On Sertraline 50mg for a week now and feeling numb. I didn't want to even be on these things. My throat is SO SORE, and last night discovered a white spot on my uvula. I can't even take painkillers - my normal Cuprofen which work are out as ibuprofen based. I cannot even cry anymore to let it out. I still feel they are tackling the wrong thing. I have heard nothing further about seeing an Endochronology Doctor. So I doubt that will happen. I have had this sore throat since April on and off and scans/ENT said no cancer. Had my flu jab on the same day as starting these meds and not sure if it's a reaction to that? Even taking a Strepsil made me feel dizzy. My mouth is so dry, despite keeping very well hydrated. Any advice would be so much appreciated.
On Sertraline a week now and no better. - Thyroid UK
On Sertraline a week now and no better.
Deefish this medication does not work straight away. It needs time to get into your system and often you feel worse at the start. It says on the leaflet that it may take several weeks before things begin to improve. Little steps each day and you will get through this. You can take paracetamol.
I have a Drs appointment in 2 weeks and if things haven't improved by then I will ask to come off them. It's my immune system that's the problem and being ill for over 7 months would cause anyone anxiety as to why they are not getting better. I still think it's something called Oud's thyroiditis but there seem to be very little on this on the internet.
Could you tell me more please? OUD in medical terms usually stands of opiate use disorder. Are you thinking that opiate use has caused a thyroid problem.
Thyroiditis is also called Ord's thyroiditis after the person who noticed it. Is this the thyroiditis you mean?
Sorry, I did mean Ord! No opiate use here you will be glad to hear!!
Also known as Ord’s disease, this autoimmune condition is characterized by atrophy of the thyroid gland and hypothyroidism. It is very similar to Hashimoto’s disease, apart from the shrinking of the thyroid gland instead of the development of a goiter. Ord’s disease and Hashimoto’s disease have historically been classified as separate disorders, but research suggests that they may instead be different manifestations of autoimmune thyroiditis, with some medical practitioners calling for the combined term Ord-Hashimoto’s disease to be used.
You will maybe find more on the internet if you research autoimmune thyroiditis. Just different names for the same thing.
Rest of the world refers to all autoimmune thyroid disease as Hashimoto's
But in UK, technically medics only call autoimmune thyroid disease with goitre Hashimoto's, and autoimmune thyroid disease where Thyroid shrinks and shrivels as Ord's Thyroiditis
Many people with autoimmune thyroid disease have ord's Thyroiditis
Strongly recommend getting full Thyroid and vitamin testing. Essential to see what FT4 and FT3 results are. Poor conversion is common, especially with low vitamins and/or gut issues
Getting vitamins optimal will help improve conversion of FT4 to FT3
Together as a community with shared info (and brain cells on hypo days!!) we are awesome!
It took me a couple of months of increasing the dose for me to get to where I was not anxious anymore, is there anything else they can give you in the mean time to take the edge off? I had diazepam for a couple of weeks when I was at my worst and then propanolol. I know your anxiety is probably caused by how ill you've been but it makes sense to try and get that under control too.
Why do you say you can't have ibuprofen? Is that because of another health issue?
Ibuprofen is not recommended when on SSRIs - antidepressant - because of interaction. The only safe painkiller is paracetamol
I'm pretty sure that's only certain SSRIs, I've never seen it on my sertraline printout but I know my stepmum who is on citalopram isn't allowed to take it.
It is in the NICE guidelines on the interaction between drugs:
"Both sertraline and ibuprofen can increase the risk of bleeding."
I do not want to have any more meds on top of this. I am struggling with enough side effects as it is. I also don't want an increase in dose. I just want this Endo appointment and for things to get sorted. This sore throat has been constant since April and it just keeps returning. Thank you anyway! xx
If you can afford it, we always recommend getting FULL Thyroid and vitamin testing privately BEFORE seeing any endocrinologist
Or ask GP politely but firmly to test vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12 as per NHS guidelines
New NHS England Liothyronine guidelines July 2019 clearly state on page 13 that TSH should be between 0.4-1.5 when treated with just Levothyroxine
Note that it says test should be in morning BEFORE taking Levo thyroxine
Also to test vitamin D, folate, B12 and ferritin
sps.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploa...
Obviously you need a TSH, FT4 and FT3 tested together.....bloods should be done as early as possible in morning and before eating or drinking anything other than water. Last dose Levothyroxine 24 hours prior to blood test
That's completely understandable, but I think for the sake of keeping any anxiety under control until you see an endocrinologist you should stick with it and see if it helps. I've been on it for 5 years since my daughter was born and I very rarely get anxiety anymore and I was on the verge of being sectioned when I first started with it.
Hi, just wanted to mention I have Hashimoto’s and suffered tonsillitis and / or sinusitis over an extended period. Once I knew I had Hashimoto’s I got suggestions on here to try gluten free, dairy free and soy free diet. Sore throat was gone pretty fast and only time I’ve had it since is when I have had dairy or gluten. With dairy I get really instantly tired and throat ache. And gluten causes a very red face and streaming nose. Wouldn’t have been able to pinpoint this when I just felt awful all the time, but I would now link the two directly to throat and nose. Obviously this could just be particular to me, but thought worth mentioning.
PS I got this improvement even before taking some thyroxine.
