Trauma Triggered Hypothyroidism

[gillingham_01]

hi to everyone here,

Has anyone experienced hypothyroidism that was triggered by very severe, continuous emotional trauma?  My story is long and profoundly painful, so much so that I am unable to write about it all in detail.. All I am able to say here is that the first of what were a succession of  very severe physical and emotional traumas happened to me starting in the Fall of 2011. Before this, I felt I was very healthy and my thyroid was functioning well.  In January 2012 my hair started falling out, and it has not stopped since.  There is also no regrowth.  In August 2014 I began to develop numerous symptoms of hypothyroidism, and is when my thyroid tests began to suggest my thyroid function was starting to decline.

Does anyone know if severe physical and emotional trauma of long duration permanently damages the thyroid, or is there a possibility it could recover on it's own without having to go on thyroid medication.  I am female and now 56 yrs old.

Thank you to everyone who reads my post,
hoping someone might have some experience/insight into what has happened to me.

[goolarra]

My endo believes, and I agree with him,  that stress (trauma) is the #1 factor in the onset or worsening of autoimmune disease.  Most thyroid disease in the developed world is autoimmune.  You can test for the two antibodies that are markers for Hashimoto's thyroiditis, TPOab (thyroid peroxidase antibodies) and TGab (thyroglobulin antibodies).  If you have Hashi's, your hypo will be permanent.  However, there are "temporary" form of thyroiditis.

Are you being treaded for hypo?

Please post recent lab results with reference ranges, which vary lab to lab and have to come from your own lab report.

[gillingham_01]

Thank you for commenting on my post.  I did have tests done for antibodies about 3 months ago and they were negative for antibodies.

THYROGLOBULIN ANTIBODIES
Range         <=40 International Units/mL
My result     <20  

I just had my blood drawn yesterday to retest my TSH, FT3 & FT4 and should have the results in another day or so.

yes, I know that Hashimoto's is a permanent condition, but if I tested negative for antibodies, do you know if it is at all possible that my condition could reverse itself on it's own?  What can I do to try to help my thyroid recover?  My hypothyroid symptoms at this point have now become very severe.  I am afraid to go on thyroid hormones because my doctor said that it could make me feel even worse and could possibly permanently shut down my thyroid.

[goolarra]

Was TPOab tested as well?  By far, many more of us are TPOab positive than TGab positive.  Both have to be tested to rule out Hashi's.  

Some of the temporary forms of thyroiditis spontaneously resolve in most cases.  If you want to do some reading, check out silent thyroiditis, deQuervain's thyroiditis, postpartum thyroiditis.  

I don't know why your doctor would tell you that you could feel even worse on thyroid meds.  It's not unusual to feel a little worse at first until you find the correct dose, but if your hypo symptoms are bad, living with those isn't an alternative either.  Thyroid meds also don't permanently shut down your thyroid.  If your thyroid recovers, you can stop taking them.  

[gimel]

I agree with goolarra.  Plus it sounds like you need a different doctor.

[gillingham_01]

Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts with me.  I forgot to mention that I also had this test done a few months ago along with the previous one I had mentioned:

THYROID STIMULATING IMMUNOGLOB
Range 0 - 139 %
My value         24

And I had this test done approx. 1-1/2 years ago.  I was in very bad shape then too.  I have only been getting progressively worse.  When I had this test done, I was starting the second year into the terrible series of traumas that I have suffered:  

THYROID PEROXIDASE (TPO) AB
Range <=35 IU/mL
My value           14

I will try to read about silent thyroiditis and deQuervain's thyroiditis.  Thank you for suggesting this.  I would not be suffering from postpartum thyroiditis though.

