Stress Center Peer Support

Good afternoon all,

I write this after a long time away from this board, as I have been in much better control of myself and my emotions.

I am almost out of this.

But I have one symptom that continues to plague me, and for this I wonder if others who may have similar circumstances to me have felt the same.

You see, I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism 4 years ago now, am a 34 year old male with no family history of autoimmune conditions. Anyways, I have been medicated for this condition and now am on 1 grain of Armour Thyroid and feeling better.

That is, except for the "tired" or "cloudy" head that seems to follow me around, and is with me everytime that I wake. Now, my blood levels indicate that my thyroid hormones in my blood are all within range, and recently had to lower my dosage somewhat as my TSH (measure of feedback from brain/ pituitary gland to thyroid) was below the minimum (possible suggesting hyper thyroid).

I felt no symptoms of this, and the "tired" head did not improve any. I also switched from T4 only drugs (levothyroxine and synthroid) to the natural Armour thyroid and noticed no difference.

Question: Since changing both the dosage of thyroid hormone AND the type of drug used, and yet to still experience brain "tiredness", could this be a sign that I may have "hurt" my brain and it is slowly recovering?

Does anyone else suffer with this?

I used to be so bright and quick-witted, but the "tired/cloudy" head irritates me.

I can seem to distract myself (through work or a fun activity that I am actively engaged in, and exercise does seem to alleviate it), but it always comes back.

Hearing Lucinda talk about the brains protective mechanism of cloudyheadedness as a defense against ourselves, I wonder if that defense is still "on" as my brain heals???

Anybody got ideas?

(I will also post in the chronic disease forum)

C'mon people!

17 views, and no one has experienced this?

What your describing sounds like what I call Brain fog. Where you are so tired and you just feel like you're walking around in a grey fog. I am suffering from both anxiety and depression and my doctor put me on an antidepressant. Since then, the brain fog has not returned. I am not saying you are depressed, but it is something to mention to your doctor. I have a friend who is hypothryoid and after she got her levels in range she was still suffering from depressive symptoms and was put on medication for depression. The brain is a complex thing and both anxiety and depression seem to send all sorts of chemical reactions that make us feel strange or off. My symptoms of anxiety and depression were so great that I could barely function and need meds to intervene. I am hoping that going through this program will give me the coping skills I need to avoid being on meds in the future. If you feel like this cloudy head is interfering with daily life, you should check with your doctor. Hope that is a little bit helpful?

Paul, with thyroid issues also come adrenal fatigue - they go hand in hand. I would encourage you to find a Naturopathic Physician in your area - specifically one who works with hormones and adrenals. You can go to the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians website and locate a doc from that site. It is important that you find a dr who is licensed and qualified to treat you. In the meantime, you might want to investigate adaptogenic herbs at your local health food store. Adaptogenic herbs nourish the adrenals which get depleted by stress. If you have high blood pressure avoid any herbal preparations that have licorice. This may help with the brain fog, but it will take time. Exercise will also help to clear the cobwebs. Good luck!

Doc Jo,

Thank you for the information.

I have been reading about the Adrenals, had my DHEA tested by my General Practioner and found my DHEA-S levels were low.

I was then referred to my current Endo, who bashed the testing for DHEA, stated that to measure adrenal function you need to measure cortisol, who then never tested for cortisol, and stated that my lower testosterone also had more of an effect than DHEA and it was all due to taking too low of a dose of thyroid hormone.

We raised the medication from 1/2 to 1 grain, and upon my last blood test my testosterone did increase. So, he may have been right.

I do exercise regularly and have found it to be an excellent remedy for brain fog.

AS far as the naturopath...I would love to go to one, but I don't have the money right now to pay out-of-pocket for those services.

I am feeling better now for the past few days, and am wondering if perhaps it was anxiety that I have been recovering from or a flare-up of Hashimoto's.