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I am curious about this possible connection between BPD and thyroid problems. Thyroid problems run in by BP stbxw's family. My wife has told me that she has a thyroid problem too but she is not currently on thyroid medication because she has been tested and it is now just within normal range.

She has been on Effexor for at least the two years that I have known her. She told me that the Effexor was for her thyroid condition. I never really believed this because Effexor is more commonly prescribed for depression. I suppose if there is a link between thyroid problems and BPD, her taking the Effexor could indirectly be connected to her thyroid condition.

Still, my wife refuses to take any responsibility for her behavior or our marital problems. If only her mind was open to some of this maybe we would not be getting divorced. We have been separated now for a month. I am afraid it is too late.  

Some of what I have read on thyroid talks about carefull monitoring the thyroid when taking certain medications.  Try doing a serch on thyroid and Effexor maybe that answer your questions.

I have never heard of an anti-depressant used to treat hypothyroidism. Now, understand, I'm not saying that it's not possible or that it doesn't happen. Most thyroid drugs in the market are T3s, T4s, and T3/T4 combos (which I take). As a patient, I question "normal range" because different labs have different ranges that may or may not fit the needs of the patient. Plus, there's just so much information on the thyroid out there that most GPs and some endocrinologists just do not know.

Was your stbxwife pulled off her medication by a doctor or did she just stop taking it? If she was pulled off by a doctor, she might want to get a second opinion. So much affects the hormone production level of the thyroid such as diet, stress levels, activity, and the amount of sunlight. Also, there is a possible link between thyroid problems and bi-polar disorder. So, with that in mind, just think how much the thyroid can affect the brain when it comes to other disorders.

My ex BPDgf/lover was hypothyroid.  My T initially waved this off as  irrelevant to her behavior, but I did some digging and found  a few citations in the clinical literature showing evidence that this endocrine disorder in women (hypothyroidism is common in women) can overlap mental dysfunction in a number of cognitive domains. Im not saying that the results suggest hypo-T is a predictor of BPD specifically, but BPD is a complex pyschiatric disease and the neurochemistry isnt fully understood.

I mention this as something I found interesting and possible important when we consider the risk factors for BPD (at least in women).

It would be great if anyone with BPD had a full-fledged physical before they were psychologically evaluated.  But if the person is treated and is still hypothyroid, then the thyroid levels may be meaningless in terms of the BPD behavior.  Many, many, many people are low on thyroid hormones and they are not BPD. 

I have read something about this before, tomba.

Our doctor has treated many individuals with BPD and he has found that a significant percentage have thyroid problems.  Another common problem is vitamin B12 deficiency.  My husband and daughter (who both have BPD) both take 1000 mg. of B12 as part of their treatment (their B12 levels were low).  I'm thinking that it might have been as many as one-third of those with BPD had thyroid problems as well, but I am not positive on that number.

My daugher had an overactive thyroid but my husband doesn't have any thyroid problems.  And as Joanna pointed out, many people have thyroid problems and are not BPD. 

Quote from "Sometimes I Act Crazy"



"It is also conceivable, of course, that congenital malformation produces the development disconnection, producing a subtly handicapped child whose comprimised coping skills frustrate caregivers"

My four month old son was diagnosed with hypothyroidism. Some reading on the subject suggests heredity as a possible factor.

My udBPDw has a family history of mental illness, although diagnosis is not necessarily happening.

I am really starting to wonder if there is a link between thyroid function, thyroid stimulating hormone from the petuitary gland and BPD.

I know in congenital hypothyroidism brain function is the main concern and when untreated leads to what they used to call "cretinism"

Just another note:

I have learned that screening for hypothyroidism in infants is a fairly new thing. Approx 30 years.

With that being a factor then is it not reasonable to assume that there are many people 30 years and older out there who may have been born with some level of hypothyroidism? And went untreated as a result? Perhaps minor underdevelopment of brain function?

My experiences all point to this as a possibility. But what do I know?

