Depression after thyroidectomy

notaffy
notaffy Member Posts: 2
edited March 2014 in Thyroid Cancer #1
Has anyone had severe depression after a thyroidectomy? It started immediately after surgery a year ago. Hard to break the cycle. Any tips for it other than more drugs? Also a breast cancer survivor. Thanks.

Comments

  • Summer76
    Summer76 Member Posts: 9
    #2
    Have you had your levels checked? Maybe your not on the right dose of thyroid medication I've read that not enough thyroid hormones can effect you emotionaly. You have gone through alot with both cancers, I hope you find a way to feel better I know depression can overtake your life and is very hard to overcome. I used to see a counseler and talking to a stranger helped me because I did'nt want to bother my family with something else. Wish you the best, Summer
  • notaffy
    notaffy Member Posts: 2
    #3
    Summer76 said:

    Have you had your levels checked? Maybe your not on the right dose of thyroid medication I've read that not enough thyroid hormones can effect you emotionaly. You have gone through alot with both cancers, I hope you find a way to feel better I know depression can overtake your life and is very hard to overcome. I used to see a counseler and talking to a stranger helped me because I did'nt want to bother my family with something else. Wish you the best, Summer

    Thanks Summer. I have spoken to many. My endocrynilogist doesn't think it is the synthroid. I will keep asking. Tomorrow is my 12 anniversary from bc. I really am just happy to be here. Great talking to you. taffy
  • peytonsdad
    peytonsdad Member Posts: 10
    #4
    Hi, unfortunately I know a little about this subject...I have been fighting thyroid cancer for 8yrs now. At firs I did'nt realize that depression and anxiety had come along for the ride. My wife kept telling me I was extra grumpy and somthing was wrong but I would'nt listen. It was about a yr later when things got really bad that I knew there was a problem. I told my indo. about it and he said my numbers were right where he wanted them and he did'nt want to make any changes. I don't know how you feel as far as your meds. go for your thyroid! I am one of those lucky few people who have never felt right after losing my thyroid ( low energy, headaches,always a little icky feeling ). I've read and been told that depression and anxiety can just be a part of having a major illness! I don't know where you stand as far as the severity of your cancer and I hope you can get it under controle. As I've said I've been fighting it for 8yrs now, if you would ever have any questions or would just like to talk you can e-mail me at mdolphin13@alltel.net...
    Hope you feel better soon, Butch
  • peytonsdad
    peytonsdad Member Posts: 10
    #5
    Hi, unfortunately I know a little about this subject...I have been fighting thyroid cancer for 8yrs now. At firs I did'nt realize that depression and anxiety had come along for the ride. My wife kept telling me I was extra grumpy and somthing was wrong but I would'nt listen. It was about a yr later when things got really bad that I knew there was a problem. I told my indo. about it and he said my numbers were right where he wanted them and he did'nt want to make any changes. I don't know how you feel as far as your meds. go for your thyroid! I am one of those lucky few people who have never felt right after losing my thyroid ( low energy, headaches,always a little icky feeling ). I've read and been told that depression and anxiety can just be a part of having a major illness! I don't know where you stand as far as the severity of your cancer and I hope you can get it under controle. As I've said I've been fighting it for 8yrs now, if you would ever have any questions or would just like to talk you can e-mail me at mdolphin13@alltel.net...
    Hope you feel better soon, Butch
  • bituin
    bituin Member Posts: 10
    #6
    severe depression
    hi notaffy,

    i've done total thyroidectomay and after one year i'm suffering severe depression.now i'm taking abilify prescribe by my doctor.

    bye,
    bituin
  • nasher
    nasher Member Posts: 505 Member
    #7
    yes
    Depression is very
    yes

    Depression is very common after thyroidectomy

    I will probably be on one or another anti-depressant for the rest of my life.

    it took 3 different anti-depressants to find one that worked well for me and after 7 months on it it seems to be much less effective so I probably get to either up the dose or get another anti-depressant or such....
  • bituin
    bituin Member Posts: 10
    #8
    nasher said:

    yes
    Depression is very
    yes

    Depression is very common after thyroidectomy

    I will probably be on one or another anti-depressant for the rest of my life.

    it took 3 different anti-depressants to find one that worked well for me and after 7 months on it it seems to be much less effective so I probably get to either up the dose or get another anti-depressant or such....

    tips
    hi nasher,
    can you give me some tips what to do when you feel depress.

    bituin
  • nasher
    nasher Member Posts: 505 Member
    #9
    bituin said:

    tips
    hi nasher,
    can you give me some tips what to do when you feel depress.

    bituin

    oh my tips....
    go into a bright room or into the sun if you can... it helps wake you up

    find someone you can talk to about whatever you are depressed about

    figure out what things are causing your depression if you can...

    myself I have sever dizziness and vertigo (similar but not the same thing)this was not caused by the thyroid cancer but cause added depression....

