# Hypothyroidism, Does anyone else have high anxiety?



## anxietysoldier (Apr 2, 2014)

Just a question really, Does anyone else deal with high levels of anxiety when they are hypo?


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## jenny v (May 6, 2012)

I do/did. Hypo made me anxious and high strung--the tiniest thing would set me off or ruin my whole day. It can do a number on you mentally.


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## Cahlin (Jan 7, 2014)

As a cancer patient going through the whole hypo stage of RAI treatment, I will definitely say that yes, anxiety is a major symptom of hypothyroidism. Any form of conflict or sense of conflict within me sends me shaking throughout my whole body. And like Jenny said, the tiniest thing such as a benign comment can make me feel anxious and ruin my whole day! The best thing that's worked for me is to just internalize my anxiousness...try to figure out if there's a genuine reason for it, like a conflict that needs resolving, or if it's just from being hypo and it's stemming internally. If it's the later then I try to calm myself down by either taking a bath or meditating . Sometimes I can't help but shake and feel anxious despite everything though!


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## anxietysoldier (Apr 2, 2014)

Cahlin,
Does that mean after you get on correct thyroid meds, you still deal with high anxiety? Thanks for the response I do appreciate it


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## anxietysoldier (Apr 2, 2014)

Jenny v,
How would you describe your anxiety?


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## Zoee (Apr 6, 2014)

i get really bad anxiety, sometimes for no reason but mainly i get it was i am annoyed or stressed or even worrying about things, my hands will sweat sometimes my whole body does, i find my breathing goes funny and my heart races more etc.


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## anxietysoldier (Apr 2, 2014)

I don't know why I'm not tired during the day, and can't sleep at night...my adrenals are good cortisol leaves fine, hormones fine and I'm hypothyroid? Depression yes, anxiety yes, tired and can sleep no....


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## jenny v (May 6, 2012)

Now that I'm getting closer to being on the correct dose of meds (I think I'll have one or two more bumps up in doses), my anxiety is going away. I was at a conference for work this week and it was stressful but I didn't have any internal meltdowns or lose my temper. A few weeks ago, this would have been a different story. My brain and body are starting to relax and I'm going back to my normal, laid back self. It didn't happen overnight, but it has been happening over the last few weeks, slowly but surely.


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## anxietysoldier (Apr 2, 2014)

jenny v,

how long have you been on your meds, and how many adjustments did they have to make?


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## jenny v (May 6, 2012)

I've been on several different medications over 10 years with dozens and dozens of dosage changes. I just started Armour in November and have had 3 dosage changes so far. I expect I'll have one or two more before I find my sweet spot. I hope to find that level by mid-summer or so.


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## earlyapex (Feb 17, 2014)

I get horrible anxiety when hypo. I went off meds recently for 2 weeks when I thought I was overmedicated, and it was pure hell. I couldnt relax. I would pace around the house and constantly had to be outside walking in order to feel somewhat calm. The crazy thing is, the huge amount of adrenaline that compensates when you are severely low thyroid, made me act very hyper, the same feeling of being overmedicated. Once I started back up on thyroid meds, I finally got was able to relax.


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## joplin1975 (Jul 21, 2011)

I'm obviously not Cahlin, but I had a similar experience. Once the meds were corrected and the TSI was out of my system, things were much more manageable (I say manageable because I'm a somewhat anxious person by nature).


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## bigfoot (May 13, 2011)

Yup, depending on where my hormones are, anxiety can crop up. Before all of this happened, anxiety was completely foreign to me, except for maybe getting a little nervous before a big presentation, like anyone else. When I was very under-medicated and during what must have been a nasty flare-up of Hashi's, I was really irritable, "emo", and anxious. There have been times it has all but vanished, so I know it's definitely tied into my thyroid and autoimmune stuff. It's a matter of getting back to that "sweet spot" as Jenny said, where everything was aligned, and I'm still in that ongoing process. Glad to see they have tested your cortisol and testosterone/estrogen levels, as well as vitamins & heavy metals. I think those are easily overlooked sometimes, and having low testosterone and/or even high estradiol can certainly cause anxiety and mood issues. You must have a pretty good doc if they are turning over some stones looking for that stuff! 

Oh, and I just posted a link to this article elsewhere on the forum, but here it is. Dr. Richard Hall has one titled "Anxiety and Endocrine Disease", which makes for some light reading, LOL: http://www.drrichardhall.com/anxiety.htm


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## anxietysoldier (Apr 2, 2014)

thanks Bigfoot,

I do have a good doctor, my last doctor was horrible...just switch to a functional medicine doctor in december,and have found out more in the last few months then the years of my old doctor.


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## ssMarilyn (Nov 15, 2013)

anxietysoldier said:


> Just a question really, Does anyone else deal with high levels of anxiety when they are hypo?


* I got anxiety so bad that I couldn't drive a car. Had to quit my job in law enforcement. It bites for sure!*


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## earlyapex (Feb 17, 2014)

Anxiety has hands down been my worst symptom through all this mess. Followed by insomnia.


