Frustration causing Hashimoto episode

Question

Anybody else experience a flare up of the old Hashimoto's disease when feeling frustrated? It seems I have no tolerance when face with frustration and then it can lead to a kind of panic attack and take me a while sitting by myself to calm down and get over it...reaching for some bed sheets on sale at Wal Mart caused me to experience this...took be a while to get over not being able to reach the sale sheets and trying and trying and then finally having success...i though "Geesh, they are only sheets"...this happens frequently. Get frustrated...go into manic mode then crash...........thoughts?

hashi53 · Answer

Started at 25-50-75-88-100-112-125 over about 20 months. Gradually increased. Partial thyroidectomay surgery was September 28th 2010.

SassySharon · Answer

Correction: My levo meds are .88mcg.  Doctor told me he was going to increase to .125 but he must have changed his mind as I wqas refilled at the same of .88.....
Sass

hashi53 · Answer

http://www.youtube.com/user/elisgrandma53?feature=mhum

My less than 2 minutes of exposure on youtube as part of Mary Shoman's FACE OF THYROID.

SassySharon · Answer

Great hearing from you!!! You are so right about the humor!!! Keep Smiling!! 

Hugs backatcha sista!!!

hashi53 · Answer

Amen, sister! Five years ago a GP hinted that I might have Hashimoto's but I didn't know what he was talking about and didn't dig deeper and he didn't send me to an Endo, he sent me to a GI doc instead and after many tests, the GI doc told me he thought I should be referred to an endo but still my GP was conservative and told me he was watching me...i didn't know what an Endo was so again, I just wanted to feel better...then my GP moved away and I started going to another GP and she immediately referred me to an Endo but the first appt. was six months later...so I fuggotaboutit...i fiddled with eliminating gluten and dairy and other substances that i thought affected my insides. When i finally saw the Endo she put me on the lowest dose of Synthroid. After months of this one day I bled for a week, and this is after I had not had a period for almost a year...I got referred to a gyn. and they wondered if it was my thyroid but the endo didn't think so so i had a hysteroscopy D nC and they found a polyp and removed it...I would see my endo and get my meds upped a little but didn't really feel much different, still tired, blah, weight hard to lose, same old same old...she started me on vit D...any way i had another episode of the bleeding for a week, so gyn did an MRI but everything looked fine...frustrated...then my endo left the area and I had to see her P.A. instead and she was the one who had a clue and searched to help me...had a sonogram of my thyroid done and found a nodule...cold spot on the nuclear ctscan and then a botched needle biopsy and finally surgery...1/4 removed...all the while my meds were upped and i am now taking 125 Levoxyl. and bigger dose of vit D and the words "Hashimoto's disease" are in my file and on my lips and in my brain...I am much sharper since the surgery, so the brain fog and embarrassing forgetfulness is better...BUT and this is a BIG BUT I now know what I have and that empowers me to do all I can to not let this beat me, but beat it...I know I will always have it, but it won't always have me...unless i am reaching for a sales item on a top shelf...yes, HUMOR and a positive attitude are the keys to unlocking the often crippling symptoms...

HUGS and LOVE

SassySharon · Answer

Well,  Honey dry those tears because you are not alone.  We are here to support each other!!   I just wish our doctors would get it too. That they would observe those first-timers that are presenting with symptoms and do some thyroid testing.  It's cheap and gives a good baseline of what could be going on.  Sometimes I feel like I know more about my disease than some of the doctors out there.  I only have Bing and Google, where as they have a huge amount of availbilty to research more in depth than we do.  Of course we have just our needs and symptoms whereas they have many,many things going on. But, a few minutes of "catch-up"research could be soo productive and informative.  But I digress!  
I am sorry I was so lengthy on your link earlier with my response to Shelley. 
There are times that I have had the stress explosions too, I just thought it was me!! My mom had these explosions 10 fold.  I was scared to death of her!  So I learned to supress those actions.  I wanted to be nothing like that! But now I suffer with high blood pressure. Probably not good to have pent up all emotions for so long.  So for the sake of our loved ones and children we really need to address this issue!!!!  We cannot bury everything under the rug or blame it all on hashi.
We can choose to become educated and explore our options even tho our docs don't!!
We are NOT crazy, or in need of attention!!! But our symptoms are!!
United We Stand, Sit, Limp, and Hurt!!  

