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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 22 of 22. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by delna on December 9, 2003, at 14:15:06
hi
has anyone suffered from symptoms of hypothyroidism from psychiartic drugs?
thnx
Posted by sarita0001 on December 9, 2003, at 15:33:49
In reply to hypothyroidism, posted by delna on December 9, 2003, at 14:15:06
hi
i think i did while i was on lithium when the levels were high. what kind of symptoms are you talking about?
sara
Posted by delna on December 9, 2003, at 15:48:50
In reply to Re: hypothyroidism, posted by sarita0001 on December 9, 2003, at 15:33:49
abnormal menstrual periods(normally I have an extremely regular cycle), sudden weight gain despite having been on the drugs for months, and having a decreased apetite,falling hair. My thinking is slowed and so has my speech plus i have become forgetful and vague
delna
Posted by sarita0001 on December 9, 2003, at 16:41:08
In reply to Re: hypothyroidism, posted by delna on December 9, 2003, at 15:48:50
hi
i always had regular periods. these are the side effects i had on and off- mostly they were bad when the lithium level was too high- increased sweating, my eczema got worse, dryer hair, weight gain last 1.5 years, drowsiness.
i was on topamax for 4 months and i think that had some effects on my thyroid, also b/c i was on lithium at the time- it messed up my cycle and i got facial flushing, acne, nail and hair growth, tiredness.
sara
Posted by gregg on December 9, 2003, at 21:05:43
In reply to hypothyroidism, posted by delna on December 9, 2003, at 14:15:06
Yes, for my wife antipsychotics cause hypothyroidism. Over the years it has been really obvious, when she is not taking antipsychotics the thyroid tests come back normal, when she is taking them (risperdal, zyprexa, etc) the tests come back showing hypothyroidism.
greg
Posted by sarita0001 on December 9, 2003, at 21:29:47
In reply to Re: hypothyroidism, posted by gregg on December 9, 2003, at 21:05:43
Hi,
I forgot to mention one thing that I always had on lithium. I don't remember if it is for hypo/hyperthyroid but I always became cold very easily. I noticed my cold tolerance is so much better now that I am off the med.
Sara
Posted by katia on December 10, 2003, at 0:25:19
In reply to Re: hypothyroidism, posted by sarita0001 on December 9, 2003, at 21:29:47
HI all,
Does anyone know if a drug, i.e. Lithium causes hypothyroid does it go away when stopping the med?
Posted by mags on December 10, 2003, at 9:49:23
In reply to Re: hypothyroidism, posted by katia on December 10, 2003, at 0:25:19
> HI all,
> Does anyone know if a drug, i.e. Lithium causes hypothyroid does it go away when stopping the med?Lithium can cause your thyroid to go out of whack. it did it to me. I was in hospital at the time due to a MAJOR depressive episode and I was getting worse every day with depression and tiredness. They kept upping my Lithium 'til eventually I became toxic. (staggerring, fever, throwing up). I couldn't get out of bed and then they tested my TSH levels and low and behold not only had they poisoned me they had totally screwed my thyroid!!!They told me once it was out of whack it would always be. My TSH level hit 10.5 and they told me I would always be on thyroid meds.
My new psyc doc (NOT connected to THAT hospital!)is very progressive when it comes to treating thyroid because he feels depression and thyroid problems symptoms are so closely related. Some people with one of those problems can be diagnosed incorrectly with the other one for years! In my case however I am on the thyroid med and my doctor aims to keep my TSH level at 1.
Symptoms of low thyroid function are depression, cold hands and feet, tiredness etc. I am also BPII and of course am being treated for it as well (Topamax right now)
Maggie
Posted by katia on December 10, 2003, at 15:29:17
In reply to Re: hypothyroidism, posted by mags on December 10, 2003, at 9:49:23
Hi Mags,
If you hadn't been treated so radically and extremely with the lithium do you think it would've caused permanent thyroid damage?I've heard that regardless if someone is hypothyroid, thyroid meds can help with BP and rapid cycling.
Are you only on Topamax? And what thyroid med?
