Can Hypo be caused by trauma and PTSD?

[bluefaery]

I posted on a different question about how I had been burned last Fall.  I had a giant family stressor in March.  Between the two of these I"m surprised I kept my head on.  After the incident in March I had to get Xanax it was so bad.  Things are going much better, but my PTSD kind of comes and goes (and yes, I have an appt to see a therapist in a week and a half to discuss that).  I'm wondering if anybody knows if one's thyroid can be shoved off a cliff due to severe trauma?  Or maybe I was borderline before and the stress was the final indicator to make symptoms show up?  I have read some people mention that they thought it was, but I guess I'm wondering if there is any data to back it up?  Or just some of you who know that it is and I can try to dig for more info.

I guess it's the whole chicken and egg thing, was my thyroid low before and just noticed now, or was it fine-ish and this caused 90% of it.  I do know I was having hormonal issues for the past couple years, but no other symptoms, and since I have PCOS as well (lucky me), my hormonal imbalance may have just been from that.

When I was burned I ended up taking a LOT of medicine as well.  Before my injury my doc also tried a couple birth control pills on me that tried to kill me.  She didn't bother asking if I got migraines!

[bluefaery]

I finally saw the Endo.  She said yes, for sure.  She also said that sometimes after a trauma your thyroid is normal right after, then goes hypo, then goes back to normal.  I have to wait a month until I take another blood test, and at that time she'll test for Hashi's at the same time.  But if I don't have Hashi's, then I'm hopeful that things might go back to "normal".

[stella5349]

Gosh!! I wish there was a "like" option here to use! I would hit the like button about a million times on Goolarra's comment! :)

Total truth in her post!

[Red_Star]

Excerpt from "Posttraumatic stress disorder and physical illness: results from clinical and epidemiologic studies" - PMID: 15677401 - PubMed...

"Recent findings, indicating that victims of PTSD have higher circulating T-cell lymphocytes and lower cortisol levels, are intriguing and suggest that chronic sufferers of PTSD may be at risk for autoimmune diseases. To test this hypothesis, we assessed the association between chronic PTSD in a national sample of 2,490 Vietnam veterans and the prevalence of common autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, insulin-dependent diabetes, and thyroid disease.

Our analyses suggest that chronic PTSD, particularly comorbid PTSD or complex PTSD, is associated with all of these conditions. In addition, veterans with comorbid PTSD were more likely to have clinically higher T-cell counts, hyperreactive immune responses on standardized delayed cutaneous hypersensitivity tests, clinically higher immunoglobulin-M levels, and clinically lower dehydroepiandrosterone levels. The latter clinical evidence confirms the presence of biological markers consistent with a broad range of inflammatory disorders, including both cardiovascular and autoimmune diseases."

[bluefaery]

Okay, I'll talk to doc about "stress" and how it may have affected me with my doc.  I have a lawsuit going on to deal with my burn, so I kind of have to figure this out with my doc.  I wish I had been tested a year ago before all this happened so I would have known.  

I'm going to write a letter to the doc before I go in and just hand it to her.  It's easier to read that letter than have me blabber.  I just want to make sure I hit all the points in that letter so we can figure out what's going on sooner than later.

But I still would love any documented info on stress, PTSD and hypo possibilities.

[goolarra]

My endo has said that stress is the #1 factor in precipitating the onset or exacerbation of Hashi's. So, TPOab and TGab would tell you a lot.  It's unlikely that the stress "caused" it, but if antibodies have been lurking, they might have taken this opportunity to rear their ugly little heads!  Good luck.

[gimel]

Sorry, Barb, this is a continuation of another post with that info.  I should have just transferred this question to the initial thread and tagged this as a duplicate.  

[Barb135]

While you're getting the antibody tests that gimel suggested, why not go for FT3, FT4 and TSH, which will indicate actual thyroid function? Or do you already have those?

If so, please post results and reference ranges, which vary lab to lab and must come from your own report.

[gimel]

There is always the possibility of other causes, but rather than speculate about those, why not first just test for the most common cause for diagnosed hypothyroidism, which is Hashimoto's Thyroiditis.  The tests are TPO ab and TG ab.  If it is Hashi's then all else is academic.