# Unusual Discoveries.... Please Help



## nathdep (Jul 29, 2014)

Hello everyone!

I have some unusual findings. I have been on Lithium for the past three years. My psychiatrist has been doing regular blood tests to monitor my hormone levels as lithium can sometimes mess with those. I have been fine until recently.

I was telling my psychiatrist about how I had been feeling quite depressed recently which is odd for me since I have more of a problem with anxiety than depression. She thought it was mainly due to some heart medication that had depression as one of its side effects but she also wanted to test my TSH, Free T3, and Free T4 to see if anything wacky was going on in that department.

She was surprised when the test results came back. It indicated that my TSH was elevated and my Free T3 was low which indicates hypothyroidism. She didn't seem to be concerned and didn't want to put me on thyroid medication. So, we scheduled a followup appointment for about a month.

I got a little worried so I called my endocrinologist (of whom I haven't seen in 6 years). I explained to him what my psychiatrist had said and he seemed confident that it was most likely due to the lithium. He did a physical examination and commented on how my thyroid seemed enlarged. He asked me if thyroid problems run in the family. I told him that my mom had thyroid cancer and almost everyone else on her side has had a thyroid problem of some sort. I asked him again if the lithium had caused all of this and he told me he wasn't quite sure anymore because of my family history.

He subsequently ordered a test for anti-thyroid antibodies and for Free T3 and Free T4. He also ordered an ultrasound to see if there were any nodules. They did the ultrasound right after. I noticed that there were some spots that looked unusual to me. Granted, I have no idea how to read ultrasounds but there were little circles that looked different from the rest.

Has anyone had this problem before with lithium? I know that it is extremely common for lithium to cause this but considering I have such an extensive family history with thyroid cancer/problems, I can't help to be nervous.

What do you think?


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## Lovlkn (Dec 20, 2009)

It's a common problem with lithium.

Your endo is trying to rule out "autoimmune" rather than it being a side effect of the lithium

http://thyroid.about.com/od/relatedconditions1/a/lithium_bipolar.htm


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## nathdep (Jul 29, 2014)

Ok. I just worry so much because there are some many problems with thyroid disease/cancer in my family. I know that I am pretty much destined to have some kind of problem. I have a really slow metabolism and can't lose weight very easily. I figure it's just a matter of time before I get diagnosed with something (and I'm not saying that as a hypochondriac either).

Is it possible that lithium can cause underlying thyroid problems to emerge?


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

Welcome to the board. This makes me wonder if you have been correctly diagnosed as having to need lithium.

There is a lot of research on this subject. In any case; if you can, get a copy of that ultra-sound so you can post the comments here.


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