Although I have not heard if there is an actual connection between the two, I do know that thyroid problems (whether hypo or hyper, I'm not sure) are fairly common in those that have BPD.  Our doctor has treated a lot of BPD patients and he has found that approximately one third of them have a thyroid problem as well.

Abigail

Could the difference be that when it is "congenital hypothyroidism" there is an initial interruption in brain development. Something that happens in infancy. Hey 1 in 4000 infants. How does the math work out?

And consider the variances in the length of time before Thyrozine levels are stabalized.

My now exBPDgf had hypothyroidism. She was on Synthroid for it.

I've read the medical journal articles, too, that link BPD to hypothyroid. It was curiosity on my part because my DH's BPDXW is hypothyroid, and he talked about how much worse it got after her thyroid lobe removal. (She was hyperthyroid before that, with unpleasant psych symptoms, but apparently not the big bundle of fun she turned into afterward.)

I've been really curious about this link, too. In my reading, I learned like some of you that it does not correlate 100%, which makes sense. My assumption before I ran into this post was that there are those who are predisposed for whatever reason, and those who are not. Since from my DH's account, the BPDXW had very unpleasant jealousy issues and a fairly short temper before her thyroid lobe was removed, I figured that she must be predisposed.

Though, who knows? I'm no expert. Perhaps hyperthyroid is a factor, too? Although I've never run into it in my reading, and in my case it's fairly pointless to go any further. It's not like she's looking for a cure.

But one last tip for my fellow travelers in curiosity - I was curious if any of the medical journal articles I read were freely available through google. While I didn't find that, if you throw in "borderline personality disorder" and "hypothryoid", there would appear to be a slew of info out there.

Hiya Folks; My ex bp said they found a tumor on her pituitary gland. The Doc said it could have happened from any kind of trauma from her past, and that they grow slowly. Her condition was called Hypopituiarism. So, I typed that in along with mental diseases, and I found some journals dating back to 1885!

If someone  has an overactive or under-active thyroid, it affects their emotions.  Treating this will alleviate the thyroid related symptoms.

With an overactive thyroid (hyperthyroidism), one may experience:

   Unusual nervousness

   Restlessness

   Anxiety

   Irritability

On the opposite end of the spectrum, with have an underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism), one may experience:

   Mild to severe fatigue

   :)epression

Is there a relationship or is it dual diagnosis?  This suggests the later - or a lack of evidence to support the former.

Circulating thyroid autoantibodies are more prevalent in patients with mood disorders than in the general population, but longitudinal clinical data that establish a relationship between thyroid antibody status and the course of any psychiatric syndrome have been lacking. In addition, scant attention has been paid to thyroid hormones and autoimmunity in borderline personality disorder (BPD).

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12897379

Thyroid disease affects the moods of most, but it is ampified in people with mood conditions such as:

~atypical depression (which may present as dysthymia)

~bipolar spectrum syndrome (including manic-depression, mixed mania, bipolar depression, rapid-~cycling bipolar disorder, cyclothymia, and premenstrual syndromes)

~borderline personality disorder

~or psychotic disorder (typically paranoid psychosis).

www.currentpsychiatry.com/home/article/identifying-hypothyroidisms-psychiatric-presentations/190d5808f9bdd646cf3a8560587e35cc.html

An imbalanced thyroid can cause depression but I've never heard of BPD-like symptoms.  I've had thyroid problems for years & although I experienced weight gain & depression at times (I can tell when it is "low" I didn't experience BPD symptoms.  Hyperthyroid can cause some anxiety & palpitations (among other symptoms)

