This has been going on for nearly 2 years now and bar a few days here and there iv been through hell with anxiety and depression... i was ok on levo for 10 years and levels always stable and i was always great...
Then all of a sudden boom! My tsh shoots up and 3 endos later still not stable.. tried t3 was hell!! Levels either go to high or too low depression comes either when im high or low!!..
Cant afford private and darent risk buying ndt online..
Iv started getting so insecure and jealous and moody i take it out on friends i dont like my friends having other friends and am always feeling guilty that im not happy enough or not doing enough with my kids..
I also get a detached feeling which freaks me out like im in a dream...
Its hell i wake up every morning hoping and praying i will feel normal.. its heart breaking...
I go on holiday in 1 week ðŸ˜ðŸ˜
Please no one mention vitamins they have all been high and optimal for over a year now...
Can anyone recommend any antidepressants??
Written by
ThyroidObsessed
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
You have lost your self confidence, you shouldn’t doubt yourself.
It’s your anxiety causing you to think like this which is a thyroid symptom, not every thyroid patient has loads of physical symptoms, mine came gradually.
Your being too hard on yourself. You need to look after yourself.
You may in fact have some physical symptoms, but, because your anxiety is through the roof you haven’t noticed them.
I know you can’t think straight at the moment as you are in a dark place, but, the anti depressants will only mask over the real issue, your thyroid.
Obviously, we can’t tell you what to do, it’s up to you, and if you think it may help and you feel you have to try them, that something you have to decide, but, we are all here to help each other, many have been in the same place as you.
It’s a debilitating illness and I wouldn’t wish it on my worse enemy.
I have experience of depression as some of my family have suffered with it and are suffering with it, so I have been surrounded by it since being small.
I have been going through a really bad patch recently where I was stuck in bed with terrible pain with my neck stiffness, no energy, thinking what’s the point.
I also had a major panic attack, in front of my mum, it was frightening and something I’ve haven’t experienced before, but I know it’s my thyroid and I will get better.
I turned to this forum when it was really bad, and I posted on here and spent hours reading books and educating myself on my thyroid condition.
I read the same pages about 6 times, due to brain fog, but, so what, who says you only have to read the same page once.
As I have said I have turned here for support, and I’m going to self treat with T3, with the guidance of this forum.
What’s the worse that can happen, I already feel like a bag of old rusty nails.
I don’t give a damn about GP/Endocrinologist opinions anymore, if they don’t like the fact I want to get better then they are the ones sick in the head.
We are here to help you and guide you.
Members will know respectable suppliers of NDT, T3 and as you already know, this thyroid business takes time.
Thanks for you sympathetic reply.. i feel like theres only people on here that actually understand, i do have close friends but they dont undertand the thyroid and think i should try antidepressants...
I dont think anyone can understand unless they have this disease....
Ill be seeing my endo again soon, and im gonna ask him off the record what he actually thinks i need, and that im gonna sekf medicate as i have no option... x
ThyroidObsessed - I'm so very sorry you're feeling so poorly. I can only say that I have been on and off antidepressants for years, but am finally off them for good and would never take them again. They made me lose all sexual function and desire for one thing (all the ones I took did this to me!). They made me totally emotionally "flat." Yup...I didn't feel much of anything..sure stopped all the crying I was doing in the bathtub, but I really wasn't myself anymore. Weaning off them to stop is a nightmare..no matter how long you try to wean yourself off of them, there are times when you feel so depressed that you start taking them once again. Anyway, that's just my experience. Can you go into professional counselling? And do not feel insecure about taking thyroid meds! The people on this site are wonderful, and very, very experienced and can help you get through this with the meds! Good luck..please keep us posted!
Thank you i have already had cbt and counselling to no avail, i have weird symptoms that scare me more that my counsellor said are not depression and anxiety...
The brain and heart have the most need for T3, as do the millions of T3 receptors in our body. T4 is an inactive hormone - it has to convert to T3. T3 (liothyronine) is the only Active Thyroid Hormone.
and this link also especially about thyroid patients.
Thanks for the links i am aware of all the information, at the moment im just not in the right frame of mind at the minute to take it all in, plus after 2 years of doing everything i need to regarding vitamins etc i feel deflated and let down by my own body...
