![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 7 of 7. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by laural on October 17, 2000, at 21:55:45
diagnosed schizo-effective bi-polar (mixed mood, rapid cycling)--paranoid delusions in remission but negative symptoms (lethargy, apathy) in full swing. what can i do?? just buck up?? am currently taking depakote, celexa, and wellbutrin, (stopped my resperidol 1.5 mo. ago) thanks! laural
Posted by Noa on October 18, 2000, at 16:20:20
In reply to mega lethargic--medicinal or behavioral cures?, posted by laural on October 17, 2000, at 21:55:45
How is your thyroid?
Posted by laural on October 18, 2000, at 22:23:57
In reply to Re: mega lethargic--medicinal or behavioral cures? » laural, posted by Noa on October 18, 2000, at 16:20:20
> How is your thyroid?
It's funny you ask about that, there have been many instances in my family of thyroid conditions however i've been checked a million times and my thyroid's apparantly normal. is there something else that could be wrong with the thyroid other than hypo or hyperthyroidism? laural
Posted by noa on October 19, 2000, at 9:47:45
In reply to Re: mega lethargic--medicinal or behavioral cures?, posted by laural on October 18, 2000, at 22:23:57
Let me give you my standard speech on the word "NORMAL". There is a big problem with many doctors. They rely too heavily on a statistical norm for the TSH test, which is the usual way of screening thyroid problems.
Usually, a TSH of between .5 and 5.5 is considered within normal limits. However, this is just a statistical phenomenon and may not mean that your TSH is normal. There is new research indicating that a TSH of 2 or higher is highly predictive of later diagnosis of hypothyroid (high TSH means hypo, ie, low thyroid function), but that initial symptoms are overlooked. Not surprisingly, often, the initial symptoms are psychiatric, or somewhat non-specific complaints. These can include fatigue, lack of concentration, depression, "brain-fog", sluggishness, lack of energy, etc. My endocrinologist has told me that people with treatment-resistant depression who are also hypothyroid often need agressive treatment with thyroid hormone, bringing the TSH down way low, much lower than most docs would be comfortable with, in order to feel ok. Luckily for me, he wrote a nice letter explaining this to my GP.
Until I was able to get to the root of my thyroid problem, I was a total mess. I was so weak and tired, I would have to rest after walking from the apartment house door to my car (30 feet), and rest again before getting out of the car. I slept constantly, felt hopeless, confused, couldn't think straight. Plus, I had intermittent edema, joint pain, dry skin, etc. I still need the antidepressants, but without proper thyroid treatment, the AD cocktail I take wouldn't really work.
For more info, see the Thyroid and Depression folder at Psycho-babble-tips. There is a link at the top of this page, or go to:
http://www.egroups.com/links/psycho-babble-tips//Noa_s_thyroid_links_000963272558/
There is lots of info there about how to get a better thyroid eval done, and how to interpret test results, etc.
It is not unusual for thyroid problems to run in families--even if the family members had the opposite type of problem (eg hyper vs. hypo). My mom had severe hyperthyroidism years ago (it took a while to get dxed, too), and I have hypothyroidism.
Good luck.
Posted by laural on October 19, 2000, at 16:23:45
In reply to Re: mega lethargic--medicinal or behavioral cures?, posted by noa on October 19, 2000, at 9:47:45
hi--
thanks so much for the info! next time i see my shrink i'll ask him about it. i've needed at least 12 hours of sleep every night since i was really young, even as a baby i slept a lot. i also find it difficult to do physical things and at one point was weak to the point where it was all i could do to simply sit up in bed--i've been fighting this all my life, not just when depressed, but so many people give me different hypothesese--depression, negative schizo symptoms, i wonder which is which or if its everything. obviously this doesn't answer the question but its an avenue to explore--laural
Posted by noa on October 19, 2000, at 17:42:55
In reply to Re: mega lethargic--medicinal or behavioral cures?, posted by laural on October 19, 2000, at 16:23:45
Good luck.
BTW, I may be mistaken, but I believe in Dr. Arem's book, the Thyroid Solution, he talks about bipolar phenomena. see:
http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000429/msgs/32021.html
Keep us posted.
Posted by laural on October 20, 2000, at 7:39:10
In reply to Re: mega lethargic--medicinal or behavioral cures?, posted by noa on October 19, 2000, at 17:42:55
> Good luck.
>
> BTW, I may be mistaken, but I believe in Dr. Arem's book, the Thyroid Solution, he talks about bipolar phenomena. see:
>
> http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000429/msgs/32021.html
>
> Keep us posted.thanks noa, i see my doc again in a couple of weeks--meanwhile, research. and thanks again for taking an interest in my posts, I know no one has said anything yet but i may be overdoing it a bit right now--but i'm not too worried, i don't really have a history of OCD, just maybe minor stuff. ; ) laural
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Medication | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.