Posted by Bill LL on January 13, 2005, at 14:20:24
In reply to My Cytomel (T3 thyroid hormone) trial, posted by Tabitha on January 13, 2005, at 13:30:39
There have been a lot of interesting discussions over the years about euthyroid (people with normal thyroid blood tests) depressed people taking T3. Most conventional docs will not give it but some pdocs will.
I read discussions on this site (Dr. Bob) of pdocs taking about their experiences with T3. Basically, they felt that T3 will not alleviate depression by itself in a euthyroid patient, but it sometimes can augment antidepressants.
Some docs who will prescribe thyroid medicine only feel comfortable giving T4. Some give T3, and some think that a pill with actual animal thyoid gland extract (armor thyroid) is the best choice.
The majority of posts that I have read describe only a modest improvement with thyoid supplements in a euthyroid person. Too much thyroid supplementation in a euthyoid person can possibly contribute to osteoporosis in a woman after menapause. So it's important to monitor your TSH levels.
If I were you, I would have an updated thyroid blood test. I would then ask the doctor to give you another trial on T3.
> Hey, I've been on Celexa for years, still having bouts of mild-moderate depression but mostly functional. Anyway years ago I had asked my pdoc to add Cytomel-- he gave me 25 mcg, but I didn't think it was helping so I quit. Well recently I was getting interested in thyroid treatment again so I just started taking the old meds. I had a month's worth. During that month, so many things were better. My mood, mental sharpness, sleep, libido, physical energy. Plus I've had this chronic indigestion/fluid retention thing for years. My tummy bloats after every meal and stays that way for hours. Well that all just vanished on the Cytomel-- I had a flat tummy again for the first time in years, and no indigestion at all (no diet changes during this period BTW). I also have chronic carpal tunnel symptoms in one arm-- all of that cleared up completely as well. It's been years since I've been free of that.
>
> The mood improvement was dramatic in the first week. I felt as if I had zero depression, yet not manicky at all. I've never felt that well since I can remember. The mood boost tapered off a bit but other cognitive things were still improved for the whole month-- my thinking was sharper, I was better able to follow discussions and communicate in meetings, felt less impatient with people, and didn't have so much obsessive rumination stuff going on at night. I wonder if I had increased the dose further if the mood boost would have returned--but I was afraid to do that without doctor supervision.
>
> I just ran out of the Cytomel and after 2 days the bloat and carpal tunnel returned. My sleep is worse, and my thinking is seeming a little more disordered (hard to tell-- the return of depression is always an insidious process for me).
>
> I want to get back on it and try increasing the dose. I'm happy to have found something that improved *all* my health issues-- yet angry that I've had these issues so long and told doctors about them but didn't get good help. I've always been told my thyroid tests were normal.
>
> I'm even doubting that I need the psych meds at all-- since the thyroid hormone improved my mood better than any combo I've tried. Anyway I'm not ready to drop the celexa right away-- every time I've tried I've failed, but I do want to give it a trial again after I get the thyroid dose stabilized.
>
> My other big non-psych concern is hair loss which I've been having for years-- it's possible that also could be fixed by thyroid meds-- yet it will take a longer trial to be sure. I had less shedding during this month, but I've also been using Minoxidil. For years I just assumed it was med side effects. I told my doctor about that too and he just said I should go to a derm for evaluation, but he had already seen my bloodwork and said it was all normal, so I didn't go.
>
> There's a doctor in Colorado who believes fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue are best treated with thyroid (T3 alone or T3/T4 combo) and he really makes a good case for it. So many of those symptoms overlap with mine, so I've been really interested in his arguments.
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> The problem at this point is I'm not sure how to find a doctor to help me with this. Basically I want to increase the T3 to see how high I can go getting benefit without getting hyperthyroid symptoms, and if that goes well I want to try eliminating my AD.
>
> I called my old pdoc to see if he'll help, but he's out of town for now. Using T3 isn't the normal thyroid treatment approach, so I'm hesitant to go to an endo. I have no idea if my HMO doctor would help, but somehow I doubt it.
>
> Well that's the story for now-- just excited about this, plus mad that psych meds might have been the wrong approach for so long.
poster:Bill LL
thread:441652
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050113/msgs/441675.html