyroidectomy and I've never been the same since. Before I got a goitre in my throat and then had the operation to remove half of my thyroid gland, I was a calm personality - in fact, I was so easygoing, people commented on it.
But ever since I had the operation, I've suffered with intermittent depression, anxiety and angry outbursts (although thankfully, I'm learning t calm these down with meditation and yoga). All these symptoms are made worse by stress, and I do have periods of relative stability. But I work in a very stressful profession and I just don't deal with things as well as I used to.
My viewpoint is generally liberal and laissez-faire on life, so I find these aspects of my personality particularly difficult: how can I be both liberal but NOT easygoing?
I am also taking an antidepressant at the moment, as I recently had two major losses to deal with and just found myself crying all the time.

Have other people suffered in this way and if so, what have they done to help themselves.I wonder if I should also ask to see an endocrinologist. My GPs seem totally ignorant of the link between psychiatric and emotional difficulties and thyroid problems.

If anyone could throw some light on this I would be very grateful. Thanks  very much.
5 Responses
Sort by: Helpful Oldest Newest
Avatar universal
Hello Amy, thank you for your reply. I was very sorry to read that you've had a recurrence of thyroid cancer; I wish you well with any treatment you may be having.

As for myself, to be perfectly honest, I don't know all the information you mention above. I am English and I get the feeling doctors over here prefer to keep their patients in ignorance. All they do is send you to have your 'thryoxine levels' checked once a year, which is an obvious clinical oversimplifcation, tell you they are 'within normal range' and send you on your way. I even had one doctor refuse to refer me to an endocrinologist the other week. Don't you find that incredible? What on earth could a general practitioner possibly be expected to know about a condition that is so specific?

Another point is that I have preferred to try to forget about the condition as much as possible. I do have periods of relative stability (when I'm not under too much stress, for instance, though some stress is an inevitable part of life) and I try to focus on the positive. I didn't really want to 'enrol myself' too much in the condition, because I didn't want illness to define me, and I didn't want to be too much involved with the medical community or process, because I think you can do that too much and convince yourself that more is wrong with you than is actually the case!

But I have noticed this tendency to emotionality. I was always a fairly sensitive and intuitive person, but this has just tended to be that much more extreme since the operation on my thyroid, and I have tended to panic and oversensitivity, bordering on paranoia at times, I think.

My ex-boyfriend noticed this and commented that he thought I was far too sensitive and that he felt he had to be careful what he said to me and that he was walking on eggshells with me at times.

I feel myself to be too quick to anger now and to get very het up over things that I used to just shrug off.

The truth is, I want my old personality back! I want to take things in my stride and not over-react or burst into tears when I am even slightly hurt.

I think the only way to deal with this thing is behaviourally - I certainly find meditation and yoga helpful, as I said before. I've also heard about cognitive behavioural therapy and wonder if this might help.

You seem to be very aware of the clinical side of things, but I wonder if you have ever considered other ways of managing your condition? When the body goes wrong, it can often have an emotional and/or psychological effect and sometimes I think other approaches than the clinical one are helpful.

I had a posting from someone asking if I thought the symptoms might be post-traumatic syndrome, but it's really not. I wasn't worried about the surgery, though nowadays I'd do more research into the effects of surgery. The specialist who first saw me was a 'slash and burn' merchant, if you know what I mean - only considered surgery for goitre, so no other method of reducing the swelling was investigated. Now I think I'd insist they did something else, but then I was just a young girl and obediently did what the doctor said. If I'd known then the impact removing half my thyroid gland was going to have on my life, I'd have resisted with all my might...

Anyway, done is now done - rather than giving in to the problem, I want to try to find solutions. Have you come across anyone who seems to have conquered the anxiety/depression cycle, or have you found any ways of doing so yourself?

Any further feedback would be very much appreciated. Oh, and by the way, yes I do take thyroxine: levothyroxine, 100 mcg a day - and I don't know whether my right lobe (the one that was left in tact) functions normally or not. Incredibly, I have not been told that in just over 20 years! Time to ask some pertinent questions, do you think?

Best wishes,

Jane
Helpful - 0
393685 tn?1425812522
Hi I am with you on this siutaion, but I must comment on 898's valuable information. I highly recommend his thoughts here regarding providing information to our community.

There is a condition I believe can associate thyroid disorders with emotional instability. I used to feel "in charge" of every tiny bit of living I did prior to the disorder.

Now as the years went by - I do see a pattern of not in control with many things.

Stress on any sort of condition as 898 pointed out can alter things within us.

As you are finding out - dealing with that level of emotion is challenging and we need to find a peace within us to blend with our surroundings.

Helpful - 0
362809 tn?1233506554
You say you had a sub-total thyroidectomy, but don't mention if the remainder of your thyroid is working correctly or if you are taking thyroid hormone as well.  If you post your latest blood work such as TSH, free T-4, T-3, etc... someone will be able to guide you as to whether your levels are indicating a need for thyroid hormone or not.  I certainly don't think seeing an endocrinologist would hurt.  If you haven't had the sort of blood work done that I mentioned above, that would be a place to start.

Good luck to you.

Amy
Papillary thyroid cancer 1985
Recurrence 2008
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I don't think so. If you take a look at the comments of other people on this site, they seem to suffer similar emotional difficulties. It's too long ago to be post-traumatic syndrome. As I said, it's 20 years ago now and I just try to get on with my life, but I just find that stress affects me far more than it used to.

Yesterday I had some bad news that affected my financial situation and I just went into ovedrive, I was so angry I was off the scale! I finally calmed down and managed to be rational, but the aggression response was just absurd.

I have also found my anger has intruded on relationships and my working life. I'm sure it was one of the reasons I split up with my ex-boyfriend, although he also gets into a temper at times and there WERE other issues too.

But at times I just don't feel in command of myself. In the past two years I have learnt to meditate and that really does seem to help, as it not only calms you but hooks into good feelings about yourself and makes you feel more positive and kind towards others. I also do yoga which calms the body. So for a while I felt I was getting there, but then I had this bad news the other day and I flipped, so I almost feel I'm back to square one.

Incidentally, do you have a thyroid condition? If you don't, I really don't think you'll understand this - it's something you've got to experience yourself in order to understand the truth of it, I think.

Thank you for your response though - it's nice to know someone out there is listening!
All good wishes.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
898
Can this be a 'posttraumatic stress disorder’ in addition to the possible medicine side effects, associated with diagnostic, fears of the worst, surgery, and possible complications? I went trough depression-aggression state while recovering from back injury
Helpful - 0
Have an Answer?

You are reading content posted in the Thyroid Disorders Community

Top Thyroid Answerers
649848 tn?1534633700
FL
Avatar universal
MI
1756321 tn?1547095325
Queensland, Australia
Learn About Top Answerers
Didn't find the answer you were looking for?
Ask a question
Popular Resources
We tapped the CDC for information on what you need to know about radiation exposure
Endocrinologist Mark Lupo, MD, answers 10 questions about thyroid disorders and how to treat them
A list of national and international resources and hotlines to help connect you to needed health and medical services.
Herpes sores blister, then burst, scab and heal.
Herpes spreads by oral, vaginal and anal sex.
STIs are the most common cause of genital sores.