Anti-depressants and thyroid

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-01-2004
Anti-depressants and thyroid
13
Tue, 08-03-2004 - 12:57pm
Hi Everyone,

I was looking for articles about gaining weight while taking anit-depressants and I

came across a pretty interesting web-site. Its called prozactruth.com, I don't normally

put alot of faith in everything I read on the web, but I thought this might be worth checking out.

My dr put me on Lexapro, because apparently there is nothing wrong with me, other than

she belives I am depressed. Anyway, on this website, there was a page where people had posted their experiences with Lexapro. By the time I was finished reading it, I was in tears....it was all the things that I have been feeling and experiencing.

I just thought that I would share, incase there is anyone out there that is currently

taking an anti-depressant along with your thryoid treatment. If you aren't feeling as

well as you think you should, maybe its not just because of your thyroid.

Cathy, I know that you are way more experienced than I am, so maybe you could do some

research and let us know what you find out.

Take Care!

Shelly

PS - I am still going to visit the endo on 8/30 as planned.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 11-09-2001
Tue, 08-03-2004 - 4:10pm
Hi Shelly - I'm so sorry that you're going through this! You aren't alone, I'm sure and it isn't even just Lexapro, from the little reading I've been doing on this. But here's an interesting article on this: http://www.medicationsense.com/articles/jan_mar_04/antidepress_side_effects.html

In it, he states that the side effect problem is due to the dose rather than the medication itself, that basically, the medications are precribed at too high a dose when just a little might do the job. I don't know about that myself but it might make some sense. What are you going to do? Talk to your doctor about going off it? I'll post any other info I find for you. Hang in there! Cathy :)

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-01-2004
Wed, 08-04-2004 - 9:11am
Thanks for the article, I read it and it does make sense.

When I was first put on Zoloft for PMDD, it was just 25mg for 14 days. That's when I began to gain weight, 15 pounds in 3 months. When I went to the Dr in January to get

my first thyroid test done, I asked him if the zoloft could be causing the weight gain and he said "no". He assumed that all of my complaints were due to depression and increased the dose to 100mg everyday. That's when the trouble really started. Gaining

more weight and feeling worse, and I was becoming a mental basket case. So, I told him

I did not want the zoloft, so he gave me Lexapro, started me on 5mg then increased it to

10mg. With the Lexapro, I felt better mentally, but really I felt nothing. I was never happy or sad, just kind of existing.

The other weekend, I forgot to take the meds for 2 days, so I just never started to take them again. However, I have been taking the Omega 3 which I read does help people come off of the anti-depressants with less withdrawl symptoms. If I start feeling that I need to go back on the meds, I will just to 5mg again. So far, I haven't had any meds for 12 days. And I must admit, I am feeling better than I have in months....and I am actually 'feeling' again.

I know I'm not a Dr and its not wise to stop taking these meds, but I never felt that I needed them and even told that to my Dr. I had never had any symptoms of depression, or felt depressed until I started gaining all this weight, after being put on anti-depressants.

Thanks Cathy, and let me know if you find anything else interesting.

Shelly

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-09-2001
Wed, 08-04-2004 - 11:00am
Hi Shelly - Here's an article on coming off antidepressants safely, and it's on ivillage.uk, of all places!

http://www.ivillage.co.uk/health/ghealth/mental/articles/0,,181034_185066,00.html

It's probably a wise decision to come off it but I just don't want you to have to go through any unnecesary problems!! Cathy :)

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-01-2004
Wed, 08-04-2004 - 2:39pm
Cathy,

I can't thank you enough for looking out for me...well, all of us actually.

Lord knows we can't depend on the Dr's to do it.

So far I have been off 12 days with no problems, so hopefully things will continue

to improve.

I figure that by the time I have my appt with the endo, I will have been off b/c pills

for 12 weeks and Lexapro for 5 weeks. So there shouldn't be any meds to blame my troubles

on.

I was looking through a book called "Could It Be My Thyroid" and I came across something that said there are medications that can interfere with thyroid test results and among them were b/c pills (because of the hormones) and anti-depressants. I haven't got a chance to read the entire thing yet. Do you know anything about this?

