Written by Dr. Vikneswaran Ragupathiraja, MBBS (AIMST)
Published: 12/09/2025 | Reading Time: 6 minutes
20 Signs Your Thyroid's Gone Mental (From a PJ Doc Who's Seen Everything)
So this woman staggers into my clinic yesterday looking absolutely knackered. Dark bags under her eyes, hair falling out like autumn leaves, and she’s bundled up in a bloody cardigan when it’s 32 degrees outside.
“Doc,” she goes, “I think I’m losing my mind. I’m shattered but can’t sleep, putting on weight even though I’m barely eating, my hair’s blocking the shower drain, and my husband reckons I’m just making excuses to be lazy.”
Textbook thyroid drama. I get this sob story at least three times every week.
The thing about thyroid problems? They’re sneaky little shits. Your thyroid basically controls how fast your body runs—when it goes tits up, everything falls apart, but so gradually you think you’re just getting old or losing your marbles.
Been treating people around PJ Old Town for years, and I swear thyroid issues are everywhere now. Could be stress, could be our environment, or maybe people are finally admitting they feel like death instead of just accepting it.
Why I'm Actually Writing This
Look, I’m not trying to make everyone paranoid about their health. But I’ve watched too many people drag themselves around feeling awful for months when they could’ve gotten sorted ages ago. Like this teacher from SS2 who spent two bloody years convinced she was just “useless at life” when her thyroid had basically packed it in.
Your thyroid’s this butterfly-shaped thing in your neck that nobody gives a toss about until it stops working. When it does, it screws with everything—energy, weight, mood, hair, sleep, digestion. The lot.
Here’s what I actually see in real people, not some textbook rubbish.
When Your Thyroid's Being a Lazy Bastard (Hypothyroidism)
1. You’re Tired Down to Your Soul Not “stayed up watching Netflix” tired. I’m talking feeling like you’re wading through treacle even after 10 hours sleep. One patient nailed it: “It’s like someone replaced my blood with wet cement.”
2. The Scales Are Taking the Piss Eating less, maybe even joined a gym, but still piling on weight. Had this fitness instructor from Damansara teaching spin classes every day and gaining 2kg monthly. She was convinced her body was broken until we checked her thyroid.
3. Your Hair’s Doing a Runner Not normal shedding. I mean chunks coming out in the shower, ponytails getting pathetic, eyebrows vanishing. This marketing exec was so panicked she’d booked three different hair specialists before someone thought to check her thyroid.
4. You’re Freezing When Everyone’s Melting Reaching for jumpers when it’s scorching outside and your hands feel like ice blocks that never warm up.
5. Everything’s Stuck Constipation that laughs at fiber supplements and water. Your whole digestive system grinding to a halt like a knackered engine.
6. Your Skin’s Like Sandpaper Dry, rough skin that no amount of moisturizer fixes. People blame the sun or getting older, but sudden severe dryness often screams thyroid.
7. Your Brain’s Full of Cotton Wool Forgetting words mid-sentence, walking into rooms with no clue why, thinking through fog. Had a lawyer convinced he was getting dementia at 35 until we sorted his thyroid.
8. Everything Feels Flat Not depressed exactly, just like someone turned the volume down on life. Nothing seems exciting or worth caring about.
9. Lady Bits Going Mental (For Women) Periods everywhere—heavy, irregular, unpredictable. Often the first sign, but most women blame stress or age.
10. Aching for No Bloody Reason Muscle pain, joint stiffness, feeling run over by a lorry when all you did was desk work.
When Your Thyroid's Gone Hyperactive (Hyperthyroidism)
11. Your Heart Won’t Shut Up Racing pulse while watching telly. Some people think they’re having heart attacks, but it’s just their thyroid redlining.
12. Weight Falling Off Too Fast Sounds brilliant until it’s happening to you. Eating normally or more, but weight keeps dropping. Proper scary when you realize something’s wrong.
13. Feeling Like You’re Buzzing Inside Jittery, anxious, like you’ve necked five espressos without touching caffeine. Internal restlessness that won’t quit.
14. Sweating Like a Maniac Beyond normal Malaysian weather sweating. Drenching sweats that seem mental for the temperature.
15. Sleep? What Sleep? Mind racing at bedtime, waking constantly, feeling wired when you should be knackered. Had a security guard blaming night shifts until we found his overactive thyroid.
16. Digestive System in Overdrive Multiple loo trips daily, everything shooting through like it’s on fast-forward.
17. Hands Won’t Stop Shaking Trembling that makes writing impossible and holding coffee cups an adventure. People panic about neurological problems when it’s often thyroid overdrive.
18. Your Eyes Look Mad Eyes more prominent, feeling dry and scratchy, people saying you look “intense” or different somehow.
The Universal Warning Signs
19. Neck Drama Visible swelling, feeling like something’s lodged in your throat, trouble swallowing, lumps you can feel.
20. Family History Plus Weird Shit If thyroid problems run in your family and you’re experiencing random symptoms, don’t ignore the connection. This stuff’s often genetic.
