Posted by BarbaraCat on May 7, 2004, at 13:53:22
In reply to Thyroid hormone vs. ADs, posted by Ilene on May 4, 2004, at 22:06:02
Let's consider a dysfunctional HPA-axis. No matter what else is going on, or what meds you're taking, if the hypothalamus is dysfunctional you will continue to have problems downline in all the systems it affects. The hypothalamus in the brain's limbic system controls the thyroid and most of the other hormonal systems through an informational feedback loop, so if this signalling system is out of whack the entire hormonal system begins to malfunction and will affect every aspect of mental and physical health.
The thyroid is one of the most obvious when things go wrong, as it's so involved in all metabolic processes. Blood tests, even sensitive TSH tests don't always show the full picture, as they don't show the actual cellular uptake of thyroid hormones. A 'sick eythyroid condition' is an astute observation by your doc. Treating the symptoms is more important than test numbers, and since you responded so well to T3/T4, that's the key.
Treating the symptomatic conditions (thyroid and other hormonal therapy, and mood disorder medication) is important, but the most effective therapy is to go upline and work on healing and restoring healthy hypothalamus function. The hypothalamus can get damaged many ways, unrelieved stress and unrefreshing sleep being the main cause and effect - a vicous cycle that needs to be interrupted and reset. The answer is rest, good diet, and stress management in its myriad forms -- doing whatever it takes to get control over these lifestyle habits.
You can help reset the hypothalamic cortisol switch by getting to sleep before 11 and getting 8-9 hours of good refreshing sleep, and then being physically active during the daylight hours. Basically, attuning to our natural sleep/wake cycles. Difficult for most of us in this nutty world we live in, but since HPA-axis dyfunction is showing up as a big contributor to mood disorders, we need to help Mother Nature along.
Getting alot of deep restful sleep in the initial healing phase is crucial. Whatever it takes to get to sleep and reach the restorative Stage IV phase. Melatonin can help with this, as can an herbal sleep formula and an effective sleep med. Unfortunately, many prescription sleep meds and benzos disrupt Stage IV sleep. I take Ambien along with the herbals and melatonin because I need the extra knockout power and Ambien is OK for Stage IV. My HPA axis has been ailing a long time and will take a bit to heal, but as I allow this natural process, more and more my physical and emotional pain is clearing out and healing. Drinking lots of water is very important also. We need so much healthy physical support to heal the deeper emotional issues -- and vice versa.
You might also look into taking l-tyrosine and extra B vitamins, especially B6. These are the building blocks for thyroxine and will help your thyroid meds' effectiveness. Also, 100mg daily of Coenzyme Q helps ignite a hotter cellular metabolic rate. These things have helped my hypothyroid condition, which when untreated or lagging makes me feel crummy in every way.
Lithium, on the other hand, almost undid all the other good things I was doing for my thyroid and it's taking a while to undo the damage since quitting. Lithium competes with thyroxine at receptor sites and is BAD for the thyroid, no matter what any doc might say otherwise. It confuses things terribly and it's not uncommon for TSH values to fluctuate wildly on lithium, sometimes hypo and sometimes hyper. Interesting, when you consider the effect this hypo-hyper fluctuation might have on bipolar disorder!
poster:BarbaraCat
thread:343425
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040505/msgs/344439.html