Shelley---Thank You!!!  I appreciate your comments.  God is Our Strength!! And he is the only reason that I have a positive outlook.. This Storm he has given me only increases my strength for other things along my path.  If I can use anything I have went thru to help someone else then it has surely been worth it. I just hope I don't have it because I will need the strength for some devastating purpose further along in my life. Well that was kinda remorse, huh?  We all have our weak moments of negative thoughts.  The thing about any type of bumps in our road is that we can turn it around to be of good service for someone else.  
Lets try to turn these frustrations into learning lessons that we can maybe help our children and fellow thyroid friends. And Our Doctors!!
Sass

hashi53 · Answer

I am in tears...not because I am sad, but because I am relieved to read that you all GET IT! THANKS for the overwhelming response to my question about frustration...oh HALLELUIAH! I am not alone...you all GET IT and there is power in knowing others understand. THANKS SO MUCH for sharing your stories, it truly helps.

ShelleyN720 · Answer

Good heavens Sass, I started to feel nauseous just reading what you've had to endure. I cannot imagine this! I've suffered, but not quite like this. You must be a woman of great faith. I am in awe, and cannot find words...

SassySharon · Answer

Thanks for the response.....Nope!!! I have been on the rollercoaster my whole life!!Just thought I was crazy!!!!Never was tested for thyroids until after my pituitary surgery.My neurosurgeon did!!Sent me to an endo, but not on my Insurance..haha...he did see me as a courtsey and tested free. He started me on some meds, I followed up thru my GP she only ran TSH (stupid me) I recently started going off the charts so she uped my meds and referred to a endo in a local city, who denied seeing me as he thought i was not bad enuff. lol....After about 6mths i requested that she try again, which she did with a different endo and a diagnosis of recent brain tumor(she kinda tricked that one) of course he accepted me. They like the brain tumor thing! Had to pay $1620 to get another brain MRI which only showed my residual from surgery in '05.At least i didn't have brain tumor number 3!!!! But he tested T3,T4,TPO and TSH. My TPO >1000.  others are somewhat in range on .125 levo now.Female hormones are right on for completed menopause(complete hysterectomy at 34yrs).
I have lived in constant pain of joints, bones, all body parts, extreme fatigue,headaches, high blood pressure,dry mouth,skin,eyes all the symptoms. Have been on a gambit of pain meds, anti-inflammatories,anti-depressants lyrica, savella, muscle relaxers, sleeping pills, restless leg meds, nexium, you name they have tried it and then have to wean off bc they do not work. Lovely!!  NOW, my new endo has found a good size growth on thryoid with swollen lymph nodes and I have a US sch in March!!  Even thou I have been on my thyroid meds for over 5 yrs I really have had no change in my symptoms.   But I was blessed with a positive attitude to go with my Fibro,Sjogrens, Reynauds, Achalasia, Parotid,Hypoglycemia, degenrative bone disease(thanks mom-ha),Back Surgery ,breast cancer, cervical and uterus pre cancer cells and now they found a tumor on my retina...lovely!  I guess I mistook my hyper phase in the diagnosis (or misdiagnosis) of just not knowing what I had!!  Now I do actually have most of these, but the Sjogrens has not ever been tested just suspected, and with Fibro- how knows anyway, could have been the hypo!!                      
 But Yes I would say I have been on a rollercoaster!! Just thought I was on The Zipper!!  Cause I know it wasn't the Carasouel!!!!!                                ohhhh and ah yes I am a DES baby!!!
The thing about it is I just keep looking at that silver lining and hang one with all the gusto I can muster up!! And with that  'I'm okay attitude" I just tend to say, Oh there are a lot worse off than myself and try to keep believing it!  I appreciate ya'll letting me get some of this off my chest as it seems everyone else quit listening years and years ago. But who can blame them!! And I don't think they really know the extent of it cause I quit complaining for fear of being labeled hypochrondrite(spelling) or flat crazy!!!   I am so tired.
Okay, I went way over than I intended!!! Sorry Guys!!!
Sass

