Posted by Pfinstegg on September 21, 2003, at 10:37:40
In reply to Re: frustration with difficult psychosis « Dr. Pete » Dr. Bob, posted by BarbaraCat on September 20, 2003, at 21:24:26
Your wife is so fortunate to have such a supportive husband, and I do wish you both success in finding the best possible treatment combination.
I am a physician, too; I have PTSD with anxiety and depression from childhood abuse. I strongly support BarbaraCat's suggestion to see if hormones are playing a role in your wife's illness. To relate my own experience: I have been slightly hypothyroid for about the same number of years that I have been really struggling with depression. Although I took synthroid during that time, and had a normal TSH of 2-3, I really noted an improvement in my depression when my endocrinologist added Cytomel and aimed for a TSH of 0.5 or under. (I do have frequent bone scans (normal so far) and take a lot of calcium).
Like many post-menopausal women, I was taking HRT until last year. When I stopped taking it, my depression once again worsened severely. So my gynecologist and I have been trying to work out what the least dose of HRT can be. At the moment, it is Ogen (a plant-based estrogen) 0.5 mg and Provera -2.5 mg. twice weekly,
Just to round things out, I should include that I have received one course of TMS, which was extremely helpful, and now have booster sessions approximately every four months. I also take Lexapro 10 mg. and am engaged in psychoanalytically-oriented psychotherapy. With all of this, I am feeling much, much better. Many of the things I tried- the Cytomel, aiming for a TSH of under 0.5, trying to deal effectively and safely with the fact that some women have estrogen-sensitive depression, and the TMS- were all things that I learned here or on Medline.
I wish you both the very best in dealing with this incredibly challenging illness, and hope you will continue to keep us informed about how things are going.
Pfinstegg
poster:Pfinstegg
thread:261708
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030917/msgs/262172.html