The Pharmaceutical Journal Vol 266 No 7150 p749-752
June 2, 2001

  The Profession
  PSNC
  In-store pharmacies
  Packaging
  Medicines supply
  Depression
  Locum pharmacy
  The army
  Methadone dispensing

Depression

Thyroid regimen

From Mr E. G. W. Goodwin, MRPharmS

I agree with Margaret Martin (PJ, March 24, p392) that patients who visit their general practitioner feeling “depressed” or “low” are often prescribed an antidepressant without other tests, eg, thyroid function test, being performed. I recall when I first started in community pharmacy an elderly GP commonly prescribed “Tab Thyroid 30mg daily and Tab Aneurine Co tds” or, in more “severe” cases, “Tab Thyroid 60mg daily and Tab Aneurine Co Forte tds”. This puzzled me so I asked him the rationale behind this regimen. He said it was for patients who complained of feeling “depressed” or “low” or “tired all the time” but without any symptoms of clinical depression. He said the combination worked wonders in nearly every case. When the GP retired so did his regimen, but I often wonder if it would help some patients today.

Eric Goodwin
Liverpool

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