Hello,
I am considering weaning myself off (with GP guidance) of Sertraline as it doesn't work for me regardless of dosage - currently on 50mg. I am considering going down the homeopathic route instead but is it safe to combine levo and natural remedies? If so, are there any that you can't?
GP's will always try to pedal the pharmas so I can't take what they say as gospel any more!
Thanks in advance.
A major issue is with what you mean by "homoeopathic".
In my book, it is best to limit the term to the use of ultra-dilute preparations. And, if you do that, it is difficult to answer your question because there is, effectively, no evidence regarding interactions.
However, if you are following the somewhat confusing tendency to use the term for a wide range of herbal, "natural" and other substances, then there undoubtedly can be significant interactions. For example, there are issues with St Johns Wort (hypericum).
You have to look for each and every substance you are considering.
Thanks for your reply. I haven't had any appointments yet but know that I'm keen to come off sertraline asap.
How much levothyroxine are you taking
Are your thyroid and vitamin levels optimal
Please add most recent results and ranges
Depression is hypothyroid symptom
Hello. 😀 I'm on 100mg. All vitamins are perfectly fine according to full blood panels taken every 3 months (including a private one) so I know it's not to do with being deficient. I eat a balanced diet, try to avoid gluten where possible, exercise daily and mediate often. I've heard that St John's Worts can interact badly with levo. Having said that, I have had bad interactions with pharma pills.
Do you always get same brand levothyroxine at each prescription
Gluten Free does need to be strictly gluten free to be effective
Recommended that all thyroid blood tests early morning, ideally just before 9am, only drink water between waking and test and last dose levothyroxine 24 hours before test
This gives highest TSH, lowest FT4 and most consistent results. (Patient to patient tip)
What are your most recent Ft4 and Ft3 results
If Ft3 is low you may benefit from addition of T3 prescribed alongside levothyroxine
Hi,
I try to get the same brand but can't always. My last result was Serum TSH 1.89 and T4 17.8.
With Gluten free - I am at home but not so fussy out although I don't tend to eat much bread.
Thanks for the tip about the early morning bloods.
It's a minefield isn't it.
Well there’s no Ft3 result so these results tell you nothing
What’s the range on Ft4
Was test done as recommended
Strongly recommend you get at least TSH, Ft4 and Ft3 tested
Ideally always test vitamin levels as well, at least once a year
Have you ever had thyroid antibodies tested for autoimmune thyroid disease? Aka Hashimoto’s
List of private testing options and money off codes
thyroiduk.org/getting-a-dia...
Medichecks Thyroid plus antibodies and vitamins
medichecks.com/products/adv...
Blue Horizon Thyroid Premium Gold includes antibodies, cortisol and vitamins
bluehorizonbloodtests.co.uk...
Only do private testing early Monday or Tuesday morning.
Link about thyroid blood tests
thyroiduk.org/getting-a-dia...
Link about Hashimoto’s
thyroiduk.org/hypothyroid-b...
Symptoms of hypothyroidism
thyroiduk.org/wp-content/up...
Tips on how to do DIY finger prick test
healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...
Medichecks and BH also offer private blood draw at clinic near you, or private nurse to your own home…..for an extra fee
Just TSH, Ft4 and Ft3 test - £32
monitormyhealth.org.uk/thyr...
10% off code here
thyroiduk.org/getting-a-dia...
Monitor My Health also now offer thyroid and vitamin testing, plus cholesterol and HBA1C for £65
(Doesn’t include thyroid antibodies)
monitormyhealth.org.uk/full...
10% off code here
thyroiduk.org/getting-a-dia...
As far as I am know, NHS blood tests don't cover T3. I might be wrong? The last private test I had with medichecks showing T3 was in 2020 per the attached.
Obviously that’s far too long ago to be relevant
You need new test
Yes currently almost impossible to get Ft3 tested on NHS
Thousands upon thousands U.K. patients forced to test privately to make progress
This 2020 test shows very under medicated and very poor conversion of Ft4 to Ft3
One thing that you mustn't do under any circumstances is take St John's Wort until you're absolutely all the sertraline has been eliminated from your body. Otherwise you're risking serotonin syndrome which can be fatal.
Not saying you were planning on doing that, but I panicked when I saw the two drugs mentioned together!
I use a great many homeopathic medicines using Materia Medica to guide my choices.
That said, I can state categorically that no such medicine will replace any anti depressant. They may, however, help with discontinuation symptoms.
Thank you 😊
It depends on what you mean by homeopathic. And, truthfully, it’s all trial and error. Try whatever you want to try, and by paying close attention to your body judge if it’s right for you.
