Hysterectomy and Menopausal symptoms

Dear Ask The Doctor: Hi 36 years ago I had 85% of my thryroid removed. I have never needed to go on medication and my levels varied but never enough to warrant medication. Recently I had my blood tested and my TSH came back at 13. Usually it has always been between 4 - 6. My question is that I have been experiencing mood swings. I am talking about going from extreme anger and saying things I would never norammly say to feelings of sadness and crying. Could this be because of the sudden change in my TSH level? Please advise

Dear Janet: Your mood swings seem less likely to be due to the raised TSH levels. If the hysterectomy you had was partial/subtotal (uterus is removed, leaving the cervix and ovaries intact) or total hysterectomy (uterus and the cervix are removed, but not the ovaries), you would still undergo normal menopause with the decreasing function of the ovaries and related hormonal fluctuations, similar to a women with intact uterus except that you won’t have any menstrual or bleeding changes to mark the onset or completion of menopause. Even women with one ovary may experience similar symptoms of menopause. Thus if the hysterectomy you had, falls in either of the types mentioned above, your symptoms are likely to be associated with the hormonal changes of menopause, else further investigation with blood tests, MRI etc. may be required to find the cause.