As you can guess, I feel it is very important to deal with ROOT PHYSICAL problems in order to be able to effectively deal with personal problems. You can't counsel out depression, anger, or worse issues if a person is in brain fog and a stupor from un or under treated hypothyroidism, chemical sensitivities, etc. And then when you are ready for counseling, I would suggest trying NANC to find a counselor.
Mercola has many interesting articles on this topic and more (just go to his site and do a search). Mercola
The following abstracts were found by Scrozzled, many thanks!
http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org These links may change, so you can go to the main site and do searches. Or go to Google and do a search
Slower Treatment Response in Bipolar Depression Predicted by Lower Pretreatment Thyroid Function Daniel P. Cole, M.D., Michael E. Thase, M.D., Alan G. Mallinger, M.D., Jair C. Soares, M.D., James F. Luther, M.A., David J. Kupfer, M.D., and Ellen Frank, Ph.D.
OBJECTIVE: Because treatment of the depressed phase of bipolar disorder is a clinical challenge and hypothyroidism is known to be associated with depression, the authors examined the relationship between pretreatment thyroid values and response to antidepressant treatment. It was hypothesized that subjects with lower thyroid function, even within the normal range, would have a poorer response to initial treatment. METHOD: The subjects were 65 patients in the depressed phase of bipolar I disorder who were enrolled in a larger ongoing study. A panel of thyroid measures, including thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), thyroxine, triiodothyronine resin uptake, and free thyroxine index (FTI), were determined before initiation of algorithm-guided treatment. The effect of each thyroid measurement on time to remission was estimated by using the Cox proportional hazards model. RESULTS: Both lower values of FTI and higher values of TSH were significantly associated with longer times to remission, i.e., slower response to treatment. Outcomes were relatively poor unless patients had FTI values above the median and TSH values below the median. Patients with this optimal profile experienced remission 4 months faster than the remainder of the study group. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides further evidence that patients with bipolar disorder are particularly sensitive to variations in thyroid function within the normal range. Our results suggest that nearly three-quarters of patients with bipolar disorder have a thyroid profile that may be suboptimal for antidepressant response. It remains to be seen whether pharmacological enhancement of thyroid function will facilitate recovery from bipolar depression.
Second article:
Biological Psychiatry Prepublication Article Abstract
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High Rate of Autoimmune Thyroiditis in Bipolar Disorder: Lack of Association With Lithium Exposure
Ralph W. Kupka, Willem A. Nolen, Robert M. Post, Susan L. McElroy, Lori L. Altshuler, Kirk D. Denicoff, Mark A. Frye, Paul E. Keck, Jr., Gabriele S. Leverich, A. John Rush, Patricia Suppes, Chad Pollio and Hemmo A. Drexhage Accepted 6/8/2001
Abstract
Background: We assessed the prevalence of thyroperoxidase antibodies (TPO-Abs) and thyroid failure in outpatients with bipolar disorder in comparison to two control groups.
Methods: TPO-Abs of outpatients with DSM IV bipolar disorder (n=226), a general population control group (n=252), and psychiatric inpatients of any diagnosis (n=3190) were measured. Thyroid failure was defined as a raised TSH and/or previously diagnosed hypothyroidism treated with thyroid hormone. Subjects were compared with special attention to age, gender, and, within the bipolar group, exposure to lithium.
Results: TPO-Abs were significantly more prevalent in bipolar patients (28%) than population controls and psychiatric inpatients (3-18%, depending on age, gender, and assay system). The presence of TPO-Abs in bipolar patients was associated with thyroid failure, but not with age, gender, mood state, rapid cycling, or lithium exposure. Thyroid failure was present in 17% of bipolar patients, and more prevalent in women. It was clearly associated with lithium exposure, especially in the presence of TPO-Abs, but not with current rapid cycling, although an association may have been masked by adequate thyroid hormone replacement.
Conclusions: Thyroid autoimmunity was highly prevalent in this sample of outpatients with bipolar disorder, and not associated with lithium treatment. These two variables appear to be independent risk factors for the development of hypothyroidism, especially in women with bipolar disorder.