Your thyroid hormones I don't think are optimum if you are feeling unwell. I myself was far more unwell on levo than before my diagnosis with a TSH of 100.
Vitamins are necessary to be optimal but below range thyroid hormones make us ill.
If you are suffering mentally, it could be due to low T3. It is T3 alone which drives our whole metabolism from head to toe and brain and heart need most. Has the Endocrinologist tested your Free T4 and Free T3? You can see on the following page the enormous amount of mental issues that can be created. I bet few doctors know one of them.
Is that's what's stopping you trying NDT? In your last thread you said it was because you wanted to get your levels 'stabilised' first.
Why are you afraid of buying on-line? If you get the recommendation of a site from someone on here, there is not danger. BUT, if you start taking NDT, you'll have to forget the TSH. It's very doubtful that you could keep your TSH in-range when taking NDT.
Im anxious about anything and everything at the minute its pure hell...
I do want to stabalise my levels its just hell when u have been waiting 2 years and no one understands my mental symptoms at all.. i dont suffer physically
Your mental symptoms are more than likely to be due to you being hyper. I really, really would suggest that you stop thinking about 'stabilising' your thyroid levels - which seems like rather an unrealistic goal - and just try taking NDT. Other people try it without being 'stable' - in fact, they try it BECAUSE they're not stable. Just try it. What have you got to lose? It's better than doing nothing.
Just one question : is your doctor dosing by the TSH?
Yes at the minute my new endo who is suppose to be the top endo of sheffield hallamshire hospital is goin by the tsh, because my tsh was high but ft4 was also high, he said that hes gonna disregard the ft4 because some people need a higher ft4 anyway and some people naturally have a high ft4 and just concentrate on getting my tsh down..😕
Well, that's not really the right way to do it. It's the FT3 the important number, and dosing by the TSH rarely 'stabilises' the patient. There FT3 levels tend to go up and down a lot when dosing by the TSH. There's been so much written about that on here, I'm surprised you haven't seen any of it.
Yes iv read alot about the ft3 and know its what our body needs, i put trust in my endo because im at a loss and just let him try and get me right... hes been testing the ft4 and ft3 aswell, he said my ft3 is good and i dont need t3....
Greygoose is right about the FT3, that's the one you want to keep an eye on. What was your last FT3 result? You might have a top ENdo but he/she is still NHS and probably has to tow the line on T3 meds.
So, your FT4 is very high, and your FT3 too low, not quite mid-range. You really are a very poor converter. So, not really surprising you have all those symptoms. Your endo is wrong about your T3.
If you buy NDT on-line, it wouldn't be all that expensive. Sounds like he's just trying to put you off.
Don’t put your trust in him, as it’s evident you don’t feel better.
The Endocrinologist I saw had even wrote a book about Hashimoto’s so I thought I was on to a winner.
I wasn’t, and, had it not been for this forum I think I would of continued paying him hundred of pounds, thinking he knew what he was on about and, the rest of my life was going to be this consistent battle of feeling anxious, depressed, freezing cold and just no energy or zest for life.
Far to many people rely on the
Professional to help, I suppose this is very old school, where the GP’s use to have time for us and knew all there patients and we were brought up that the doctors know best.
Times have changed, It’s apparent from the number of members on here the system is failing thyroid patients.
I got fobbed off with go on a long holiday, take anti depressants.
As someone has already mentioned there hands will be tied by the NHS regulations as well.
I’m after quality of life, not just existing day to day, which unfortunately, many thyroid patients end up doing and there symptoms are mistaken for depression etc.
I was having a discussion with my friends the other day about my thyroid issues and explaining the T3 saga that many patients are now facing.
They were horrified, as they said where we I had been if I wasn’t aware of this forum, research books etc.
Could you check? It's an unlikely cause but parathyroids can cause a range of symptoms so worth ruling out. The fact that when you increase your thyroid meds you feel so unwell made me think of it. Does your heart race with a dose increase? Parathyroid Hormone or PTH is a blood test but not a common one for the NHS to do.
