A while back, my friendly neighborhood psychiatrist began giving me a very low dose of cytomel, a T3 thyroid hormone. It is different than the typical T4 supplements, such as Synthroid and Armor (see explanation in quoted material to follow).

Prior to taking this medication, I went to an endocrinologist to have bloodwork done to determine my unmedicated blood levels of total thyroid hormones, as well as T3 and T4 specifically. They numbers came out in the "normal" range, and the endocrinologist was outraged that anyone would consider giving a thyroid medication for depression. I asked, "Is it like swatting a fly with a baseball bat?" and he replied, "No, it's like swatting a fly with a nuclear bomb."

However, both my naturopath and my psychiatrist (both friendly!) agree that there are many undiagnosed cases of low thyroid in women, because symptoms can be present even when thyroid hormone values test in the "normal" range. This range has not been revised for years, and so my physicians believe that treating the symptoms is called for.

Well, let me tell you, it works. When I am on this therapy, I feel alert, positive, and energetic. It's not always rainbows and roses, but I certainly feel much more like myself than in the past.

So poop on that endocrinologist. His head is in the past. The research has shown, as early as ten years ago, that the T3 approach is significantly effective. I'm grateful to my docs for being so forward-thinking. Props to them both. And here now is the explanation of thyroid supplementation to improve mood - backed by research that is ten years old!:

Exciting research shows that the thyroid hormone called T3 can help treat depression (1,2,3). Psychotherapy often fails to control depression. Sigmund Freud, the father of psychotherapy, proposed theories about depression, that many psychiatrists do not accept because his writings were his opinions and not presented as scientific data supported by controlled experiments. The dominant theory today is that depression is caused by low brain levels of the neurotransmitters, serotonin and norepinephrine. The drugs such as Paxil, Prozac and Zoloft that treat depression are supposed to raise brain levels of these neurotransmitters. Doctors can also raise brain levels of serotonin by prescribing pills containing T3, a hormone produced by peripheral tissue from T4, which is produced by the thyroid gland. (1) They also prescribe T3 by itself or together with antidepressants. Depression is common among people who have too much or too little thyroid hormone. Doctors usually treat low thyroid function with T4 also known as Levothroid and many people become even more depressed. They treat this depression by prescribing T3 as well as T4.

1) M Weissel.Treatment of psychiatric diseases with thyroid hormones.Acta Medica Austriaca, 1999, Vol 26, Iss 4, pp 129-131.

2) H Heuer, MKH Schafer, K Bauer.Thyrotropin-Releasing Hormone (TRH), a signal peptide of the central nervous system.Acta Medica Austriaca, 1999, Vol 26, Iss 4, pp 119-122.

3) F Konig, C vonHippel, T Petersdorff, W Kaschka.Antithyroid antibodies in depressive diseases.Acta Medica Austriaca, 1999, Vol 26, Iss 4, pp 126-128.

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