hi there. I’m enquiring on behalf of my friends father who is newly diagnosed with Graves’ disease. He has had test for dementia and memory loss issues all of which came back negative. He’s now been told it’s due to his thyroid issues, which his Endo said isn’t true. Is this a thing? I’ve never heard of this but having just read my info pack from Thyroid Uk it does mention this as a possible symptom. Just wondering if any one else has had this as a symptom and if it was common or not.
As always, thanks in advance.
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wolthebuilder
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It would be helpful if you could share the person in questions’s thyroid blood test results/ including antibodies. Memory issues could certainly be linked to thyroid medication/ key vitamins not being optimal.
It is essential that correct antibody tests are completed…..I was incorrectly diagnosed as Graves (largely in symptoms) but following advice on this forum, tested privately & found I was actually hypothyroid with Hashimotos.
Graves Disease (hyperthyroidism) needs to be confirmed via positive TRab or TSI:
As Buddy says, memory and confusion are absolutely linked to thyroid issues…
BUT thyroid issues are not one size fits all, and memory/confusion can be due to other things as well.
It is critically important to have all 4 of the antibody tests done as Buddy shared.
Further, a complete picture of thyroid health comes from these tests:
1) TSH
2) Free T3
3) Free T4
Plus these vitamins
4) ferritin
5) folate
6) B12
7)Vit D3
****Tests should be all at the same time, around 9 am is best if you can. Only water between waking and the rest. . No biotin for 3-5 days before (in many multivitamins). ****
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Lastly, I had a friend whose grandfather had the same issues and it turned out he was gluten intolerant/celiacs disease. That is only one anecdote, however, if his issues stem from thyroid issues, then it is not unlikely the inflammation caused by gluten could also contribute to brain fog and related issues.
And one more thing- thyroid issues have caused my brain fog, memory loss and confusion to sometimes dysfunctional levels in the last years since diagnosed. And im only 50. Our brains need sufficient Free T3, among other things.
I am getting better recently as I treat my underactive thyroid, but there were many days I had to keep a running list of everything I started and was doing and needed to do every single second of the day or else I would forget sometimes one minute to the next.
Very disheartening! But IF thyroid is the cause , then optimizing TSH/FreeT4/FreeT3 is a very big part of the remedy.
Unless there is more to the conversation, it is also disheartening when an Endo would tell you otherwise.
Of course - we know nothing about you or your friend… but yes, you can Google it and find the common cognitive problems when thyroid hormones are not optimized.
With Graves there can be a mismatch between ones brain and body -
with the brain unable to turn off - but with the body totally exhausted just lifting a tea cup - and the body in a heightened state.
The treatment is with an Anti Thyroid drug such as Carbimazole or Propylthiouracil ( PTU ) which semi -blocks new own daily thyroid hormone production - and slowly over range T3/T4 will fall back down into range with hopefully with symptoms relieved.
Graves is an auto immune disease which only tends to get diagnosed when it targets the thyroid and eyes - as both are major glands and organs - with the thyroid controlling ones metabolism - and if running too fast = hyper - and if running too slow = hypo :
There is no cure for Graves - its an AI disease - and all the AT drug does is ' buy the patient some time ' while we wait for the immune system to calm back down again with the hope that this is just a blip and the thyroid reverts back to normal function without the need for any drugs.
It's a bit like being put in a holding position - like a plane waiting for a landing slot, circling above loosing fuel and height waiting for the all clear to land -
so the AT drug holds and protects the patient from rising high and higher thyroid hormones - while we wait for the immune system to calm back down.
Once on the AT drug regular follow up blood tests for T3/T4 are needed and as these start falling back into range the AT drug needs reducing down otherwise you risk the T3/T4 falling too far through the ranges and the patient experiencing the equally disabling symptoms of hypothyroidism.
If on too high a dose of the AT drug he may well be suffering symptoms of hypothyroidism which can include memory loss and confusion.
Absorption of some (or all?) B vitamins suffers with thyroid disease. You might find this article of relevance, even for someone who has been cleared of having dementia :
Low B12 which is common with thyroid issues will cause dementia symptoms. Would probably need injections. worth posting on the pernicious aneamia forum and getting hold of his latest blood results. It is often missed by doctors as blood results unreliable.
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