Not sure what your latest blood results were, or which thyroid med(s) you have tried. However - - I was apparently on the correct dose of T3 only after many years, my blood results were looking ok, but I still had horrendous mental health symptoms. Severe depression, agoraphobia (would only leave the house if I absolutely had to buy food), frequent suicidal feelings, getting very angry with people - pushing them away & shouting at them, and much much more. I started taking High Dose Multi B vitamins (PM me for brand if you like). Also I made sure I religiously took my other supplements, which I kept forgetting..... high dose Vit D, high dose vit C (2,000mg a day), high dose Omega 3 (or cod liver oil, or krill oil is apparently the very best - but I have to keep costs down); also religiously take my Selenium methionine (200mcg a day split into 2 doses); Zinc picolinate (20 ish mg a day); magnesium (citrate) - I'm currently taking 100mg a day as my stomach doesn't really like it.
I know you said - Please don't mention supplements. But I must impress upon you that the High Dose B Vitamins have made a massive & incredible difference to my life. I actually feel human, now go out & about doing things, am happy & content even though all the same stressful problems remain. Now I analyse my personal problems & problem solve.
I didn't take them a couple of days ago & could feel myself getting depressed, upset, anxious & angry. Then I took one and I was ok again.
In my own case, I now think that my body can't retain & utilise these supplements due to my Hashi's. So I just have to keep taking them daily.
36 years I had severe mental health symptoms, even told my GP to put me into a psychiatric unit so I could be diagnosed with a mental health illness & get the correct meds. Nothing diagnosed & was left to my own devices.
Obviously no one can advise you on here to take anti- depressants although we can offer our experiences etc.
I started taking sertraline at the start of the year after seeing a private endo. He openly told me what I needed to hear- I had developed a ‘mood disorder’ due to the hair loss and fatigue I was suffering.
I’m on the lowest dose of anti- depressants and will stay on that dose as it does the job. What it does for me is help me out of the detached feeling I had. Stopped me crying everyday ( due to feeling sontired and having lost half my hair). It makes me able to cope with daily life without feeling anxious.
I’ve never suffered from any form of anxiety etc until the hypo became worse. My plan is when ( I hope)y levels become great for at least 6 months on levo I can wean off them. However I’m in no rush- to me they meant regaining some sort of life again.
Please feel free to message me if you want to talk.
Obviously I can’t say if this is what you need but I got to the point I was desperate and knew I needed something to help.
Hi, thought I would tell you my new theory. My family, both dead and alive members, have mostly suffered from mental health type symptoms, from anxiety right through to schizophrenia. I wonder now if that is my family gene weakness and that is where my own body fails. I feel fortunate now I'm recovered that my family don't have weak hearts for example. But - I have to say, having depression & mental health symptoms is literally like being in hell.
Also - I was meandering around websites the other evening & tripped across MIMS (the GP bible). Looked up Liothyronine (T3) & low & behold it stated "Contra-indications = Sertraline (anti-depressant)". I have just recently weaned myself off sertraline after being prescribed it for about 20 years. Let me tell you, it did not stop me from feeling suicidal - in fact it may have been the sertraline which made me feel suicidal ? Natural is by far the best & that's why I now use the vitamins, minerals, natural oil
TO, I have had improved mood since taking just a small amount of T3, obtained after recommendation from this site. T3 is really important for the brain/mood. I never had any problems with mood until TPO's went high. Now gluten and partly lactofree and T3 has helped a lot.
Sorry you feel that way. I once began to feel awful and was incredibly moody and angry etc and it turned out my adrenals were failing badly. Have you checked this and cortisol to make sure all okay? I was basically having major emotional outbursts and then would flake out asleep after for hours
I suppose all you can do is go back over everything with a fine tooth comb and double check all is okay. Have you checked cortisol four times with saliva test over the day rather than just the one morning one. Have you checked your blood sugar levels multiple times over the day rather than the one off blood test that only gives an average so not good at picking up major swings (my friend get awfully nasty/moody with low blood sugar and she's otherwise sweet as pie). Have you checked you're not on too much of anything. For instance, based on recommendations, I took magnesium a couple of times and felt absolutely awful with side effects so gave up. Just checked and my magnesium naturally is top of the range so explains why I could never take it like most can. Is your diet well balanced and healthy or are you likely missing a few key things not often tested for etc etc.
