Posted by Danielle on April 12, 1999, at 17:37:10
In reply to Re: Dysthymia/Bipolar Depression (Elaine), posted by Nancy on April 12, 1999, at 16:40:45
> > > Recent augmentation of my treatments with T3 and T4 (to get the thyroid function into the upper-quartile range of "normal") have miraculously improved physiological responsiveness to AD and mood stabilizing meds.
> > >
> >
> > Nancy - I'm delighted to hear thyroid augmentation was effective. It's a treatment that a lot of psychiatrists balk at.
>
> ***NO KIDDING!!! I went through hell and high water to get T-three and T4!!!!!!!!!!! In just the first 7 days of taking T-three, you will begin to feel more energetic. ??i have to spell out the word "three" because my keyboard just lost it's mind...the numeral three isn't working at the moment(33333...see?)...oh, well.
>
> Anyway, (oh, i love to tell my stories....Thank You!) my pdoc and gp were totally against using thyroid augmentation BECAUSE MY TEST RESULT CAME BACK "NORMAL". I finally began asking where on the range of "normal" was I???? GET THIS: Doctors say that your thyroid levels are normal, even when those levels are in the "low end of normal". Which, by the way, IS NOT sufficient thyroid level for treatment refractory patients!
>
> The pdoc who had read literature (even after graduating from med school) important for prescribing drugs for severly treatment resistive bipolar patients (like me), was the pdoc who ended my 18 months of agonizing and totally disabling depression.
> :) ok next question (deep breath)
>
>
> For my own education: how long did you have to wait for an effect, what doses of T3 and T4 were used, and did you get any side effects?
>
> ****Dosage begins at 0.05mgs/ A.M./ empty stomach. An ultra sensitive thyroid blood test is done two weeks later. Increase dosage by 0.05mgs, as before, until both T3three and T4 levels are in the upper-quartile of the "normal" range.
>
> Personally??? the doses of thyroid meds I take...T4 = 0.15mgs and T3three = 0.05mgs...at the present time
>
> Side Efeects??? be careful that you don't drink enough caffienated drinks to cause a pounding heart...you may have some flushing (turning a little pinkish) of your skin, rather than the pale sickly color of the skin when your thyroid is "low normal"...oh, also, you may feel a lot better than you ever have since this awful depression began!
>
>
>
> I've had people complain of hair loss as well as sweats and diarrhoea. Thanks, Nick
>
> Oh yea, the thyroid meds will make you feel warmer. Which is a great benefit to those of us who always felt cold all the time. Haven't noticed hair loss. But, I have very long, curly blonde hair. It would probably take a long time for me to notice much of my hair missing...hee hee hee :) NancyHi Nancy:
Same for me, only I was also losing big globs of hair. Finally got hold of a endocrinologist - ob/gyn who said the others were silly, low end of normal wasn't normal for me! Ranges aren't absolutes.
Danielle
poster:Danielle
thread:4588
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/19990501/msgs/4766.html