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Thyroid Questions

Stress, depression and underactive thyroid? Hello, I am seeking advice concerning my husband's health. Four months ago he began a new job (he's a postdoctoral scientist) which is not going well. For this job we moved home, and he is also homesick. His working environment might be described as 'fraught' and he is incredibly stressed. Firstly, I am concerned that he is suffering from (mild?) depression and anxiety: he seems defeated, and is clearly unhappy. Sometimes he struggles to face the day and he often complains of a tight chest a nausea in the mornings before work. He is sleepy very poorly and has reduced self-esteem and confidence: for eg, he says he feels like an 'imposter' at work, as he isn't progressing with his research. He seems unable to accept that, since his colleagues are also not progressing on this project, it doesn't reflect badly on him. It is IMPOSSIBLE to persuade him to see a doctor, so I am giving him as much support as I can: I do all the work at home (I am also in research and my hours are even longer than his) and try to free up as much time as possible for him to do things which help him relax, like exercise and music. I try not to let him see how hard this is for me in case he feels bad about that as well as everything else. When he wants to, we talk about work and how he feels, and I try to help him find some perspective. I had two courses of CBT a while ago and try to pass on some of the things I learned which helped me to manage my own depression. I would, firstly, welcome any advice on the best way to support someone in his situation. My second question, however, is more practical. I recently read that stress can cause reduced thyroid activity. Is this true? It rang alarm bells for me because my husband is constantly cold (he regularly goes to work in 5 layers) and has very cold hands and feet, is always tired but often cannot sleep, frequently complains of constipation since starting the new job, and, since then also, seems to be losing his hair - but not typical male pattern baldness, rather a uniform thinning, perhaps also at the ends of his eyebrows a little. More worrying he states that he can't concentrate at work. I know these could be symptoms of lowered thyroid activity, but realise that there are other possible causes. I know thyroid supplements are available w/o prescription but we would not trust these. I am concerned that if stress is lowering his thyroid activity, loss of concentration and depression could result from that, making him feel more inadequate and more stressed, with bad results for his mental health. I imagine (please tell me if I'm wrong!) that stress would only reduce thyroid function a little, so I wonder whether he can be helped by any changes in diet? Should we consider vitamin supplements (B12?) or zinc, iodine, selenium, iron? I hope that if a small change like that could give him an energy boost and help his concentration, the depression could ease too. I realise that if his symptoms worsen I will somehow have to drag him to his GP... Finally some background: My husband is 27, male (obv!), fit & healthy - about 5'9 or 10", 9.5 stones (slightly built); runs at least one 10k per week, cycles 40 mins per day, does at least 2x 2hours of fencing per week. He eats a balanced diet, including his 5 a day, and is not vegetarian/vegan or with any restrictions except a peanut allergy. He has been in hospital only 2 times: once, when 7 years old due to a severe rotavirus infection which somehow affected his kidneys (through dehydration i guess?) and then two months ago because he had norovirus badly, could not keep down water, and had to be put on a drip for a while. He does not smoke or take any drugs (hard to persuade him even into an aspirin!) and has no history of mental health issues. He drinks a little: he used to put away 3 or 4 pints once a week but since we moved way from our friends he now only shares a pint of beer with me or a glass of wine - maybe once every 2 weeks. Thank you for any help you may be able to give! *****

