Hi all ..... well, this has been quite a weekend, and I may have hit on something that could help. I saw my Psychiatrist last week, and besides our usual talk and discussion of medications, he wrote out a script for me to have a thyroid blood test done. Now, I've been taking Synthroid for 2 years (Big Pharma's favorite). I have a good friend from Germany who has lived in the states for many years and she is a real researcher (not academically, but she really goes after things). She told me to go to Amazon, type in "Stop the Madness" and take a look at all the books there written about how hypothyroidism affects depression. So, I started to dig, I ordered one of the books, the first book, and also checked a lot of reputable sites about this. Wow. What I didn't know was astounding. In the states usually what is tested is T-3 and T-4, but there are others that could, and should be tested, especially with a patient who struggles with severe depression. My friend told me that she had to virtually fight with her Internist to get him to have her get the other tests (don't know what they are yet, but I'll find out). He relented and sure enough, very low thyroid, and she was on Synthroid. She knew of a medication for this that is commonly used in Germany and works far better than Synthroid, and insisted he Rx it for her. She has to send to Canada for it as it's not available in the States - Big Pharma's influence again. For the passed several years I feel like just a slug .... I've just moved into a new apt. ..... I don't want to unpack, don't want to do the dishes, don't want to wash my face at night, basically, I don't want to do anything but sit and sleep. This morning I had planned to go to church, had everything laid out to wear, alarm set, and I was sitting eating my breakfast, and I totally fell asleep. I woke up 1-1/2 hrs. later. This is very common for me ... I'd say 5 days out of 7. So, I am going to call my Internist tomorrow and make an appt. to see her and talk about this, show her the Rx, and tell her about what I'd learned. When I get the book, I'll take that in. I have a strong suspicion this could be part of my depression, not all of it, but part. About 10 years ago I was coming home on the train from St. Louis (an overnighter), and when I woke in the AM I had a small itchy bump on my hand. By the time I got from Chicago to MD I had hives all over my body the size of plates - I was scared to death. I called my doctor, and she was out that day, so they gave me to the "senior" member who should have retired years before, and he Rx-d cortisone, which is usual. But, he Rx-d a bottle of them and told me that as soon as I got home to take 6 (yes, six!) of them, and then start the next AM with 1 or two several times a day. Well, by midnight I was acting like I was on a drug high ..... sooooooooo happy, dancing, singing, doing and saying strange things ..... just totally manic. A girlfriend I was with that evening told me I should not drive .... she didn't know what was wrong, but something was. But, OH NO, I knew I was fine .... just "happy." She stayed that night as she was worried and the next day I went to my regular Internist. She was absolutely appalled by me, my behavior and everything else was so not me. I told her what happened, but again - I was fine!!!! She immediately gave me the regular pred-pack, and another med. which I can't remember, told me NOT to drive, and to call her if I felt anything stranger happening (like I would have known). She said because of the little dot that itched, she suspected I was bitten by a juvenile black widow spider and I was highly allergic to it. She wanted my friend to bring me in every day that week, and then once a week for 6 weeks. She said that if in 6 weeks I was still manic, we were going to have to do some serious tests ..... she said the quantity of prednisone I had taken originally (6) had totally blown out my adrenal glands and if they didn't recover fully, we'd have to do testing. (the "senior" doctor who Rx'd that ridiculous amount immediately retired). Well, I came down from the high in about 5 weeks, but since then I'm tired all the time, fall asleep at the drop of a hat, dry skin, have gained weight for no reason, and I just don't have the energy to do anything at all. I think I said that it is not uncommon for me to fall asleep in the middle of eating, which is what happened today. My friend told me since she's been taking the other medication (and I don't know the name), she has to send for them to Canada, she's beginning to feel much, much, better. She told me that synthroid is hardly ever used in Germany anymore as they have found that this is far more effective, but Big Pharma has us sending for it to Canada. If you're interested, go to Amazon, and type in "Stop the Madness" and a list of books will come up. I got the first one (it's the second edition) and I'll go from there. I hope it comes soon so I can take it into my doctor and talk about it. I'm so thankful for a sharp Psychiatrist, who seems to be on top of things like this, moreso than my Internists.
abby