Either way (hyper or hypo)  thyroid problems can make a person miserable & they really need to be treated (by a doctor--not just iodine at the health food store 

my uBPDw has an underperforming thyroid. She takes a dose some where between 60 and 120. I did see some mild changes in here moods but once she was back on track not feeling to tired and run down. It was something else to complain about. Some how she got her dr to perscribe her adderol. She says it gives her focus and more energy and it just so happens it has great weight loss associated with it. I think its been over two years on thyroid and one with the thy/addy cocktail. She is now extremely skinny to the point people make comments about it looking unhealthy. It also appears that the addy is causing a heart problem. She is so addicted that she knows if she complains to much about the heart problem she will be taken off the addy. We had a recent life insurance policy update. she had to do a battery of tests. One came back stateing she was malnourished... .oh that felt like a venting... .sorry.

hope that helps

This is really interesting,

My BPDW had her thyroid removed (or 95% of it) in her early twenties. She takes thyroid medication.

I wonder if there is a link?

I have hypothyroidism. It has to be treated quite aggressively if my count goes over the mid range of normal all my symptoms start coming back and it aint pretty.  :) It's one of the big issues with hypothyroidism that each person needs to be treated not to the "numbers" but for the symptoms. My mother's count was always just in the high end of the scale so her doctor did not treat her until a medication she was on tipped her over the line. The change in her was remarkable, cognitively she improved dramatically. She was 77 and seeing her doctor for post stroke and dementia care. By being treated she got 7 yrs of better mental health. I wish she had gotten it earlier, would have made my life soo much easier. Too many GPs look at the numbers only and downplay the symptoms or put it off to depression or other problems. If this is happening to you the best thing to do is find an endocrinologist and interview them to find out if they believe in aggressively treating the symptoms not following the numbers, if not, move on.

Most lists of hypothyroid symptoms either lists cognitive problems as one item or just a few of the more common ones. However each person is different as to what area it affects. Wikipedia has a detailed list of research areas for cognitve ability under "cognitive psychology". It's enlightening to see how many areas of interest are symptoms we list for our pw/BPD. As to lists of thyroid symptoms do not just look at one, check out several and combine the lists. I have yet to find one list that has every symptom reported on it.

Having hypothyroidism can make you feel and act like you are mentally ill or in a deep depression. With my son's BPDgf before she was diagnosed she was explaining how she felt and I suggested she have her T3/T4 test. She was right on the edge of being hypo and her doctor treats her with a low daily dose. It seems to have eased a couple of symptoms but she has always been open to help and since the diagnosis she has been actively seeking assistance so don't know which helped.

I suspect an aunt of having BPD (she is in her 80s) and she had a tumor on her thyroid about 20 years ago. I wouldn't be surprised if she had had thyroid problems long before that ... .she had radiation treatments for acne back in the 40s, which I have heard can kill off the thyroid (or at least really damage it).

Mine got evaluated too. As did her sister. Some treatment but overall inconclusive.

I suspect there is a linkage. But which way is the causal relationship? And is it causal or just coincident due to diagnostic traditions? Odd acting persons my be suspected of having something physical. And thyroid is difficult to diagnose. It is also linked to hormones and if a woman has emotional problems - hormones can be a cause. As can BPD... .

Yes and another thing to wonder about is which came first, the chicken or the egg (or if the chicken and the egg are causally related to each other at all, as you pointed out). Can being on a constant emotional rollercoaster cause chemical changes in the body? Although I'm not a biochemist or anything like that, I would say that the answer is definitively YES.

I think my mom is uPBD after reading Lawson's book "Understanding the Borderline Mother". My mother's swings are pretty covert ---- you have to be in a close relationship with her before you see them, and even then it is subtle --- but in a way the subtlety is worse because you walk away wondering why you feel so awful after being with her. Anyway, until menopause she was extremely thin and so constantly active and terribly anxious that if ANYTHING was wrong with her thyroid it would have had to be HYPERthyroidism rather than HYPOthyroidism.

I did a search and found this studies. I was surprised.www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12897379

I read recently that people with Hypothyroidism have a high rate of depression and bipolor disorder compared to non-hypos. Since Borderline Personality Disorder is often mistaken for bipolar, I was wondering if there might be a connection, there, as well? And if so, what it might be?

