Posted by Pfinstegg on November 25, 2002, at 17:41:42
In reply to Re: thyroid supplementation in chronic depression » Pfinstegg, posted by Geezer on November 25, 2002, at 9:46:14
If you are going to go on thyroid supplementation for its antidepressant effects, you first need to have a baseline TSH (thyroid-stimulating hormone), plus T3 and T4. If these are normal, you then start with .05 mg synthroid (T4) and 5 mcg Cytomel (T3). After a few weeks, you have the thyroid tests redone- the most important of these is is the TSH. Normal values range from 4.5 to 0.4. You want to aim for the low end of this range: 0.5 to 0.8 is ideal. You won't feel an AD effect from this, but should feel a greater stability to your moods. These low doses don't cause any jitteriness in most people. Also, many people with chronic depression have undetected slight hypothyroidism- that was the case with me, and correcting that is a big help.
Apparently, it is the T3 which has an antidepressant effect, but people are supposed to take T3 and T4, as that is what our bodies produce anyway when they are in balance.
If you decide to try it, let us know how it goes!
Pfinstegg
poster:Pfinstegg
thread:128916
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20021122/msgs/129272.html