Under active thyroid or a teeny bit mental?!.....

[lolalois]

Hi, I was diagnosed with an unractive thyroid about 6 months ago and started on thyroxine. I didn't really have typical symptoms of tiredness, weight gain etc, more a feeling of struggling to get through the day, 'can't face it' type of thing. I also had some slightly weird IBS type symptoms, although not the typical constipation.

Anyway the meds worked for a while but recently had to up meds as not working so well (TSH 5.85/T4 14) so upped my dose. The symptoms this time are but different, am getting heart palpitations, especially at night, and the same can't be arsed feeling. Fingers crossed the increase will kick in soon. Have also started some probiotics to sort the IBS.

My main concern is that since this all happened I feel like I've become a bit introspective and overly concerned with myself/my symptoms. I seem to spend a lot of time almost accidentally thinking about it, I suppose it's a bit of a preoccupation. I don't feel especially anxious, but perhaps it's some kind of low level anxiety. I really want to get back to my old self and get on with my life. None of my symptoms have ever been that awful, and the condition is very manageable, medically speaking, but it seems to have triggered a slightly strange response in me, I'm not usually that kind of person at all.

Having said all that, I'm not sure my thyroid has ever been really properly managed, so maybe it's all to do with that. I'm tying myself up in knots a bit, have any of you had a similar experience? Any thoughts on how to move on?

Palpitations generally come with an overactive thyroid. If you have increased your meds, it may be that your body is just adjusting to this or that your dose is now too high. I am on thyroxine and I think there is something on the info leaflet that comes with it about palpitations.

Your symptoms certainly could still be thyroid related. As a sufferer of both Graves Disease (hyperthyroidism) and now an underactive thyroid, I feel that when my thyroid is "out of balance" it does affect how I think about things, my mood, and can also evoke feelings of both anxiety and depression. I guess it's a question of getting the meds right, which is actually very hard because even if blood tests show you're clinically ok, the levels of TSH and thyroxine which make you feel your old self are very personal to you and may not fall into the accepted "norms" defined by the NHS.

Thanks for getting back to me. I had the palpitations before my dose increased, but apparently it is possible to get them when you're hypo, just less common. It'll be 2 weeks on tues/weds since I upped the thyroxine so I'll see if it evens out when the thyroxine kicks in.

Is hard to know what's you're thyroid and what's not isn't it? I do feel a bit like the whole thyroid thing has sort of kick started a preoccupation with health though. Out of interest, are your meds managed by your GP or an endo?

I was diagnosed with an under active thyroid a year ago. I think I'm still coming to terms with it all mentally and it has made me introspective.

I can't believe I will be controlled by drugs for the rest of my life. I previously saw myself as really strong mentally and physically, but now my moods and energy levels come down to two white pills. Weird. And i keep thinking back to things that happened pre- diagnosis and wonder if they were 'real' or the rest of my thyroid going wrong. But it has become easier to accept now that my meds are at the right level, and I feel more or less ok.

Omg thats more or less exactly how I feel. Has it taken a full year to get the thyroxine right? Mine seemed ok for a few months but have recently increased. I'm sure my thyroid makes me feel weird but I also think I feel weird about it, I'd never really had anything wrong with me before.

Good to know I'm not the only one....

I've been hypothyroid for 2, nearly 3 years now, and have found that there is a mood swing associated with it - kind of a cycling up and down.

For the first wee while when you start on thyroxine, you can experience all sorts of weird side effects, including the palpitations and anxiety.

It can take a while to get a stable dose, because once your thyroid is being supported by the meds, the function can decline as the thyroid slowly stops working. I had my dosage increased to 125mcg last year, and I am expecting it to increase again in the next six months as my symptoms are increasing again.

It's also worth asking to have your b12 and iron levels checked, as people with hypothyroidism are prone to deficiencies in these.

I hope you get it sorted.

I see, so it's a common thing that meds gradually increase. Is there anything else that can support the thyroid, like homeopathy or something?

I'm fine on the iron front, I've been anaemic for years so take supplements, my count has increased since being on thyroxine and I take them at opposite ends of the day, as advised.

It's mainly this preoccupation with it that bothers me, it's like I've developed some kind of health anxiety or something. I just want to forget it and get on with my life but it seems to be constantly in my head, almost subconsciously, IYSWIM.

It's totally normal that your dosage will change - the guidelines used to be 1mcg of thyroxine per 1lb of body weight, but obviously that does depend on what healthcare trust you live in. The best thing for me is b12. It's water soluble too, so I can't overdose myself on it, and am able to find out what level works best for me - I don't know about homeopathic remedies though.

It's also worth knowing that even though it says take it first thing in the morning, it should also say on an empty stomach and wait an hour before drinking tea or coffee - it all hinders absorption.

You're still quite newly diagnosed, so it's only natural that you'll be thinking about it a lot - after all, it's something that is going to need medication for the rest of our lives - but it is manageable, and you will feel better as it all gets sorted

I don't know if these sites would be any good for you, or if you've already read all this stuff, but it's worth a look if not.

www.btf-thyroid.org/
www.thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/index.html

Thanks for the links, in my rather anxious state I've read lots of them already! They are a bit confusing tho as people's symptoms seem to vary so much. I tried taking b12 once but seem to be a rare type who overdoses on it, which was a strange experience. I think I'll wait until I feel a bit better before making any decisions about what next.

I guess it is natural to be a bit preoccupied, just not like me usually. Fingers crossed it'll pass.....