The only other thing that raised my tsh up for no reason as t3 levels were optimal was when I had no T4 in my system but from the looks of it, you went back off T3 anyway so unlikely to be that.
Please don't take advice from friends on anti depressants, or if they agree with you because that's all you can think of at what feels like the end of the road. You're not mad, your thyroid levels are skewed. Your symptoms fit in with hyperthyroid and, like others have said, it's imperative to know your ft3. It's worth getting a fingerprick test and taking result to your endo, and posting it here along with latest ft4 and tsh. You mention your TSH suddenly went up and anti body levels were detected. Have they been detected or measured before? What were your levels when originally diagnosed hypothyroid and what dose were you stable on? What dose, if any, are you on now despite TSH shooting up. Those points together will give a fuller picture for the members to comment on.
For what it's worth, I had those symptoms when my levels were shooting up and down. In my case I was becoming inreasingly more hypothyroid, and I think that was going in for years undetected, then, all of a sudden, I went the other way...again, undetected despite severe panic attacks, anxiety and depression and weight loss.
May I suggest that you try an OTC anti-depressant before going for prescribed ones?
I'm talking about 5-HTP.
Look it up on Amazon and read some of the reviews. Do some research around the web.
If it appeals to you, and you want to try it be aware that it doesn't work for everyone, so don't buy a huge bottle to start with. Also buy 50mg capsules or tablets. Start with 50mg per day/evening (it might make you sleepy). If it is going to work you should notice a difference within a week at the very most. If you need more, add 50mg every week or two weeks. Once you know what dose you need then you can buy a product of the appropriate dose size. If you haven't noticed a difference after one to two weeks then, sadly, it suggests that it won't work for you.
I've taken 50mg per day for about 7 years although I am weaning off now as an experiment, so I'm down to taking it only 3 days a week. I don't get any side effects, and I'm not having any major problems as I lower my dose. The only thing I have problems with is if I raise my dose above 50mg per day I get jittery. But I know there are plenty of people who take 100mg, three times per day. So there is a lot of leeway in dosing.
I also take 5-HTP 50 mg per day with blackstrap molasses for the last few weeks, the sadness has left me and I keep feeling grateful and that I can cope . Xxx
I've taken 5-HTP too and it worked for me. I was literally suicidal for long periods before I took control of my own mental health. I had already had to take control of my thyroid levels; and my nutrients. We are doing what the doctors should be doing.
Are you gluten free as this can affect your mind, what sort of a diet do you eat? Have you ever kept a diet diary as this could point out intolerances which could be triggering your anxiety.
Have you any recent results and ranges or are you awaiting some from this new Endo? If you could post the new and a set of previous ones for comparison that could be enlightening.
A lot of us have had to take a leap of faith to get better when our Dr's have failed us. I got so ill that tbh it was do something or die. I was terrified to take Ndt as until my thyroid was removed I had never been unwell. So for me the anxiety was crippling but as someone said to me 'what's the worst that can happen' for me it was the beginning of getting better.
It makes me chuckle when people will binge drink, eat unhealthy food etc without a thought, take medicines with horrific side effects because a Dr tells them to but paralysed with fear at the thought of taking charge of their own health. I have a friend who would rather take diabetes meds and lost his foot rather than sort his diet out....mad isn't it x
I've been stable for last 30+ years on Levothyroxine but during that time I have had 2 bouts of depression for which I took the mild anti-depressant Citalopram for about a year each time and this really helped get me back on track mentally and physically - and unscramble my brain.
Not everything is always thyroid related (though it can seem that way). and you can suffer from depression and anxiety.
I would avoid like the plague Seroxat or equivalents as needs very close supervision and have known two people whose symptoms of paranoia anxiety etc worsened.
At the same time you do need your thyroid sorted (mines been a little off piste lately) but please don't feel guilt or that you're ' giving in' if need anti-depressants as they may just help too.
Thanks just what i needed to hear, a few of my friends who are not hypo are on citalopram aswell and they feel great no side effects apart from a headache at first...
Its really hard because iv been fine for 10 years then all of a sudden i got hit with anxiety and depression when my tsh went high, but my ft4 was still high so my doctor was confused hence referring me to an endo, id never experienced neither before so has freaked me out and really thought i was going crazy and i get like brain zaps to my brain that make me feel like no oxygen is going to my brain and makes me feel like im going crazy its scary as hell...
