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Hypothyroidism
I am 48 years of age, I have been diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder from my psychologist. He also informs me that I have Obsessive Compulsive tendencies and mood swings which resembles Bipolar. I am currently taking Doxepin 100 mg with Trazodone 100 mg in which I take at bedtime for anxiety/depression issues in which I have had problems sleeping so my psychiatrist put me on. Most of the day today I have felt like a 'zombie' walking around feeling very fatigue and 'wired' feelings of anxiety, shakey (shaky) at times...also have noticed of having fatigue headaches...wondering if my medicine needs to be changed. I also have been medically diagnosed as having 'hypothyroidism along with 'borderline' diabetes. I am currently taking Synthroid 50 mcg for my hypothyroidism but just watching my diet for the diabetes. My prim dr tells me the anxiety is NOT caused by hypothyroidism but other people say it maybe a factor. What do you think?
Best Answer
By the way, I sent you this study because it includes endocrine disorders, so diabetes is also in there.
I worked a year into my master's in counseling, and realized I've always felt better in psychology so I'm working on my master's in health psychology. All of my research has been on mental health and hypothyroidism (since I experienced it first hand, it is near and dear to my heart). I cannot say for certain your mental health is related to your thyroid, or which came first the chicken or the egg (not enough research on it, but I intend to work on this with my phd). There is a direct connection though. Some researchers believe that you had to have had a predisposition for the mental health problems first, and the thyroid just aggravated them. I however have written many papers on studies that demonstrate this is not true. I personally developed like a panic disorder AFTER becoming hyperthyroid. Now they would say I already had this and it was just made worse. This however was not the case, and when my thyroid would normalize, everything else would go away. During my bad thyroid times, I have TONS of issues. I have studied this from a behavioral, physiological and cognitive aspect. When I have my thyroid "panic attacks" (I call them panic attacks loosely because I believe they are purely physical), it started with my body and not my mind. I had a hard time explaining this to doctors. Normal mental side effects came from this. Since I was having panic attacks, I started to have trouble with stores and developed a mild agoraphobia. However, I had no issues when my thyroid was normal.
I recommend ANYONE who has a mental health issue to get everything straightened out with their thyroid (I know this takes a long time). As the others have told you, they can help with your results. Once you are normalized, give it a few months and see what kind of changes you undergo mentally. I will add, that once you develop a mental illness (even if the cause is organic) you might suffer residual effects. For example, if you have a panic attack, you have opened kind of a pandora's box. It's similar to Pavlov's experiments on salivating dogs. Your body gets conditioned to responses, even though they might have been caused from issues with your body. You will STILL need treatment to get past these conditioned responses, BUT it should be a lot easier because your body is level. Here is a good starting article to read. I hope this helps.
http://www.drrichardhall.com/anxiety.htm
I recommend ANYONE who has a mental health issue to get everything straightened out with their thyroid (I know this takes a long time). As the others have told you, they can help with your results. Once you are normalized, give it a few months and see what kind of changes you undergo mentally. I will add, that once you develop a mental illness (even if the cause is organic) you might suffer residual effects. For example, if you have a panic attack, you have opened kind of a pandora's box. It's similar to Pavlov's experiments on salivating dogs. Your body gets conditioned to responses, even though they might have been caused from issues with your body. You will STILL need treatment to get past these conditioned responses, BUT it should be a lot easier because your body is level. Here is a good starting article to read. I hope this helps.
http://www.drrichardhall.com/anxiety.htm
What was the reference range shown on the lab report, for that Free T3 test result? If it is similar to the range I see often, 2.3 - 4.2 Pg/ml, then your FT3 would be in the lower third of the range. Results in that part of the range are frequently associated with hypo symptoms. The range is far too broad, since it has never been corrected as was done for TSH 8 years ago.
Many members report that symptom relief for them required that FT3 was adjusted into the upper part of its range and FT4 adjusted to around midpoint of its range. Having a Free T3 test result in the low end of the range would not be such a problem if the doctors would use the range as a guideline within which to adjust as necessary to relieve symptoms. Instead they use the entire range as a pass/fail decision, and the patient suffers.