I suspect my mother (A) is BP. I suspect her mother (B) was BP (though a different type--more of the waif from the "Borderline Mother" descriptions). I suspect "B's" mother (C) was BP, based on what I've been told.

I was recently diagnosed with hypothyroidism. In talking to my mom about it, I found out that not only did my mom have a goiter as a kid (which I knew), but her mom was on synthroid (synthetic thyroid hormone) for the last 10 years of her life, that all of "B's" sisters had thyroid issues, and that "C" had thyroid issues. It seems there may be a pattern.

My diagnosed BPD wife has been asked many times in hospitals and such environments if she has ever had a thyroid test - because she has "big eyes".

She finally had one, and it turned out normal though.

My BPDexh had bipolar ii, diabetes, and thyroid (hypo) from having a thyroid tumor removed.  Took synthroid. Seemingly all his levels were fine because he had regular blood work.  This seems to be a not uncommon pattern here.

My diagnosed BPDw has Hashimoto's disease (An immune disease that causes antibodies to attack the thyroid causing hypothyroidism).

She has been on a very low dose of Thyroxine for 20 years & her tests all come back as normal but she now weighs twice what she did 15 years ago , she ended our sex life 2 years ago (prior to that i was 1 or 2 times a year) & now suffers from sporadic outbreaks of acne. She has the outer halves of her eyebrows missing & is permanently tired & irritable. 

Her uBPD grandmother was hypo, her uBPD mother is hypo, her uBPD sister is hypo as is her uBPD niece (All of them display (or did in the case of her grandmother) classic & overt BPD symptoms).

I have absolutely no doubt that she has BPD but I have always wondered if there was a quantifiable link between the two diseases...

Hmm, can you be more specific about the eyebrows thing; what does it look like?

I ask because my wife's eyebrows are somewhat unusual (I always assumed maybe she tilts her head while plucking them or something), so I'm curious!

No worries Auspicious. It's common for people with hypothyroidism to lose the outer 3rd of their eyebrows.

The part of the eyebrow furthest from the nose becomes thin or stops growing entirely...

DH's uBPDx takes small doses of Synthroid daily because it helps boost the effectiveness of the anti-depressants she's on.  uBPDx is not hypothyroid, she simply takes a tiny amount every day to help her body absorb the antidepressant.

Thanks Snowrose, I'd never come across this before...

New to the group and your post really caught my eye.  Our oldest may have BPD and am researching.  She recently underwent surgery to remove a tumor on her pituitary and early in her illness exhibited all the same symptoms you note in your wife .  She was treated for depression, anxiety, weight issues, adult acne, etc... .without success.  She was finally diagnosed with Cushings.  My husband and I are shocked that these might tie into each other.  Her health is slowly improving but she is having emotional issues that are complicating things.

I have been diagnosed with BPD sometime back in 1996.  Of course I have been through the gamut of doctors and meds.  I just wanted to say that I am not sure if BPD has any link to thyroid but I do know that it has a link to Female menstrual problems.  This has been the first time I have had any type of relief from my symptoms of BPD.  I found a compounder that made me up some ALL NATURAL PROGESTERONE for some female problems, and I have come to find out that my BPD symptoms are not only controllable but also non existent since I have been taking the Progesterone.

So it might not be for everyone but for me I had a bad lack of Progesterone, not saying I am cured but I am saying that after having BPD symptoms with no relief and now I am great I highly recommend that women should talk to their doctors about this, its worth a shot.


I hope this helps someone... .

Good luck.

Liz Jake.

OK, this is a bit of a weird query, and I encourage the medically trained folk to chip in.  First, allow me to give a bit of background.  A few months ago, Ms. Elm City was put on Abilify to help stabilize her moods. The unfortunate side effect is some significant weight gain and food cravings to the point it was putting pressure on her joints and causing a bit of a snoring issue.  Also, while my wife's moods stabilized, she noticed that she was feeling more depressed, not less.  Finally, after getting the snoring issue (and thus saving our marriage  :)) with some Breathe Right strips, she was snoring less, sleeping a LOT less (from ~14-16 hours a day down now to 9) but feeling even more depressed.  As a result, she called her Pdoc, who asked that she and I come in for an emergency meeting.

