Sammy's Hyperthyroid & Grave's Disease Blog

Kathy wrote: “I was shocked when labs revealed I have hyperthyroidism. I’m in my early 60s, overweight and not at all “hyperactive”.  I’m on methimazole and propranolol and have good/bad days. Fatigue and anxiety are sometimes debilitating. I’ve been driving since I was 16 without a care. I’ve gradually become fearful behind the wheel. My vision is blurry even with my glasses and my depth perception seems off. I’m terrified on the highway and go out of my way to avoid driving on the inter-state. If I must take the highway, I’m terrified by the speed and traffic. it didn’t used to bother me a bit. I have to work and driving is part of it. I can’t be this way. I don’t know what to do. Have you encountered others that have developed fear of driving.”

I apologize for the length of time it has taken me to post your question. Normally I check Tumblr on my phone app and your submission didn’t register there. A fear of driving isn’t something I’ve heard of before, but it doesn’t surprise me. Hyperthyroidism can trigger anxiety so the anxiety can take any form from there.

Have you worked with a counsellor to manage your anxiety? Once my thyroid was in range and the worst of my symptoms had abated, I found that a counsellor helped me a lot. As did meditation. There is also a book called the Anxiety and Phobia workbook that provides a lot of very good exercises and techniques. The workbook tends to be general, but if a counsellor isn’t an option for you, the information in it may prove valuable. For me, there hasn’t been one thing that “cured” my anxiety. I use different things at different times and everything has contributed to reducing my anxiety levels. 

Nervousness, Anxiety & Irritability

Leading up to my initial hyperthyroid diagnosis, I didn't experience a lot of anxiety and irritability symptoms.  Nervousness was a problem though.  It wasn't acute enough that I stopped living my life, but I did find myself concerned about things that hadn't previously worried me.  For instance, I would be nervous about going away for the weekend because I feared something bad would happen while I was away.  My mind would play out a whole range of terrible possibilities.  However, compared to my other symptoms, this one was fairly mild for me.  Or at least it was the first time around.

Last fall I had a relapse.  The main symptom to indicate my thyroid wasn't functioning properly was anxiety.  It still surprises me how quickly the relapse happened.  I went from feeling good and being excited about an upcoming vacation to being in a state of acute anxiety in a matter of two days.  My anxiety was severe enough that I nearly cancelled my vacation because I was so concerned about being in such a state while in a foreign country.  When I first began experiencing symptoms, my thyroid had been tested just a month before so I didn't believe the symptoms could be related to that.  I was sure it had to be something else.  The stuff I had anxiety over were things I worried about in general on a low level, but suddenly they were magnified several thousand percent.  I was left in a state of agony that scared the hell out of me and gave me a very small glimpse into what some people experience on a regular basis.   

I knew I couldn't go on as I was and, after a very teary phone call with my mum, I made an appointment with my doctor.  His immediate response was to test my thyroid and I'm so thankful to him for that.  Because I'd dismissed that possibility, I was worried it was something that couldn't be easily sorted out.  This reaction, of course, further increased my anxiety (it was a fun time).  My doctor sent me off for a blood test immediately and put a rush on the results so I knew the next day that my Tapazole dose needed to be adjusted.  Within a couple of days the anxiety had lessened greatly so that I was able to control the feelings when they did flare up (I feel I'm now an expert on deep breathing).  A further few days after that and I was feeling myself again.  

Increased Appetite

 As my hyperthyroidism symptoms increased, my appetite increased right along with it.  Initially, I lost some weight.  Soon I got to the point I was eating so much just to keep myself going that my weight stayed fairly static. 

As my appetite increased, I found that I stopped having hunger pangs to warn me that I needed to eat.  My body would go from feeling fine to suddenly suffering from nausea and being on the verge of passing out.  Most nights I would have a snack before bed so that I could: 1) make it through the night without getting up for a snack, & 2) I would be able to get out of bed in the morning without suffering from nausea. 

The mornings I woke up with nausea were the worst.  I would be unable to get out of bed because I felt so wretched and yet I knew I needed to get out of bed to eat something in order to feel better.  If I was going away for the weekend, I would plan ahead and make sure I had some granola bars or crackers with me to ensure I wouldn't go hungry.  After all, how do you explain to your host that you need to eat something at 1 in the morning to feel okay?

