Can anyone help me reduce anxiety re health and... - Thyroid UK

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Can anyone help me reduce anxiety re health and morbid fantasies.

23 Replies

I have felt like my health has never recovered from when I stooped my thyroid hormones two years ago.I feel frail and weak despite my robust size.My head is still a bit swimmy at time and I have had this weird weight fluctuation thing with my weight going up and down,sometimes by more than 20 pounds in two weeks.

My Gp is concerned that my blood viscosity has been really high and he has ordered me a CAT scan.He is a very good GP as they go,he knows a lot more than most and is even I would say competent to do his job. Unusually he does get a bit over concerned about his patients, he was looking really concerned about the possibility of having dementia a few years back etc and I know he has been looking at my blood results while on holiday.This had added to my sense of impending doom, as has the similarity between some of my symptoms and those of my mothers who died of pancreatic cancer.I was awake most of the night imagining my saying good bye to significant people and other such dramatic worryings. It is as if my death feels inevitable. Has anyone else been though this?Can anybody talk some sense into me? I want my attitude to change as I believe it can affect the outcome.

23 Replies
SlowDragon profile image
SlowDragonAdministrator

You need to get thyroid antibodies and vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12 tested asap

Presumably looking at other posts you are on T3?

Is this self medicated?

When were last full TSH, FT4 and FT3 tested?

in reply to SlowDragon

Yes thye look good.T3 towards the top of range, T4 below and TSh suppressed. I asked him to do vit D, ferretin, folate and B12. I will get the results.I did have a quick look and I think they were all good.I have been taking viut d and jabbing B12.

wellness1 profile image
wellness1

Hi mandyjane, I'm sorry to hear you're feeling unwell and struggling with negative thoughts. A while back you posted your theory that our expectations bring about the things we most fear or desire. I think it's entirely possible that negative thought patterns can result from hypothyroidism, so yes, it's a good idea to get a current set of results and reflect on your treatment. But in the meantime, it's worth doing whatever you can to try to interrupt those negative thought patterns to which you attach so much importance. With a background in psych nursing, I'm sure you've considered these things, but perhaps some meditation, breathing exercises, a course of CBT, or spending more time in nature or with animals (or anything that speaks to you)? When you were struggling with fears for your dog you wrote down a hopeful story for his future. Could you do that for yourself?

in reply to wellness1

Thanks wellness.I have done my little hopeful story but it has had little impact this time. I have booked to do some consellation therepy which I rate. My results are fine.It is similar to those fears I had before.I just keep feeling as if my life is coming to an end. Not properly anxious almost peacefully morbid.I want to get out of it as I have a lot to live for and I have a duty to others to live a good life that I am beginning to realise. It has helped me to write that. I wondered if this was something a lot of people go through when bloods are funny and GP looks worried and orders a cat scan.Worries about the big C.I am fine for a few hours and then I do a tremendous fart or something and fine myself back into terminally ill mode and saying good bye to the world. I have been processing a lot of trauma as I have been writing my book, saying a lot of goodbyes to baggage and hurts in my past but it is all adding to this sense of things coming to an end. If I was religious I might call it a baptism or something. the dark night of the soul or something.Hopefully I will come out of it cleansed and rejuvenated.

wellness1 profile image
wellness1 in reply to

I'm glad you've booked in for some therapy you feel will help. I hope it does. :)

Going out on a bit of a limb here, but you used the word 'trauma'. I'm no expert, but do you know the book The Body Keeps the Score?

besselvanderkolk.net/the-bo...

And have you ever heard of Trauma Release Exercises (TRE)?

traumaprevention.com/what-i...

No first-hand knowledge, but I learned about the latter through a friend who is training to work with trauma survivors. Perhaps something to consider.

I'm glad you realise how much you have to live for. Focusing on that will help you through this 'dark night of the soul'.

Take care.

Caroline888 profile image
Caroline888

Hi Mandy,

I was suffering from severe anxiety prior to my diagnosis of hypothyroidism. It was so bad I was waking in the night with feelings of doom. I even started looking for therapy groups, though I didn’t really have the time to attend them. I’ve always been a worrier but this was very different. Feelings of dread were a daily occurrence, I felt anxious all the time. So I can understand what you are going through.

Then I started taking levothyroxine - what a difference! I’m not saying it happened overnight, but certainly within a few weeks I felt so much better and started sleeping better too.

Why did you stop your thyroid medication? I didn’t know that my anxiety was caused by an underactive thyroid until I was diagnosed and treated. Like you, I tortured myself with worst-case scenarios. It’s no way to live. Please see your gp, get your bloods done and get on the appropriate dose of levo. Post the results of your latest blood tests together with ranges so that the lovely knowledgeable people on this site can help and advise.

In the meantime, know that things will get better if only you will take the first steps to getting treated.

Take care.