After asking my wife and I what was going on with her, he suggested that she get formally worked up for thyroid issues and prescribed her Cytomel to raise her thyroid levels.  I was a bit perplexed, as while I've heard a bit about a putative connection between thyroid issues and borderline, no one had suggested that she take meds for it or get her thyroid levels check out.  :)oes anyone else have experience with this?

The same year my H started exhibiting BPD symptoms he was diagnosed with a gluten intolerance (not Celiac's) which led to a fatty liver and thyroid problems.  I have often wondered if there was a connection. He takes Synthroid. He is also being treated for depression.

A thyroid work-up is a great thing for almost any woman suffering from non-specific problems like depression, fatigue, swollen joints, snoring, dry skin, weight gain. |iiii Thyroid function can affect every cell in the body and can certainly have an impact on mood. Nobody really knows how many people--at least 80% of them women--are experiencing reduced quality of life due to undiagnosed thyroid problems. If your wife should prove to be "hypothyroid," she may very well have more than one improvement to look forward to in her health if she gets replacement treatment (e.g., Synthroid). It's definitely worth a test.

*mod*

Sometime members look at resonses like this an come away with a distorted idea of the incidence of a condition.  lease remember, this is not a statitically relavent sample of members - as thousands have read this only 200 have responded.

It seems that just putting her on cytomel without labs first is unconventional, since there hasnt been no diagnosis. What did he say?

That's what I'm thinking too. If I went to my doctor and asked for Cytomel without any lab proof that I needed it, she'd probably ask me if I also wanted a side order of meth or jet fuel to go along with that.

Sometimes it's simple, but sometimes it's tricky to get just the right regimen of thyroid meds. Very worth the effort, though.

Thanks for the responses.  From what I've seen on the lab sheet (full disclosure: I'm a licensed medical technologist in my home state), they did the full thyroid panel with T3, T4 and TSH.  It looks like they're looking for primary and secondary deficiency issues.  The plan, from what I understand, is to use the labs and a baseline and see how my wife feels as a result of the meds.  She has a pre-scheduled appointment for 10 days from now, so the P doc is using that appointment as an opportunity to go over the labs and see how she's feeling.  The plan is that if this works out that my wife will be taken off of the Abilify.

From what I gathered in the meeting, the doc wanted to give the Cytomel a shot based on the symptoms that were being described.  Also, he made a point to mention that a) this is a bit of a new therapeutic approach and b) the plan is to slowly bring her up to the right level of medication, all while monitoring her labs.  On top of that, my wife is in a bit of a unique treatment situation, where her T and P doc operate out of a local mental hospital that, in turn, shares a larger campus with a local medical center, complete with a large onsite lab.  Maybe this is one of those state of the art things.  :)

Anyway, I'll let you know how this turns out.  I'll mention to my wife about the whole sleeping contest.  lol

OK, I think I'm jealous. I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's Thyroiditis all the way back in 1991, and if anyone has ever checked my actual T3 levels they've never told me about it.

I've heard that some psychiatrists are now trying patients on a short course of T3 before they just hand them an antidepressant. Cool! With your medical background, you're in a position to come to a good understanding of the different types of thyroid disorders that have been identified and the ways they are being treated. It's kind of exciting stuff, but hard for most of us not in the medical professions to understand, even when we know it impacts us so critically. I personally wish more endocrinologists would specialize in the thyroid branch of things these days, but it's hard to argue with turning most of the endocrine attention to the important matters of diabetes.

One of the posts mentioned anemia.  My uBPDstbxw had pretty severe anemia, but I never heard any thyroid problem mentioned.

