Depression: Hi everyone! I was reading a blog and... - Thyroid UK

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Depression

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11 years ago•10 Replies

Hi everyone! I was reading a blog and a comment in it reminded of something. Depression is an integral part of underactive thyroid, but my GP expalined that its a chemical depression caused by a lack of seretonine. I took anti-d's for years but they started having unwanted side effects, the worst being no brake between any passing thought and my mouth lol!! So i came off them. I feel emotions more intensely (which can be good or bad depending!) and I also recognise the signs of me going downhill. When this happens I go to my local health shop and buy a months worth of seratonine and that sees me through the bad patch and also helps me sleep better. The reason I'm posting this is because i originally tried St Johns Wart from a national health shop and, over the next couple of months, I started going back into hypothyroid problems. When I asked at the local shop they said that St J's cannot be taken if you are on thyroxine as it stops it working!! The national shop never even looked it up and things could have gone really pear shaped... It was then that the local shop said to try seratonine having looked it up and double checked it against my other meds. Hope this stops someone else making the same mistake! Cx

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10 Replies

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Flowers211 years ago

Hi Craftingbird.

That is really interesting as it's exactly what is happening to my friend who swears by St Johns Wort and also taking thyroxine and she, who was doing so well on thyroxine has gone down hill. I've mentioned the possible link but she just won't accept that it may be possible that the two things are linked. Will pass your experience on to her. x

in reply to Flowers211 years ago

Gladly, if you could tell me who 'she' is? Cx

in reply to Flowers211 years ago

See my post below, you could print off the PIL and give it to your friend if she needs more persuasion.

Just my opinion, but I think St Johns wort should be banned

11 years ago

Do not take St. John’s Wort if you are using any of

the following medicines:

St. John’s Wort may also affect the following

medicines. Do not take this product with these

medicines unless a Doctor has said it is safe to do so:

u Anaesthetics/pre-operative medicines:

Fentanyl, propofol, sevoflurane, midazolam

u Analgesics: Tramadol

u Antibiotics: Erythromycin, clarithromycin,

telithromycin

u Antifungals: Itraconazole, voriconazole

u Antimalarials: Artemether, lumefantrine

u Anti-Parkinson’s: Rasagiline

u Antipsychotics: Aripiprazole

u Anxiolytics: Buspirone

More information on back panel

All hormonal contraceptives - The birth control

‘Pill’, emergency contraception, hormonal implants,

creams, patches, intra-uterine devices with

hormones

All medicines for depression/anxiety -

Amitriptyline, clomipramine, moclobemide,

citalopram, fluoxetine, fluvoxamine, paroxetine,

sertraline, duloxetine, venlafaxine

All hormonal replacement therapy (HRT)

treatments - HRT tablets, patches, gels, vaginal rings

All medicines for thinning the blood

(anticoagulants) - Warfarin, acenocoumarol

All medicines for epilepsy - Carbamazepine,

phenobarbitone, phenytoin, primidone, sodium

valproate

All immunosuppressant medicines - Ciclosporin,

tacrolimus

All medicines for HIV infections - Amprenavir,

atazanavir, darunavir, fosamprenavir, indinavir,

lopinavir, nelfinavir, ritonavir, saquinavir, tipranavir,

efavirenz, nevirapine, delavirdine

Some medicines for cholesterol - Simvastatin,

atorvastatin

Some medicines for cancer - Irinotecan, dasatinib,

erlotinib, imatinib, sorafenib, sunitinib, etoposide,

mitotane

Some medicines for heart disease - Digoxin,

ivabradine, amiodarone

Some medicines for migraine - Almotriptan,

eletriptan, frovatriptan, naratriptan, rizatriptan,

sumatriptan, zolmitriptan

Some medicines for high blood pressure -

Amlodipine, nifedipine, verapamil, felodipine

A medicine for regulating mood - Lithium

A thyroid hormone - Thyroxine

This should be on the leaflet that comes with St, Johns Wart! It is well known that it should be avoided with thyroxine and should always come with either a leaflet or the above should be printed on the box

in reply to 11 years ago

images.vitaminimages.com/hb...

Heres a link for the full leaflet, this ones from H & B, but it should be the same for all makes

in reply to 11 years ago

Wow!! There was no box or leaflet because it was in a little bottle with a dropper so there was only a little label on the back and the product name on the front... That is some list!! Cx

Woochan11 years ago

When you say you take seratonine, what exactly do you take? Do you have a brand name and where do you buy it? My depression has improved a little recently along with my other thyroid symptoms, but I still get slumps sometimes, so I might try this approach to get me through them.

foxglove11 years ago

Could you kindly let me know which brand of seratonine you take and where purchased?

Thanks

cloud111 years ago

What i found helpful for depression is 5HTP(precursor to serotonin);Holland and Barret sell own brand or u can find others in health shops or online.ano aparently good nat antidepress is SAM-e (which havnt tried as bit pricey),and it has the 'added' benefit of restoring liver function.