Posted by Bill LL on May 6, 2004, at 9:20:27
In reply to Thyroid hormone vs. ADs, posted by Ilene on May 4, 2004, at 22:06:02
Thyroid hormones can generally only alleviate depression by itself for someone who is hypothyroid (TSH above 4 or 5 I believe). And even in that case, T3 is not given alone. The person is treated with either T4 alone, or with both T3 and T4. The other choice is armor thyroid which has T3 and T4 along with other stuff.
If you are euthyroid, T3 alone, without your other meds, will probably not help you.
> My psychiatric diagnoses are depression (probably unipolar) and GAD. I've been treatment resistant for 8 or 9 years. The only 2 ADs that did anything for me were desipramine and prozac, and they both pooped out.
>
> I've been taking a thyroid hormone (Cytomel, or T3) to augment my current drug mix for about ten days, and I'm feeling significantly, but not totally, better. This is the *only* med that has made a difference in years. My other meds are Marplan, Risperdal, Neurontin (at night), Klonopin (as needed), and Florinef (for low blood pressure).
>
> Since all of these drugs have side effects, would it make sense to stop the Marplan, Risperdal, and Neurontin and take only the Cytomel, or does the Cytomel need another drug for AD effects?
>
> Thank you.
poster:Bill LL
thread:343425
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040505/msgs/343946.html