All the best

Caroline

in reply to Caroline888

Thank you Caroline.I have been back on thyroid hormones for quite a while now.

in reply to Caroline888

Also thank you again caroline. It is good to know that I am not alone, that others have had similar worst case sinarios. worrys. thank you for your kind reply.I will see that pesky GP and pick up blood results while I am there.I think he is half the problem, he seems to worry as well and takes everything so seriously. It is very touching that he phones up when on holiday to find out my blood results and pass on messages to say he want to see me as soon as he gets back but it does make one feel that there is something seriously wrong.

RockyPath profile image
RockyPath

Stopping the thyroid hormones will definitely have a hard impact on your body and mind and it will only get worse. It's a lifetime commitment to your health and well being to take them. They are not a drug. They are a bio identical hormone necessary to life.

in reply to RockyPath

yes I am aware. I am been taking a good dose since I restarted 18 months ago. I was never diagnosed as hypo and doing very well on homeopathic remedy.Stopped the meds for short time due to cost as much as anything but soon realised how much I needed them. I should have explained better

RockyPath profile image
RockyPath in reply to

So if you restarted and still are experiencing hypothyroidism it seems your treatment is not adequate to produce normal metabolism. When your cells have enough T3, all those dark thoughts will disappear.

Some people are genetically predisposed to produce reverse T3 in response to T4. If your rT3 is too high in relation to the free T3, you will continue to experience hypothyroid symptoms, TSH will crawl back upwards, and taking more levothyroixine will only make you feel better briefly, and then worse.

in reply to RockyPath

Thank you. I do take t3 as well as NDT so not on levo.It never did me any good.I have never had my reverse T3 tested but have always suspected it might be high not sure what to do about it other than take some t3 though. I am taking a lot of thyroid hormone 300mg thyrogold, I grain of nature thyroid and 12.5 mcg T3.yes I know it is quite a mix but they all seem to help me in different ways. I am also on NAX.I belive I have some kind of resistance so it might be that that my cells just arnt able to absorb enough T3.I might need to take my T3 over the range but need to do that carefully and slowly so as not to send my heart racing as has happened before.I made small increase of 0.25 of a grain last week and pulse still good at 80. I might make another in a few weeks time.

no I did start them again and take a nice high dose.Hvae done for 18months since then. Apologies for misunderstanding.

ShootingStars profile image
ShootingStars

There is no recovering from stopping thyroid hormones. By stopping your thyroid hormones you've thrown yourself even farther into hypothyroid land. Anxiety is a symptom of being under medicated. So is weight gain.

Have you had recent complete thyroid tests to see how bad your levels are?

in reply to ShootingStars

Gosh I have not done a good job of explaining myself. My bloods are good and have been back on thyroid hormones for a long time now but have never recovered from taking a break from them.

ShootingStars profile image
ShootingStars in reply to

Can you post your last several blood results and the ranges? That's what we need here to help you figure out what's going on. Without blood results and the lab ranges, it's anyone's guess what is causing your symptoms.

What doctors often claim is "good" is actually often at the bottom or even only midway of the large lab range. If your levels are not at or near optimal, this will cause symptoms just like some of yours.

in reply to ShootingStars

Yes I will get copies tomorrow.

ShootingStars profile image
ShootingStars

I'm sorry you are feeling so stressed and worried about your health. Worrying does no good because it won't make you feel better, but being proactive will get you the answers and the treatment that you crave. The cause of your symptoms could be something minor. Only proper diagnostics from the right specialist will tell you what is going on. The longer that you delay seeing a specialist, the longer your health will remain unaddressed, and the longer you'll continue to feel unwell.

Exactly how is your GP diagnosing viscous blood? Do you have blood tests you can post that show this viscosity? If you have viscous blood, you need to see a hematologist where you can receive the proper testing and proper diagnosis. A CT scan is not the right diagnostic for viscous blood. If your doctor was so competent, he would have already sent you to a hematologist.

What tests were done that show inflammation?

in reply to ShootingStars

I think the blood viscosity is the same one that indicates inflammation. I will have a go at getting copies of my blood results, maybe pop up and see him tomorrow. I have been going to see him for months now with strange symptoms that nobody has been able to make sense of such as fevers brought on by exercise, my weight going up and down wildly and now bowel issues. I am not saying that my GP has got it right as everybody gets things wrong sometimes but I have never known him get something badly wrong or do something stupid. He is normally competent and he is the most careful doctor and even person I have ever met. I know most of them are not worth the chair they sit on but I am very very fussy about who is my GP these days.What he does tend to do is everything by the book and according to guidelines. I will ask him for haematologist, that might be the next thing after cat scan. The last thyroid test showed a T3 near the top of the range, T4 below( consistant with NDT) and a suppressed TSH.I have slightly increased NDT since then.