Rapid Heartbeat/Heart Palpitations

  This symptom took a bit of time to show up for me.  I began to find my heart would pound when I hadn't exerted myself much.  At the time I worked on the second floor of a building and my heart would start pounding just walking to the top of the stairs.  The building wasn't even that big.  The staircase was about 12 steps and my desk was quite literally at the top of the stairs, but I would have to sit down after walking up those stairs. 

In what I now see as a stupid thing to do, I drank Jolt Cola (all of the sugar & twice the caffeine!) not too long before my hyperthyroidism was diagnosed.  At the time I was working full time and going to school part time and I needed something to keep me awake to finish a paper.  New fangled energy drinks didn't appeal to me.  I'd discovered a local store that still sold Jolt and I decided to relive my youth by indulging.  The effect was pretty dramatic.  My heart began racing so much that I thought I was either going to have a heart attack or just die outright.  I ended up having to lie on the couch for a few hours to recover.  So much for finishing that paper. :-\

I started to experience heart palpitations while I was waiting for an appointment to have my thyroid tested.  For me, this symptom was a step further beyond a rapid heartbeat.  My heart would start pounding when I was sitting in a chair.  I didn't have to exert myself at all for these to come on.  At least with a rapid heartbeat, it was the result of an action on my part even if only a small one. 

Sudden Weight Loss

This symptom is drastic and also tricky.  When you have an overactive thyroid, your metabolism speeds up so you can experience sudden weight loss.  Some people have the expectation that, because you have an overactive thyroid, then you will be stick thin.  Not necessarily.  I had an initial weight loss, which I admit made me very happy.  At the time I was trying to lose weight so I overlooked this as a symptom or an indication that anything was wrong with me.  In all, I lost about 15 pounds.  After the initial weight loss, my weight stabilized because I was eating more and more (I was always hungry - another symptom). 

When I started taking Tapezole to control my thyroid, I then experienced a much more rapid weight gain than my weight loss had been.  A sped up thyroid increases your metabolism so that your body processes everything very quickly.  Taking medication (or undergoing a medical procedure) to correct the functioning of the thyroid is an abrupt change.  The thyroid is slowed down suddenly and, as a result, so is your metabolism.  My hyperthyroidism was pretty severe by the time I got the formal diagnosis (my blood test had a result of 64 at its worst and the normal range is 20 or below).  I was put on a high dose of Tapezole and the weight just piled on because my metabolism went from being extra super efficient to being virtually dead.  In total I gained 30 pounds, 20 pounds of which I gained in a 6 week period.  For someone who should be super skinny, I’ve ended up weighing about 15 pounds more than when I started (and I wasn’t super skinny to begin with). 

In the five years since this happened, my weight has remained fairly stable.  Losing any weight is a fight because of my now slower metabolism, but I keep at it. Unfortunately, it does seem that the only times I have really seen any progress with my weight loss are when my thyroid has gone wonky again.  When this happens I have my medication adjusted and tend to gain back the few pounds I will have lost.  As I said though, I keep at it.  I try to focus on being healthy overall rather than simply the number on the scale.  I have faith I will lose at least some of this extra weight.

I find that many websites list some of the symptoms of hyperthyroidism, but they don’t cover all (or at least not all of the symptoms I have experienced).  The website I have found to be most complete is the Mayo Clinic’s page.  Here is their list of symptoms:

Sudden weight loss, even when your appetite and the amount and type of food you eat remain the same or even increase

Rapid heartbeat (tachycardia) — commonly more than 100 beats a minute — irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia) or pounding of your heart (palpitations)

Increased appetite

Nervousness, anxiety and irritability

Tremor — usually a fine trembling in your hands and fingers

Sweating

Changes in menstrual patterns

Increased sensitivity to heat

Changes in bowel patterns, especially more frequent bowel movements

An enlarged thyroid gland (goiter), which may appear as a swelling at the base of your neck

Fatigue, muscle weakness

Difficulty sleeping

Skin thinning

Fine, brittle hair

From the Mayo Clinic website:

Hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid) is a condition in which your thyroid gland produces too much of the hormone thyroxine. Hyperthyroidism can accelerate your body’s metabolism significantly, causing sudden weight loss, a rapid or irregular heartbeat, sweating, and nervousness or irritability.