I am not entirely sure why my doctor told me that I could feel even worse on thyroid medication.  I am wondering if it might have something to do with the fact that I am very, very severely emotionally and psychologically stressed due to the traumas I have suffered and the aftermath of which I am still suffering with.  
Perhaps he might be thinking that it's my emotional/psychological state that is causing my hypothyroidism and that this needs to be fixed somehow first?   It would too much for me to even try to write about my traumas that triggered all of this, but I can say that fixing a profoundly traumatized person is very, very complex, very, very hard to do, and it takes a very long time to accomplish if at all.  Also, all of those horrible drugs that are forced on people have many terrible side effects.  

My hypothyroid symptoms are now very, very severe.  I am suffering so bad that I am afraid to even leave the house for fear that I may suddenly collapse from some sort of medical event. All of my hair just continues to fall out and none of it is regrowing. It's almost all fallen out now, and this is 'profoundly' traumatizing for me.  If only you could know what I have been put through and how 'cruelly' people have treated me, including medical professionals, because of what I am going through losing all my hair like this.  

I have searched the internet endlessly trying to find any scientific studies to disprove what my doctor said, about there being a possibility that thyroid meds could permanently shut down my thyroid, but I just could not find anything.  The fear of this is very great for me.  Before all this happened to me, there was nothing wrong with my thyroid.  I can't find anything about trauma induced hypothyroidism where people have recovered in my searches either.

To be honest, I have gone to three different endocrinologists now over the last few years, and they have all treated me terribly.  None of them recommended that I go on thyroid medication because prior blood test I had done at the time I saw them were all 'in range' (I know, I've done a lot of reading about the ranges). The doctor I am seeing now is my new general practitioner doctor, and he is the first one who has actually said I am hypothyroid and that I can try thyroid medication if I want to.

But I have these fears, that it could make me feel even worse, and that it could permanently shut down my thyroid.  I know a few people who are on thyroid medication, and they continue to suffer. They say the thyroid medication hasn't helped at all.

I should have my test results for my TSH, Ft3 and Ft4 on Monday.  I just don't know what to do.

[goolarra]

TSI is a tricky test to interpret.  The range is 0-139%, but 139% is where MOST people start to feel symptoms...some do sooner, some later.  The fact of the matter is that there's a huge gray area in the test, and people who don't have Graves' have TSI of less-than 2%.  So, it might be worth repeating that to see if your 24% result is trending in either direction.

TPOab was a while ago, so that's definitely worth repeating, once again looking for a trend.

Despite the name, postpartum thyroiditis does occur other than postpartum.  Pregnancy and childbirth are trauma.  

Your doctor may have told you that you could feel worse on thyroid meds because he suspects your adrenals are stressed due to trauma.  The whole endocrine system is interdependent, and if adrenals are off, it can be very hard to regulate thyroid.

Thyroid definitely plays a role in trauma.  The thyroid will scale back hormone production to slow metabolism.  It's almost a state of torpor that allows the body to conserve energy and heal, both emotionally and physically.  Also, some drugs affect thyroid hormone production, a few of them for many years after the meds are discontinued.

Your symptoms seem really bad.  I understand that you have a lot going on, but if your thyroid is malfunctioning, you need to address that.  Perhaps you should try to pin your doctor down on WHY he thinks you might feel worse on meds.  You feel terrible now...  As you said, it takes years to heal from severe trauma...you can't put up with these symptoms that long.

Of course, it's impossible to disprove anything, but if you've found nothing to support your doctor's claim that you can never get off thyroid meds, it's just possible that's not true.  I've "known" several people on this forum who took thyroid hormones to support them through a temporary thyroiditis and then discontinued them once the thyroid recovered.

Okay, I won't give you the lecture on reference ranges, then.  LOL

Taking thyroid meds is not going to permanently shut down your thyroid.  If you feel worse on meds, you simply stop taking them (working with your doctor, of course).  Do be aware, however, that thyroid meds are not like taking an aspirin.  They have to build in your blood for several weeks.  Your body has to rebalance now that they're present again.  The first dosage we're on is really nothing but an educated guess.  So, after a few weeks, we re-evaluate and adjust meds, and the process starts again.

