T3 and antidepressants

[Mariazeta]

Goodmorning to all. I would like to ask a very general question. For me the addition of T3 in the right dose has improved my energy levels and generally i feel better. My friend would like to arrange an appointment with my doctor and add T3 to her medication as well. The problem is my friend takes antidepressants and i read that t3 doesn't work well with antidepressants. Is it possible to take both medicines? I am asking you this question because my friend will have to pay a very expensive fee to see the doctor and in the end if he tells her that t3 will interact with her antidepressants will be a big disappointment. I would appreciate any information 🙏

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Levothyroxine and T3 should always be taken on empty stomach and then nothing apart from water for at least an hour after

No other medications or vitamin supplements within 2 hours

But often T3 is prescribed for depression

First step is for your friend to get FULL thyroid and vitamin testing BEFORE considering adding T3

Important to know Ft4 and Ft3 levels before starting T3

And all four vitamins need to be tested and at good levels

Please add most recent test results

[Mariazeta in reply to SlowDragon]

She has different blood tests regularly and as far as i know she has low vitamin D. She will repeat all her blood tests before she goes to the doctor. I will remind her

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Mariazeta]

So she needs to improve low vitamin D as first step

Likely to need ongoing maintenance dose vitamin D daily

Retest vitamin D twice year when supplementing

ESSENTIAL to test folate, B12 and ferritin levels too

As she has Hashimoto’s it’s highly likely she has low vitamin levels

Is she on strictly gluten free diet or dairy free diet

Many, many people with Hashimoto’s need to be gluten free and/or dairy free

If not had coeliac blood test, she needs testing BEFORE cutting gluten out

[RedApple Administrator]

Mariazeta, What is the name of the antidepressant that your friend takes? And how much levothyroxine does she currently take?

It would be a good idea for your friend to join this forum so that she can discuss her situation directly with other members.

[Hidden]

I’ve taken 14 different psych meds in my life, Ive never come across a T3 warning - sometimes T3 is actually used to augment the properties of anti depressants and has even been used as a stand alone anti depressant: meridian.allenpress.com/mhc...

Is your friend hypothyroid? This may be why she feels depressed. As Red Apple says, their results will tell us much more 🙏🏻

[Mariazeta in reply to Hidden]

She suffers from hashimoto and depression since she was a teenager. I know there is a link between the two. It's good to know it is possible for her to take T3.

[Hidden in reply to Mariazeta]

she just needs to ask her psych to be aware that she’ll be trialling T3. If she’s had hashi’s and depression lifelong, it sounds likely that treating her likely serum low T3 will improve things. Hope she feels well soon 🙏🏻

[SlowDragon Administrator]

There are two specialists who can prescribe T3

Endocrinologist and also psychiatrist

It’s well known T3 will help with resistant depression

Depression is common hypothyroid symptom……she may simply be not on high enough dose levothyroxine and/or low vitamin levels

[pennyannie]

Hello Mariazeta :

I presume your friend is diagnosed hypothyroid and taking T4 - Levothyroxine.

Currently in primary care doctors can only prescribe T4 and if this doesn't relieve some symptoms anti depressants seem to be prescribed as a fall back, second line of treatment.

I didn't find the anti depressants relieved my symptoms - I'm with Graves post RAI thyroid ablation 2005 and just continued on with T4 monotherapy not knowing any different and just encouraged to accept that it was all my fault.

In around 2014/15 I became much more unwell and long story short found this forum.

In 2018 having been refused both NDT and T3 by my surgery and hospital I started self -medicating and T3 lifted my heaviness of head and there was immediate relief of many symptoms associated with so called depression. which the anti depressant didn't touch for me.

You can argue I wasn't on the right level of AD medication but I think everything revolves around low T3 as the brain needs an awful lot and the lions share to function well.

If your friend is dependent on the anti depressants that's a whole other problem - that wasn't my issue - but finding optimal thyroid hormone replacement can resolve many health issues and result in much fewer prescriptions for ' other ' presumed issues.