Iv managed to get my tsh down but in order for it to be below 1 like it was before my ft4 is sky high and i get side effects from it like paranoia and cant sleep and weird brain things...
At the minute iv gone into a emotionless mood with underlying anxiety and feel numb but also scared..
I go on holiday in a week and i hate that my last 3 holiday have been ruined by this its hell i just want it to end..
After my holiday im gonna either try ndt or try citalopram x
Life is hell when we are continuall unwell and have to be on the internet to find a solution we would expect doctors to be au fait with all of the symptoms but they are now prevented from prescribing T3 as well as NDT so we are only left with levothyroxine. I for one cannot stomach it and quite a few others too. Many recover with NDT or adding T3/T4.
With mental health problems due to hypo, it is worse than pain etc that others have.
Have a good hol and hope it isn't affected by your feelings. I've only been on Levo and no probs but now according to TSH of 0.03 I'm overactive (hah ...if only) working round to trying T3 addition and only dropped 25mcg. So many strange symptoms with thyroid conditions Cold shoulder, bands on wrists, hair loss, excess hair. tired and can't sleep, wired and can't sleep. blah blah . . . you can get used to blaming everything on thyroid alone when there may be other causes.
I was equally frustrated when I raised thyroid meds I had unbelievable anxiety and bouts of depression. The only thing that helped me was antidepressants.
Know it could of stemmed in my case from post menopause challenges.
Not unusual for increased anxiety I was told. Yes it gets better but only after one or two months. I also switched and recommend Naturethroid (ndt). Feel better soon!
Just noticed your post ThyroidObsessed . Thought I'd add some words of encouragement. Hope things are improving.
By the time I found this forum I could barely function, I had been on levo for nearly 30 years and on low dose sertraline for pain relief/then diagnosed as fibro. Huh!
I knew things had to change and my then GP was no help. She thought I was neurotic and basically said I should do as I was told....that did it for me and I knew I had to take control before I completely lost the will to keep going
First thing I decided to do was very slowly ditch the sertraline...a horrible experience but my gut instinct told me it had to go. Please think very carefully about taking antipressants!
Like you I read extensively and also very quickly developed confidence in the advice offered here ....I decided the only way was to self medicate. I discussed this with my current and excellent GP....who admits her thyroid knowledge is limited. She supported my decision and I update her regularly.
Firstly I tried a T4/T3 combo but despite different combinations and dose levels over 6/7 months failed to progress. I had some very dark times but deep down was convinced I was heading in the right direction.
I had been correctly informed here that I had a conversion problem so I then decided to have a thyroid genetic test which showed not only do I have a conversion problem but that it is the worst and rarest form. I'm not suggesting a genetic test is necessary but it did add some detail.
Do you know if have a conversion problem? However, once you include T3, results will be skewed making that conclusion impossible. Pre T3 results, if you have any, may help though.
Levo clearly hadn't been doing more than keep me just "ticking over" resulting in a very gradual decline in my health over decades. I faired little better on T3/T4....so the time had come to use T3-only.
I've been trying to reach the correct dose for me over the last 6 weeks, I experienced both over and under medication and often felt rubbish but I knew I had to persist....I'm naturally stubborn!
Apart from my husband and the amazing members here I think everyone else thought I was a mad as a box of frogs
Now for the encouraging part.....in the last few days I feel that I am at last slowly turning a corner. That was aided by advice here that as my dose got bigger any increases I made should be smaller....in other words I was overshooting or undershootinh my sweet-spot.
It's a tough and hellish journey but trust yourself and the experts here.....medics won't improve your health, they are not adequately educated to do so! The knowledge lies within TUK.
You can do this, despite all your doubts and fears.....and your anxiety will likely go once you are properly medicated. That's not a glib remark it's offered from experience!
Good luck, I'm 73 and improving at last so time is on your side!
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
going through a nightmare feel like I exist not live Omg anybody help !!!!!!!
Feel like I am going mad
Tried and don't know if I can fight any more.
Feel like I'm going crazy. Blood results attached.