e.g. I have a problem with my.... Graves Disease test Dear ThanksDr., I am a sixty year old male who has been on incapacity benefit and unable to leave the house for twenty one years. I was finally given a diagnosis of M.E./C.F.S. after many years of seeing doctors, alternative practitioners, hypnotherapists, psychologists, and a psychiatrist. I have had the symptoms of this illness as long as I can remember, but they became worse in stages over the years, finally becoming very bad at around age twenty two. After that I had real problems working and simply getting through every day, and so for around the next twenty years I tried to discover the cause of the problem. In the eighties M.E. became well known and I saw a G.P. privately who had taken an interest in it. I had reached the point where I just couldn't work any longer. I could not remember, at times couldn't see and didn't have the strength to move. I was getting in trouble at work for not producing enough and making errors. The G.P. was prepared to say I was eligible for incapacity benefit and also suggested an injection of "human normal immunoglobulin". I agreed because he seemed enthusiastic about it and I was desperate to stop working. This is the biggest mistake I ever made. I became so ill I knew I only had only a few days to recover or I would not be alive the following week. My right eye and the side of my face became extremely swollen, I could not open my eye or move and could only stare at the TV for two days and nights. Shortly after that I could not walk for more than a few steps without rest, and all the symptoms became much worse. After hearing about the things being said by people with M.E. I became gradually aware that I had symptoms which they did not have, and that there were others in the same situation. I have almost all of the symptoms of Graves Disease. Above all, it felt like being attacked by my own body. The M.E. people didn't seem to understand this . Others are that I cannot concentrate on anything such as reading, and have to type emails a few sentences at a time. Trying force doing anything results in an intense sensation of being attacked by every nerve. Doctors see this as proof of "stress", "depression" etc.. Each time I went through a bad period my hair would fall out in large amounts and I have a swollen neck, but I believe the conclusive evidence is the unique eye characteristics. These occur at particularly bad times, often when I have taken supplements out of sequence or the wrong ones, which provokes a reaction. Also my grandmother had severe thyroid illness and died of pernicious anaemia. I think my only chance of getting treatment is independent proof with a blood test confirming Graves Disease. I have not seen a doctor for twenty years but the doctors I have encountered in the past have been the most arrogant and obnoxious people I have ever met. To them I was hypochondriac nuisance and they were going to teach me a lesson for not going away and accepting the fact. I was once given antidepressants without being told what they were and could only stare at the wall for two weeks. One of them absurdly told me that if I did not go back to work I would be prosecuted for fraud. Their reactions were, boredom, amusement (which they expected me to share) and blustering anger for daring to not just going away. Answering their questions was like trying to prove myself innocent to a bombastic lawyer, that was when they bothered to listen. I mention all this to show how important a conclusive blood test is. The doctors have no doubt have written psychobabble comments on my medical record over the years and the next one to see it will probably believe it all. What I would like to know is can the supplements I am taking affect a blood test result and is it open to interpretation by those taking it. I have read that results can erroneously be placed in the "normal range" but that was for Hashimoto's. I am taking tyrosine for the neurotransmitters dopamine, norepinephrine, epinephrine, and also ornithine and trymethylglicine. They reduce the sensation of being attacked by the immune system and enable me walk around the the house. In addition I am constantly trying others to get further improvement. Without them I would be in real trouble. If I stop taking the supplements I may not be well enough to take the blood sample which I will have to buy on line and get delivered to a laboratory. Everything I have tried before resulted in being told no. I can't risk anything producing a diagnosis which I know will be false because this may be my last chance. Do you think these tests results are usually accurate ?. Sincerely, *** ****** .

Recurrence of Medullary cell carcinoma I had Medullary cell carcinoma 16 years ago. My thyroxine levels have been pretty good up until now. My TSH level is 9.7 twice the upper limit, however mr free T4 is at the upper limit of normal. I have not missed any of my tablets. My GP says it is an interesting results but ignore it. I am worried by that I be get a recurrence of my thyroid cancer. Is this likely?

Graves disease and depression By mistake I used an American site to ask the following question and am very concerned about their response. The question was as follows : "Three years ago I was diagnosed with Graves disease although from the summer of last year it appears to be in recession. In September I was diagnosed with clinical depression and was initially prescribed mirtazapine in but stopped this treatment after 7 weeks because of the side effects - I rapidly deteriorated to the extent that I attempted suicide in December. I have been taking trazadone since that time. Unfortunately since September I have also taken a half a milligram of lorezepan, not every day but days when I try not to take it I feel withdrawn and quite hopeless. I am at the point where I feel I am not making any significant progress on the current medication and am concerned that lorezepan has become a key componant of the treatment. I wonder whether the cause of the graves disease and depression are linked in some way to the endocrine system. Is this possible? " The response was: "Thyroid problems and depression can be 'interlinked' - and trazadone is not really a medication we use much for depression because trazadone itself is a depressant (most of us use it today as a sleeping agent). So, for the thyroid condition - this needs to be re-evaluated every 6 weeks to ensure your thyroid levels TSH and FT4 are at adequate and normal levels. As for the depression - you might want to talk to your doctor about other medications such as a SSRI or SNRI - these medications include Paxil, Zoloft, Celexa, Wellbutrin and many more that have MUCH less side effects than trazadone." I am very concerned about the comments on the medication Trazadone and wonder if there is anything in the NICE Guidelines to support this or if there is any literature you know off which backs up this claim.?