Thyroid Disease & Depression (My Experience of Hypothyroidism)

Member Name: jeanjeannie

Product:	My Experience of Hypothyroidism
Date:	07/08/01 (3462 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: none

Disadvantages: loads

Having suffered from both of these complaints for many years I was astounded last week when my psychiatrist said that treating depression was very difficult in patients who also had thyroid disease. This only applies to people who suffer from hypothyroidism, which means too little thyroid hormone and is a common problem. In fact, hypothyroidism is often present for a number of years before it is recognised and treated. Hypothyroidism can even be associated with pregnancy.

This was a complete revelation to me; yes,I knew that the thyroid gland regulated your metabolism and hormones but I had no idea that an underactive thyroid could actually cause depression, make it worse or make treatment for depression far more difficult.

My psychiatrist asked how often I had my thyroid checked and I said that I no longer bothered; I had no faith in the tests at all. The margin for the “ normal range” was so large that I failed to see that it could be of any use and my results had always come back as normal! Even when my drug was increased by 100% - I was still considered normal. (Mind you,that was a first.)
He concurred saying that the tests are somewhat crude and leave much to be desired.

I decided to do some research and these are some of the facts I found –

The thyroid gland is the biggest gland in the neck. It is situated in the anterior (front) neck below the skin and muscle layers. The thyroid gland takes the shape of a butterfly with the two wings being represented by the left and right thyroid lobes, which wrap around the trachea. The sole function of the thyroid is to make thyroid hormone. This hormone has an effect on nearly all tissues of the body where it increases cellular activity. The function of the thyroid therefore is to regulate the body's metabolism.

Symptoms are many and varied –
If you are overweight, easily chilled, a little forgetful, prone to mild depression, loss of lib
ido, anxiety, have little energy, low blood pressure and find it difficult to get going in the morning, you should consider an underactive thyroid as a possible cause. That does not mean that all dooyooers who can’t get up because they have been writing Ops far into the night have a thyroid problem.

These are symptoms that doctors, all too frequently, either deny, ignore, don't recognise, or attribute to causes other than the thyroid. At last, research into the relationship of thyroid disease to brain chemistry, has shown that it can result in depression, anxiety disorders, mood disorders and cause other mental and emotional effects.

The best way to find out if your thyroid gland is underactive is to take your basal body temperature, which is your temperature when at complete rest. Take your temperature by mouth for three days in a row, first thing in the morning before you get out of bed. Any activity can raise your body temperature so shake the thermometer down before you go to bed and have it beside your bed when you wake up. If your body temperature is below 97.6 degrees Fahrenheit for three days in a row you have a problem with your thyroid gland.

You may want to see your doctor to determine the severity of your thyroid problem and to discuss your treatment options. In severe cases of hypothyroidism your doctor may want to put you on synthetic thyroxin. This may be necessary for some individuals, especially for those who have had their thyroid gland surgically removed. If your underactive thyroid is not so severe your doctor's test can easily miss the problem. In fact, a recent medical study estimated that 13 million Americans have an undiagnosed thyroid problem. This is because doctors are usually looking for conditions that are bad enough to warrant drug treatment. Doctors will often ignore an underactive thyroid that does not meet these criteria. However, even mildly underactive thyroids that are not severe enough to
require drug treatment can never-the-less result in all of the symptoms mentioned above, including weight gain and low energy. In these cases lifestyle, dietary changes and nutritional supplementation may be your best option.

I am now wondering if the depression, which has plagued me since childhood, could have been caused, or made worse by my underactive thyroid. I know I will have great difficulty in convincing my GP (bless him) that this is not just another one of my bright ideas but, to be honest, I doubt if I shall bother to ask him as he will only order more blood tests and they will, as always, come back normal.

You can read more interesting facts about Thyroid disease on –
www.endocrineweb.com
or a book entitled - The Thyroid Solution : A Mind-Body Program for Beating Depression and Regaining Your Emotional and Physical Health by Ridha Arem available from Amazon.com for £15.13. I have not read this but have read the revues which all rate the book with 5 stars. I also noted that there is a revue from lyn@mynott45.freeserve.co.uk who runs a support group in case any of you are interested.

I have only really touched on the link between hypothyroidism and depression both of which I understand only too well but there are many, many more aspects to both disorders and you can find a wealth of information on the net.
I will post this under thyroid disease as I have already written an Op on depression but you might find it useful to read both.
Keep smiling !!

Summary: