Are these thyroid issues?

Smoker's Lounge Medical Club
#1

Hey all,

I’ve been having ongoing health issues for over a year now and am at my wit’s end with it all. It started when I had a ‘panic attack’ while driving. Nothing spurred it on it just happened out of nowhere. I’ve had a couple panic attacks in my life but this was completely different.

In the month that followed I lost 30lbs despite eating (I was already skinny), and was in what I would guess was a mild state of psychosis for weeks. I was also freezing cold 24/7 even under piles of blankets (my girlfriend said I was actually cold to the touch), shaking/tremors, and diarrhea every time I ate.

I could barely leave the house during this time and just read about these issues online. Everything pointed to thyroid, which made sense as it runs rampant in my family.

When I finally got to the doctor he talked to me for like 2 mins, gave me a prescription for lexapro (which I have not taken) and sent me for basic blood work. Everything came back seemingly ok, but I asked to see an endocrinologist. He said no as my numbers were ok and there’s nothing an endo could do for me anyways.

Since then this year has been hell. I’m anxious all the time. I’ve had anxiety in the past but this is totally different, it’s more like a physical sensation of fear instead of a ‘nervousness’. I wake up every morning feeling like I’m falling out of an airplane. I gain and lose weight very rapidly (I lost 7lbs while sleeping the other night). I’m usually cold but then when I warm up I get super uncomfortably hot quickly then back to freezing. I’m always shaky and have trouble thinking straight or concentrating.

I’ve since quit drinking, eat super clean, cardio and yoga pretty much daily, meditation, CBT and tried a bunch of vitamins. I’ve even quit weed which is just tragic lol

After all this time I’m back to thyroid, particularly as I’ve started seeing double again which was something that happened to me years ago and went away on its own after a few months.

I’m really hesitant to go back to a doctor and get told I have ‘anxiety’. The weirdest thing is I’ll have periods of 1-2 weeks where I feel like myself again and the anxiety is gone. I’ve tried tracking my diet etc but can’t seem to figure out any pattern.

Has anyone had issues like this? Was it thyroid related? If so wtf do I do to fix it?

Sorry for the long post and dumping my personal issues here but I’m pretty desperate and hoping somebody out there might have some insight for me. Thanks.

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#2

Hey.

I’m not an expert but my woman has hypo thyroidism so I asked her. She says that some of what you’ve described could be thyroid related. Specifically depression and being cold all the time.

The anxiety could be because you know something is wrong and just can’t figure it out.

She says that a simple blood test should tell you what you need to know but she can’t remember if she needed a “special” blood test.

All the best and good luck.

Edit: she takes synthetic thyroid hormones and tries to eat red meat regularly ( but not a lot)

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#3

First thing, go get a second opinion. My step father was having chest pains on vacation, he went to er, they gave him a stress test. And told him he was fine and healthy as an ox, 4 days later he was having open heart, for 3 blockages. But luckily he was back home and when he felt bad again. He went to his regular doc, and the rest is history. Your symptoms are similar to opiate withdrawal. Either way man, I sure hope you get it worked out, and back to normal. good luck

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#4

Thanks. I only had the one blood test like a year ago and it was apparently normal, but I’ve read lots about this and apparently thats not necessarily the only indicator. More red meat sounds great haha.

I’d agree about the anxiety except I can take a benzo or have a drink and it doesn’t even touch it, whereas I would have walked off a cliff on those before lol. I also haven’t had another ‘panic attack’ in the year+ I’ve been dealing with this which does not gel with standard anxiety diagnoses.

@cinDakush I know I should I just have no faith in our medical system tbh. When I first went it with this laundry list of symptoms I really thought they’d be like ‘oh its obviously x’ and I’d get patched up.

The fact that he prescribed powerful psych meds to someone he just met 2 minutes before without really asking any questions was shocking to me. I’ve never really gone to doctors in my adult life and was shocked at how crappy the system is.

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#5

Yeah, 100% get a second opinion.

The funny thing about anxiety is that the mind can create the physical symptoms, and the physical symptoms can create anxiety (your mind recognizes your body is feeling the same feelings it feels when you’re anxious, so it thinks you must be anxious).

I’ve also been having crazy spikes of anxiety lately. I’m actively in therapy and apparently it’s not uncommon and it’s tied to life in the world these days. So some of the anxiety you’re experiencing might be that and you’re feeling crosstalk in your brain/body.

Never experienced what you’re experiencing, good luck and keep us updated

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#6

Look up Graves Disease
My buddy has it and they missed it for yes
Sounds very similar to what he experiences .

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#7

Maybe it is spells of vertigo?

