Guest guest Posted November 23, 2010 Report Share Posted November 23, 2010 I believe depression is caused by low thyroid. http://depression.about.com/od/thyroid1/a/hypothryoidism.htm Low thyroid can correlate with low testosterone. > > is there any evidence that low t can cause depression. I understand depression can be a result of low t but can it be a cause? > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 24, 2010 Report Share Posted November 24, 2010 Yes, testosterone is involved in your well-being, and so are the neurotransmitters and other hormones, as described. But thyroid is in there too. It would be erroneous to say that it is any one thing over the other. It is probably the combination of all them, and they have to be at proper ratios for wellness. For anyone interested in the details, here's an excellent post from Dr. no about depression where he names EVERYTHING involved, even the weather! http://www.definitivemind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=567 & highlight=depression+t\ estosterone+thyroid " Low thyroid hormone can predispose one to depression. Cold weather can predispose one to depression. Cold weather forces the nervous system to increase body heat generation by increasing sympathetic nervous sytem activity. This can cause insomnia. But it also can lead to increased inflammatory immune system activity that eventually lead to sickness behaviors and depression. Suboptimal nutrition is a common contributor toward depression. Even when people think they have good nutrition, when nutritional analysis is done, they often are deficient in several nutrients. Modern diets are particularly deficient in numerous nutrients. A good starting point with diet is the book " Nourishing Traditions " by Sally Fallon. A problem in treatment is that often practitioners have not thought about what is an " optimal " as oppose to " deficient " level for individual nutrients when it comes to mental function. B12 deficiency, for example, starts at 550 pg/mL where neuron demyelination starts, not 200 pg/mL, where most would consider supplementation. Further, since B12 is artificially elevated by Folate, a higher dose may be necessary. A Methylmalonic acid level may also need to be checked to make sure B12 is even working. Iron deficiency is also often not recognized. A Ferritin level needs to be checked but often is not. Iron metabolism is also dependent on Vitamin A metabolism. Vitamin D is often deficient. However, I think current supplementation dosing guidelines are low compared to what people use to get in traditional diets. Mental health often needs higher dosing for Vitamin D. There are complexities involved with treatment that need to be addressed when one attempts to optimize nutrition. Gastrointestinal problems - such as pathogenic bacterial or yeast infections, irritable bowel syndrome, etc. - are a common problem which can cause fatigue and depression. Depression usually has multiple underlying pathophysiological causes. Suboptimal thyroid and suboptimal adrenal function are just two of the many problems that can exist simultaneously to cause depression. Mental function is highly preserved function. It takes a lot of hits to cause mental illness. The problems can be stratified along four general groups: Structural problems include neurodegenerative changes such as loss of glial cell mass or myelination, suboptimal intestinal flora. Signaling problems include problems with norepinephrine, serotonin, dopamine, thyroid, inflammatory cytokines, adrenal hormones, testosterone, estrogens, leptin, insulin, renin-angiotensin-aldosterone, etc. Metabolic and Nutritional problems include problems with gluconeogenesis, lipid metabolism, intestinal transport, mitochondrial function, problems with the citric acid cycle, signal transduction problems, nutritional deficiencies - of which a myriad are possible. Psychological and social problems and stresses - of which there are a nearly infinite variety. Achieving wellness involves identifying each individual problem which are contributing to depression and addressing them. The treatment interventions include psychosocial interventions, nervous system interventions (such as the psychiatric medications), endocrine interventions, immune system interventions, and metabolic and nutritional interventions. Thus, an comprehensive assessement and treatment is often needed. In psychiatry, this avoids trial and error work and achieves better results. When one aims for wellness, the key to treatment is optimization of the various systems involved. For example, when it comes to thyroid hormone, one not only has to adjust thyroid signaling until it is optimal, but to also address the nutritional aspects of thyroid function and to address immune system problems which can impair thyroid function. When it comes to adrenal function, one has to address