First, you can thank Skip for putting me on this post.  He merged the threads. :)  Also (and pardon me if this is a issue with different English dialects) it was her psychiatrist that suggested the thyroid thing, not her GP or primary care physician.  My wife doesn't have one of those, but that's a whole different story.  As of right now, the meds seem to be giving my wife more energy and a better mood in general.  I'm not sure how much this will effect the BPD stuff, but it is making a bit of a difference in a hurry.  What I do hope is that it'll allow her to move in on those issues that have to do with the BPD.  We'll see.

Hi iluminati. Could be I got confused as there can be a difference in word usage between the US & Australia. Thanks for explaining that & the merging of topics  :) .

Interesting that her medication is helping with some things. Here's hoping. That could make both your lives better if it holds up. Of course the BPD will still be lurking around. But better is better & maybe she will be less burdened if some things are sorted out. Hey, she may even lose weight & that will cheer her up.

By the way, though I don't mean this as an ad hominem argument as I am wary of them, I experienced some thyroid underactive woes after the birth of my 3rd child (of 4). I had felt great after a great pregnancy & a new baby, & then whammo I was as tired as & that affected how much I felt I could deal with. The GP mistakenly diagnosed Hashimoto's Thyroiditis & prescribed me oroxin for what he ASSUMED was a permanently underactive thyroid. I was surging with the most wonderful energy for 2 days & cleaned my house from top to bottom, plus dealing with everything else, & then I went hyper & found it hard to focus & almost had a smash with all the kids in the car because I didn't notice an oncoming car with right of way. By the way, I had gone back to my GP & complained - I was told I was really concentrating - sure!. I then insisted on a referral to an endocrinologist & he told me my thyroid underactivity was pregnancy & birth related & would pass if he took me off the medication. He was right. My point is that these drugs are powerful & correct diagnosis is important. Hopefully the new medication is what your wife needs.

You are so very right, Sharonon. I never really knew what the fluctuations of Hashimoto's + the use of a powerful drug with a "narrow therapeutic range" could mean until I experienced some of the things you mention.

Hi KateCat. Yes, indeed.

I was told to have regular thyroid checks for ever after that, but the GPs lost interest as my overall thyroid result never went under again, even after the birth of my last child (a long time ago now).

I left out & I want to mention it to give credit where credit is due, I came through that thyroid medication disaster thanks to a specialist Nursing Mother's advisor I rang for advice re breast feeding & the medication, & to a friend I spoke to after that very near car accident & which was averted because the other driver slammed on the brakes. Fortunately for me, both questioned the GPs decisions & that led me to take more helpful (to me) action. The GP had been very difficult all along & quite bullying. I can still remember how she stood up behing her desk, bright red & angry, when I went back the last time & requested the referral to the endocrinologist as the result of the support I had received. But I got it as I just said calmly that I wanted the referral & wasn't going to keep taking the medication till I saw him or her. She was not happy but she gave it to me & the rest is history (& so was she for me  :)).

Not sure if it's related, but my ex's temp was always off. When I was cold she was sweating and when I was hot she was under the blankets. This was before I knew anything about BPD or her splitting from me. I always told her to get her thyroid checked. She never listened, big surprise there, lol... .

From what I know hypothyroidism makes people cold and not hot. Mine was constantly cold even in the summer. I went to her place one time and it was 85 degrees in the house. I asked her why the A/C wasn't on and she said it was. She said maybe she could turn it down to 80 but she would need to get a hoodie and maybe a blanket.

I have thyroid issues.  Hyper can cause agitation, anxiety, anger.  Too little causes depression, slowness, fatigue, breathlessness, fogginess (it felt like I was experiencing life through a gauzy material), which felt like detachment at times.  There are close to 30 symptoms of hypo.  Thyroid issues are very serious and can have a huge impact on personality.