    I do not try to get everything that I used to be able to get done and fail... I do the best i can for that day... sometimes that's not much and other times its almost back to what was my 100% before hand... I see a horse in your pic so i am assuming you like horses... being around animals can help you get out of depression as well...

    its kinda like now.. i normally am asleep at 10pm but i can not sleep tonight and its 2am.. I have run a load of dishes and cleaned up the house some and came online and started posting... I have done what i can... and now i am getting tired again so i am going to go back to bed with my wife...

    sorry i cant give you better tips tonight maybe tomorrow i will be more thoughtful...

    oh have you had your vitamin D levels checked those might be an added load causing more depression if its low
  • bituin
    bituin Member Posts: 10
    #10
    nasher said:

    oh my tips....
    go into a bright room or into the sun if you can... it helps wake you up

    find someone you can talk to about whatever you are depressed about

    figure out what things are causing your depression if you can...

    myself I have sever dizziness and vertigo (similar but not the same thing)this was not caused by the thyroid cancer but cause added depression....

    I do not try to get everything that I used to be able to get done and fail... I do the best i can for that day... sometimes that's not much and other times its almost back to what was my 100% before hand... I see a horse in your pic so i am assuming you like horses... being around animals can help you get out of depression as well...

    its kinda like now.. i normally am asleep at 10pm but i can not sleep tonight and its 2am.. I have run a load of dishes and cleaned up the house some and came online and started posting... I have done what i can... and now i am getting tired again so i am going to go back to bed with my wife...

    sorry i cant give you better tips tonight maybe tomorrow i will be more thoughtful...

    oh have you had your vitamin D levels checked those might be an added load causing more depression if its low

    helpfull
    hi nasher,

    thank you so much for the tips,i will check my vitamin d also maybe because of that i feel down today. i found horse helping when i'm suffering severe depression. i lost my job before then i get started to become depress.i suffered psychotic disorder due to long time stress.now i'm almost two year in treating my sickness. i'm from phlippines so my english is not so good and i'm not good in spelling.i'm trying to help my self because i have a tree year old baby who really needs a mother to play with and take care her.

    when i was i child i was kicked by the horse since the i became affraid but my sister inlaw encourage me to just to clap the hair and when i did it for the first time i just cried for nothing my tears just run down and i got so emotional.the horses here in sweden are nice.

    hope to recieve more tips from you.


    bituin
  • sunnyaz
    sunnyaz Member Posts: 582
    #11
    bituin said:

    helpfull
    hi nasher,

    thank you so much for the tips,i will check my vitamin d also maybe because of that i feel down today. i found horse helping when i'm suffering severe depression. i lost my job before then i get started to become depress.i suffered psychotic disorder due to long time stress.now i'm almost two year in treating my sickness. i'm from phlippines so my english is not so good and i'm not good in spelling.i'm trying to help my self because i have a tree year old baby who really needs a mother to play with and take care her.

    when i was i child i was kicked by the horse since the i became affraid but my sister inlaw encourage me to just to clap the hair and when i did it for the first time i just cried for nothing my tears just run down and i got so emotional.the horses here in sweden are nice.

    hope to recieve more tips from you.


    bituin

    Hi bituin
    I think your English is just fine. You are doing great. Nasher has really good anti-depression techniques. I too have suffered with depression like most of us on the site. I have tried all anti-depressant medications on the market and all failed me or I had an allergic reaction. So..... here is how I combat it the best I can.

    Daily Supplements: Multi-Vitamin, Fish and Flax Seed oil, Selenium, Calcium with Magnesium and D3, Vitamin C, CoQ10, L-Carnisine and L-Carnitine.

    Daily Exercise is essential. If nothing more than a ten minute walk. Breathing in fresh air is very useful in stabilizing brain functions.

    Daily Meditations: Relax in a comfortable position on your back. Let all of your muscles melt into the surface below you and notice how heavy your body feels against it. Tell yourself you are a wonderful, beautiful woman. Affirm that you are just as God made you and you are strong and capable of doing anything you desire.

    Stay engaged in life: Work hard, play hard and sleep hard. I find that volunteering and helping others keeps my mind from focusing on myself and how bad I might feel.

    I hope you can get something out of this tips.

    Blessing and Prayers for you,
    Julie-SunnyAZ
  • bituin
    bituin Member Posts: 10
    #12
    sunnyaz said:

    Hi bituin
    I think your English is just fine. You are doing great. Nasher has really good anti-depression techniques. I too have suffered with depression like most of us on the site. I have tried all anti-depressant medications on the market and all failed me or I had an allergic reaction. So..... here is how I combat it the best I can.

    Daily Supplements: Multi-Vitamin, Fish and Flax Seed oil, Selenium, Calcium with Magnesium and D3, Vitamin C, CoQ10, L-Carnisine and L-Carnitine.

