Within the last three and a half weeks my dr put me on citalopram. I was under a considerable amount of stress but I was also having weird feeling in my hands not the typical hypoparathyroid tetany feeling. I told the doctor and he thought it was probably my anxiety. Three days ago i ended up going to the hospital for a random knee swelling and mentioned my hand was still somewhat feeling weird so they did a blood test and my calcium was low and now my thyroid is at 9. Which is hypo. My question is does anyone know or has anyone had their thyroid level go out of the normal range while on citalopram or any other antidepressant? The only thing that has changed was adding that medicine. My calcium I am not sure why that has went low because that started before the medication was added. The hospital did not check my ft4 or my ft3. They just checked my tsh and did alot of other tests. Any input would be greatly appreciated.
The brand name is Celexa. Never took antidepressants but there are plenty reviews on it and even blackbox warning. Seems to work great for some but can cause.weight gain and can be really hard to discontinue. Seems like it works for awhile than some need an increase or some doesn't help. They said to never miss a dose or anxiety can reappear. Same time everyday.w food. You probably know this. Hypothyroid ism can cause cause hand pain and anxiety too. You have to get TPO and Tg antibody tests. And a complete thyroid panel ASAP. There mustve been a reason for them doing a TSH. You had one before this time? TSH.increases dont usually jump that quick but everyone is different. Once you find put your antibody levels it will be easier to determine if this was.Celexa related. Demand those tests especially when your on.a new med. See what came first...chicken or the egg? Didnt read any reviews with thyroid problems but.maybe.not tested. Many hypo ppl go on antidepressants so someone may respond.
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Hi Melissa, pretty much everything can mess with thyroid stuff because once you're hypothyroid, your system is so delicate that pretty much everything throws you off balance. I seem to recall someone posting about antidepressants affecting thyroid stuff, can’t recall the details.
Someone recently posted something about the connection between high seratonin levels in thyroid patients causing anxiety. I thought that was pretty interesting. The poster may have been “mar” something. Its really late and I’m exhausted.
Since citalopram is a seratonin reuptake inhibitor, you could be getting high seratonin, which could be causing anxiety.
Consider that a large percentage of seratonin is produced in the gut. If low seratonin is truly at the core of your depression, you might look into gut health. Poor absorption in the gut can lead to malabsirption of food and nutrients, resulting in malnutrition- this could be a huge contributing factor to your health issues and could explain the low calcium (in part). Thyrpid patients often develop liver snd gallbladder troubles, which can co tribute to chronic pancreatitis. The chronic pancreatitis is extremely difficult to diagnose, and must be treated with dietary changes. Pancratitis can cause virtually every gut problem imaginable as well as belly bloat, malnutrition and edema. It results in poor digestion which also leads to extensive food alkergies snd sensitivities, as well as autoimmune disease. Given the limited information youve provided, I’d suggest a thoughtful evaluation of gut health and dietary changes such as fasting and small portions of white rice along with high potency vitamin and moberal supplements taken with food. If this helps youll know pancreatitis is a likely underlying problem. Since there is no medication for pancreatitis, its unlikely you’ll get any sort of help diagnosing or treating (with diet) from a medical doctor. I’ve struggled with thyroid disease for many years and never considered pancreatitus in the mix until recently. I found the limited small portions white rice diet to be extremely helpful in curbing many of my “thyroid related” symptoms stemming from the gut.
As for the low calcium, thyroid function us very intertwined with calcium metabolism. Hypothyroidusm results in premature osteperosis, and thyroid (and parathyroid) function is dependant on calcium to work properly
You might also consider thyroud medication in the mix, as it certainly affects calcium metabolism and can also cause premature osteoporosis.
Lastly, read up on the manufacturer’s infirmation about drug side effects and interactions. You may find some of your issues correspond to knuwn side effects of medications.
Well, those are some thoughts on how to troubleshoot your difficulties and some of the likeliest culprits. Hope it helps give you some sort of approach.
It's reasonable to assume the citalopram could cause side effects and many antidepressants cause HPT dysregulation, either directly or indirectly causing hypothyroidism.
1. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0163834310000046
As for the low calcium, have you ever been diagnosed with hypoparathyroidism?
Great info on the gut-brain connection and serotonin! Do you take enzymes to help your pancreas and digestion?
Mar is right. I can add that after caring for my mother on a myriad of psyche drugs, the side effects in general are pretty awful. I found that the psych issues she was having needed yo be dealt with at the core level, as the drugs basically tempirarily nasjed ghe problems but never really solved anything, all the while causing weight gain, diabetes, heart problems, anxiety... many are extremely phydically addictive.
Go to the posts here, where people post questions about psyche drugs and antidepressants. You’ll get a good sense if what other people are experiencing. That might be more informative.
I’ve been on citalopram and venlafaxine and they didn’t effect my thyroid levels.
Thank you mar,
I have been hypothyroid since I was 16. I had nodules and had surgery when I was 21 to remove my thyroid. Upon doing pathology they found I had thyroid cancer. The surgeon must of cut off the blood supply to my parathyroid glands and so they died. I am now 39 years old.
