Is anxiety a symptom of low t3 levels?

[Fmljkl]

Lost my job and have been having a hard time with anxiety. I dropped my t3 from 7.5 to 5 to see if I’d feel better but I don’t. Should low t3 enhance anxiety and panic attacks?

[jimh111]

Anxiety is a know symptom of too much thyroid hormone but I find I get irritable and tense when hypo. A subtle difference but I suspect low thyroid could cause anxiety in some people. It would be interesting to know your TSH, fT3 and fT4 with the blood taken around half way between doses. Also, just see how you go with a higher and a lower dose.

[Zazbag]

Anxiety can be the result of low T3 or excessive T3. Anxiety can also be a normal reaction to a difficult situation, and not be related to your thyroid levels. I would say that your current situation would understandably have you feeling anxious. On the other hand, you might be under-medicated or over-medicated. Have you have your T3 levels tested recently? Personally when I was under-medicated and on levo only, I felt very irritable in the sense that I wanted everyone to go away and be quiet and leave me alone because I had no energy and was depressed. On too high a dose of liothyronine, I found myself going round in circles thinking too much and feeling very tense and irritable in the sense that I wanted to shout at people and tell them off when they did even minor things that annoyed me. For perspective, I was on 150mcg levo and 25mcg lio when this happened, which seems like a much higher dose than yours. Overall I would say it's a different kind of feeling of anxiety/irritability. The hypo one is because you want to be left alone whereas the hyper one is because people are just pissing you off all the time and you can't switch your brain off when you're worried about something. That's been my experience anyway. I hope that helps you figure out whether the anxiety might be related to your T3 levels!

[BrynGlas in reply to Zazbag]

Yes I am that way without T3. I can go down into the dumps at the drop of a hat. I can be terribly angry at little irritating things too and can't forget what I was thinking of which started it off!!! LoL I have rage that can just go over the top. Very embarrassing it can be.

[Zazbag]

Also, I'm sorry you lost your job!

[Surgebinder]

Sorry to hear you lost your job. I would get your thyroid levels tested if possible (tsh,t4,t3). Keep your chin up, stay positive and hope you feel better soon and find a new job

[radd]

Fmlijkl,

Anxiety & panic attacks are more likely to be low iron and/or adrenal issues, all compounded by low T3.

Sorry to hear you have lost your job as this will have made your worry and anxiety worse. Looking back on previous posts it seems you have been having difficulties finding your correct dose for a while. Have you any results for members to look at?

[Singoutloud]

Anxiety can also be a symptom of low vitamins. B12 & folate are normally the most likely culprits but vitamin D, Ferritin, magnesium & selenium also have their part to play in warding off anxiety. Are you able to get your doctor to carry out tests to check levels?

[jgelliss in reply to Singoutloud]

With Selenium I would be couscous. I was on Selenium and it caused me anxiety hair loss. I read that it may cause some to have higher glucose levels.

[Singoutloud in reply to jgelliss]

That's why I suggested getting the GP to carry out tests to check levels. Always best to check first 🙂

[HashiFedUp]

Poorly controlled thyroid disorders can cause anxiety and other mental health problems. Both hypo and hyper. Post your bloods?

[Batty1]

Prior to losing your job where you experiencing anxiety? If not your most likely having anxiety because you lost your job thats a lot of stress.

[Meanbeannyc]

I had severe anxiety on too low T4 and too high T3.

[klr31]

Anxiety can result from hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism so best to be optimally medicated if possible. Karen