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MichelleAnne · 01-26-2013, 12:27 AM

does it get any better?? I have been having anxiety off and on for the past 5 years, the beginning years were awful, I wouldn't wish them on my worst enemy. Somedays are better than others but I'm living in fear of what each day will bring. Beginning of last year I was diagnosed with hashis. I have been seeing a psychiatrist and taking anti anxiety meds for the past five years as well. Just wanted to know if you all think this is a mental thing or something caused by my hashimotos? I should be better by now, its been 5 years. The specialist saw me and gave me meds but never saw me again, my doctor assured me the anxiety was thyroid related, but I have my doubts because I feel so mentally anxious. My latest lab results were a slight high TSH but the doctor never seemed concerned. I have seen numerous doctors and they all say im dealing with a psychiatric disease and not a thyroid one? Your thoughts?

Last months lab results...
TSH 5.90
T3 - 3.9 (3.5-6.5)
T4 - 13 (9-23)

lisa789 · 01-26-2013, 12:54 AM

I'm sorry you're dealing with this.

Your TSh sure is elevated and not all that 'little bit', levels like those sure can cause symptoms. What did the doctor who said your symptoms were thyroid related do? did he/she put you on any thyroid medication?
what thyroid medication are you currently on and how much? going by those labs you need an increase so sure hope you got that.

HypoT (or hashi's) can cause a variety of symptoms, including mental ones.Plenty of people are dealing with anxiety due to hypoT. I'm not in a position to say whether you'd be having a mental issue on top of your thyroid issue whatsoever, yet as far as thyroid goes I can say your thyroid levels are off and need proper treatment.

MichelleAnne · 01-26-2013, 01:00 AM

thanks Lisa, the doctor put me on meds, then my thyroid went too low and she had be go off of them. 2 weeks later I ended up in the er, tsh as 41. She sent me to a specialist and she diagnosed me with hashis. I am currently on levo .025 on even days and 0.025 on odd days. Just seems like my levels are off but not drastically enough to cause such mental anxiety?

lisa789 · 01-26-2013, 01:08 AM

I think there is a typo in the dosages mentioned.
Did your dosage change after those labresults? how long are you on this dosage and how long were you on it before those labs were done? where those labs done with or without intake of thyroid medication?

As for being put on medication, too much being taken off again and ending up at ER. With thyroid (and thyroid medication) its not an all or nothing game, dosing is the key for wellness and pretty much everything. every brand thyroid medication comes in different doses, exactly since dosing is that important. Glad she sent you to another doctor!

hang in there

lisa789 · 01-26-2013, 01:16 AM

you added something in your post about levels being off but not drastically

. let me try to explain something. First of all I'm not saying all your mental issues are or aren't caused by thyroid, I really don't feel in a position to commend on that.

As for your levels being off, normal (aka within ranges) does not mean much when it concerns thyroid. levels are optimal for a person or not, a comparison Midwest (thank you Midwest) makes and which i like is a shoesize, it's your shoesize or it is it, even if it's a normal shoesize does not mean it fits your foot.
That being said TSH is thyroid stimulating hormone produced by the pituitary gland and not an actual thyroid hormone It will rise when the actual thyroid hormone level (FT4 and FT3) are too low for the body's needs.
keeping in mind that a healthy person will have TSH around 1, AACE stated that TSH >2.5 is suspicious of hypoT, your TSH is too high for a person treated for hypoT.

TSH is not what causes symptoms, it's the actual thyroid levels which drop too low for the body's needs that will cause symptoms. within ranges does not mean much there, healthy people will have FT4 and FT3 around 60-80% of the ranges, at least midrange.

The symptoms and severity of those is quite an individual thing and don't always correlate with the extend levels are off. So yes one can have severe symptoms with levels which at first sight seem just a little off.

leighsa200 · 01-26-2013, 03:00 PM

Anxiety was one of the symptoms I had when first diagnosed and now that I am pretty much stable with my thyroid the anxiety is gone. There was a time before diagnosis that I considered seeing a psychiatrist because the anxiety was driving me mad.

It happened very slowly but it did go away. I remember one day thinking wow I feel normal again. I didnt realize how bad i felt until i felt better. So it is possible. Hang in there

MichelleAnne · 01-27-2013, 08:40 PM

Thanks so much Lisa

I wonder if the thyroid can fluctuate more during certain times of the day, I tend to feel anxious and crappy in the evening into the night. Pretty good throughout the day though!

Alnnurs · 02-14-2013, 09:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by leighsa200

Anxiety was one of the symptoms I had when first diagnosed and now that I am pretty much stable with my thyroid the anxiety is gone. There was a time before diagnosis that I considered seeing a psychiatrist because the anxiety was driving me mad.

It happened very slowly but it did go away. I remember one day thinking wow I feel normal again. I didnt realize how bad i felt until i felt better. So it is possible. Hang in there

That gives me hope. I've had increased anxiety over the past 4 years, and last year started having panic attacks. The last year has been rough. I also feel like I can't handle any amount of stress. So exhausted. My boyfriend tells me that 3 years ago I had so much more energy. It's very depressing. I posted a thread on my labs. Hoping to get some some answers. I want to rule out Hashi's as well. Sometimes I feel like I'm losing my mind.

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