Anyone have thyroid problems along with mental health issues?

As a nurse, my advice is to never evaluate thyroid issues without being seen by the doctor in person.

@mbixler I’ve been seen for thyroid issues many times in person, its ongoing management but at this point I’ve only been going once per year. With having more problems recently I asked if I could be seen in clinic sooner and they basically said no. The clinic is very busy so it’s hard to get an appointment but I guess I’m wondering if these intermittent issues are normal enough that I can wait until my annual visit in a few months.

@ashleyharris728 have you had these same symptoms before? Because most docs want to see you if it’s a significant change from your normal.

these are new symptoms for me. However maybe it’s needed to establish a pattern before it’s worth going in, in their minds. At any rate, I’m not going to die from intermittent pain, I’ll just take some meds and eat soft foods until the problem gets better. It’s annoying but if they won’t see me, I don’t have a lot of options. I was mostly wondering if there are any folks out there on lithium who also had this type of thyroid problem.

Wow! When was the last time they looked at your thyroid with an ultrasound or CT scan. My doc sees me whenever I am concerned. when some nodules showed up on a CT scan (taken for other reasons) I sent him a message and he wanted to look at the nodules with ultrasound. He scheduled a biopsy and now I am pending surgery to have some of my thyroid removed. Since the surgery is not until September, he said to call immediately if having difficulty swallowing. I think you need to quit the clinic and get a specialist.

I take lithium and have hypothyroidism. I take levothyroxine for it. It's important to have your psychiatrist or internist check your lithium levels every six months. I have written before that lithium has been a terrific medicine for my mental health, but after all these years has taken a huge toll on my endocrine system.

@jeshaw6801 this is Mayo endocrine clinic so it’s probably about the best I’m going to do, although I do see an ENT that happens to be a thyroid specialist local to my area (I used to live in Rochester but moved a few years ago - still get some care there for my more complex conditions). I love the coordination of care at Mayo but the waiting to get into clinic even for scheduled follow-ups is really tough.

@kkellner thanks for sharing your experience. I have only been on lithium about two years for bipolar and frankly it seems to be about the only thing that helps (although I doubt I’ll ever feel happiness as long as I’m on it). I’m a little worried about the long term effects, as nobody seems all that concerned about thyroid etc. I mean I do get labs drawn a little more frequently than once a year but people say things like “thyroid issues aren’t a reason to stop lithium, just take levothyroxine” which feels kind of dismissive to that experience. It’s not always so cut and dry with these meds, they can take a toll.

@jeshaw6801 I also meant to wish you luck with your surgery. I had one nodule ablated and it responded well. They wanted to do another but there was a complication. Not sure if I would go back for more ablations or just get rid of it. Not excited about taking meds though. Somehow my gland still functions even though it’s mostly tumors at this point, so it’s hard to want to mess with the hormones.

Sounds like you’re in a little bit of a messy medical situation. It sounds like you may have a Thyroid condition as swelling is not normal. You may have nodules on your thyroid or it could just be that you have Hashimoto’s with Hypothyroidism and need hormone medication like Synthroid or Levothyroxine to control the Hypothyroidism. If you have nodules on your Thyroid, you may need surgery to remove them, but they will most likely be watched initially after being diagnosed. They could also be malignant and need to come out. My daughter had a 6 1/2 hour surgery to remove her thyroid and several nodules due to thyroid cancer. Non-smoker as well and she is doing well 3 years post surgery. Don’t play around with your health here, it could be dangerous. I would also find a new Endocrinologist that specializes in Thyroid conditions. Yours is not helping you at all!