Medical Strategies for People with Autoimmune Hypothyroid Disease

By Jan

1. You don't have to get through bad times by yourself. Set up routine counseling sessions, at least every three to four months, so that your therapist will know you in both good times and bad. Friends and family are also good sources of support. Go to them if you are having trouble hanging on; it's just not possible to hang on by yourself. If you are traveling and don't know anyone, hang out for awhile in a mall or another place where there are other people.
2. Seek out community support systems, such as local mental health center groups and faith organizations. Use skin moisturizers for dry skin, and brush your hair gently to lessen loss and avoid tying it back tightly.
3. Knowledge is power. Learn all you can by searching online resources such as Medline. Keep up with new studies. Print them off for your doctor. Get some control over what is happening to you by becoming informed.
4. Be sensitive to how other medications interfere with your well-being. I personally find that I get worse depression-wise on anticonvulsants, lithium, and megace. There are always alternative options.
5. Medications that are helpful to me are:
   1. Synthroid, for thyroid hormone replacement.
   2. Paxil; it makes cell walls more permeable and can lessen cell damage. In me, it also keeps down the incidence of fainting, arthritis pain, and hot flashes. I believe it depresses the body's ability to overproduce damaging adrenaline. In some people, it also helps with depression.
   3. Crinone, a vaginal gel, allows me to ovulate normally (instead of just 3 times per year). Routine ovulation cuts down on the risk of uterine and ovarian cancer. [Editor’s note: FTMs or people who are post-menopausal may be unable to ovulate regularly, and/or may not wish to.]
   4. I have uterine biopsies once a year, and uterine and ovarian internal ultrasounds once a year. Soon there will be a simple blood test as an additional check for ovarian cancer!
   5. I personally find no aid in antidepression medications that are based on the principle of serotonin reuptake inhibitors (such as Prozac and Paxil). However, the historically older trycyclics work great for me, particularly nortriptylene. Trycyclics work because they "rev up" your slowed system.
   6. Remember that nortriptylene can cancel out the benefits of Paxil. But even a small amount of nortriptylene, for as little as three to four months, can be helpful. For the normally bad events that happen a couple of times a decade, a few months on this trycyclic really helps give the footing from which to get some traction going on your own.
   7. Side effects include difficulty reading, dry mouth, and dizziness; use Metadent peroxide mouthwash to combat dry mouth.
   8. Nizoral, prescription strength, for external use on chronic fungus infections.

For more techniques for coping with auto-immune hypothyroid disease, see “Cognitive Restructuring Techniques”
(http://www.forge-forward.org/newsletters/v07i02/cognitiverestructuring.html).