[Laurennn17]

I've been diagnosed with Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, but have mixed symptoms of Grave's & Hashimoto's. When I turned 18 I switched to a new doctor, & he's convinced now that I have Grave's. I think that (bloodwork not included) the discrepancies in symptoms are due to bipolar 2 disorder. I've read up on it, & it sounds freakishly like me. But my family wants to attribute everything to my thyroid. Since this thyroid issue doesn't seem like it's going to be resolved anytime soon, how can I KNOW?

[1963.Susan]

i've had hashimoto's since i was 19 (46 now). been bipolar, i believe, since around the same time. hypothyroidism can cause depression, and bipolar can cause (i think) hypothyroidism (or maybe it's that some of the meds can). thyroid & mental illness can go hand in hand. i wouldn't go by symptoms for the thyroid disorder, i'd go strictly by the T3 & T4 levels. those are the only true diagnosis tools for thyroid disorder. how you FEEL might be attributed to thyroid disorder, might be mental illness - harder to tell. i'd say get the thyroid under control first, since that IS controllable. then you'll see what you're left with.
hope that helps some.

[ConfusionCraze]

You might find this website helpful:

http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com...mental-health/

Basically, yeah.. a lot of mental disorders show up as hypothyroid or hyperthyroid symptoms for some people. Someone might be getting too much thyroid hormone whether it's their own thyroid making too much or they are on too much thyroid meds..and this gives them anxiety attacks. So doctors turn around and prescribe anti-anxiety medication. Or too low thyroid hormone makes some people depressed so instead of fixing their thyroid they're prescribed anti-depressants and therapy. It can get pretty ridiculous.

One example taken from that website -

Low cortisol can be an additional problem
In addition to low T3 levels causing psychiatric and psychological disorders, low cortisol levels can be an additional culprit—even when you feel you are adequately treated for your thyroid. Low cortisol results in cell receptors failing to adequately receive thyroid hormones from the blood, and can explain certain emotional and behavioral symptoms even when a patient is on thyroid meds, such as the need to avoid leaving one’s house, seeking peace and quiet, unable to tolerate stress, low tolerance to loud noises, rage, emotional ups and downs similar to bi-polar, panic, obsessive compulsive tendencies, hyper sensitive to the comments of others, phobias, delusions, suicidal ideation….and more.