Can posters please stop advising people to "dump the antidepressants".
You do not know the extent of any poster's mental health history or indications for taking them, and they all need to be withdrawn very slowly and carefully to minimise what can be highly disturbing effects.
Espousing a 'throw your pills away' course of action is downright irresponsible.
It is dangerous and short sighted to assume that someone's anxiety and/or depression is merely a symptom of a thyroid disorder.
Nobody is critisizing anyone for taking anti depressants, they are just pointing out that many people are prescribed them unnecessarily ! When someone advises to stop taking them they are relating what they did and what happened to them. I personally stopped taking mine overnight and have done several times when I felt I no longer needed them and I was fine but I know other people have different reactions. I don't presume, and I don't think anyone else does, to say everybody should stop taking them, but I think we all want to know what other people do for comparison to our own situation-that is why we come here! None of the advice is mandatory, you tailor it to fit your own circumstances😊
ljk1 I agree that I haven't seen any posts criticising the taking of antidepressants. I saw a post the other day of a member grossly undermedicated and low on every single mineral going (I know I am no different since I have the same problem but I am lucky to not been given antidepressants) so by the same token depression can be caused by a nutrient deficiency. Pity the op hasn't picked up on this fact either
Hi as this is your first post on this forum have you seen the number of posts from other members saying that they are on antidepressants and have actually very poor thyroid levels and vitamin and mineral deficiencies? If the answer is no then maybe you could take the time to read these posts and perhaps gain some insight into how poorly these people have been treated.
Yes I have and fully appreciate that thyroid issues are poorly diagnosed and managed in this country, unfortunately.
I have personal experience of those frustrations myself (Hashimoto's) - it took a whole year for my GP surgery to agree I had the condition and start medicating me.
However I'm a nurse and must reiterate there *are* posts on the site that instruct people to simply stop antidepressants, which is deeply irresponsible advice and could be very harmful.
Took me 20 seconds to see this misinformation for example:
"There is little point in taking thyroxine and anti - depressants since they cancel each other out. Depression is a SYMPTOM of hypothyroid!"
Well, if there were any blood tests that actually showed that you needed anti-depressants, I'd be sympathetic - but there aren't. I don't think I've seen anyone told to "dump" the pills - If someone wants to come off them they are usually advised to do so very slowly as they are extremely addictive and can cause rebound effects. Most people would be told it was OK not to take them in the first place (if they didn't want them) if there is no real evidence of severe depression (as they are very over-prescribed) - if you've ever looked at the tests they use, you'll know that most of the population would get a "moderate depression" score after a bad week at work or Christmas with the in-laws.
I totally agree, Hidden. I've got Hashis, diagnosed with very underactive thyroid in 1981, and had been on anti depressants since 1986. Last August I stopped the AD's, mainly due to my GP presssurising me to stop them. I did stop slowly. But by March this year I was suicidal again. So re-started. I'm now fine again. All that time my thyroid medication was good. I have concluded that I've got depression in my genes.
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