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Do the emotional symptoms in GD ever fully resolve? One recent Dutch study discussed the long-term complaints and psychosocial problems after remission from hyperthyroidism. More than three hundred treated hyperthyroid patients were studied, 77% of whom had Graves' disease. Patients were assessed for somatic and mental functioning, psychopathological symptoms, and perceived health/quality of life. On each dimension of psychopathology, including depression and anxiety, approximately one third of the total sample had a score exceeding that seen in 80% of normal females. Lack of energy was evident in 53% of respondents. More than one third of patients with a full-time job were unable to resume the same work after treatment, indicating that many treated hyperthyroid patients are in need of psychological support.
Most treated patients I've interviewed admit to still over-reacting to stress and crying for no reason. However, patients treated with radioiodine and surgery who are now hypothyroid had the most severe symptoms. If laboratory tests alone are used as the basis for treatment, insufficient replacement hormone is a likely possibility since emotional, cognitive and psychological disturbances are common in hypothyroidism.
Sources: Arem, Ridha, "The Thyroid Solution", Ballantine Books, New York, 1999.
Fahrenfort JJ, Wilterdink AM, and van der Veen, EA,"Long-term residual complaints and psychosocial sequelae after remission of hyperthyroidism," in Psychoneuroendocrinology, 2000,Feb; 25(2): 201-211.
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