Thyroid is very misunderstood by the medical profession.  If your friends continue to suffer, it's because the nut behind the prescription pad is keeping them under medicated or on the wrong meds.  Patients pop into the very bottom of the free ranges, and the doctor pats himself on the back...patient is no longer hypo...baloney!  Most of us don't feel well in the bottom of the ranges.  This is not the way it has to go...tell your friends to find a doctor who will treat them until they feel well.

Let's see what your FT3 and FT4 look like and go from there.    

[gillingham_01]

Thank you for writing on my post again goolarra.  I really appreciate that you are there.

yes, my symptoms are terrible, very severe.  I have never suffered as bad as this in my life, and I have had quite a lot of suffering in my life.  I could try to get my doctor to repeat the antibodies test, but it's hard to know if he will.

I did get my test results today, and they are very confusing:

TSH
Range           0.450-4.5
My value        5.26

FT4
Range            0.82-1.77
my value        1.46

FT3
Range             2.0-4.4
my value         3.36

In the past I always had my blood drawn in the morning, but this time I had it drawn at 2:00 pm.  I did this because every day starting at about 2-3pm I suddenly get freezing cold.  I am cold most all the time, but I get especially cold at this time of day.  I also get freezing cold if I eat something.  Eating is hard for me because I don't have an appetite, yet I am gaining weight.  All my hair is falling out.  I have terrible problems sleeping and I know my circadian rhythm is completely out of whack.  I asked my doctor what time I should go to have my blood drawn, and he said I should go in the afternoon when I start to feel so cold.

To me, my results are saying that my thyroid is really struggling because of the high TSH, yet the Ft3 and Ft4 levels don't seem as bad as they should be with the very severe symptoms I am having.  Looking at these test results, It almost seems as if my thyroid hormones are not entering my cells.  I am feeling even more distraught now.  I feel as if my endocrine system has gone completely haywire.  I also am suffering with severe panic attacks and awful sweating. This is especially bad in the morning.  I wake up with a panic attack and profuse sweating every day. It feels as if my body is just being flooded with adrenaline.  It's the worst feeling.  I did have my cortisol checked several times, and it's always in range towards the high end.

I just don't know what to do now at all.

[goolarra]

You're right.  Your TSH is a bit elevated, yet your FT4 is at 67% of range, which is high of the 50% target, and FT3 is at 57%, which is in the upper half of range recommended.  Neither of those levels should be causing hypo symptoms.  

Has your vitamin D and ferritin been tested?  Once FT3 and FT4 levels are adequate, we have to consider some kind of resistance syndrome.  Vitamin D and ferritin are key to thyroid hormones getting into cells.  

Have you had a 24-hour saliva test for cortisol?  This test gets four distinct readings throughout the day.  Any cortisol test that is just a snapshot or averages can miss high and low spots throughout the day.

I'm going to be offline for a few days, so don't think I'm ignoring you.  

[gillingham_01]

Thank you for writing again goolarra.  I hope you will be back online soon.

My symptoms being as severe as they are, I now wonder if there is something that is preventing my thyroid hormones from getting into my cells.  These are my test results that I had back on March 30, alittle less than 4 months ago.  I had my blood drawn at a different time on that day (9:40 am):

TSH  
my value           3.36

Ft4
my value           1.24

Ft3
my value            3.0

Ferritin
range                 13-150
my value            185

Vit D-25 Hydroxy
range                  32-100
my value             56.8  (this should be higher now have been taking supplement)

Vit B
range                   211-946
my value              1419

Cortisol (7-10am)
range                    6.2-19.4
my value               16.6

I have read that thyroid hormones getting into cells is a complex energy-dependent process.  I have also read that thyroid hormones follow a circadian rhythm, with levels at there lowest around 3 pm and at their highest around 3-4 am.  I have a terrible time sleeping and I know my circadian rhythm is badly messed up.  This weekend I slept most of the day on Sat & Sun because I feel so tired all the time, and then was awake most of the night.  Then during the week I will have to be up early on certain days.  When I wake up I can barely move or get out of bed.  I literally can barely move.  I also wake up in a panic attack and become extremely hot with profuse sweating.  I wake up like this every single day.  I also know my BMR is now very low.  I have no appetite and so I eat very little, yet I am gaining weight.  I can't begin to tell you how terrible I feel.

