Hypothryoid and depression ?
Q.Is there anybody here like me who went to a doctor for depression and was diagnosed with hypothyroidism? I was put on Wellbutrin immediately for depression and when my blood tests came back I was put on Synthroid as well. What I am wondering is if I should continue with AD medications or not. I can't stay on the Wellbutrin because of intolerable side effects, but others are available.
A.Your depression may clear up with thyroid treatment and it may not. It depends on WHY you are experiencing depression in the first place. So, for now, work in getting your thyroid levels normalized and switch to another AD that won't bother you too much. In a few months, see how you feel and if you want to start cutting back on the Ad meds. Sounds like what I went through. I got off the depression drugs when I went on Thyroid medicine. I am sort of glad I did because this way I could see if it made a difference or not. Almost all of the depression problems went away after a while. I still have some anxiety and tiredness, but it is so much better now. I was on Zoloft to start with. I am now taking a small amount of celexa which is helping the anxiety but the tiredness is still there. I personally like to treat only one thing at a time when possible so I will know what is going on with my body. But that's me. This stuff is such a pain.. It seems like everyone thinks I should give up on the ADs and concentrate on the thyroid condition. Probably the best thing to do. I wonder what my doctor will think. I'm not speaking from personal experience, but if I were you, I'd stay on the ADs for now, and wean off them slowly if you feel you don't need them later. Depression is often thyroid related, and often goes away with adequate treatment for hypo, esp. if T3 meds are used with T4. However, if the ADs work for you, why put yourself through another period of depression while you're working on finding the right level and type of thyroid meds? You can get off the ADs later, when you don't need them any more. Also, some people do need ADs and hypo meds. Not all depression is hypo related. I hope you're among those who don't need ADs once your thyroid treatment is working well, but you aren't at the point of finding out yet. Just as an aside, I have been suffering from depression all my life. I was never the happy child that you were. :) It has nothing to do with my thyroid. As a matter-of-fact, my depression has many reasons for being there. I used to get horribly depressed in the spring time and after realizing that the AD weren't working I decided to think outside the box, so to speak. Found out that my extreme spring depression was actually due to my untreated allergies. When I began working on my allergies, that depression went away. As to what is causing my depression now...well, I think it's situational. And probably a little chemical. I should probably try some of the new ADs out there but would prefer to stay med free for now. We'll see how I feel in another year. (I'm 38 now, too).
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