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## ssMarilyn (Nov 15, 2013)

*P.S. After treatment improved my thyroid condition.. it took years... .my anxiety pretty much went away, but I had experienced so much of it that I was still predisposed to it so had episodes crop up here and there. I started magnesium citrate caps, which is called nature's relaxant and it helped alot. Also, this book saved my life and stopped my anxiety pretty much in its tracks. 'From Panic to Power' by Lucinda Bassett. GET THE BOOK.. you will be glad you did. *


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## ssMarilyn (Nov 15, 2013)

earlyapex said:


> Anxiety has hands down been my worst symptom through all this mess. Followed by insomnia.


*B12 sublingual along with a B complex and magnesium citrate sure helped my insomnia, but not 100%. It wasn't until I switched to Armour that I started to go to sleep faster and not wake up as often, plus I sleep deeper and even dream now!*


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## bigfoot (May 13, 2011)

Ouch, yes, the insomnia. When they first started ramping me up from 50 mcg of T4 after discovering the Hashi's, they stuck me on 75 mcg and then 100 mcg of T4 within about a weeks' time. Holy smokes, I don't think I slept more than an hour or two a night. It was pretty brutal. Once they reduced my dosage (likely over-medicated) I started sleeping better again, and we slowly ramped back up. On the plus side, I found myself in the office filing and sorting stacks of old paperwork at something like midnight. So it wasn't a total loss. 

One thing you could try is a small amount of melatonin. With the melatonin, less is more. You want a really small dose, like 1mg or less, IIRC. Take it about an hour or so before bedtime. It does help somewhat. Source Naturals makes a good one that is sublingual and doesn't taste totally gross.


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## bigfoot (May 13, 2011)

ssMarilyn said:


> * I got anxiety so bad that I couldn't drive a car. Had to quit my job in law enforcement. It bites for sure!*


Ugh, sorry to hear this -- certainly hope it is getting better. Sounds familiar; I was making stupid mistakes entering warrants and knew something wasn't right.


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## ssMarilyn (Nov 15, 2013)

bigfoot said:


> Ugh, sorry to hear this -- certainly hope it is getting better. Sounds familiar; I was making stupid mistakes entering warrants and knew something wasn't right.


*Yup, talked about the improvement above. I miss my job....*


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## anxietysoldier (Apr 2, 2014)

The anxiety this weeks is so bad, I havent made it to work, not sleeping much at all. It hard for me to type, my wrists hurts and its hard to grip things. My body aches all over and dont have much of appetite. Dont know what to do? So many unanswered questions, dont know where I am going from here, need relief soon....


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## ssMarilyn (Nov 15, 2013)

*Sounds like you need to see your MD again. And get an FT3 done this time. Also, please try taking magnesium citrate.. nature's relaxant. It's wonderful.. it works! 60% or in that area, of the US population is deficient in magnesium. Magnesium directly affects the nervous system and muscles. ER uses it in IVs to treat heart attacks and asthma attacks as it relaxes the veins and airways. I can't say enough good about it. You need to take approx. 800 mg a day to start, divided up of course.. not all at once and at least 2 hours after your thyroid med. I take mine at night before I go to bed.*


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## earlyapex (Feb 17, 2014)

anxietysoldier said:


> The anxiety this weeks is so bad, I havent made it to work, not sleeping much at all. It hard for me to type, my wrists hurts and its hard to grip things. My body aches all over and dont have much of appetite. Dont know what to do? So many unanswered questions, dont know where I am going from here, need relief soon....


Those are the exact symptoms I get when I need an increase. Horrid anxiety. Muscle and joint pain all over, but really bad in my wrists and ankles. Muscle weakness. Morning nasea, No appetite whatsoever, but often binge late night. I also can't fall asleep for the life of me. But if I do, I can sleep all day long.


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## anxietysoldier (Apr 2, 2014)

Has anyone else had to take time off work until you get your medicine dosage right?


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## jenny v (May 6, 2012)

I didn't (not once in 10 years of thyroid problems), but I'm a stubborn old goat and I got it set in my mind that I was never going to waste my vacation time on my thyroid problems. It might not have been the smartest thing to do, but I've always pushed through my thyroid symptoms to stay at work.


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## bigfoot (May 13, 2011)

anxietysoldier said:


> Has anyone else had to take time off work until you get your medicine dosage right?


Absolutely. There were other issues at play, too (liver), so things were a little more complicated. But same end result -- time needed away from work. It can be a real bear getting this stuff dialed in enough to properly function. Not sure what situation you're in, but it is probably worth checking over your work benefits to see what kind of paid leave you have access to. There could be short-term disability insurance (3 months), long-term disability insurance (from 3 months onwards), or some combination of the two. Both of those are separate from something like SSDI, which is geared towards longer periods (years) of illness. Worst-case scenario, if you don't have any short- or long-term disability (coverage either paid for by yourself or employer), you should still be eligible for FMLA. Traditionally, FMLA is unpaid leave up to 3 months, while your employer is required to hold your job position open for you. And this leave doesn't have to be taken all at once -- if it takes you 1.5 months now to heal, and later this year you need another 1.5 months, you're still within the 3 month window for a year. Some places will run FMLA concurrently with your short-term disability, that way you still receive some income. As far as how much income, that will depend on the exact plan(s) -- some offer 66% of your income, some less, some more.

Don't ask how I know all this.


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