Shelly

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-09-2001
Wed, 08-04-2004 - 10:09pm
That sounds kind of familiar but I haven't read it. I would imagine the less different types of medications you have in your system, the better off you are. I took birth control pills when they first came out (!) and they were awful, made you gain weight, break out, just awful. They were so strong then but from other posts I've read, they can still cause so many problems. I wouldn't take them today if I had that decision to make over again. I'll bet yu're going to feel great soon - getting all of that out your system. How long will it take for the lexapro to be fully our of your system or is it already? I'll have to check that book out. Cathy
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-01-2004
Thu, 08-05-2004 - 10:23am
Cathy,

I was on b/c pills for 9 years btw my 2 pregnancies with little or not trouble

at all. After my second pregancy, I went back on them, had not trouble up until

last year. That's when I noticed that my pms symptoms were getting worse each month.

Migraines and headaches that last for 2 weeks, irritability, not sleeping, night sweats.

I was a basket case. That's when I sarted on the zoloft. Shortly after, my periods

were irregular, some times I get it, then I wouldn't and when I did, it was just spotting.

At any rate, my gp said that was normal. And I tried telling her that it wasn't normal for me. So she suggested that I go to my ob/gyn if I was concerned about it. Which I did,

and she said that if I would have come to her and said, I feel great but I'm not getting my period, then she wouldn't have worried about it. But since I was feeling so crappy, she

suggested that I stop taking them. She suggested that if I still feel bad, she could

have my hormones tested to see if everything is ok there, but it would take 3 months for

the pills to get out of my system.

That brings me to your question about the Lexapro, I have no idea how long it will take

for it to get completely out of my system. I would imagine the risk of withdrawl symptoms

would go away after a couple of weeks. I did read that its helpful to drink lemon water to help flush the meds from your liver. I am going to try that as well, I figure it can't hurt. Besides, that was highly recommended if you are taking Lexapro and having 'arthritis like' joint pain.

I will keep you posted, hopefully this crap will be out of my system before too much longer!!!!

Shell

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-14-2003
Thu, 08-05-2004 - 11:16am
Shelly, the one respite I have had with the synthroid is that my migraines have lessened considerably. I went to school and did some research and confirmed with my md that migraines are far worse when your thyroid is out of whack. I also was having problems with my periods and they were not only irregular but sometimes they stopped in the middle and you never knew when it was going to start again. Sometimes a couple hours, sometimes a couple days. My MD says that since my hormones were fine and I am not near menopause yet (i'm 41) it is the thyroid and it should improve with the synthroid. Most of the research also backs that up as well as the pms and depression. Oddly enough though, they were beginning to worry that I was obsessed with my health and needed zoloft. That was when I demanded the antibody test and it was positive. So far the mood swings have lessened as well. Good Luck, Mary
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-01-2004
Thu, 08-05-2004 - 12:49pm
Mary,

Before you had the anti-body test done did you have your TSH level tested?

See, my dr had my TDH tested and when it came back normal, 2.0, she said there

was no need to do any further testing. That's when I was told to just diet

and excercise more! I still haven't figured out how I was supposed to excercise

when I could barely stay awake to drive home from work and by the time I finished

fixing dinner, by entire body ached and I felt like I was made of lead. The last

thing I wanted to do was excercise!

I have an appt with an endo on 8/30 so maybe she will be able to figure something

out!

Shell

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-14-2003
Thu, 08-05-2004 - 12:59pm
I had the TSH done last year and it was 2.26 and then it was done over the winter and it was 2.9 and when it was done in June it was over 5. But the anti-body was 1020 in july. Last spring is when the migraines got worse and the periods started getting strange in may.
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-01-2004
Thu, 08-05-2004 - 1:42pm
So your TSH was in the 'normal' range in the beginning also.

My Dr believes that since my TSH was normal, there can't possibly be

anything wrong with my thyroid. So, I have to just be depressed.

Even my ob/gyn said that just because my TSH is in the normal range,

that doesn't necessarily mean its normal for me, my body could be used

to a different level.

I recently had an anti-nuclear anti-body test done, is that the same

as the tyroid anit-body test that you are referring to?


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