Posted by Larry Hoover on February 25, 2009, at 20:05:03
In reply to Re: Thanks bleauberry and larry, but.... » Larry Hoover, posted by psyclist on February 24, 2009, at 14:23:58
> Well it looks like there is probably no hope for my thyroid given the length of time I have spent on continuous Lithium treatment. If this is the case then I have a few choice things I would like to say to the psychiatrists who have treated me for the last two decades.
I hope I haven't misled you. Lithium may inhibit thyroid output. So does aging. It's a known risk, and it's clearly unfortunate that you weren't given sufficient information to provide informed consent.
> My understanding is that hypothyroidism in itself causes mental health problems. Thus Lithium treatment which leads to hypothyroidism is paradoxical. It recreates the very problems that it sets out to solve.
> I believe that I suffer from sluggish cognitive tempo. I cannot concentrate sufficiently to read a book or to watch a TV program longer than 30 minutes. This I put down to hypothyroidism.
Have you tried any supplements? As you're in the NHS, then you're also in a low-selenium geographical zone. You may also benefit from the antioxidant N-acetylcysteine.
> I am tapering off my Lithium at a rate of 100 mg every 10 or 14 days. So far I am down from an initial 900 mg to 800 mg but I cannot say I have noticed any improvement yet.
I hope you are doing what is best for you. It's hard to tell from way over here.
> As I am on the British NHS I don't know how many blood tests I will have access to. My GP, who is a recent change due to travel problems, is not very promising. He described my Serum free T4 level of 11 pmol/L within an allowable range of 10 to 22 pmol/L as quote "perfect".
Dear me. That does not sound promising. Nor enlightened. And as I said earlier, there is not yet a complete picture of your thyroid function obtained from the tests performed. There is probably some flow-chart they use, and they'll only do the simplest of tests unless a gross abnormality has been discovered.
> My own view is that one does not need to be an endocrinologist to see that it is rather low. One only needs to be numerate.
Indeed. The "normal range" of thyroid tests is more and more being seen as a guide, and ought to be interpreted in light of symptoms that may be related to hypo- or hyper- thyroid function. It's not like blood sugar, which really does have physiological/functional boundary concentrations.
> Larry your prognosis for any future T4 or T3 tests does not seem to be very optimistic. How comfortable and easy is it to take an augmentation?
It's blessedly easy to try, if you can obtain the hormones themselves. That is the obvious rub. I've obtained them online.
> I would be grateful to hear from anyone who has experience of this.
They didn't help me, so I'm not a good source for greater insight into benefits.
Lar
poster:Larry Hoover
thread:879453
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20090223/msgs/882505.html