I went 10 yrs from MD and endo to get out of a depression, which now I realize was clinical. All I got was your labs are fine, you are OK, and then the handouts of A/D drugs, like they were giving me candy to shut me up. Didn't work, still depressed and this went on from 1991 to 2002. It was just after I had gone thru menopause, so I'd bet that had a lot to do with it. I was never depressed, up and downs of life, but no clinical depression. Then finally I talked to my D.O. who worked with my back for decades and he knew, so called in for thyroid med, no labs, no numbers, nadda, SYMPTOMS and within 4 days those years of depression lifted. That was another turningpoint where I really began to question doctors. Started in the 80's for me and it has not ended. I question them all, only sorry I didn't do more questioning of the surgeon who did hip replacement, he really botched my body. Back to the depression, I was feeling a lowness in 2006 and found how Vit D deficient I was, got to work on that and no depressive feelings since I got that one fixed. A sluggish thyroid or you can call it HypoT has some 66 symptoms and depression is right up there. So if you are OK with how you feel, all this doesn't matter but if you struggle, look deeper. We are NOT numbers and the Medical World has us as being numbers.
My mother always refused even routine doctors appointments. She found out she had thyroid problems by accident, when she got a free cholesterol test done at a shopping mall. Her total cholesterol level registered 500 ! The nurse made her an appointment with a doctor on the spot. She started taking Synthroid, 200mg. The improvement was remarkable and fast. Her voice even changed pitch (higher). Her cholesterol went down to normal levels, and she never did have to take medication for that. She lived to be 93, with no other medication besides the Synthroid.
My mother was a non doctor person and I don't know if she every took thyroid, we never talked about that years back. But her voice got stronger once I got her on grape seed extract when she was in her mid 80's, she passed at 91. I had docs trying Synthorid for me but I had more fatigue....I do very best with desiccated Armour or Naturthryoid. Many do not convert from the T4 only Syn to T3 their body needs.. I don't know what my parents cholesterol was as I don't think they did those tests in their doctor days. They ate everything, good fats, bad fats and lived into 90's. I think we are being sold a lying bill of goods on the cholesterol and the push today for the statin dangerous drugs.
@Joy Martin Agreed and understood! However, while we are being "sold" does not mean we have to "buy". If only the average person would take the time to learn and understand, the "sell" would diminish on it's own. IOW, promoting the meds sells them. The T-V promotional advertising of drugs today has reached ridiculous levels. "Ask your Doctor" if XYZ may be for you. (Better yet, tell your doctor.......) Frank
Allopathic Doctors have to "buy" what pharma pushes...pharma controls. One does not get advice from a Allopathic MD to stop with carbs/sugars to control cholesterol. And here again I believe a lot of the cholesterol hysteria is a myth brought on by pharma to push their expensive drugs. The doctors who are different are the Integrative aka Functional Medicine MD's...they don't push drugs first.
@Joy Martin We have found just such a doctor, fortunately listed among the few our insurance accepts, after being hustled by the first 3 or 4 Principal Care Providers offered us. He is a D.O., on first meeting us 2 years ago, explained up front he sees himself as an "old country doctor", as he expressed it. He sits and listens intently, then seems deep in thought, before pronouncing a verdict. He is most accepting of my questions, unlike the others. We like and respect him a lot. Frank
Oh yes, DO's are rare who do it all, and today the bodywork. I see one and am going to see him Wed for my 3-4 week osteo work. He's pretty remarkable.... Many of the DO's coming out of school today, don't do bodywork. We have a fair amount here in Santa Monica who do it all and do NOT deal with insurance. My guy does....takes my medicare. I have a great little book written by Dr. Clark Hansen and he's over in Scottsdale and he's a Naturopath. Very knowledgeable. The book is on Grape Seed Extract.
As far as thyroid, or any test for that matter, it is not generally the TEST that is at fault, but the interpretation. As I have mentioned before, I have found that women particularly appear to be happiest when their TSH level is around 1.0 mIU/L even though reference or normal ranges often go up to 4 or 5. I don't know why better range studies are not done, but as usual, "normal" does not preclude the presence of a disease or disorder. Synthroid (or generic) is the most common drug given to correct the issue, but it is only T4 and does not account of other issues and autoimmune diseases like Hashimoto's or Graves'. Most physicians simply look at the numbers and if it falls into the "normal range", it is discounted as the cause of an issue. As @Joy Martin said above, we are not just a collection of numbers, and each individual has to be viewed individually. The same goes for any test of imaging procedure. If we are only a set of numbers, computers would be better equipped to diagnose than humans. Also, no one remedy works for every person either.
is Needed for a Lift... What I go to first, is get that Thyroid thoroughly checked out and see a couple docs as many docs are useless on this gland, I've been there. 10 long years of no thyroid help from the dumb docs. I have suggested that some may need a Serotonin Boost to feel better, feel more up vs depressed. My friend has been taking low dose tryptophan or low dose 5HTP before bed, and without protein, to help keep her "level"....she had a lot of depression issues as a young person, long before I knew her and she helps me a lot over our friendship. I take 500 mg of Tryptohan in my sleep combo and I take it primarily for sleep but it does help my mood. If you feel you NEED some help do your research on the 2 I mentioned above. Or don't bother and do what you do..... If you want to consider 5HTP this is excellent info on it. https://www.verywellmind.com/5-htp-5...yptophan-88320
I believe serotonin is also related to schizophrenia. We did research into that as far back as the 1960s. As I have posted before, women seem to be more thyroid sensitive than men...or men don't complain about it at least. In my experience, post-menopausal women are happiest when their TSH is about 1.0 mIU/L. That is near the low end of the "normal range" in most labs. As far as I know, no one has established "sex-specific" reference ranges based on how the patients feel rather than just function but I think it should be examined.
Don Alaska, oh my, when my TSH was at 1 or below I felt best. I had to take less of thyroid due to costs and now I'm feeling I may have to bite the bullet again and get to 1 or less with TSH, it's been inching up to 2something. One product I was taking called NT was the best and affordable and they had some problems and then ended up stopping their manufacturing. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr The person who wrote the book, Stop The Thyroid Madness, talked about how TSH needs to to be at low end of range for T4.............to feel their best.
@Joy Martin thyroid studies, like all endocrine issues, are complicated things. I tell people to go by the TSH level, not the T4, etc. unless you are taking thyroid supplements, in which case you need to also check the Free T4 level. TSH is what your body thinks your thyroid level is.
Don Alaska Very complicated and too too many are not getting the support they need to be optimal and feel good. I've heard TSH is not the major factor but it needs to be very low....and on T4, best to come in at low end of range, and on T3 best to come in at high end of range. This is all from Stop The Thyroid Madness author and thyroid expert.
Some folks get the jitters when their TSH is a lot below 1.0, but having a low T4 is the OPPOSITE of a low TSH. A higher T4 causes a lower TSH.
I can remember when I FINALLY was given Armour thyroid back in 2002 and I was 64, and went 10 yrs prior and not getting helped by a bunch of docs for 10 yrs, during the early time of taking Armour I felt a bit Hyper and that was 20 yrs ago and never felt this again...I just backed down the dose and I was fine. It was a hot summer too and that can have a factor. Age is a factor. Now at almost 84, ,meds have changed and some taken off the market. So I'm in a little struggle now, but working on it. Again age is a major factor.