Hi all, I think I ask this a lot but I'm struggling with it again.
How does everyone else make it through stressful situations? Because I don't think I have more than the average person but whenever I get quite stressed it's like my brain shuts down; I can't focus, I can't think properly, I lose my appetite, my motivation, and my energy.
I have spent all day in bed yesterday because I had a few stressful events this week. (One was to do with moving house so that maybe counts as more than1 stress!!)
I just have gone from feeling pretty much back to normal to feeling totally defeated and hopeless and I can't pick myself up.
I think there is something here that needs addressing. I saw my consultant this week regarding short menstrual cycles (the last was 13 days. Sigh), zero libido, and poor stress tolerance.
He has prescribed beta blockers... Despite my resting heart rate being 57...
I think I'm just fed up of being The Cheerleader for everyone else in my house.
Stess is a hard one as sometimes its difficult to avoid, although personally I do avoid it at all costs! I do use the Calm app if necessary, I use it to go to sleep with a lovely sleep story, there are also many meditative and calming things to use on it.
Your folate was very low and I think any low vitamin can leave us vulnerable to psychological type issues. Best work on that ASAP with some Thorne Basic B and or methylfolate.
I've actually got a lot of background stress going on with family at the moment which won't be going away any time soon and have to say that since adding T3 and upping the dose a bit I'm dealing with it a lot betetr than I would have been able to. That and having optimal vitamins!
My vitamins were optimal at one point and there was an element of experimentation in terms of 'how quickly do I lose nutrients' and forgetfulness (!) But they've all dropped back down to 'poor' within a year.
Have started to try and consider taking vitamins as a small act of self care, which is helping me be consistent.
I have an essential oil diffuser in the bedroom that I put on at bedtime and have some sleep music on the headspace app which all helps but the brain fog is so thick with stress very little cuts through it... Which makes my job difficult!
You do need to cut yourself a lot of slack when stress is around. Make time for time out doing something nice wherever possible. A trip to the cinema, a nice epsom salt bath with scented candle, coffee date with a friend etc Make a point of doing these things, much cheaper and more effective than therapy!
Having neglected vitamins for 30 odd years of being hypo I've vowed to myself to never do that again. I know if I stopped my folate it would drop right back to where it was regardless of amazing diet. I now see it as part of my treatment.
I couldn't cope well with stress for most of my life, and the older I got the worse I was. The thing that helped me the most has been improving my iron and ferritin as best I can. I think I had low iron all my life until I learned how to test and treat my own levels.
Obviously having the wrong treatment for thyroid is bad news in terms of stress tolerance. Too much T4 and too little T3 is common, and isn't a good situation to be in. Perhaps NDT might be good for some people, whereas separate T4 and T3 might not help (or vice versa).
I did a saliva cortisol test and found my cortisol was over the range in 3 out of 4 samples. By finding ways to reduce my cortisol I improved my stress tolerance a lot. I have read that low cortisol is also bad for stress tolerance.
I have found that magnesium helps me to physically relax. I have the same effect from potassium but that could be a personal thing, and wouldn't be relevant to everyone.
I have a suspicion that I might be better on T4/T3 without NDT. Since adding T3 it was like a light was switched on in a back room somewhere of my brain and the 'old me' stumbled out.
My ferritin has dropped significantly after an iron transfusion 18 months ago but my iron levels have remained 'ok'. Struggling to keep ferritin up despite eating red meat 2 or 3 times a week. Need to address that really.
I think I might have to bite the bullet and buy a cortisol test and see what it shows. I've been putting it off for 3 years because of the cost... Although, I've got a birthday coming up so maybe I'll put it on my birthday list!
I think having iron and/or ferritin levels dropping after an iron infusion is very common.
In my non-medical opinion, people should be monitoring their iron and ferritin after an infusion and should start supplementing when their levels approach optimal for either iron or ferritin or both.
People who have had infusions don't improve their absorption of iron just because they've had one.
I improved my iron levels with supplements - ferrous fumarate in my case. I wish I'd had a transfusion to speed the whole process up. When I got my ferritin to mid-range my iron was still low. But I started lowering my supplement intake to try to find a maintenance dose to keep my ferritin within sight of mid-range.
After I got my ferritin to mid-range I continued to take a maintenance dose of iron for five years, then suddenly, for no obvious reason, my levels increased to top of range, so I gave up supplementing. My own theory is that the physical "housekeeping" that iron was needed for had finally caught up so I started storing the iron I was taking. My serum iron has also improved a lot over the years, but has still never reached mid-range.
Is this a new thing or have you always struggled a bit with new situations (that most other people don’t seem to find as stressful).