ShelleyN720 · Answer

Some people with autoimmune thyroiditis (hashis) go for many years without noticable symptoms, or symptoms that would come and go making a diagnosis difficult. My doctors thought I was just suffering from on again off again depression. They never questioned my 30 lbs weight gains & 30 lb weight losses. They prescribed anti-depressants. I developed high cholesterol regardless of a good diet.  
Then came my final hyper phase in late 2008 when my hands would tremble at work and when I'd be putting on mascara. I'd have bouts of unexplained diahrrea. I thought I was developing Parkinsons like my father had before he died. I was going to the doctor, fearful I was having heart trouble. EKG's came back okay. I was told to go back on anti-depressants. STILL the doctor did not test anything other than the TSH and guess what? It was always "in range". Then as the months went by I developed all the other hypo symptoms (including nodules) because my thyroid had been under attack for years and finally I was starving for thyroid hormone. 
If you have been hypo for many years perhaps your hyper phase (if you had one) came & went and it wasn't very recognizable. OR maybe you are one of the people who was spared the roller coaster! I hope the latter is true!
I still am experiencing the roller coaster, although it is not as severe.

FTB4 · Answer

It is kind of ironic that this subject came up, I just started reading  "Thyroid Balance" by G. Rothfeld, in the chapter I was reading last night he stated that Stress has a huge effect on the whole Endocrin system and the thyroid in particular.  FTB4

SassySharon · Answer

okay, i am totally ignorant.  Just diagnoised with hashi and do not know about these flair ups, syndrome, disorders...anyone care to eleborate and inform me.  I have been hypo for many years and could have had hashi, just was never tested for it until recently. also waiting on US and biopsy

ShelleyN720 · Answer

I used to think I could handle stress very well - years ago - and over the last 10 years discovered I was becoming less able to manage its effects on me. I know not everyone will agree that long term stress can trigger hashis - but I've read some articles from medical sources online that identify stress as a trigger.
I know I try in a very determined manner to reduce the stress in my life (which is very difficult with the economy, lay-offs at work, furlough days at work etc) 
I know that when I am becoming stressed - my throat closes up - as though my thyroid gland swells - its the most bizarre thing but I swear, I feel like I am gagging the more worked up I feel!

Nat_16 · Answer

Ah yes, the effect of stress on the hashimoto's...I know exactly what you mean!  Stress is no friend!  

I find that I really need to find a way to keep myself calm and keep stress at an absolute minimum.

goolarra · Answer

Gee, and I thought it was just my personality and the ineptitude of all the incompetents around me...!  LOL

HessyKat · Answer

Sometimes I catch myself hollering or talking very loudly to my son when even just small situations arise. Its like any little thing will make my stress and tolerance explode. When it happens I immediately realize it and apologize. I do believe it just goes along with this auto immune disease. Stress is not a friend of ours. Hugs...Renee

RenKat · Answer

Hi, I had to reply to your post. I, too have this disorder, and as I just posted to another reader that stress, frustration, illness and diet have a far great impact on those with Hashimoto's then simple thyroid suffers.  Also, I have heard and experienced many being mis-classified and mis-medicated as bi-polar due to these flare ups.  While nothing about this Immune Disorder is normal, this seems to be a normal part of the "fun".
I don't know what meds you are on, or the testing they provide, but I am about to embark upon a different approach.-Request the full test, if you can-Free T-3, Free T-4, Reverse T-3, TPO, thyorid Ab and an adrenal workup.
I have read that Armour Thyroid, assimilates better, and I am meeting with a holistic specialist to explore this route.  I wish you the best in this nightmare, and go super easy on yourself, because intolerance, irritiability and inability to cope with stress is a real big part of all of this.