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#8

Ya I’ve read lots about that but I’ve had anxiety throughout my life and this is totally different. I also don’t have any of the associated thoughts. I don’t think I’m going to die or that bad things will happen to me, I just feel fucked lol

@STIGGY that’s something that keeps coming up in my reading. How did he eventually get diagnosed?

@Mongobongo i definitely get vertigo sometimes I have to stop and balance myself before going down the stairs lol

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#9

I will ask him
The Doc said anxiety for yrs and then he got shakes all over, the vertigo real bad. Sounds like you need to see someone who can help.
I bet you are in Canada, health care seems to bounce you guys around a lot to find the problem.
I do know he even went off the deep end due to it and had full blown panic attacks , down on floor kicking and screaming stuff. Bad.
I know another woman who has it and she also experienced a lot like you describe.

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#10

Thanks. I haven’t had a single panic attack since this began which should be strange for someone with constant anxiety. Like I said my vision doubling again is what brought me back to thyroid, apparently that’s a major symptom.

And yes in Canada here, I’ve never dealt with our health care system here but it’s definitel lacking in some ways. Ironically I’d be happy to just pay and go to a specialist or something but you can’t do that here.

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#11

Has your Doc run any special Thyroid tests , is it within the correct range?

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#12

Just the one when this all started a year ago. Everything was within the range, yes.

I gave up after that and have spent this time trying all that other stuff, dirt, exercise, CBT etc etc. I know this makes me sound like a hypochondriac or something, but I’ve always been the exact opposite I never go to the doctor and haven’t cared about my health at all until this started. I’ll never doubt people with anxiety again, that’s for sure…shit SUCKS!

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#13

I was actually going to say anxiety…i have bad anxiety and have had several panic attacks and a lot of other symptoms that you described. I have been taking 20mg Lexapro for about 5 years now and it works great. Often times its brought on by mid life change in testosterone and hormones.
I have tried lowering my dose to 10mg a few times but it always comes back so I end up back on 20mg.

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#14

OK I tried reaching out to my buddy
If and when he gets back to me I will PM you, or post here.
I think you need to go back to the Doc , and insist something is not right.
My buddy from Canada had Lyme’s Disease so back he was losing the ability to walk, the Docs would not test him even after he said he was biting by a tick and had a bullseye mark, 8 months later he almost died and can hardly walk. His legs had decreased in muscle mass so badly.
He became a squeaky wheel and they finally found out what was wrong.

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#15

What is even more important than an accurate diagnosis, is an effective remedy.
So, you need to obtain a second or third opinion ASAP.
Whatever it may be, I hope you can enjoy a relief filled prognosis.

Best of luck.

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#16

That is Correct, but that is why you are the Doctor Sir

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#17

I’d believe that except for a few things. Firstly why would someone develop this out of nowhere with seemingly no cause? The more I read about this and talk to people with anxiety issues the more I believe much of it is caused by underlying physical issues and lazy doctors use it as a blanket diagnosis to get people out of their offices. Assuming millions of North Americans now have ‘low serotonin’ without anything external being the cause is very unscientific.

Read about how many people fix their anxiety via taking magnesium, fixing folate, B12, vitamin D and countless other deficiencies and ask yourself why a doctor wouldn’t test for these very simple issues BEFORE prescribing powerful medication that someone will likely have to take for the rest of their lives. Not to mention the risks of suicide, mania and countless other side effects with these drugs.

Secondly how could anxiety make someone lose thirty pounds in a month while eating? I asked the doctor this and he didn’t even pretend to have an answer. Had I gone to a doctor 40 years ago the word ‘anxiety’ wouldn’t have been mentioned until many other potential causes had been ruled out, I was having very serious and obvious physical symptoms at the time that probably shouldn’t have been hand waved away.

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#18

thyroid controls alot and directly tied to your pituitary gland thats in your head.
Which Is responsible for everything.

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#19

Dear god that’s so terrifying and tragic. Like I said I had no idea how bad modern medicine has gotten, I really thought a doctor would clear this up for me in no time. Hopefully your buddy is ok now, I know Lyme’s can be very hard to treat and most MD’s don’t know anything about it.

@Calyxander and others I guess you’re right I really should get my ass back to a doctor, I just wish I knew how to find a good one who will spend more than 5 minutes with me. If not for covid I’d just go to the states and pay at one of those all in one clinics for sure.

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#20

Ya I had no idea how important it was. My mom was always telling me to get it checked whenever I had any ache or pain, like I said it runs rampant in our family. Before this happened I always thought the thyroid was in your head lol

It’s a very powerful gland and most doctors apparently don’t know a whole lot about it or how to diagnose issues.

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