Can anybody offer support or advice on my current mental state? (Possibly thyroid related)

[TheJoyousExpert]

hi all
ive been suffering from thyroid issues for a few months now & have been diagnosed with overactive thyroid (awaiting possible graves diagnosis)
I am now on medication to hopefully bring the levels down - however they weren’t massively raised to begin with.
before all of this I’d been suffering stomach issues and noticed some anxiety which seemed to come out of no whwre

in the past few weeks, my mental state has completely and utterly spiralled out of control. I have suffered with what I believe are symptoms of overactive thyroid like weak legs, mildly increased heart rate

but my mental state it truely awful - obsessive intrusive thoughts of dying, collapsing. I feel so hopeless and down.
i haven’t been showering or washing my hair or brushing my teeth. Haven’t been getting dressed. I am in tears Constantly I feel so so utterly depressed.

i am not sure how much longer I can carry on feeling like this - I am pretty sure it is related to my thyroid. It feels like it has come out of no where.

Ive reached out to my GP etc and had an assessment for talking therapy today.
i have taken small amounts of diazepam as ans when I’ve needed.
ive Been prescribed fluoxetine which I’m not against taking but very wary to take another med at the min (I feel scared about the thyroid med as it is) which could make me feel any worse.

i feel so so bad and I don’t know where to go next

I don't have experience with thyroid issues but I do with anxiety and it sounds like you're going through it at the moment. I'm glad you've reached out to your GP and if medication helps, I'd be all for taking it, you can always come off it later when things settle.

The most important thing to know with anxiety is that it passes. You will feel "normal" again and the more you fight against anxiety, the worse it gets. Do breathing exercises. Michael Sealey videos on YouTube are good to listen to or fall asleep to.

I hope you feel better soon.

I was absolutely batshit when my thyroid was overactive - I've experienced mental illness before, but this was scary! I found it slowly settled over about the first 3 months I was on carbimazole - I hope you find the same! Keep talking to your GP.

Thank you @Sylver75 i really appreciate your reply 😊 guess because it’s been going on for some time, I’m really struggling now 😔

thank you @R41nb0wR0se - this really resonates with me and makes sense! That’s how I feel - completely awful. How did you cope?

I’ve experienced mental health issues before but nothing like this - it’s really scary. And the doctors and endo have been quite dismissive about it - saying this is all anxiety - which it is, BUT I truely believe it’s my thyroid causing it. Good to hear your felt better on meds. Was your thyroid very overactive?
I was hoping mine would settle quickly because it wasn’t hugely out of range but I’ve been on meds nearly 3 weeks and still feel awful.

I just tried to take one day at a time, as far as possible, and focus on the stuff I really had to do to survive - anything else was a bonus. The numbers on my blood tests weren't horrendously awful, but that didn't seem to match how I felt.