ShootingStars profile image
ShootingStars in reply to

Hi. No, they are not the same. Actual blood viscosity is completely different than systemic inflammation. There are specific tests that measure blood viscosity and specific tests that measure inflammation. Blood viscosity is not diagnosed by a CAT scan. Neither is inflammation. What is he ordering a CAT scan for? If you truly have viscous blood, you need to see a hematologist right away. If it's just inflammation as detected on inflammatory markers lab tests, this detects system inflammation and there could be many causes. Autoimmune disease is just one.

You've been going to your GP for many months for this? Many of your symptoms sound like Hashimoto's, which is autoimmune disease of the thyroid. I'm surprised that your GP doesn't know that bowl problems, weight gain and weight loss, weakness, and anxiety are all symptoms of hypothyroidism, and mainly manifest if a patient is not medicated properly and when thyroid hormones are not optimal.

Has this GP tested your thyroid antibodies for autoimmune thyroid disease yet since this is the leading cause of hypothyroidism? With all of your symptoms and the fact that you've been seeing him for months trying to resolve this, I hope he at least tested your two antibodies, not just one, as seems so common. The two antibodies are thyroidperoxidase antibody (TPOab) and thyroglobulin antibody (TGab). Both need to be tested, otherwise you won't know if you have Hashimoto's or not.

This explains a lot about your symptoms of severe anxiety, weight fluctuation, etc.: "The last thyroid test showed a T3 near the top of the range, T4 below( consistent with NDT) and a suppressed TSH. I have slightly increased NDT since then.". OK, so your thyroid hormones are very out of balance. High T3 and below range T4 are NOT consistent with taking NDT. Your T4 should be slightly higher than your T3 on NDT. 1 grain of NDT contains only 38 mcg T4, and only 9 mcg T3. It sounds like you do not need to be taking T3, since the T3 in NDT is really making your thyroid hormones very unbalanced. You need a whole lot more T4 than what you are getting. It appears that you are converting T4 into T3 normally, and you should not take T3. Some people do not need extra T3 if they are already converting T4 into T3. Your high FT3 is what is driving your TSH down and telling your thyroid not to make more T4.

Your very unbalanced thyroid hormones with your top of range T3 and your below range T4 can cause IMMENSE anxiety. NDT does not sound like a good medication for you. You only need T4. By reducing your NDT dosage even lower, your T4 will plummet even more and will make you feel even worse.

How long have you been on NDT and how long has it been since you reduced your dosage?

in reply to ShootingStars

Thank you.I have looked up blood viscosity and you are right but I have been a bit confused and should have said plasma viscosity which is one of the inflammation makers. I have had both lots of antibodies done and have neither. I am confident I have some kind of resistance which would also explain why my T4 is so very low.With resistance you do tend to convert very well and even excessively with your body craving and trying to make as much active hormone as possible. I have always understood that T4 drops with NDT and am a bit confused so have asked one of the admin to clarify with me. I have increased my dose slightly and no intention to decrease.I have heard of people taking levo when on NDT to up the T4 a bit. From what I have read about plasma viscosity is that it indicates a protein in the blood that is produced as an inflamitory response from somewhere in you body that has become inflamed. My GP has therefore ordered a CT to try to uncover where the inflammation is coming from. It is just to rule out any nastys and I will be most relieved when it is done. My thyroid issues have been very long standing but the inflammation is new. I am wondering if I have a bit of chrones as bowels well strange. My GP is like most GPs not as educated as he should be re thyroid issues but he does know more than most. He does know the symptoms and even once wrote on my notes that he thought I might have secondary hypothyroidism. I dont think many GPs or even standard endos have heard of such a thing. My symptoms are different to my usual thyroid symptoms. I will get my blood results though, there have been loads taken recently.

Hi Mandyjane,

Sorry to hear that you’re feeling so down and anxious.

I’ve been the same in the past, and still feel the dark shadow of doom sometimes.

I am going to start mindfulness for health in new year, and I listen to positive guided meditations on YouTube at night to help me relax. CBT is also supposed to be good for training your brain into turning negative thoughts into a more positive outlook.

My father died from Pancreatic cancer, that alone is a hard thing to go through, and I really sympathise with how you’re feeling. The others are right about getting the dose of medications right as well. Not that I am an expert about all things thyroid related. I wish I could be more helpful... all I can say is what helps me. Being in the the dark about your health is very worrying and it’s easy to always presume the worse, but I don’t know how you’ve come to the conclusion that you might have pancreatic cancer, I think that is very unlikely, it does sound more thyroid and anxiety related, Are you on any anti depressant? I was medicated with Prozac, and it did help me with anxiety, though I know they are not for everyone. I really hope you feel better soon. Xx

You are lucky to have done well on Prozac I used to hate it when my old folks were put on it as it seemed to agree with very few people. I take amitriptaline to help with sleep and anxiety. I dont think I am actually depressed, just as you say in the dark about my health and presuming the worst. I also have a lot of survivor guilt from my childhood and sometimes feel that I don't deserve to have a life and those feeling are playing on my worrys about my health. It is good that it is coming up so I can deal with it. Thank you for your kindness.

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