In a word ... ugh.

Up to about a year ago, every time I saw a new dr., I mentioned that every last female in my immediate family -- my mom and all 3 of my sisters -- were on meds for underactive thyroid.

So they'd test me, and they'd say, "it's low normal, no meds for you," and pat me on the head and send me home.

At some point last year, it got tested, and voila! It was actually low enough for them to say "Hey! Your thyroid's low! Why aren't you on meds?"

Unfortunately, this was discovered while I was in the hospital for a life-threatening illness. Upon arriving home, having lost my job along with my health, I had no schedule to speak of and 52 other meds to keep track of. I tried, I really did, to take the stupid thyroid med as stated in all one billion conditions and rules for it -- but I just couldn't do it. So, I quit taking it.

Next time I had it checked was May or so. Voila! It came back perfectly normal! Not even low normal, just normal! So that was the end of that, and I haven't thought twice about it since.

Today, as I described to my new internist the insanity I have been living for the last many weeks, he said to me, with a straight face -- "Well, it might not be bipolar. IT COULD BE YOUR THYROID!"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!

I have every symptom of mania there is, in spades. Every last person I talked to today (outside of the dr., where he did most of the talking) asked me to repeat myself, more slowly, after I said what I had to say. I'm incomprehensible to most people. I feel like I'm on a 24/7 adrenaline rush. I get 4 hours sleep tops a night, and don't feel it. Seriously, you name it, I got it.

So can somebody tell me how my stinking thyroid can be related to this crap, so I can bring it up with pdoc next week? I knew it was related to depression, but hadn't a clue it could be related to mania.

Grouchily but thankfully,

CB