Never had a problem with dairy, I have quite a bit in my diet and most of the time ok with it. I just seem to get ill and pick up illnesses when I go out anywhere, and I cannot be housebound all the while. I do wish people would not cough and sneeze everywhere.
This is all personal anecdote - and I'm not medically trained.
I've taken several different SSRIs of various kinds over the years. Sertraline was one of them. I got no benefit from any of them, and I have always been worried about taking something which is highly addictive and extremely difficult to come off of. I would never take an SSRI ever again, and I certainly wouldn't take one just because a doctor told me to, because many doctors deny that side effects or withdrawal effects of SSRIs are real. If patients complain of such things they usually end up being prescribed a larger dose.
You should read some of the information and personal experiences posted on this forum.
...
I eventually found something that helped me with depression and anxiety, and that was 5-HTP. I wrote a post about it quite recently, which you can read here :
healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...
I forgot to mention in that post that 5-HTP can make people feel a bit sleepy so taking it in the evening is best.
I should also mention that I take naproxen (a stronger NSAID than ibuprofen) along with the 5-HTP. Combining my painkiller with 5-HTP hasn't had any side effects for me at all.
...
Did one of your posts mention that your problems started after taking antibiotics, or am I mixing you up with someone else?
Thank you so much humanbean (love your user name). You are right - this all started after I had antibiotics for chest infection in April. The yellow bullet type ones didn't touch it but the doxycycline were the thing I am convinced caused the problems to escalate - I took the things correctly (with a full pint of water and didn;t lay down for 30 mins after). I have been on various anti depressants through my life - and not one of them helped. I will read what you sent with interest.
I don't really want to stay on these - I had been under extreme stress worrying about blood tests and scans and they sent my stress and anxeity levels through the roof, then the little break away we had, had a mixed time of it there. I have always managed brief periods of extreme stress and anxiety before and hope one day I can be back there. I am scared of taking anything on these pills - even a throat lozenge! I want a couple of drinks on sunday night as out at a gig, and the thought of not drinking is really saddening me. I never go mad on drink, not done for years, but I am scared how I am going to be on even 2 pints of lager come Monday morning.
If antibiotics are implicated in your recent problems then it suggests that your gut bacteria have been badly affected by the antibiotics. You might be absorbing fewer nutrients from your food. And one of the effects of hypothyroidism is that it reduces stomach acid. If you've been taking PPIs like omeprazole, or ranitidine which does a similar job to PPIs, your stomach acid gets reduced even further.
Doctors and patients assume that reflux, bloating, heartburn, and indigestion are always caused by high stomach acid, but this isn't true in the majority of cases. High stomach acid is quite rare, but low stomach acid is common.
In every other area of life and health, as people get older they tend to get worse at producing various hormones and other substances that the body needs to create for itself. But doctors tell us that the body gets better at producing stomach acid as we get older. This is completely illogical and goes against all experience of ageing. As people get older they are prescribed more and more acid suppressors while their own stomach acid production gets lower and lower.
The way to reduce heartburn and indigestion is to actually increase the acidity of the stomach.
I posted the first reply to this post a few days ago on the subject of stomach acid :
healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...
Other links :
thyroidpharmacist.com/artic...
chriskresser.com/the-thyroi...
*** chriskresser.com/what-every...
The starred link is part one of a six part series on GERD - gastroesophageal reflux disease. I would recommend reading the whole series if you can, although it isn't directly about the gut and the thyroid. It was the series that allowed me to understand why low stomach acid burns like crazy and feels like I imagine it would feel to have high stomach acid.
Look into the effect of eating fermented foods e.g. sauerkraut, also fermented drinks e.g. kefir and kombucha. Quite a lot of people on this forum make their own kefir, and some even ferment their own vegetables.
You might find this link of interest :
Oh, I forgot one final comment...
I found that my own anxiety and depression was reduced when I optimised my nutrients. Low iron is particularly bad for me, in terms of effects on my mood.
I was put on omeprazole when I first had these sore throats as they thought it would help with anxiety/stress which made no sense to me. After ENT confirmed it ws not silent reflux and never any evidence of it, I was taken off them,. But had to have them a week or so when on lots of ibuprofen for the constacondritis I was crippled with (and that still bothers me on occasion too). My throat feels terrible right now, even after a pint of cool water.
Hi Deefish, it gets better i promise you, as everyone has said bit by bit and they say in the first few weeks you can feel worse before you feel better, i think i sat drifting in and out of sleep summer 2016 for over 2 weeks on a chair in the conservatory - it does make you feel numb, it dulls the sadness and i ended up feeling like i just didn't care anymore and i stopped crying - i am still on it now and have had many tough times since that - i truly dont think i would have handled without Sertraline - but i was given a medication called Phenergan to help me along at the start for the first few weeks - its an antihistamine and they do it in tablets 25mg or liquid - i prefer the liquid as you can adjust the dose, it makes you feel very relaxed and sleepy you can buy it over the counter and it can also be used as a sedative for travel sickness . Its a max of 50mg per day and you can break that up to suit but you wont be ok to drive and would need someone around, i still use it now every now and then to settle a bit of anxiety and to help sleep but its not addictive. Im glad i had that to help and i wish you well - but dotn beat yourself up and give yourself some time xx
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