About Vicharn Lipisuwanchote Expertise I'm a 5th year medical student and I have Graves' disease. I can help you with information. I also welcome all other medical problems.
I'm a 32 year old female. I was diagnosed with inattentive type ADHD this spring after bringing up my memory problems to my doctor. She thought I might have ADHD and suggested I get evaluated, which I did. I started on Adderall (20 mg) in June and am currently taking 60mg. I have all six of the inattentive-type symptoms.
I recently noticed that (ironically enough, on the same spring doctor visit) I was given a routine TSH test and that the result was 5.91. I asked my doctor about it, and she said that it's not necessary to do any further follow up unless it gets above 10; although they'll test each year.
Well, I've always had sort of low blood pressure (ranging from 90/60 to my record high of 118/90; norm is 90/70) and frequently feel lightheaded if I get up too quickly. Lately it has gotten *severe* - to the point where I have to stop and hold on to the wall and everything starts to get dark. After about 10-15 seconds I can stand again, but feel tired/groggy for another minute or so. I have small kids, and am frequently squatting down to help zip up jackets, pick up toys etc. and it has become a miserable experience.
So I looked into it and started reading about orthostatic hypotension and that it's sometimes related to hypothyroidism. Then I read up on hypothyroidism and nearly fell off my chair when I read that symptoms include impaired memory and impaired cognitive function (brain fog). I've often compared my ADHD symptoms to being in a fog.
I also have or have had these symptoms:
- migraines
- increased sensitivity to heat and cold
- hair loss, especially thinning of the outer third of the eyebrows
- depression
- fatigue
- anxiety
- shortness of breath with shallow & slow respiratory pattern
- abnormal menstrual cycles
Thinning of the outer third of the eyebrows?!! That happened to me sort of suddenly when I was a teenager and never went away. Around the same time I had three day-long migraine headaches in the space of about a year. At the time, I lived in Kuwait. I'm not sure whether my diet was deficient in iodine at the time, but it certainly may have been.
I am definitely abnormally sensitive to heat and cold. My hands are freezing when everyone else is normal. I have a space heater in my office, and everyone else remarks on how I keep it like a sauna - but I get so cold I can't think. But when it's warm, I *have* to keep my feet cool. I have to stand barefoot on a cold floor, moving my feet every 1/2 minute or so to a cooler spot. I stick my feet out from under the covers all night.
Abnormal menstrual cycles - they change all the time. Six weeks, three weeks, a week earlier than expected, extremely light one month and very heavy the next.
I've had these symptoms since I lived in Kuwait. During my testing for ADHD, I saw a social worker and two psychiatrists. All three diagnosed me with ADHD, the 2 psychiatrists basically by reading the list of ADHD symptoms out of the DSM IV. The social worker did a more thorough (sort of) review of my background. My mother is deceased and my father is on the other side of the planet, and I have no early school records - so the question of whether this existed prior to 7 years of age is based on my vague memory of "possibly, but I really don't remember."
I've had a few bouts of depression and anxiety over the past month or so, but I think they're stress related.
I understand that there may be some connection between ADHD and hypothyroidism - one causes the other, or they sometimes/often occur together, or one is mistaken for the other.
I'm frustrated that my regular doctor didn't notice this when she suggested ADHD and then saw the TSH results one day later. I'm also upset that none of the mental health professionals I've spent my time and money on asked me a single question about my physical health. My regular doctor and my current psychiatrist are both part of the same health care system, and can see all of my labs/tests etc..
I don't want to continue to be on an addictive stimulant that sort of helps but has irritating side effects if I don't have ADHD at all. Is this worth pursuing? What is the most reliable, accurate, respected source that I can go to for the most recent research on this subject?
Thanks -
Abigail
Answer well,
you said about TSH that mean your t4 is normal? maybe that means you don't have hypothyroid.but i agree with u that your symptoms really suggest hypothyroid.
usually hypothyroid won't cause you some irritability symptom as ADHD.decrease cognitive function you refer hypothyroid i think it should associate with symptoms like drowsiness, not hyperacivity, which one do you have?, what about your heart rate?( before taken drugs).
if you still in doubt, you can go to see other docter who's not psychiatist for some more info or examination.
and sorry for the reliable source of info, seems like you can search info better than me.