This is doing enough for your depression and cycling?
thanks.
katia
Posted by mags on December 10, 2003, at 18:47:40
In reply to Re: hypothyroidism » mags, posted by katia on December 10, 2003, at 15:29:17
Katia, The way I understood it, once the Lithium affects your thyroid, even slightly, it is permanent, but certainly ask your doc....my thyroid med is Synthroid and we are still playing with dose as I was stupid and went off it for a few months in the summer 'cause of bad headaches, I wasn't sure what was causing them and went cold turkey on everything! and now I am still trying to lower my TSH levels! My doctor feels keeping TSH levels as low as possible are good for my depression and my fatigue levels.Topamax is my latest trial for my BP. I am only at 75 mg working towards 200 mg. I react bad to most med S/E's so I have to titrate slowly. It seems to be helping with cycling and depression. I have good days and bad which is annoying! I think I have found my miracle drug and then boom a bad day! or sometimes with me a bad afternoon ( I cycle quickly!) My doc says this is good because it shows the drug is strating to work.....when I am feeling good I feel great so I am willing to hang in there...I am hoping to stabilize with this Topamx and then perhaps add Lamictal and Prozac (for PMS).
Posted by noa on December 10, 2003, at 20:44:57
In reply to Re: hypothyroidism, posted by mags on December 10, 2003, at 18:47:40
Lithium made my hypothyroidism worse. I decided to discontinue the lithium, but my endo said I could have stayed on it and done fine, with a higher dose of thyroid hormone. The thing is that I didn't really need the lithium (no bipolar, just depression) and the lithium's worsening the hypothyroidism actually brought to the fore just how important the hypothyroidism was in my depression, and though it had been treated, it was being under-treated for a long time. But had I needed the lithium as a mood stabilizer, I would have just had to adjust the thyroid hormones accordingly. So says my endo and I trust him a lot.
Posted by mags on December 10, 2003, at 21:45:26
In reply to Re: hypothyroidism, posted by noa on December 10, 2003, at 20:44:57
Link to some info re hypothyroidism and lithium...I was 46 at the time......
Maggie
Posted by katia on December 11, 2003, at 15:17:42
In reply to Re: hypothyroidism, posted by noa on December 10, 2003, at 20:44:57
How did you find out you were hypothyroid? By the normal TSH test? I've heard that they aren't that comprehensive.
Posted by katia on December 11, 2003, at 15:19:38
In reply to Re: hypothyroidism, posted by mags on December 10, 2003, at 18:47:40
Hi Mags,
Are you BPI or II? Isn't it dangerous for BP people to be on an antidepressant? Do you find it really helps with your depression solo or when in conjunction with a mood stabilizer?
Posted by mags on December 12, 2003, at 9:03:48
In reply to Re: hypothyroidism » mags, posted by katia on December 11, 2003, at 15:19:38
Hi Katia, I am BPII. AD's can push BP's into a manic state but for me my problems are mostly the depressive end of things. Mostly AD's were just working short term for me and then I crashed big time. Thats how my doc initially clued in that I was BP. ( BPII can be very hard to diagnose)I would start cycling in a manic state thinking my depression was cured and then BAM into a huge depressive whole! After a few times of this he clued in....as long as I am on a stabiliser we feel I should be okay with a low dose of pRozac as it really can help with PMS symptoms.
Posted by katia on December 12, 2003, at 15:48:28
In reply to Re: hypothyroidism, posted by mags on December 12, 2003, at 9:03:48
Hi,
That's sounds like me. I'm also BPII after having been a year on ADs to either no relief or relief mixed state of hypomania and depression. Finally I, yes I clued into it - no doctor did. After I clued into it I went to a private doc and he confirmed it. When you say you went manic and then crashed again, what do you consider manic for you?
Good to hear that Prozac is working with a moodstab. I think i need an extra boost of something. Lamictal at 200mg seems to be working ok, but I still have twinges of depression. I'm not cycling now - just the down side mildly.
