![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 12 of 12. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Phillipa on January 3, 2005, at 21:40:13
Posted this on Social, and wanted to Post it here. It could be very interesting. A lot of people who have psychiatric problems also have either a high or a low thyroid problem. If you do please respond. Trying to establish which came first the thyroid problem or psychiatric problem. What is your Dx, and what meds are you on. I have Hashimotos Thyroiditis which is low thyroid. I always had anxiety issues and took very low doses of benzos. After the thyroid started, I had to take higher doses of benzos and start AD. I haven't been the same since. Anyone else? Thanks Phillipa
Posted by Maxime on January 3, 2005, at 22:29:22
In reply to Does Anyone Have A Thyroid Problem?, posted by Phillipa on January 3, 2005, at 21:40:13
Depression and then the thyroid problem - hypothyroid. But it could have been caused by my eating disorder- anorexia. Whatever caused what, my thyroid is still messed up even though my blood test say otherwise. I still have all the symptoms.
Maxime
Posted by Fallen4MyT on January 4, 2005, at 2:11:35
In reply to Do You Have A Thyroid Problem ?, posted by Phillipa on January 3, 2005, at 20:31:47
I have had hypothyroid since I was a kid and never have been on AD'S I do not suffer depression but do have anxiety issues
Posted by Phillipa on January 4, 2005, at 2:11:37
In reply to Re: Do You Have A Thyroid Problem ? » Phillipa, posted by Fallen4MyT on January 3, 2005, at 20:53:53
I forgot to tell all of you what I have. Not very polite since I'm asking you to disclose info about yourselves. I have Hashimotos Thyroiditis which is an autoimmune low thyroid that destroys itself. I got this about 7 years ago. I always had anxiety issues tx'd with low doses of benzos which worked fine. When the low thyroid appeared I then required first higher doses of benzos with, of course synthroid, and then came the antidepressants. Phillipa
Posted by fallsfall on January 4, 2005, at 2:11:37
In reply to Re: Do You Have A Thyroid Problem ?, posted by Phillipa on January 3, 2005, at 21:04:10
I went on Synthroid 9 1/2 years ago because I was on Lithium, and Lithium can mess up your thyroid. I went off the Lithium a year ago, and started tapering off the Synthroid. But they kept checking my thyroid levels and it seemed like I had decreased the Synthroid too much. My GP speculates that I am one of the 15-25% of the population who has thyroid issues as they get older. After much questioning I find that my mother takes Synthroid, too...
Posted by Phillipa on January 4, 2005, at 2:11:38
In reply to Re: Do You Have A Thyroid Problem ? » Phillipa, posted by fallsfall on January 3, 2005, at 21:17:37
It's amazing how many people I talk to that have thyroid problems. Most of them have some sort of anxiety going on when they find out and I know some males that have also gotten this as they've aged. A lot of the females are from late 30's on. Phillipa. Oh It also causes a lot of people to be hospitalied for the first time as they don't know why they feel "crazy".
Posted by anastasia56 on January 4, 2005, at 2:11:38
In reply to Re: Do You Have A Thyroid Problem ? » fallsfall, posted by Phillipa on January 3, 2005, at 21:27:24
i have low thyroid as well. I take synthroid for it. Thyroid was diagnosed in my early thirties and before the depression was diagnosed. However the depression was there just had not gone for treatment yet if that makes sense.
anastasia
Posted by anneL on January 4, 2005, at 6:59:22
In reply to Does Anyone Have A Thyroid Problem?, posted by Phillipa on January 3, 2005, at 21:40:13
Hi Phillipa,
Glad to meet someone else who has been diagnosed with Hashimoto's Thyroiditis. My GP said my thyroid gland was enlarged at a 6 week check-up after the birth of my first child and sent me for blood work and then for a nuclear scan. I lost most of the function of my thyroid through this autoimmune disease. I have been on Synthroid (levothyroxine) since I was 24 (now 44).