[gimel]

Since goolarra is away right now, I wanted to respond to your post.  Upon reviewing your symptoms and lab results, I think that you need to follow up on the high ferritin result.  High ferritin is one of the possible causes for a condition called "pooling of T3 in the blood", with which T3 does not adequately get to cells.  Also, a high ferritin suggests that you should get a full iron test panel, which includes serum iron, TIBC, % saturation, and ferritin.  Along with that it would be good to get tested for Free T3 at the same time as a Reverse T3 test.  The ratio of Free T3 to Reverse T3 can be very revealing about your tissue thyroid levels, which can vary from serum thyroid levels.  

Can you get those tests done?  

[jacrjacr]

I call it the superwoman syndrome......too much on one person at once for too long and bammmm your tsh rises.....you can have adrenal fatigue that triggers this and /or your hormones get off from too much stress as well and it can trigger this...and many say to treat the hormones and stress first , and deficiencies etc and then look at thyroid again....google adrenal fatigue and take the online test....Maca extract can help some people, you can google that too.....some use macafem.....just ideas to think about....

[gillingham_01]

Thank you jacrjacr and gimel for writing on my post while goolara is away.  I appreciate your being their very much.

I did also have an iron panel done on March 30.  These were my results:

IRON
Range              37-145
my value           76

TOTAL IRON BINDING CAPACITY
range                228-428
my value           267

% IRON SATURATION
range                15-50%
my value           28

UNSATURATED IRON BIND CAPACITY
range                112-347
my value           191

I was on iron supplements for a few months prior to these tests because my ferritin levels had dropped so this was the cause for my high ferritin level at that time.  I stopped the supplements on March 30 and am sure my ferritin levels have gone down because I eat very little.  I don't have an appetite because my metabolism has slowed down so profoundly.  

I did have a reverse T3 done back in January too.  I went to a neuropath because doctors wouldn't order this test for me.  The results in January were:

Rt3:
range           9.2-24.1
my result      14.3

Ft3
range            2.0-1.77
my value       3.3

Ft4
range             .82-1.77
my value        1.23

The neuropath I went to treated me very badly though, so I will not go back to her.

yes, I can certainly say without question that very severe trauma and chronic, prolonged stress damages the thyroid because this is what has happened to me.  I had no problems at all with my thyroid before all this happened to me.  

I have read about adrenal stress and am sure my adrenals are severely stressed just as my thyroid and my entire body is.  The thing is, I am so severely ill now that I don't think I am physically capable of trying to treat the other hormones first.  I simply do not have the physical strength.  I honestly do feel that I am critically ill.  The doctor I am seeing now wants to start me on Armour  He is going to call me on Friday to talk about it.  It is so hard to know what to do, but I do know that I cannot go on feeling as I am for much longer.  

[gillingham_01]

I forgot to say that when I had the rT3 done back in January, my TSH was 6.16

[gimel]

Please check the range shown for Free T3.  

[gillingham_01]

Thank you gimel.  I wrote down the wrong range for the test I had in January.  It should be:

Ft3
range            2.0-4.4
my value       3.3

The time my blood was drawn was alittle after 6 am for the January tests.  The time my blood was drawn for the March 30 tests was alittle after 9 am.
The time my blood was drawn for the tests I had the other day was alittle after 2 pm.

I've noticed that my values seem to be lower in the early morning than they are in the early afternoon.  It's strange because every day for the past year, while my body always seems to be cold, I suddenly become freezing cold in the early afternoon.  I also become very cold right after I eat anything.  