immune system problems, nutritional problems and nervous system problems that may cause dysregulation of the adrenal glands. These days, I, often, do not need to do adrenal signaling support by adding hydrocortisone or other hormones when I address the other systemic problems because adrenal dysregulation is often secondary to these other issues. __________________ - Romeo B. no, MD, physician, psychiatrist " > > > > is there any evidence that low t can cause depression. I understand depression can be a result of low t but can it be a cause? > > > > > > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 24, 2010 Report Share Posted November 24, 2010 It's not so much that it is Depression as it feels like it. I was treated for Major Depression for 5 yrs they put me on every AD drug on the market. I never felt better and most of them drugs made me feel worse. I feel like I lost 5 yrs of my life and sex life on them drugs. When Prozac came out they put me on it not long after starting it I had a hard time voiding. I ended up with a bad bladder infection. I was sent to see a Uro told Prozac does not do this. The Uro asked me why I was on all them meds for so long and not doing better. He told me he thinks I have low Testosterone and it will make you feel like your suffering from Depression but it's the low Testosterone and AD meds make low T worse. He tested me and he was right I was on so many AD meds at the time with the new Prozac that I had to go into the hosp. to get off them. I was off work on sick leave for 5 yrs. My wife and I were getting a divorce and I was losing my job. Because BCBS sent a letter to the Dr.'s that were treating me for Major Depression wanting to know why I was not getting better. When you work for a big co. and your in the Union you get sick pay. But you have to agree to being seen by Co. Dr.s. The dam Dr.'s that were treating me sent BCBS and my Job a letter saying I liked being depressed and did not want to get better. There doing this put my wife and myself in Divorce Court. And my Job was in jeopardy. I was in the hosp. to get off the AD drugs 90 days the with draw was he**. I was then put on TRT and back to work in 30 days after being off work on sick leave more then I was on. I feel it's a crime for Dr.'s to do this to a man with out testing his hormones. So if one feels like they are suffering from Depression test your hormones if your Testosterone levels are low and you go on AD meds it can make this worse. I must say all this crap ruined my life you can read my sad story at this link. http://forums.realthyroidhelp.com/viewtopic.php?f=5 & t=9239 I feel most Dr.'s I seen did me more harm then good. And to add to all this after I had Heart Bypass surgery 2 yrs ago and was put on Statin Drugs that damaged my joints and muscles to the point I can stand or walk without a walker. The Dr.s would not listen to me when I told them over and over again the Statin Meds were doing this to me. They would not listen to me until I could not walk. Now the last time I seen my Dr. he knows all about this problem and told me a lot of people with this problem suffer from Depression from the problem and offered me AD meds. Need I say more. If you want to know about feeling Depressed with low testosterone go to Dr. no's forum he is in Psychiatry doing a new book that will change the way Dr. treat mental problems he feels most peoples problems are due to low Hormones. http://www.definitivemind.com/forums/index.php Co-Moderator Phil > From: Shaun <shaunskel@...> > Subject: Low t and Big D > > Date: Tuesday, November 23, 2010, 9:55 PM > is there any evidence that low t can > cause depression. I understand depression can be a result of > low t but can it be a cause? > > > > ------------------------------------ > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 24, 2010 Report Share Posted November 24, 2010 Believe it or not, that's what I'm trying to do, but it's such slow reading, cause each of his posts is like a college lecture! Who is your doc, BTW? You actually know about neurotransmitters, and no's site is the only place I've seen them discussed. I've read numerous books and multiple forums, but he's the only one that truly gets the big picture. Barb > > > > > > is there any evidence that low t can cause depression. I understand > depression can be a result of low t but can it be a cause? > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 29, 2010 Report Share Posted November 29, 2010 When I run out of testosterone for my injections, within a couple of weeks I enter into a horrible depression, so I'd say, yes, low T can definitely cause depression. > > is there any evidence that low t can cause depression. I understand depression can be a result of low t but can it be a cause? > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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