[pennyannie in reply to pennyannie]

OK - so your friend is dealing with a thyroid autoimmune disease which ultimately disables her own thyroid gland so much so she will need the support of thyroid hormone replacement and since the thyroid gland naturally produces both T3 and T4 on a daily basis it seems logical to me to replace like with like.

I now take Natural Desiccated Thyroid which contains all the same known thyroid hormones as that of the human thyroid gland, namely, trace elements of T1. T2 and calcitonin plus a measure of T3 and a measure of T4 in each grain and derived from pig thyroids dried and ground down into tablets referred to as grains and the original successful treatment for over 100 years and on the back of which Big Pharma launched their T3 and T4 options in around the middle of the last century.

Your friend needs to become her own best advocate, and that starts here reading other posts and learning of Hashimoto's AI disease :

thyroidpharmacist.com

[Mariazeta in reply to pennyannie]

Very interesting what you said. My friend have been taking antidepressants for more than 20 years...and she is a lot of times in a low mood. I believe t3 will help her with her low mood even if she doesn't have plans to stop taking them.

[pennyannie in reply to Mariazeta]

Well firstly your friend needs to want to get her own health sorted out as you can't do this for her and she needs to first get a full thyroid panel run to include a TSH, Free T3, Free T4 antibodies, inflammation and ferritin, folate B12 and vitamin D run and post the results and ranges back up in here in her own post and then she will be given considered opinion about her next best step back to better heath.

No thyroid hormone replacement works well until ferritin, folate, B12 and vitamin D are up and maintained at optimal levels and conversion of T4 into T3 can also be down regulated by antibodies, inflammation, any physiological stress ( emotional or physical ) depression, dieting and ageing - so whilst some of these can be more easily managed than others and with a doctor ' onboard ' I presume he's seen it all before and will know how to mediate the drugs already prescribed.

I managed to self medicate through reading up on here and reading a few books - and my goto is still Your Thyroid and How To Keep It Healthy written by a doctor who wanted to equip patients better to advocate for themselves as Barry Durrant-Peatfield was well aware of the lack of knowledge in thyroid health and why he decided to retire from the circus we find ourselves in when trying to be well when T4 - Levothyroxine seems not to work well for us. as we are around the 20% who need full spectrum thyroid hormone replacement to be well.

25 years ago primary care doctors had NDT, T3 and T4 in their tool box and given enough time a dose was reached to relieve the symptoms of hypothyroidism.

In 2022 we have no options but T4 monotherapy hence the need for forums like this, as more and more people now have access to information and want to feel better than how the NHS is leaving them.

When I joined I think there were around 15 thousand people registered on Thyroid UK - the charity who supports this forum, and now if I scroll up to the top of this page I see over 128 thousand !!

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK]

Your post comes across as pre-judging what the doctor will find based on your experience. And assuming the doctor would recognise the potential of T3 and prescribe.

You could be right. But, whatever your friend needs, it might be a problem taking it with the specific anti-depressant being taken - or due to any other issues she has.

If they are able, I strongly endorse those who suggest your friend joins the forum rather this passing on information from your posts/replies approach.

[Mariazeta in reply to helvella]

My friend she leaves in another country and she wants to visit my endocrinologist when she will come to the UK in few months. She ask me if t3 can interfere with her medication and i have no idea really and because i have no contact with my doctor apart from when i see him i asked in this forum. Only to save her £300 for the visit if she is not suitable for the T3 treatment because of her taking antidepressants. Thank you for your help i will pass the information.

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to Mariazeta]

We have members from around the world.

Despite being Thyroid UK, we welcome members in other countries.

If she needs to be seen for ongoing, waiting a few months doesn't seem like a good idea.

And even if the endocrinologist says she needs T3, that isn't going to help long-term.

[RedApple Administrator in reply to Mariazeta]

Mariazeta 'My friend she leaves in another country'

Your friend can join this forum regardless of where she lives. If she doesn't speak English well, there are really good online translation possibilities.

[thyr01d]

I agree with RelentlessR below, and, just a personal view here, since one of the common symptoms of being hypothyroid is depression might it be worth your friend trialling T3 and reducing her antidepressant dose gradually and with medical supervision to see if after all she doesn't need it and is happy and well on T3?