Many members report that symptom relief for them required that FT3 was adjusted into the upper part of its range and FT4 adjusted to around midpoint of its range. Having a Free T3 test result in the low end of the range would not be such a problem if the doctors would use the range as a guideline within which to adjust as necessary to relieve symptoms. Instead they use the entire range as a pass/fail decision, and the patient suffers.
So my T3, Free back in April I had it checked and it was at 2.9 would that considered low?
These labs were done in July 2011:
Hemoglobin A1C 6.5 High (4.0-6.0 Ref. Range)
Est. Average Glucose 139.9 High (68.0-126.0 Ref. Range)
T4, Free 1.31 (0.80-1.80 Ref. Range)
TSH-Ultrasensitive 8.66 High (0.35-5.50 Ref. Range)
These labs were done in July 2011:
Hemoglobin A1C 6.5 High (4.0-6.0 Ref. Range)
Est. Average Glucose 139.9 High (68.0-126.0 Ref. Range)
T4, Free 1.31 (0.80-1.80 Ref. Range)
TSH-Ultrasensitive 8.66 High (0.35-5.50 Ref. Range)
Yes send me some peer reviewed studies. So what you are telling me is that hypo and mental health is included with each other? What is your background in this?
You are missing the lab test that reveals the most about your thyroid status, Free T3. Free T3 largely regulates metabolism and many other body functions. Scientific studies have also shown that Free T3 correlated best with hypo symptoms, while Free T4 and TSH correlated very poorly. Doctors frequently tend to not test for Free T3 on the assumption that if they know Ft4, then they can adequately estimate Free T3. This is frequently wrong because many hypo patients do not convert T4 to T3 adequately. In view of its importance, why not just test and be sure.
So I suggest that you should call and ask to be tested for Free T3 now, so that you can monitor the progress of both Free T4 and free T3 over the next couple of months. If you have not been tested for the thyroid antibodies, TPO ab and TG ab, then that should be done as well. Those tests will determine if the cause is Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, which is the most common cause of being hypo. If you are successful with getting those tests done, that then you might as well go for it all and ask to be tested for Vitamin A, D, B12, zinc, ietn/ferritin, selenium, and RBC magnesium.
I think you would be well advised to also read about clinical treatment in this link.
http://hormonerestoration.com/files/ThyroidPMD.pdf
A good thyroid doctor will treat a hypo patient clinically by testing and adjusting 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. Many of our members report that symptom relief for them required that Free T3 was adjusted into the upper part of its range and Free T4 adjusted to around the midpoint of its range.
It might be a good idea to discuss with your doctor is he is going to be wiling to treat you clinically and also if he is willing to prescribe meds with T3 in them. If no to either, then you may as well start looking for a good thyroid doctor that will do so.
So I suggest that you should call and ask to be tested for Free T3 now, so that you can monitor the progress of both Free T4 and free T3 over the next couple of months. If you have not been tested for the thyroid antibodies, TPO ab and TG ab, then that should be done as well. Those tests will determine if the cause is Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, which is the most common cause of being hypo. If you are successful with getting those tests done, that then you might as well go for it all and ask to be tested for Vitamin A, D, B12, zinc, ietn/ferritin, selenium, and RBC magnesium.
I think you would be well advised to also read about clinical treatment in this link.
http://hormonerestoration.com/files/ThyroidPMD.pdf
A good thyroid doctor will treat a hypo patient clinically by testing and adjusting 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. Many of our members report that symptom relief for them required that Free T3 was adjusted into the upper part of its range and Free T4 adjusted to around the midpoint of its range.
It might be a good idea to discuss with your doctor is he is going to be wiling to treat you clinically and also if he is willing to prescribe meds with T3 in them. If no to either, then you may as well start looking for a good thyroid doctor that will do so.
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Your latest symptom fits perfectly with an enlarged Thyroid. Many people feel pressure or feeling of being choked. Maybe it represents itself in you as the feeling of the need to clear your throat.
Until you have completely exhausted the whole Thyroid thing. I would NOT let them convince you that this is all in your head and some how mental or psychiatric.
It could be psychiatric. But I would rule out Thyroid first.