# Depression thyroid and meds oh my!



## anxietysoldier (Apr 2, 2014)

I have been suffering with anxiety and depression for years, probably related to untreated thyroid condition. I have tried antidepressants,Effexor,Zoloft,Wellbutrin....natural approaches 5htp, amino acids, mood cure book, nothing seemed to help. 
My question is I have read that the thyroid would limit these things from working, and once the thyroid is corrected, moods might finally stabilize, or now amino acids or antidepressants might now work. Anyone with experience in this area? Thanks guys I appreciate any input...


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## Lovlkn (Dec 20, 2009)

> TSH 4.89 (0.45 - 3.98)
> FT4 0.91 (0.88 - 1.70)
> T3 0.83 (80 - 2.00)


If these are your current labs - and you are taking a levo replacement med - you should start feeling better. Currently you are hypo.


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## anxietysoldier (Apr 2, 2014)

Yes these are my current labs 1 month old, been on nature thyroid 2 grains for a few days, started on nature thyroid 1 grain, increase 1/2 grain every 2 weeks


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## bigfoot (May 13, 2011)

Good to hear you are on Nature-Throid; same thing here. Just go low 'n' slow with the increases if you need to. There is no way I could tolerate a 1/2 grain bump either up or down in dosage at one time, let alone starting at 2 grains to begin with. IIRC, I started at a 1/2 grain and increase by 1/8 to 1/4 grain. I will say that the Nature-Throid "magically" cleared up a lot of my joint problems, skin problems, muscle aches & pains, and neuropathy. Truly amazing. One thing that caught my attention after starting NT was I had bad acne for about a week or so, but then it was gone, too. Must've been the hormones fluctuating.


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## anxietysoldier (Apr 2, 2014)

its just been hard dealing with all these feelings and waiting for the medicine to kick in, just in a hurry for some relief


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## bigfoot (May 13, 2011)

True -- thankfully T3 has a short half-life, so it should be building up relatively quickly over hours and days. T4 on the other hand, it has a half-life of weeks to months. I think the general estimate is about 6-8 weeks for T4 to kick in. So, for example, if you increased your dose yesterday, you'd see changes in T3 levels almost immediately, but it would be much longer for the T4 to build up. I will also say that anytime I've had an increase (or decrease) in thyroid medication, it does feel like a roller-coaster for a bit, both physically and emotionally. That's the part most doctors leave out.


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## ssMarilyn (Nov 15, 2013)

anxietysoldier said:


> Yes these are my current labs 1 month old, been on nature thyroid 2 grains for a few days, started on nature thyroid 1 grain, increase 1/2 grain every 2 weeks


*I don't see an FT3 test result on that list? That is the most important test of all, according to many knowledgeable MD's. TSH is pretty worthless.*


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## earlyapex (Feb 17, 2014)

T4 has a half life of 7days. At 2 weeks on a dose, that t4 has built up to 75% of max from that dose. I notice with a dose increase I feel great for a few days, but my body gobbles up the T3 due to being so deficient, so I feel hypo for a little bit, then as the t4 builds I begin to feel better. But i honestly dont benefit from holding a dose longer than 2 weeks or i begin to slide back to hypo land. Granted I am only on 75mg


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