[LillyL]

#1059363

Hello all and thank you again for all your help
It is really somethng to have a place to turn to while feeling so bad.
Have any of you tried ST. Johns Wart for Depression or Effexor for anxiety and depression? I am scheduled to see a phyciatrist? next week who will assess me I guess and then see a councellor after that I suppose but I don’t know if I should take the atidepressants I have bees perscribed by my GP Effexor or try St. Johns Wart from the helath food store. I would appreciate any input.
Thank you again and have a wonderful weekend everyone<3
Lilly

[snelsen]

#1174304

Hi Lilly,
I have not checked all of your posts yet to see where you are on your Graves’ journey. But both the hyPER and the hyPO state, give us plenty of reasons to feel discouraged and depressed. I think the best person to give you advice on htis subject is the psychiatrist you are going to see next week. ANd I hope he/she is familiar with Graves’a and its’ symptoms.
IF you begin to take an anti-depressent, Effexor or any other one, you must be seen, and the dose managed carefully, but the psychiatrist. Thos docs are the ost familiar with all the varied anti depressants. *Like the ATD’s and thyroid replacement hormones, evaluating whether is is helping you or not helping you, takes a long time. To really know if the drug intervention has made any improvement in your depressive state, you’d have to be on it t least 2 months. BUt again, that is for you to learn all about from the psychiatrist.

Regarding St. John’s Wart, or any other herbal antidepressant, I’d steer very clear of all of them. St. Johns Wart, in particular, impacts the metabolism of MANY other drugs that people take. There are a lot of cons, and no pros for you to begin to take any supplement like that at this time on your own.

I would also be sure that you discuss any of this with the endocrinologist.

Having Graves’ ISa depressing and discouraging. BUt the best way to get past all of this, is to have a treatment plan, and try to get it all behind you and mov on with your life. That is what all of us want, of course.
Shirley

[snelsen]

#1174305

Lilly, I went back to read all your posts. It appears that you have diagnosed with Graves’ since at least last March, THat you have had quite a bit of resistance to treatment, either RAI or surgery, since that time. You have had some very nice posts from Kimberly, Bobbi and myself in the past, directly addressing your concerns, and reinforcing that you will not get better from Graves’ unless you do accept the fact that the choices for treatment are ATD’s, RAI or surgery. Since you have been reading the posts, I am sure you know that by now, plus this advice has been has been given to you by your endocrinologist.

THere are no other treatments. Not vitamin, anti depressants, or anything else you can think of. It seems to me that there is a lot of denial on your part, which is getting in the way of your road back to health. As has been mentioned in other posts by the facilitators, staying in a GRAVes’ state, being hyper, is dangerous. Even if you are hoping for a remission, it must be managed carefully by the endocrinologist, and here are guidelines for how long you are on ATD’s,(havlng labs along the way)

It is fine for you to see a psychiatric, a counselor, whatever, but they should have reliable information from the endocrinologist about your Graves’, and where you are with your treatment on non-treatment.
Shirley

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