[gimel]

You expressed concern that the thyroid hormone was not finding its way to the cells of your body.  Perhaps it is more likely that your levels are just too low.  Have a look at this info.

In the words of a good thyroid doctor, "The free T3 is not as helpful in untreated persons as the free T4 because in the light of a rather low FT4 the body will convert more T4 to T3 to maintain thyroid effect as well as is possible. So the person with a rather low FT4 and high-in-range FT3 may still be hypothyroid. However, if the FT4 is below 1.3 and the FT3 is also rather low, say below 3.4 (range 2 to 4.4 at LabCorp) then its likely that hypothyroidism is the cause of a person's symptoms."

In addition, every person has slightly different levels at which they feel best.  I think it is worth a therapeutic trial of thyroid meds, adequate to raise your Free T4 and Free T3 levels.  Many members, myself included, say that relief from hypo symptoms required Free T4 at the middle of its range, at minimum, and Free T3 in the upper third of its range, or as necessary to relieve symptoms.  

[gillingham_01]

Thank you again for offering your thoughts and comments Gimel. The information you provided that you say is from a good thyroid doctor is very helpful to me.  I've not come across this piece of information in all of the searching and reading I have done.

Could I ask you what your FT4 and FT3 levels are? (the levels that you feel relief from your symptoms)?

Could I ask another question?  Have you or anyone on the forum suffered very severe hair loss with no regrowth where it started to come back again after being on Armour?  I can't tell you how distraught I am with now having lost nearly all of my hair.

[gillingham_01]

I'm sorry, I made another typo when I posted my most recent lab values a few days ago.  Here is my corrected FT3 value:

TSH
Range           0.450-4.5
My value        5.26

FT4
Range            0.82-1.77
my value        1.46

FT3
Range             2.0-4.4
my value         3.6        (not 3.36)

When I was well before all this happened to me, I wouldn't have made mistakes like this.  My sustained concentration and focus are really being affected.

[gimel]

In another site, that same doctor said, "Since NDT has more T3 than the human thyroid gland produces, the well-replaced patient’s FT4 will be below the middle of its range, and the FT3 will be high “normal” or slightly high before the next AM dose."  My FT4 and FT3 results are consistent with that.  

Before going further, can you please list the symptoms you have, besides hair loss.  

[gillingham_01]

my list of symptoms is very lengthy gimel:

- along with my severe hair loss, my eyebrows are falling out.  I have always had thick eyebrows. I suddenly noticed a few months ago that the outer edges of my eyebrows have just about disappeared, and what's left continues to get thinner and thinner
- profound fatigue, my stamina is gone
- my motivation is gone
- increasing brain fog
- increasing slowness in my ability to think clearly
- in the morning when I wake up, I literally can't move.  I have never know fatigue as severe as it is when I wake up.
- my sleep pattern has become very disrupted, very hard to fall asleep, wake up every few hours
- this past weekend I slept nearly all day both days. This happens very often
- I've worked full time in high stress, demanding jobs for nearly 40 years, but now I cannot work more than two days in a row because of the profound fatigue I have every day.
- I have severe problems with my digestion, have greatly decreased digestive motility
- when I eat something, it feels like I've swallowed a rock, and I immediately become even colder than I already feel almost all the time.