The doctor was trying to treat my anxiety which has been a problem for me for years I just refused to take the medicine after an attempt on paxil that through me into 24/7 panic attacks that were so strong I just stopped taking the medicine. I started having the feeling I n my hand about end of March when my son was going through surgery to remove a tumor and then I got sinusitis and bronchitis. Then as my son is recovering my father passed away so I approached the dr about putting me in the medicine to see if it would give me relief from the anxiety. My last thyroid panel was run in February this year and all was withing normal limits.
I think the hospital ran the tsh because I am hypothyroid and to rule out if that was causing some of my problems. I originally went to the hospital because I did something to my knee and it hurt so bad I couldn't stand it. I told them about my hand because it was now only in one hand that felt weird so they decided to check my calcium and it was low which could also be what increased my anxiety I think. Lol it's kind of hard to know what is causing what anymore. I hate taking anything that will mess with my hormone levels. So it really will be an indicator as to if I will continue taking the antidepressants.
Thank you mtviewcatherine,
I am joined on that group also due to my anxiety and starting new territory in antidepressants. I usually am not someone who wants to take any meds. I take the ones I need to survive but that is it lol. I decided it was worth a shot if it would help but I hate that it could have thrown off my thyroid level since I am really sensitive to increased in thyroid meds and hate the palps they give me.
Thank you dana,
I was diagnosed as hypoparathyroid probably 17 or so years ago. Usually my levels stay around the same. I have only had to have one med adjustment in all that time. I did have a partial hysterectomy last year but my calcium levels were still fine up until about the end of March. Not sure if the large amounts of stress could have contributed to that. My last thyroid panel was ran in Feb this year and all was good. I wish the hospital would of ran the complete thyroid panel since all I have to reference is the tsh.
Thank you james for your response,
I am wondering why mine is all haywire then 
. I am supposed to be seeing my pcp soon and I was almost certain he was going to increase my medication since I am still having symptoms of anxiety but now I am not sure if it is my thyroid or my calcium causing my symptoms right now. It's just so confusing and being the proactive person I am I sit trying to distinguish between all my symptoms myself lol. I am just one hot mess now lol.
I understand your situation all too well. What dosage of citalopram are you on and how long have you been on it for please?
The plot is really thickening. So you had your thyroid removed at an early age. So Celexa didnt cause hypo initially.. In the labs when researchers removed the thyroids of lab rats to induce hypothyroidism their brains became flooded with serotonin which made them quite anxious. Not sure how this relates to you and you are taking thyroid meds. Maybe antidepressants rise your serotonin to levels where you feel uncomfortable which could be dangerous. . And if you feel uncomfortable best to talk to doc about weaning off of them. Antianxiety meds would help but they are extremely hard to stop and withdrawals could be fatal. Get a complete thyroid panel. High TSH isnt good for your brain/body.
Hi james,
I am only on 5mgs of citalopram for pretty much four weeks now. I am a sissy with pills so he started me very low since I had alot of apprehension taking the antidepressants again after my bad spell with paxil about 5 or so years ago. So I have not been on it that long.
Lol I know right! I have definitely had my fair share of the thyroid nightmare. But my levels seemed steady and the only thing that changed w was my stress level and the addition of the citalopram.
If you could reference any good reads i would appreciate it cause all i have found in correlation is that hypothyroid causes depression and a decrease in serotonin and that by adding serotonin it would also increase the absorption of thyroid. Google can be so frustrating sometimes. I try to use reliable sources but anymore who knows what those are. I find it better to talk to people who are going through what i am. It is alot more useful.
I should also add that I am super sensitive to medications. I even struggle to take a simple allergy pill without having heart palps. My heart has been checked and it is fine. I have an adverse reaction to benadryl it makes me wired and not sleepy. I also cant use any lidocaine with ephinephrine in it as it makes my heart rate shoot through the roof. And lidocaine doesn't work really on me so my dentist has to watch me be in pain. It stinks. My body is very odd and I am the only one in my family like that. All my brothers can take meds and they are not bothered by any of it. Very frustrating! I am very good about trying to do research and have points to reference to my doctors so I can finally feel better.
Think you have the gene variation for metabolising drugs TOO FAST . This has nothing to do with your thyroid. I forget the name for this. You have to inform every doc who rxs meds.
But first hv your doc do the test for metabolisng meds. Maybe a lot of ppl in this forum have that. I NEVER have sides w Levo. It's like taking Vit D (a hormone)I know it helps BUT NEVER FEEL IT LIKE A DRUG. No sides never. I even am rxd stims ....
CYP2D6. For all the anxious readers out there. Maybe you have this ultra fast metabolising. Especially if benadryl makes you hyper.
Hi Melissa, many members of my family are sensitive to drugs, particularly those in the benadryl family. My aunt was a nurse and nentioned this once, which explained why I was down for 4 days after taking dramamine (same family as Benadryl).
Apoarenyly senditivity to this ckass if drugs is fairly typical, as dramamine (active ingredient) is used during surgeries to quell nausea. Unfortubately nany people react badly to it.
If you are hypothyroid, and your metabolism is slow, these drugs would certainly take longer to get out of uour system. Remember how in college, the boys could hold a lot more alcohol than the girls? Its because the boys have a much faster metabolism.
You are so lucky to not have side effects! I wish it wasnt a problem for me! I thought maybe it's just anxiety but some meds do nothing and then others are just horrible. I will talk to my dr about that. If there is something they can do to fix that it would be amazing! I dont remember be oh ng sensitive to any meds before my thyroid surgery.