I fall into that latter category and have recently realised neurodiversity has a lot to do with it. My son definitely has strong ADHD tendencies and may indeed have it (was never diagnosed, he wasn’t naughty enough at school for any of his teachers to give 2 hoots). And often, when a child has autism or ADHD you find that a parent does too.
As I get older I’m finding I deal with stress far less effectively than my peers and tempting though it is to blame my thyroid hormones for everything, I’ve also realised it might be just who I am. I overthink everything. And I mean everything. For example, I can’t even type a reply here without thinking about all the ramifications of how my words might be taken. And when I do upset someone, however inadvertently, it really hurts…
Anyway, putting all that aside, of course it could be hormone levels (or vitamin/mineral levels).
Make that two of us - I'm a lot better than I was before improving nutrient, thyroid hormones and cortisol. But I'm still not exactly resilient and I'm becoming a bit of a hermit to avoid dealing with people.
Personally I think I might be mildly autistic.
One thing I do is ponder for ages over the wording of some posts I write - it depends on what I'm writing about though. Sometimes I spend ages over posts, decide my wording is clumsy or potentially hurtful but I don't know how to reword it, so I just delete and give up.
Always remember that your posts, replies and personal anecdotes are very much appreciated HB. I, like many, many other members have hugely benefited from your advice and encouragement. 🦋😊🦋
As a SEN teacher/ researcher of 25 years, I believe that a great number of undiagnosed people have ASD traits (myself included)… on a positive note, it allows us to have empathy with those who experience more challenges!
I'm not autistic but having time for myself on my own has become my preferred mode over the years. I feel calm. No hassle, little stress, no people pleasing required. Life is simpler! That's not to say I don't socialise I do.......I just spread it out!! 🤣😅
I find that if I am the slightest bit ‘high?’ Or what might be a little over excited, I throw my ‘normal’ inhibitions over. I think I make terrible mistakes then. My enthusiasm hurts or upsets someone I certainly did not mean to hurt. Somehow I leave something important out of my communications which would have perhaps shown understanding more clearly. I was just reading my young granddaughters book on philosophy yesterday, which her parents bought for her. It’s brilliant. Apparently it’s very important to understand that whomever you are talking to cannot see your thoughts (I know - a bit of dah here) and explanations are vital. I think that might be why I am an artist. I think in pictures and not really in words. It’s why so many of my posts are long! I really try to get people to understand and don’t always succeed. Sometimes I take for granted that we have such a lot in common and think shortcuts to understanding can be assumed but I forget we all are individuals still with different experiences and combinations - right down to genes. It’s the worst feeling in the world for me being misunderstood and giving anyone else pain. However I just want to say again that the sum of all different people’s experiences they share on this forum are a Godsend for me.
sorry to hear you are having a tough time, moving is reality stressful even when it goes smoothly. And it doesn’t end when the van leaves either, unpacking properly took us months. Along with getting the new place to feel like home. Pace yourself and have a word with yourself about managing expectations 🤗
Plus like you i appear to be the family cheerleader and verbal punchbag for generations above and below I. The family tree. Luckily my husband is super kind so we muddle along. Elderlies and youngerlies sometimes need to be asked for some space while we keep the shitshow circus plates spinning.
I was going to suggest a day in bed, I see you did that, you might need two or three!
Vits everyone has said but if it helps, I’m out of my funk now I’m on 125mcg and chucking down the B Complex, extra folate, selenium, D3K2, magnesium, l glutamine, NAC, hemp oil, and as of yesterday vit C. (Yes I literally rattle) 🫣
Gluten and dairy and sulphites (in wine) and GF bread (probs maize starch /tapioca starch) all make me feel horrendous and give me 3 days of upset tum followed by a week of hypo flu/bed&sofa glue. With awful brainfog.
sending hugs and may the gods of lost garlic crushers and precious nicknacks shine upon their locations.
My tolerance to stress has reduced significantly since becoming hypo.
Break things down into smaller, manageable chunks and prioritise. Things will get done and everything will work out.
Is there something you can do about a situation? If "yes", put it on the task list and prioritise. If "no", don't worry about it.
Don't stretch yourself too thin and make time for yourself (a nice walk, a long bath, etc). You don't have to please everyone. Don't be afraid to say "no". And have a cry if you need to.
Thank you. It's not always easy to think logically when under stress but things are written down, it adds some clarity to get a plan of action.
that sounds tough ☹️ And it sounds very adrenal. Have you ever tried adrenal cocktails? They have been very helpful for me, they’re basically Vit C, potassium, sodium, sugar. I make them like this:
OJ
Coconut water
Salt
Collagen powder (just to slow the release to prevent a drop after spike)
I also add yogurt to mine and it’s really delicious!
B5 is very important for adrenals too. I used metabolics drops for best absorption.
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Graves and Stress
hpa axis, stress response
Graves & Stress