This whole hypo/hyper thyroid issue is complex at best and requires the sufferer to get knowledgable about their disease. Left undertreated or overtreated, it can cause serious problems, such as heart disease, not to mention problems like anxiety and depression.
I try and keep my TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) level below 2.0 I seem to feel best at this level. :) anneL
Posted by Maxime on January 4, 2005, at 21:33:58
In reply to Re: Does Anyone Have A Thyroid Problem? » Phillipa, posted by anneL on January 4, 2005, at 6:59:22
Any patients who presents depressive symptoms should be testes for hypothyroidism before being put on anti-depressant. Women seem to develop it more and often after having children.
MAx
Posted by Cairo on January 5, 2005, at 5:09:06
In reply to Does Anyone Have A Thyroid Problem?, posted by Phillipa on January 3, 2005, at 21:40:13
I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism and started on Synthroid when my TSH was just starting to creep up to 3.5 from an initial level of 2. Unfortunately, while my TSH came down to below 2, none of my symptoms improved. I've come to believe that my thyroid symptoms are part of a bigger picture of a hypofunctioning HPA axis. The only med so far that has addressed some of the hypothyroid symptoms (weight gain, hair loss, increased BP, splitting fingernails, oily skin/breakouts) has been Cymbalta which decreased these symptoms. I've gone off Cymbalta to try low dose amitriptyline because I could tolerate only a very low dose of Cymbalta due to side effects and my pain levels and muscle tightness were not helped much, but all the above symptoms returned.
Some people respond well to thyroid supplementation, but others do not.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=2844994&dopt=Abstract
Cairo
> Posted this on Social, and wanted to Post it here. It could be very interesting. A lot of people who have psychiatric problems also have either a high or a low thyroid problem. If you do please respond. Trying to establish which came first the thyroid problem or psychiatric problem. What is your Dx, and what meds are you on. I have Hashimotos Thyroiditis which is low thyroid. I always had anxiety issues and took very low doses of benzos. After the thyroid started, I had to take higher doses of benzos and start AD. I haven't been the same since. Anyone else? Thanks Phillipa
Posted by eeyorena on January 5, 2005, at 15:54:16
In reply to Does Anyone Have A Thyroid Problem?, posted by Phillipa on January 3, 2005, at 21:40:13
I was given Cytomel as a "booster" to Prozac in 1995, but I don't know if many GP Doc's knew about the strong connection between thyroid and depression back in the early 90's (?)
I had a pretty fast metabolism growing up and everything hit the brakes around age 27-28 (in 1993-94). This was also the same year that I was misdiagnosed and put on Lithium...what a nightmare.
So, naturally occuring? Result of the Lithium? Result of some other med? I don't know.
But I'm still on Cytomel and it has to be monitored. I've had to change the dose once in awhile.
Did notice that taking a folic acid prenatal vitamin (I'm not pregnant, but we'd like to try if I can switch to a different AD) also put the brakes on my metabolism. It was WAY strange.
Posted by dancingstar on January 6, 2005, at 14:08:13
In reply to Does Anyone Have A Thyroid Problem?, posted by Phillipa on January 3, 2005, at 21:40:13
Hi Phillipa,
I've been so wrapped up in my other issue that I hadn't looked outside it :-) Sorry!!!I was given EffexorXR for fatigue after an L4-5 S-1 back injury by a family practice doctor that I no longer see.
My current internist didn't question the prescription and I kept taking 75mg of EffexorXR. One day I asked that he check my thyroid, and I began to take 15mg of Armour thyroid. (I go to an integrative/holistic internist.) About a year ago I was in pain, depressed for the first time, and severely fatigued; moved the Effexor up to 150 mg., kept increasing the amount of thyroid I was taking. In August my thyroid levels were again off. This September I stopped the Effexor, and my current blood work shows a perfect TSH level when I take 120 mg of Armour thyroid.
For the first time in years I was at the gym at 10:00 last night :-) and back at work on the computer until 2:00...who'd believe it?
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Medication | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.