- when I eat anything, even if it's only a few crackers, my stomach swells up
- constipation, at times severe
- I am gaining weight, yet I eat very little because I have no appetite.
- I have nausea that comes and goes most days, especially in the morning
- I also become especially cold at about the same time every day - between 1-3 pm.
- I used to walk 2-3 miles nearly every evening, for very many years.  I cannot do this anymore.  It is with great effort that I just walk 2 blocks to the mailbox and back.
- my eyes have started to bother me since this all happened to me.  They now hurt, burn, itch, my vision is becoming more blurry.  I can't read newsprint anymore now.
- my eyes have always been sensitive to sunlight, but this has now become severe
- my legs have now started to hurt and ache
- I wake up with unexplained bruises on my legs
- intolerance to both hot and cold temperatures
- my voice has been strange for the last several months now.  Is hard to explain, but it's like there's something stuck in my throat, and I have trouble speaking at length.  My voice sort of cracks and fades away.  I can't get the words out.
- frequent dermatitis on my fingers has recently been starting to happen, it comes and goes
- extreme sensitivity to noise
- have heart flutters that come and go
- severe anxiety with severe episodes of heat with profuse sweating.  This is the worse in the morning, but I also have these episodes throughout the day, every single day

I have always been extremely in tune with my body, have always been athletic all my life, tried to take care of myself, but since this has happened to me, I feel as though I am now existing in a very ill, foreign body.  I do not feel myself anymore. I am in extreme emotional distress because of what is happening to me.

[Rai_Rai]

I also have some of the symptoms like my eyebrows are thinning, lack of stamina, brain fog. The worse for me is the anxiety and sweating even when its not hot my face just feels like a hot flush and it starts pouring with sweat.
I've recently had my blood test done again because I think I'm under medicated, still waiting on those results. But in the mean time I found going to the gym helps and drinking freshly made fruit juices and trying to relax with yoga or just doing things you like, sometimes I feel like I have to fight against my body to get past the fatigue, frustrating!!

[gimel]

You have an overabundance of classic hypothyroid symptoms.  There may be other issues as well that need further testing.  So do you think you could give your list of symptoms, along with a copy of the symptoms in this long list that can be associated with hypothyroidism, to your doctor and get him to consider starting you on a therapeutic trail of thryoid med?  Also do you think you could get him to test for ferritin and calcium?

http://hypothyroidmom.com/300-hypothyroidism-symptoms-yes-really/

The reason I mention calcium is covered in the following link.  I may be grasping at straws, but maybe it is worth considering.

http://www.parathyroid.com/parathyroid-symptoms.htm


:

[gimel]

I also thought you might like to go through the check list in this link, and geta  composite score to evaluate for hypothyroidism.  It is interesting.

http://www.thyroid-australia.com/lowthyroid.htm

[gillingham_01]

Thank you for your comment again Gimel.  I shared my most recent ferritin result which was on March 30 alittle further up in my post.  It was:

Ferritin
range                 13-150
my value            185

I was on iron supplements for a few months prior to this test though, so I am sure this is the reason my value was high. I stopped the supplements on March 30.  Because I am having so much trouble with my digestion, I think my ferritin has probably decreased alittle since March 30 because I'm probably not absorbing much iron from what I am able to eat.  Somehow, I don't think my doctor will agree to retest it again so soon.

I also had my calcium level tested on March 30.  The result is:

Calcium
Range              8.6-10.2
my value          9.3

I actually did write down my long list of symptoms for my doctor and gave it to him Gimel.  He said he thinks I am hypothyroid and has suggested I try Armour.  And that was where I was at when I put my first post on this forum, asking if there is anyone who has experienced what I have (severe emotional and physical trauma having caused what I am now going through) and if so, whether anyone was able to recover their thyroid health in some way without having to go on thyroid medication.  While I am suffering terribly, more than I can ever say, I am still afraid of thyroid meds permanently shutting down my thyroid.  Goolara said that she didn't think this would happen.

Being a woman and suddenly having lost nearly all of my hair is 'profoundly distressing for me, so I was wondering too if any other members have had this happen to them and if so, if thyroid meds helped their hair to come back. I know it is distressing for men to lose their hair too, but it is much, much worse for a woman to have this happen to them.  It is horrible.

today was another very hard day for me.  My mind has been in such a fog all day it felt like I was thinking in slow motion.  I have just tried to eat a small piece of chicken.  My stomach is not making any digestive sounds.  This happens whenever I try to eat which is hard to do already because I have no appetite.