Maybe I'll augment with Lithium - I hear it is great for enhancing the effects of meds.
cheerio-
Katia
Posted by noa on December 12, 2003, at 20:21:24
In reply to Re: hypothyroidism » noa, posted by katia on December 11, 2003, at 15:17:42
Originally, my pdoc had me get a TSH and several other thyroid tests. He diagnosed me as having "subclinical" hypothyroidism, based on a borderline TSH (I think it was 4.5 vs. a normal lab range of 5).
Then, as I experienced more hypothyroid symptoms, I also started reading about it. This prompted me to decide to see an endocrinologist who diagnosed the hypothyroidism, with different criteria of what is normal vs. abnormal than the simple TSH criteria. He did an exam and other thyroid blood tests, and he gave symptoms a lot of weight in the diagnosis, too.
Since then, the criteria for normal TSH have been changed, and the idea of treating people with lower TSH who have symptoms is becoming more accepted. But at the time (only about 4 years ago), I felt very lucky to have this endo, because most docs were relying heavily on the statistical norms for the TSH test.
Posted by sarita0001 on December 13, 2003, at 8:48:42
In reply to Re: hypothyroidism » katia, posted by noa on December 12, 2003, at 20:21:24
Hi,
The whole time I was on lithium my TSH was always around 1.3-1.4 and I was always told this was normal. I went to an endocrinologist last month to make sure my thyroid was ok after all those years of meds and it was fine. thoughts?
Sara
Posted by noa on December 13, 2003, at 17:56:02
In reply to Re: hypothyroidism » noa, posted by sarita0001 on December 13, 2003, at 8:48:42
Those numbers do sound normal. The normal ranges used to be around .5 to 5, and were recently changed to .3 to 3.
See
http://thyroid.about.com/library/howto/htthyroid-test.htm
for more info on interpreting thyroid test results.
Posted by mags on December 15, 2003, at 20:12:03
In reply to Re: hypothyroidism » mags, posted by katia on December 12, 2003, at 15:48:28
Hi Katia....My mania was really very subtle just extremely happy...but spending too much money sometimes...sometimes drinking.....and thinking I was on top of the world and cured....I never went over the top manic and every one would want to be around me 'cause I was happy..and then boom I would wake up the next day in hell...It would be gone and I would be in depression hell...after a few times of this the doc said the AD"s were pushing me into mania and not curing the depression...it was awful because I would get this false hope that I had found my "magic pill"... I have come to realize now that there is no such thing ...maybe some magic combo's ;o)
Maggie
Posted by katia on December 16, 2003, at 5:28:35
In reply to Re: hypothyroidism, posted by mags on December 15, 2003, at 20:12:03
> Hi Katia....My mania was really very subtle just extremely happy...but spending too much money sometimes...sometimes drinking.....and thinking I was on top of the world and cured....I never went over the top manic and every one would want to be around me 'cause I was happy..and then boom I would wake up the next day in hell...It would be gone and I would be in depression hell...after a few times of this the doc said the AD"s were pushing me into mania and not curing the depression...it was awful because I would get this false hope that I had found my "magic pill"... I have come to realize now that there is no such thing ...maybe some magic combo's ;o)
> MaggieHi Mags,
God how your description sounds like me. sound like my whole bloody life. I've lived my life charming the pants off of people to only wake up the next day, week, month, to realize "I don't have that energy anymore - Oh no! they'll see who I REALLY am!". And then I hide for months on end and then do it all over again. A seducer of men - lure them in and then BAM! how much can you take!?! give them all the craziness in the world and then sadness to follow. No boyfriend has EVER been able to "handle" me or understand...but just ends up walking away muttering something like "gee, I've never experienced quite that rollercoast ride of emotion before - intense and passionate - but thank you ma'am I think I'll be on ma way now...."
yep. been there.
katia
Posted by mags on December 16, 2003, at 10:46:14
In reply to Re: hypothyroidism » mags, posted by katia on December 16, 2003, at 5:28:35
LOL Katia.....wow, scary how alike we are..I didn't want to mention the seducing part of it ;o)....
or what about the going home with total strangers?EEK...that was so me...I've kinda outgrown that now....gotten old ;o)but you said it! what a roller coaster life!!!
Maggie
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