Symptoms on head and mind | Symptoms of hypothyroidism

Symptoms on head and mind

The majority of patients with hypothyroidism report headaches during the course of the disease. In addition to headaches, patients often report increased fatigue, rapid exhaustion and a marked slowing down of everyday activities. In rare cases, migraine may also occur as part of an underactive thyroid.

In addition, already existing headaches can be further worsened by a thyroid disease. As individual study results in recent years have shown, chronic headaches can also conversely increase the risk of thyroid disease. In rare cases, hypothyroidism can also involve the eyes.

This is often caused by Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. Visual disturbances can occur mainly due to a disturbance in the function of the eye muscles. Patients often initially report double images.

In addition, watery eyes, swollen eyelids or a lack of eyelid closure can also lead to various visual disorders. In very rare cases, damage to the optic nerve can also occur, which can severely impair vision. Information about Hashimoto’s thyroiditis can be found here.

The symptoms of hypothyroidism can in many cases resemble those of depression. Typical symptoms of depression include reduced drive, listlessness and sluggishness.These symptoms can also be seen in untreated hypothyroidism. Therefore, if depression is suspected, it is important to check the thyroid gland values at the beginning.

Clinically, depression can be distinguished from hypothyroidism by checking for the presence of the other symptoms. Conversely, in some cases, chronic hypothyroidism can promote the development of real depression. In most cases, however, the depressive symptoms disappear after initiating treatment for hypothyroidism.

In rare cases, hypothyroidism also manifests itself through psychological symptoms. Patients are characterized by a pronounced anxiety. They are also very nervous and jumpy.

In extreme cases, panic attacks occur in these patients. The psychological symptoms should not be misinterpreted as an expression of a mental disorder. As a rule, an adjustment of the thyroid hormone levels leads to a significant improvement of the symptoms. Detailed information about the clinical picture can be found under Panic Attack.