Thyroid Dysfunction, Adrenal Fatigue and Mood Swings

Thyroid Dysfunction, Adrenal Fatigue and Mood Swings



Your thyroid is your body’s engine, and it produces hormones that attach to every cell in your body. It regulates all of your metabolic functions, from heart rate to temperature to metabolism to, you guessed it – your mood.  When your thyroid isn’t producing enough hormones, you become hypothyroid and all of your metabolic processes slow down.
The most common form of hypothyroidism is Hashimoto’s, which is an autoimmune condition where your immune system mistakenly attacks your own thyroid, causing it to underproduce its hormones. In fact, 90% of hypothyroidism cases are caused by autoimmunity. And, studies have found that patients with mood disorders are more likely to have the thyroid antibodies associated with Hashimoto’s.
Because your thyroid is so vital to your body’s functions, Hashimoto’s can cause a huge range of symptoms, including:
  • Mood swings, irritability, anxiety and depression
  • Hair loss or hair that is brittle or thinning
  • Weight gain or inability to lose weight
  • Fatigue even after getting 8-9 hours of sleep
  • Brain fog, difficulty concentrating, or poor memory
  • Constantly feeling cold or having cold hands and feet
  • Slow heart rate
  • Constipation
  • Infertility
One very important thing to know is that Hashimoto’s is very frequently missed by conventional medicine doctors. This is because many conventional medicine doctors often write off Hashimoto’s symptoms as stress, PMS, perimenopause, menopausal symptoms or even being a woman. If they do order labs they typically only use one or two tests, as opposed to a complete thyroid panel, and they use the “normal” lab reference ranges as their guide instead of the optimal ranges. This was the case with one patients OB/GYN who told her that her labs were fine. For a full list of all of the thyroid tests I run on my patients, and optimal lab ranges, please call us 321-783-1960
In addition to seeing Hashimoto’s as a common cause for mood swings & irritability , another pattern I see all the time in my clinic is that Hashimoto’s and adrenal fatigue often go hand in hand.
Your adrenals are primarily responsible for managing your stress response. They produce the stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline, in addition to neurotransmitters and your sex hormones. However, if you experience chronic stress,  you can develop adrenal fatigue, where your adrenals can no longer keep up with your stress levels and they produce insufficient amounts of stress hormones.
Symptoms of adrenal fatigue include:
  • Mood swings, irritability, anxiety, and depression
  • Unexplained weight loss or weight gain
  • Body aches and muscle pain
  • Fatigue and difficulty getting out of bed in the morning
  • Low blood pressure
  • Salt and sugar cravings
  • Shakiness or lightheadedness after skipping a meal
  • Dizziness upon standing
  • Feeling “tired and wired”
  • Low libido
  • Infertility
  • Hair loss
The reason Hashimoto’s and adrenal fatigue so often go hand in hand is that they are both major players in your endocrine system, which regulates your hormones. You can think of your endocrine system a bit like an orchestra where each musical section plays different parts of the same piece of music at the same time, ideally in perfect harmony. If the string section gets off tempo or out of tune however, then it’s typically only a matter of time before the horns and woodwinds are out of sync too.
The same is true for your hormones. If your thyroid isn’t functioning properly, it can lead to adrenal issues, and vice versa. In many patients it becomes a chicken or the egg question, which one came first? What we do know is that once you develop Hashimoto’s and adrenal fatigue, you are more likely to become irritable and stressed, which leads to further adrenal fatigue and decreased thyroid function. That’s why it’s important to treat both underlying issues at the same time.
If you suspect that Hashimoto’s and/or adrenal fatigue are causing your mood swings & irritability please call us today 321-783-1960. We want to help!




Call today to schedule an appointment 321-783-1960 so we can discuss nutritional strategies for health, including supplementing and simple dietary and lifestyle changes.

Are You Ready For Optimal Health? 

321-783-1960

We are offering a discounted consultation fee with the mention of this post to FaceBook. Please call us today to find out more 321-783-1930 
299 N. Orlando Ave.
Cocoa Beach, Fl. 32931







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