Posted by Bill L on November 29, 2001, at 7:25:06
In reply to thyroid, depression, doctors, and HMOs, posted by mist on November 28, 2001, at 15:24:27
I was in the same situation as you. I waited and finally saw an endocrinologist at Johns Hopkins which has a reputation as being one of the best hospitals in the world. He did a couple of tests but a "free T3" was not one of them. Furthermore, he said that he would not recommend thyroid supplementation as long as the TSH is ok.
He did say that some of the psychiatrists at Hopkins disagree with him and will sometimes give supplmentation to augment antidepressants even if the TSH is normal. The strategy is to give it a trial and see if it works. I believe that the theory is that even if blood tests are normal, the hormone may not be adequately getting into the cells.
When doctors do decide to supplment, most will use T4 or maybe T3 or both (thyrolar). Some like Armour thyroid more since it is natural and has all of the thyroid hormones.
From what I have read, IF one's TSH is ok, supplementation might make antidepressants work better, but supplmentation will generally not get rid of depression by itself. On the other hand, if one has high TSH, then supplementation alone can relieve depression.
My recommendation to you is to certainly keep your appointment to see if you have a thyroid problem. But in the mean time, I think that you should ask your regular doctor about starting on antidepressants right now if you have not already started.
> My doctor recently ordered a panel of thyroid tests for me (at my request—usually they just do the TSH which doesn't give a complete picture of thyroid function and can be misleading). One of the tests came back abnormal. The others were supposedly in the normal range, although according to what I've read what's considered normal in evaluating thyroid conditions is debatable and can vary from individual to individual.
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> I have some symptoms of hypothyroid, including depression (the one that concerns me the most). Based on these symptoms, family history, and my test results, my doctor referred me to an endocrinologist. However, I have to wait almost a month to get in. I am badly depressed to the point that I can barely function on a daily basis or go out. I'm hoping if I treat the thyroid problem I'll get some relief from my longstanding depression. As I understand it, if depression is caused by hypothyroidism, taking thyroid hormone can in some cases relieve it pretty quickly. I would rather go this route before trying any further medication.
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> My main question is why do I have to wait so long to see the endocrinologist? Is it because I have an HMO? Is the doctor putting other patients before me because they have another type of health plan that will be more lucrative for the doctor? Is it common to have to wait this long to see a specialist under these circumstances?
poster:Bill L
thread:85423
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20011123/msgs/85489.html