Obviously, a thyroid issue won't cause abandonment/engfulfment fears, but it could make it more difficult to deal in a pwBPD. 

www.hypothyroidmom.com/300-hypothyroidism-symptoms-yes-really/

True but it can cause paranoia, depression etc.

I am hypothyroid and it runs on both sides of my family.  One side has mental health issues and the other doesn't.  My dBPDh has low thyroid but it is a symptom of hypopituitary and I have been told by a doctor that hypopituitary symptoms can overlap with BPD.  Hypopituitary means that they are low in several hormones, for my dBPDh he has critically low testosterone and HGH, as well as low T3/T4.  So I am wondering if the hypothyroids that have overlapping BPD symptoms actually are hypopituitary.  It took years of going to doctors and some very strange symptoms for my dBPDh to get a diagnosis of hypopituitary.

Do thyroid problems contribute to BPD?

Hi JRT

There does seem to be a link with thyroid and BPD. As to whether it is part of the cause or just a side effect i cant say.

My personal opinion is that its a side effect. As some research shows that pwBPD have low oxytocin levels so their cortisol levels may be elevated. Cortisol can affect thyroid. It can act as hormone suppressor so even though thyroid level may appear normal it is not working at its full potential.

This is only a theory that ive pieced together from reading about hormones and how they interact.

interesting... .mine had thyroid problems for which she took some medication... .I came up in an article but was vague for me... .so does it contribute to to BPD or is it a byproduct of BPD?

Both my exs were slightly anaemic. There have been a number of posts on co morbid conditions. Anaemia, thyroid, fibromyalgia, migranes to name but a few. If you look into the causes of these one posibility that can affect all of them is elevated cortisol. If you look up elevated cortisol affects you will see a lot of BPD behaviours listed.

If like I said pwBPD have lower than normal oxytocin then it will take longer for cortisol to reduce back to normal levels after a stressfull event as oxytocin is released to calm the fight or flight caused by cortisol.

Like I said just a theory of mine but have a read up on cortisol and see what you think.

Maybe not.

Take this with a grain of salt but perhaps it may help with perspective.   As a woman who struggles with Hashimoto's (hypo and hyper thyroid), adrenal fatigue, and is menopause (and is a health nut), I have looked for alternative solutions to taking medications.  This triad of  hormones interacts and interplays making the outcome a delicate balance. Yes, i struggle with depression, have since my teen years. At the onset of my disease in my early 40's, I was exhausted and gaining weight, a very common sign.  I live in a northern state, further away from the equator, a location where the soil is not iodine rich as it is in cultures where thyroid disease is not as prominent.  Since diagnosis, I have begun to realize how incredibly common this disease is, some studies cite as many as 80% in women.  Additionally, when considering how the preservatives, pesticides, genetically modified food products have entered our food markets, it is no wonder our bodies are now entertaining foreign substances that are creating this disease.  Sure, BPD is diagnosed more but likely this is due to advances in mental health diagnostic techniques more than anything else.  I think this correlation between BPD and thyroid disease is likely not reliable due the factors I have mentioned above. Additionally, BPD is related more to dysfunction with the amygdala, executive functioning, and the type of environment one was raise in.  I can tell you as someone whose expwBPD emotionally abused me, it was not helpful to the depression and thyroid disease I already had but I believe, because so many of us, men and women, have thyroid disease that it is not the cause or correlated with BPD. Again, take it for what is worth.

There is a strong link between thy roid disorders and psychiatric disorders.  Too many doctors, including psychiatrists who should know better, don't know this.  An untreated or under treated thy roid problem can appear like BPD, depression, anxiety or bi polar.

https://stopthethyroidmadness.com/ya-ya/

Following up waaay after the fact, but I figured that this would be useful information.  In 2015, my now ex-wife had surgery to deal with an enlarged thyroid.  I don't know what other treatments she's gone through since, but it seems like the thyroid problems were legit if she ended up needing surgery for them.  Just some food for thought.

This is a very good article from medical sources on thyroid disease and mental disorders.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC419396/