Posted by bleauberry on April 30, 2009, at 19:23:56
In reply to can drugs affect hypothyroidism test results?, posted by frillyknickers on April 29, 2009, at 14:24:38
I don't recall seeing any studies looking at this. I have no doubt though that meds can indirectly affect thyroid function. If not thyroid levels in the blood, perhaps thyroid receptor functionality or something.
But here is a theory I ponder. SSRIs increase serotonin. As the body's attempt to reach balance, it increases noradrenaline function to try to match the aritifically high serotonin function. It can for a while, but the adrenal glands aren't built for that longterm strain. Eventually they get exhausted and adrenal fatigue, or hypoadrenalism kicks in. Then, again as the body's attempt to balance, the thyroid turns itself down in order to adjust to the sluggish adrenals. They try to work in harmony. So if one goes weak, the other goes with it to match. Maybe??? Just a theory of mine.
I see the phenomenon here a lot. I know what adrenal fatigue looks like and it appears frequent here at pbabble. With me, I went from high thyroid function all my life to hypothyroid after a few years on ssris. Makes one wonder.
In general, I do believe all these meds have profound effects throughout the body, not just on serotonin or whatever. I don't think they are as specific as we think. There is so much happening downstream as a result of what they do to serotonin. My two cents anyway.
poster:bleauberry
thread:893472
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20090426/msgs/893635.html