With regards to coming off sertraline itself, I wound research how best to come off it if not done so already, especially through the lens of lived experience.
Thanks so much for responding x
I would have thought the best way to get off the antidepressant would be to raise your FT3 level, yours is very low. Psychiatrists often use T3 instead of antidepressants. Depression is a hypos symptom, as SlowDragon said. But your average GP is totally unaware of that and doesn't understand T3. As you said, they'd far rather prescribe drugs.
Can a GP even prescribe T3 - if so is there a cost - if not where would I get it from?
No, a GP can't, initially. It has to come from an endo to start with, then the GP takes over the prescription. But the GP can refer you to an endo, and recommend that he prescribes it.
If it were a private prescription then, yes, there would be a cost. But it is possible to get it on the NHS.
If you absolutely can't get it prescribed then you can buy it on-line without a prescription. But you would need to ask the people on here to PM you links to their trusted sources.
Having said that. To have a TSH over 5 you are grossly under-medicated. So, it might be a good idea to insist your doctor increases your levo and see if that helps. But, no amount of vitamins, minerals or any other sort of supplements, be they homeopathic or otherwise, is going to help your depression to the point of being able to get off antidepressants, whilst your FT3 is so low. And your GP is an absolute donkey for not having realised before that you are under-medicated to such an extent. I would even go so far as to accuse him of negligence!
That was in 2020, a private test. My levo dosage has been changed since then (been on 100mg for a while) but I've just not had my T3 tested through my NHS doctor. My current results are TSH1.89 and T4 17.8 but someone above suggested that it's hard to know if I am really under or over without knowing the T3. I'll start by phoning GP tomorrow to insist on my usual thyroid function to include T3.
Sorry, didn't notice the date. But, what's the range on that FT4 of 17.8? If it's 12-22 then it hasn't changed much since 2020, so doubtful your FT3 has, either. So, you're certainly not over-medicated if that's the case.
You may not need T3
You may simply not be on high enough dose levothyroxine and/or poor vitamin levels
If you do need T3 prescribed, as thousands of patients do, then initially that’s started via endocrinologist (or psychiatrist can prescribe T3 for depression)
FIRST step is to see exactly what is going on by getting FULL thyroid and vitamin testing done
come back with new post once you get results
List of thyroid specialists and endocrinologists who will prescribe T3
Some are private and NHS
Initial appointment privately and then transfer to NHS
healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...
Over 63,000 prescriptions for T3 in England in last year on NHS
openprescribing.net/analyse...
Probably double that privately
Are you male or female
Roughly how old are you
Approximately how much do you weigh in kilo
Guidelines on dose levothyroxine by weight is 1.6mcg per kilo of your weight per day
100mcg is quite a low dose
Thanks. I recently had a full blood panel. Vitamins are fine but tomorrow I'm going to see if I can get T3 test and repeat vits. I'm female, 11 stones, 46. No peri symptoms yet. Overweight for my height but have lots of energy and active daily.
So likely at least slightly under medicated
11 stone = 69.8kg x 1.6mcg = 112mcg per day as likely daily dose
New tests likely to reflect this
Not sure if this helps Mishky but I believe a Psychiatrist can prescribe T3 and since GPs seem much happier to diagnose us with depression rather than hypothyroidism, and yours is already on that path, via a Psychiatrist referral for depression might be your quickest and easiest route to T3.
Personal anecdote :
I have suffered from depression most of my life. I have also been anaemic and/or iron deficient often.
I started treating my extremely low iron in 2013 (without the aid of a doctor because they kept cutting me off after two or three months) and since I don't absorb it very well I was on it for a long time - nearly two years on a therapeutic dose to raise my ferritin to mid-range and five years on a small maintenance dose.
Once my iron and ferritin started improving my depression and anxiety reduced enormously, and have now pretty much gone.
Some people discover that optimising their B12 and folate does the trick for them.
And optimising thyroid hormones helps enormously too.
Another possible factor is cortisol being too high or too low.
I do take a very small dose of an over-the-counter anti-depressant called 5-HTP. I only take a small dose of 50mg about 3 or 4 times a week. I wrote about 5-HTP in this old reply to another member :
healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...
5-HTP is available without prescription on many websites selling supplements.
Doctors kept trying different SSRIs for my depression back in the 1990s but they never did a thing for me other than flatten my emotions and reduce my libido. I would never go on one again.
Just an update. Got my bloods back. TSH 1.63, T4 17.2 and T3 3.4B12 676 (160-925 range)
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