Posted by Bill L on March 25, 2002, at 8:56:35
In reply to Thyroid supplementation., posted by JahL on March 24, 2002, at 21:22:40
I have never taken thyroid meds but I have read a lot about them. There are several:
1)T4 - Synthroid
2)T3 - Cytomel
3)Both - Thyrolar
4)Both - Armour (natural thyroid extract from animals)In people who are clinically hypothroid (ie the TSH level is above 4.0), thyroid supplementation can alleviate depression. T4 is mostly given for hypothyroid patients.
In people who are euthyroid (TSH between 1 and 4), thyroid suplementation alone will typically not alleviate depression although it might give some people more energy if their TSH is near 4. However if someone is taking an AD, thyroid supplementation (usually containing either T3 and T4 or just T3) can augment the effects of the AD to give more relief from depression in some patients, but not all.
To see if you are getting enough supplementation along with an AD, you can take enough to get your TSH near 1.0, but you should not go below 1.0.
Anyway that's my recollection of what I have read. But I'm not an expert
poster:Bill L
thread:99951
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020322/msgs/100016.html