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#1060338

I don’t know what to do. My thyroid rollercoaster started with being diagnosed with an underactive thyroid (hashimoto’s) back in 2004. I had probably had thyroid problems since 1990 but never bad enough to bring my numbers outside of the normal range. I started on Levaxin and later added Armour and felt somewhat okay, but never quite normal. Anxiety was not an issue.
After two pregnancies I started developing Graves antibodies periodically but not enough to push me into hyperthyroidism. I did however start having anxiety. A year after my third pregnancy I went hyper and switched my thyroidhormones with ATD’s. I went into remission after a year, but relapsed after 9 months. The relapse lasted 6 months and I am now back in remission. My problem is just that despite having normal numbers, I still suffer from anxiety that at times is debilitating. It feels very much like a physical issue (intolerant to adrenaline) more than a psychological issue. Also it feels like I am swinging between hyper and hypo and I am fed up with never knowing what the day will bring.
The doctors and the endo’s are adamant that it is all in my head and are offering me SSRI’s, even if a small dosage of propranolol kills of my anxiety completely.

Should I go for RAI/TT? Has anyone else been there/done that?

My biggest fear is that I kill off my thyroid and then am left with debilitating anxiety AND an underactive thyroid.

[Kimberly]

#1182017

Hello and welcome – The anxiety issues can certainly come from having thyroid levels out of balance. However, it’s also good to check to see if there is an underlying cause that requires separate treatment. Your endo primary care doc should be able to refer to you a specialist that can complete a thorough evaluation and help you decide on a further course of treatment.

This video from the GDATF’s San Diego conference in 2012 on “The Emotional Impact of Graves’” disease might be of interest.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CB8_5rbCso8

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The decision whether to pursue TT or RAI is certainly a difficult one. We do have others who have been through a similar situation, so hopefully, they will chime in with their thoughts.

Please check back to let us know how you are doing!

[npatterson]

#1182018

Hi,

Here’s a little more information. We are all “intolerant” of adrenaline. It’s job is to activate us, and too much sends us into orbit. If you are taking Armour, you are doing that every time you take it.

If a “small dose” of propanalol eliminates your anxiety, it is certainly clinically acceptable. I recently had locum tenems position in a South Florida Community Mental Health Center where we were using that a great deal., in order to decrease the use, and dependence on, benzodiazapines (Valium, Xanax, etc). Additionally, it is exactly the SSRI’s (and SNRI’s – more expensive) that work the best with hyperthyroid patients. They need to be started at very low doses , and increased every two weeks in order to introduce them into your system without side effects.

If your primary doctor, or endo is not comfortable with this, a psychiatrist should certainly understand this. Don’t freak because I said the “P” word–that’s what they are there for. My specialty is psychiatry and mental health. If you need to e-mail me, please don’t use the PM. My e-mail is “nancyngdf@gmail.com”

Don’t give up, and try mot to get discouraged.

Take care,

Nancy

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