    Daily Exercise is essential. If nothing more than a ten minute walk. Breathing in fresh air is very useful in stabilizing brain functions.

    Daily Meditations: Relax in a comfortable position on your back. Let all of your muscles melt into the surface below you and notice how heavy your body feels against it. Tell yourself you are a wonderful, beautiful woman. Affirm that you are just as God made you and you are strong and capable of doing anything you desire.

    Stay engaged in life: Work hard, play hard and sleep hard. I find that volunteering and helping others keeps my mind from focusing on myself and how bad I might feel.

    I hope you can get something out of this tips.

    Blessing and Prayers for you,
    Julie-SunnyAZ

    feel alone
    hi sunnyaz,

    Thank you for the tips. during break time at work i feel alone and lonely because all of my co-workers are all thailader. I don't understand what are they talking about. I don't know what to do when i sit in one corner of a canteen. i feel I need a friend thanks to this site i found you guys.

    any tips also what to do when you're just in a corner of a canteen. Sounds silly but it makes me lonely.

    bituin
  • ceanna
    ceanna Member Posts: 11
    #13
    Check Vitamin D levels
    My endo checked my levels and recommended Vitamin D3, and it has helped greatly. Everyone in northern US states need extra Vit D in the winter months and even through the summer months if you don't get much natural sunshine or use sunblock. Don't rely on the D in a multi-vitamin as it is often the wrong (D2) type and is not enough. My endo started me on 2000 IU and raised it over months to 5000 IU per day. Sounds like a lot but it is one small pill and not expensive. If you have your blood level Vit D checked, your results should be above 50. If you read Dr. Mercola, he is a firm believer in using Vit D for depression and immune system problems http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/11/06/vitamin-d-for-depression.aspx
  • bituin
    bituin Member Posts: 10
    #14
    ceanna said:

    Check Vitamin D levels
    My endo checked my levels and recommended Vitamin D3, and it has helped greatly. Everyone in northern US states need extra Vit D in the winter months and even through the summer months if you don't get much natural sunshine or use sunblock. Don't rely on the D in a multi-vitamin as it is often the wrong (D2) type and is not enough. My endo started me on 2000 IU and raised it over months to 5000 IU per day. Sounds like a lot but it is one small pill and not expensive. If you have your blood level Vit D checked, your results should be above 50. If you read Dr. Mercola, he is a firm believer in using Vit D for depression and immune system problems http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/11/06/vitamin-d-for-depression.aspx

    thank you
    hi ceanna,

    thank you for the link i red the article and it help me alot.


    bituin
  • sunnyaz
    sunnyaz Member Posts: 582
    #15
    bituin said:

    feel alone
    hi sunnyaz,

    Thank you for the tips. during break time at work i feel alone and lonely because all of my co-workers are all thailader. I don't understand what are they talking about. I don't know what to do when i sit in one corner of a canteen. i feel I need a friend thanks to this site i found you guys.

    any tips also what to do when you're just in a corner of a canteen. Sounds silly but it makes me lonely.

    bituin

    Feeling Alone
    I am so sorry you don't have anyone at work you can communicate with. That must be really hard. If you have a laptop computer or phone with internet you can always come to this site and post. Another option is the Chat room on this site. They type fast and there is a lot of activity but it is company and quite entertaining. There are usually lots of people to talk to in the chat room. You can also read a book but that can also be a bit lonely, just passes the time mostly. I hope someone will soon come to your work that speaks your language.
    Blessings,
    Julie-SunnyAZ
  • Gadget1969
    Gadget1969 Member Posts: 1
    #16
    I found a lot in common with

    I found a lot in common with posters in this thread. I had thyroid cancer in 1997 and haven't felt the same since. I also started getting vertigo...maybe once a year starting the year I was diagnosed and had the surgery. I lost a couple parathyroid glands in the process, so I take fairly high doeses of Calcium and prescription vitamin D, so maybe I'm still not getting enough into my system and that's the issue...ancilary to the thyroid cancer. I do find life satisfaction when I am doing high adrenaline inducing activites (snowboarding, jiu-jitsu, running, cycling, motorcycles... etc) and keeping active, but there are those times when you are just there alone with yourself, and things can sink quickly. I find I prefer to not be social as much, get emotional for no good reason and have anxiety. I also have the hardest time remembering names...sometimes just recalling the name of someone I know well. I read something about hypothroidism and its affect on the amygdala portion of the brain which controls emotions, survival instincts and memory, so it seems like something is missing in the hormonal equation other than what the thyroid replacement hormone can provide. If nothing else, thanks to everyone for sharing their experiences. I realized at some point that I was overburdening people with my issues, and have also stopped doing that to friends and family...one more thing in common here. There is some comfort in knowing others have shared experiences.

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