Excuses That Drive Me Mental
“I’m Just Stressed” Yeah, life’s stressful. But stress doesn’t usually make your hair fall out in handfuls or pack on 15 kilos while eating rabbit food.
“I’m Getting Old” Bollocks. Age doesn’t mean feeling like absolute garbage all the time. I’ve got 70-year-old patients bouncing around after getting their thyroid fixed.
“Everyone Gets Tired” There’s normal tired and thyroid tired. Normal tired gets better with rest. Thyroid tired couldn’t care less how much you sleep.
Real Drama from My Practice
The Knackered Mum Woman from Taman Paramount convinced she was a rubbish mother because she couldn’t keep up with her kids. Turns out her thyroid levels were so low she was running on fumes. Three months of treatment and she felt human again.
The Panicking Student Uni student thinking he was having panic attacks—racing heart, sweating, couldn’t focus on exams. His thyroid was maxed out. Got it under control and his “anxiety” vanished.
The Frustrated Dieter Lady trying every diet going, exercising like mad, but weight kept piling on. She’d given up completely. Hypothyroidism was sabotaging everything. Fixed her thyroid, weight started shifting naturally.
Why Malaysia Makes This Trickier
Our Lifestyle’s Rubbish for Thyroids High stress, processed food, constant air con, pollution, crap sleep—all mess with thyroid function. Plus our heat means people don’t notice feeling cold, which is a massive hypothyroid red flag.
Cultural Nonsense Especially older people thinking they should just tough out feeling rough instead of getting help for “vague” symptoms.
Healthcare System Problems Some doctors only do basic TSH tests, which tell you bugger all. You might be “normal” on paper but feeling absolutely dreadful.
Getting Tested Properly
Don’t Accept “Normal” Without Numbers Demand actual results, not just “everything’s fine.” The normal range is massive, and you could be technically normal but feeling like hell.
Proper Testing TSH alone is useless. Need T3, T4, sometimes antibody tests to get the full picture.
Timing Matters Thyroid levels bounce around, so sometimes need repeat tests. Don’t give up if first test seems normal but you still feel awful.
Treatment Reality Check
Medicine Takes Ages Thyroid medication isn’t paracetamol—won’t feel better instantly. Takes 6-8 weeks to reach steady levels, finding the right dose can take months.
Not Always Perfect Some people feel amazing on medication, others better but not brilliant. Managing expectations matters.
Lifestyle Still Counts Medication helps, but stress management, decent sleep, proper nutrition make massive difference to how you feel.
When to Actually Panic
Multiple Symptoms Together One weird symptom could be anything. Several happening together, especially getting worse, needs investigating.
Family History Plus Symptoms If thyroid problems run in your family and you’re having unexplained changes, don’t wait about.
Life Impact If symptoms are affecting work, relationships, daily life, time to get checked.
Why I Give a Toss
Seen people lose jobs because they couldn’t concentrate, relationships fall apart from mood changes, health deteriorate because basic body functions weren’t working.
Good news? Most thyroid problems are totally fixable once you know what’s going on. Bad news? Too many people suffer needlessly because symptoms get dismissed.
What We Do at Our PJ Clinic
At our medical centre, I don’t brush off vague symptoms or tell people they’re just stressed when multiple things are wrong. We do proper thyroid testing and actually listen to how people feel, not just lab numbers.
Dealing with multiple symptoms that might be thyroid-related? Come see us and let’s work out if your thyroid’s the bastard behind you feeling like crap.
Final Word
Thyroid problems are dead common but weirdly ignored. Symptoms creep up so slowly people adapt to feeling rough without realizing it’s not normal.
If several things on this list sound familiar and they’re making life harder, worth checking out. Simple blood tests might explain why you haven’t felt yourself lately.
Don’t accept feeling like garbage as part of getting older or being busy. Most thyroid issues are sortable once you know what you’re dealing with.
Think your thyroid might be taking the piss? Drop by our clinic and let’s get proper answers instead of wondering what’s wrong.
About Dr. Vikneswaran Ragupathiraja
You know what’s funny? Medical school teaches you allergy management like everyone lives in a nice, controlled environment. Then you practice in Malaysia where the climate is basically designed to mess with respiratory systems.
Got my MBBS from AIMST, but learned way more about managing allergies from years of treating families right here in PJ Old Town, SS2, Damansara, and surrounding areas. Every patient teaches me something new about surviving breathing challenges in our unique environment.
There’s something really satisfying about helping someone who’s been struggling with breathing problems finally get relief. Whether it’s figuring out their specific triggers, finding the right treatment combo, or just reassuring them that their symptoms are manageable, solving breathing puzzles never gets old.
When I’m not helping people breathe easier, I’m usually wondering why haze always hits during school sports events, or being amazed at how quickly kids bounce back once we nail down their triggers.