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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 5 of 5. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Phillipa on October 12, 2006, at 15:19:48
Okay for l0 years I've had bad anxiety and now depression. Anxiety going up. So I also have hashimotos thyroiditis. Was rechecked and 0.5 TSH. So the GP is lowering the dose by one notch. My question is when I first found out about the hypothroid TSH was 22 and anxiety horrible even with benzos. But how come if it's low the anxiety is horrible too? Now I've gone through menopause could that be why? And how to get it up? Any suggestions and reasons for the change? Love and Thanks Phillipa
Posted by dreamboat_annie on October 13, 2006, at 18:22:00
In reply to Thyroid Expert Please, posted by Phillipa on October 12, 2006, at 15:19:48
Hi!
First, I'm not a thyroid expert, so you can take what I have to offer with a grain salt.
Even though your TSH is 0.5, have your free T3 and free T4 levels been tested. When I was seeing a naturopath a few years ago, she said that the TSH test does not always give a complete and accurate picture of what is going on with the thyroid, and that testing free T3 and free T4 levels can be more useful. That being said, a lot of mainstream doctors will not test those things if TSH is normal. But, it can't hurt to ask, or demand, that those things be tested. I have read that the T4 is converted to T3, which is the more potent and active hormone, but that some people do not convert the T4 to T3 well, so they will end up with symptoms even when their TSH test is normal. Also, it is my understanding that hashimotos is diagnosed by testing the thyroid anti-bodies. If they are extremely elevated, then there is a problem (I think that's how it works). However, I was under the impression that elevated thyroid antibodies do not necessarily affect the TSH test, so it is important to have the antibodies tested separately.
With respect to menopause, if your symptoms of anxiety and depression really took hold about 10 years, that is the time, I am assuming, that you were heading into menopause and in the perimenopause stage. Perhaps, you need to be on some kind of hormone replacement therapy. There are bioidentical hormones now which do not have the same horrible side effects, etc., that you could discuss with your doctor. From what I understand, progesterone is anti-anxiety and estrogen mood-elevating. It can take a month or more to get the dose right and feel full benefit, but it may help the problems you have been having. The increase risk of breast cancer scare I think was in relation to Premarin, which is synthetic estrogen. I don't know if the bio-identicals have the same risks since they are essentially the same as what your body makes. Premarin is extracted from the urine of pregnant mares.
Anyway, just my thoughts FWIW.
Cheers.
> Okay for l0 years I've had bad anxiety and now depression. Anxiety going up. So I also have hashimotos thyroiditis. Was rechecked and 0.5 TSH. So the GP is lowering the dose by one notch. My question is when I first found out about the hypothroid TSH was 22 and anxiety horrible even with benzos. But how come if it's low the anxiety is horrible too? Now I've gone through menopause could that be why? And how to get it up? Any suggestions and reasons for the change? Love and Thanks Phillipa
Posted by Phillipa on October 13, 2006, at 18:54:26
In reply to Re: Thyroid Expert Please » Phillipa, posted by dreamboat_annie on October 13, 2006, at 18:22:00
Thanks for answering you're perfectly correct. I have T4 from lab work done that shows it is at very lowest level. Don't know the T3 but he tested that too. And my antibodies aren't very high for me right now as my ANA is 1:160. I have a neice who knows a great deal about thyroid and I did e-mail with her and learned a few things. As she went hyper recently from hypo and does see an endocrinologist. He told her that anxiety can be at the low end and high end of TSH. Mine was 22 during perimenopause and caused my first hospitalization as anxiety out of control. But I never knew low TSH could cause anxiety too. The doc lowered the dose by one notch. Hopefully this will help. Until a l1/2yrs ago I took bioidentical hormones. The OB-GYN I was seeing said if no more hot flashes no need to be on them. I disagree. As when I stopped them I started to visably age more. So I'm wondering if the progesterone cream you buy in the health food store is a good quality and if that could take the place. Do you know? Love Phillipa
Posted by dreamboat_annie on October 13, 2006, at 19:22:39
In reply to Re: Thyroid Expert Please » dreamboat_annie, posted by Phillipa on October 13, 2006, at 18:54:26
I don't know how well it works. When I was looking into progesterone cream, I had read that you need to make sure that you get a brand that says USP or something like that not something that simply says wild yam cream. I think Progest is supposed to be good. I had bought some called Awakening Woman which is, apparently, physician recommended, through Alternative Medicine Network Inc. They have a website. Whether the cream would be strong enough for someone who has gone through menopause, I don't know. And, I think it is important to balance it with estrogen as well. Too much progesterone can, as I understand it, cause lethargy and depression, so you have to be careful. I don't do well on progesterone for those reasons. And, I don't think that just because a woman has stopped having hot flashes, hormone replacement is no longer necessary. Hormone replacement does a lot more than control hot flashes and night sweats. My doctor was telling me that hormone replacement therapy is neuroprotective and helps protect against osteoporosis, keeps teeth strong, and some other things I can't remember right now. Symptoms of menopause are not restricted to hot flashes and night sweats, there are all kinds of other things happening to a woman's body when they are in perimenopause and go into menopause. Personally, I think your doctor did you a diservice having you stop the hormones. My mom had a hysterectomy when she was about 40, and she couldn't tolerate the hormones, and boy did she suffer (and it wasn't just from hot flashes). I think her quality of life would have been much better if she had been able to take them. I visit a menopause forum sometimes, and there are women there, some like me who are in perimenopause (mid-40s) who have or are going to start hormones and others who have gone through meno and still take hormones. One woman joked about her sister who is 60-something who said that they will have to pry the hormones out of her cold dead hands before she will stop taking them. It's about quality of life.
Anyway, I hope things work out and you find some relief soon.Cheers.
> Thanks for answering you're perfectly correct. I have T4 from lab work done that shows it is at very lowest level. Don't know the T3 but he tested that too. And my antibodies aren't very high for me right now as my ANA is 1:160. I have a neice who knows a great deal about thyroid and I did e-mail with her and learned a few things. As she went hyper recently from hypo and does see an endocrinologist. He told her that anxiety can be at the low end and high end of TSH. Mine was 22 during perimenopause and caused my first hospitalization as anxiety out of control. But I never knew low TSH could cause anxiety too. The doc lowered the dose by one notch. Hopefully this will help. Until a l1/2yrs ago I took bioidentical hormones. The OB-GYN I was seeing said if no more hot flashes no need to be on them. I disagree. As when I stopped them I started to visably age more. So I'm wondering if the progesterone cream you buy in the health food store is a good quality and if that could take the place. Do you know? Love Phillipa
Posted by Phillipa on October 13, 2006, at 19:43:47
In reply to Re: Thyroid Expert Please » Phillipa, posted by dreamboat_annie on October 13, 2006, at 19:22:39
I totally agree. I begged for hormone testing and was told they didnt't do anything but FSH. My next door neighbor is in peri-menopause now and the ob-gyn here in Charlotte did it. She wasn't sure about after menopause. I couldn't tolerate the synthetic. I already have osteoporosis. I'm due for that physical and mammogram and am terrified of the mammogram as last one ther was calcification and a needle biopsy to confirm benign. They are advertising on the radio here that the big hospital that does them as results in as little as a week and the national average is over 30 days!!!! I used to get mine done in another town and the radiologist would give me a preliminary to ease my anxiety. So I'm not sure I'm getting another one ever. Love Phillipa
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