ADD, DEPRESSION, ANXIETY AND HYPOTHYROIDISM

[Anonymous]

I have ADHD, depression, anxiety and hypothyroidism. When my thyroid quit, my depression and anxiety seemed to reach a peak. I have mostly recovered but am having trouble with what sign /symptom is from which of the four. I think that other than weight issues for the first time, most of my problems now are ADHD.

I am used to the hyperness. It drives some of my coworkers nut.

Is it common to have multiple issues? How do you tell which is being addressed by meds effectively.

I was on Buspar, Adderal and Cymbalta. Now I am on Cymbalta and Vyvance. The Adderal and Buspar didn’t seem to be working any moore.

REPORT ABUSE

[Anonymous]

The stimulants can cause an idiopathic pseudohypothyroidism, in other words, it can make you look hypothyroid when you are not. Obviously, check with your endocrinologist.

Pick a specific symptom to work on rather than a bunch of symptoms stuck under some label. Then direct your treatment to that one symptom. It is easier to monitor, widens your choice of treatments, and focuses your energy in one direction. Once you can knock down one symptom, you can start to battle each of the others with success.

REPORT ABUSE

[Anonymous]

I deffinately have hypothroidism. It would work most of the time, then stop for a few months. It was doing this for several years before stopping completely. This was just before I started any stimulants. I also have an unknown mass on my thyroid.

ADHD is the only thing I am working on. Adderall worked for awhile. Now I am taking vivanse.

REPORT ABUSE

[Anonymous]

I think I’m coming late to the party here, but as someone who has all four things happening as well, I have to say that a bad thyroid will set off the entire string of dominoes. Maybe whatever you’re on for thyroid replacement isn’t sufficient? Can you get your levels (re)checked? That’d be my first move if I were you. My endocrinologist watches me and my thyroid like a hawk, including a full thyroid panel every 6-8 months.

Definitely get the mass checked out. Thyroids are weird; they’ll spit things out that may be perfectly normal (if a little unpleasant), but it takes a good endocrinologist to check it out and confirm that it’s an “okay” mass as opposed to something worse.

REPORT ABUSE

[Anonymous]

@Anne, I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis while in graduate school. Diagnosis was confirmed with two anti-thyroid antibody tests. (No one’s caught the ADD yet; it’s great to be a girl… *grin*)

For years I elected to not take HRT but about 6 years ago, at 40 years of age, I became symptomatic. Instead of remembering the diagnosis I’d had 18 years ago, I chased my tail for 4 years (as my TSH climbed steadily and no less than 4 GPs missed it completely because I was still “in range”). When one TSH was at the upper-end of normal I looked at my current GP, had an “ah ha” moment and asked for an antibody test (*comes the dawn!).

When one of those results returned positive and far out of range, I asked for HRT and at about 3 – 4 weeks in, I experienced an incredible, amazing relief from the tiredness, the anxiety, the “what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-me” anxiety, the hair falling out, the hyper-sensitivity to cold, the brain fog, the blues…

Currently, 65mg of Nature-Throid daily keeps me right and has returned me to my normal ADD self.

Get that mass checked out. Make it a priority because this is one of those situations where avoidance can result in the loss of your life and/or the quality of your life. Getting an answer soon can provide relief from fear and/or save your life. If you have to, make a list of that which is stopping you from getting that checked out (insurance? time? the “right” doctor?) and find a work-around (get the insurance, squeeze time now for more time later, ANY doctor who will order the test is the right doctor).

REPORT ABUSE

[Author]

Posts