stop antidepressants or add t3 to the mix?

I am a 21 year old male, 6'3, 215lbs, husky, especially thighs and midsection..Anyway....

On 8/14/07
my GP did some blood work becuase I was depressed, exhausted and I mean very fatigued but couldnt sleep, hair falling out, blurry vision, memory block, loss of motivation, extreme concentration issues, cold feet, dark circles under the eyes, confusion, nervousness . He did a CBC and checked my thyroid (only TSH--which was 1.66) He sent me to a psychiatrist because he felt that I was in crisis and needed some specialized attention. Soon after meeting with the shrink, I was quickly diagnosed with depression/anxiety/adult ADD and put on:

In the morning:
-187.5mg EffexorXR
-10mg Lexapro
-10mg Adderal

To sleep:
-100mg Trazadone
-50mg Seroquel

After nearly 6 weeks of nothing more than side effects that seemed to be making me more depressed/anxious, i began to become more skeptical of my recent dx's. I researched and learned that my issues could be thyroid related. Soooo i met with an endo and he ran the following tests:

On 9/26/07
Thyroxine(t4)- 7.38 (5.1-14.1)ug/dl
T-Uptake- .996 (.8-1.3)TBI
Free thyroxine index- 7.4 (4.8-12.7)ug/dl
TSH- 2.53 (.4-4.9)uIU/ml
T4,free- 1.33 (.73-1.7)ng/dl
Cortisol- 20.56 (6.2-19.4)ug/dl
LH- 4.88 (1.7-8.6) mIU/ml
Testosterone, Total- 5.77 (2.8-8) ng/ml
DHEA- 288 (110-510) mcg/dl
Thyroglobulin AB- <20 (<20)iu/ml
Thyroid Peroxidase AB- <10 (

This doctor ignored all of my symptoms and told me that I was perfectly healthy based upon my tests and that my issues were not related to the field of endocrinology. I was not satisifed so i began to research more. I was still convinced that i had hypothyroid symptoms so i had some additional tests run.

On 10/3/07
By this time, I had already began weaning myself off of the medication that I was on because I felt that it wasn't doing me any good. Here are my test results:

TSH- 2.87(.4-5)mIU/l
free t4- 1.3 (.8-1.8) ng/dl
free t3- 396 (230-420) pg/dl
ferritin- 225 (20-345) ng/ml
prolactin- 8.6 (2-18) ng/ml
cortisol,total, serum- 18.3 (4-22) ug/dl
cortisol,free,24hr urine- 43.3 (5-50) ug/24hr
ACTH- 28 (7-50) pg/ml

Then about a week went by...I am completely off of the adderal and down to:
-75mg Effexor
-10 mg Lexapro
-1mg clonopin
-50mg seroquel

I had my GP run a thyroid panel plus free t3 and here are my test results:

on 10/9/07 (most recent)

TSH- 1.34 (.4-5) mIU/l
Total T4- 6.9 (4.5-12) ug/dl
t3 uptake- 33.1% (22%-35%)
t4, free, calculated- 2.28 (1.53-3.85)
t3, total- 97 (60-181) ng/dl
free t3- 283 (230-420) pg/dl

My psychiatrist informed me that if I am not responding to the antidepressants the next algorithm would be SSRI + T3. So far the SSRIs haven't been doing anything more than just giving me side effects. I am still weaning myself off the anti depressants and am hoping to be put on Armour thyroid becasue of my low free t3 level. . I am still not sure if these tests assume hypothyroidism. My last endo wont help me and my GP bases his diagnoses primarily on TSH levels which seem to be VERY normal. I am searching for another endo or any doctor that will listen to me and hear my symptoms and not jsut look at my labs and treat me like another file in the cabinet. Any response will be greatly appreciated. I am desperate and hope that someone can give me a clearer picture as to what is happening to me. Thanks

[Venora Moonwind]

your tsh is too high and you are hypo Get an endocrinologist and get your test run . you should be on syn throid not natidepressants the synthroid would be better for you than the armour but everyone is different but you really need the synthroid to bring your tsh to aound .1 so you can start to feel better. come over to the thyroid forum too. there is a great bunch of folks going through what you are.I had thyroid surgery last year and I know how devestating being hypo can be.I was hypo for so long that I have an enlarged heart now.
so dont wait to get an endo and be sure they specilaize in thryoids and not diabetes
  good luck and let me know how it comes out for you.
Love Venora

[bkaye86]

ive been to 2 endos and they both believe that i am fine and that my symtoms (symptoms) are related to depression and i should just follow my antidepressants regimen. i am so confused at this point. the anti deps dont work for me but only make me feel worse but my labs are so "normal" that i am not being prescribed Thyroid meds... this whole journey seems so hopeless

[charlie101]

is it ok to take synthyroid and wellbrutrin ??? I am afraid of too many pills :-)