Memory loss, confusion, brain fog, mental sluggishness. poor concentration, delusions, and rage are all symptoms that are sometimes related to hypothyroidism. Such mental problems may be related to reduced cerebral blood flow that has been documented with brain scans when hypothyroid and after adequate medication with thyroid med.
If you know what thyroid med and dosage she is taking, please post that. Also, if possible to get her thyroid related test results, please post those, along with their reference ranges shown on the lab report.
If she has not been tested for the biologically active thyroid hormones, Free T4 and Free T3 (not the same as Total T4 and Total T3), then you should try to get that done for her. Also, if not tested for Vitamin D and ferritin, then that should be done. They are both very important for adequate metabolism of thyroid hormone. D should be about 55-60 and ferritin should be 70 minimum.
Thank you for your reply,you have given me a lot of key words I can do further amateur research to help my mother. I don't know what meds she is on, only that she has to take them each morning an hour before eating
Her med is most likely T4 only, Most of the all important T3 hormone comes from conversion of T4. For a number of different reasons, hypothyroid patients often do not convert the T4 to T3 and need to add a source of T3 to their med.
At some point (the sooner the better) you need to get your mother to accept that she is very likely to still be hypothyroid due to an inadequate dose of thyroid med, or the need for T3 to be added to her meds. Also, if she is not supplementing with Vitamin D, B12 and iron, then it is most likely that she is deficient there also. That is because hypothyroid patients are very often low in stomach acid and do not absorb vitamins and nutrients very well.
I just noticed that you are in Australia. I am not too familiar with how your doctors test, diagnose and treat hypothyroidism. I expect that it is somewhat difficult to get all the necessary testing and treatment. One of our active members is from Australis: Red_Star. You could get some good info from her. To send a message, just click on her name over in the right hand side of the page here, and then, up in the top right hand corner, click on send a message.. .