Breast Cancer/Anxiety/Hypothyroidism

yes. Thyroid levels stable, added a very small dose of an SSRI to my regimen for anxiety and it helps hot flashes, need to take clonazepam a little more often than before.

Hello! I have all 3 also: depression/anxiety have been lifelong (have been on sertraline/Zoloft and bupropion/Wellbutrin XL for at least 20 years), hypothyroidism diagnosed around 20 years ago (have taken levothyroxine/Synthroid since then), then estrogen-positive Stage 1 BC diagnosed a year and a half ago.

Because sertraline and bupropion (and Benadryl, which I take for allergies and sleep) can reduce the effectiveness of Tamoxifen at preventing a recurrence, I chose to be put into chemical-induced (Zoladex) - and later, surgical - menopause, and take the AI anastrozole/Arimidex instead.

Starting menopause suddenly and being on new medications along with the many long-standing ones has caused a bunch of side effects, and trying to figure out their causes and how to “fix" them is pretty confusing, since there are so many variables. (For instance, around the same time I started Zoladex and AIs, my skin got very dry, my cholesterol levels rose higher, and my usual fatigue grew stronger than ever, which I assumed was from menopause and/or the AI and/or heightened anxiety and/depression post-diagnosis, but - at my yearly PCP's checkup several months later - I found out that my hypothyroidism had suddenly gotten worse, which could also have caused some of those symptoms.) Also, because of my long-term use of levothyroxine and other meds, plus lack of Vitamin D and exercise (I tend to be a very sedentary night owl), menopause and AIs have helped to contribute to osteopenia in my hips with an estimated fracture risk when I'm 55.

(...Mentioning these details in case any of you are in the same boat, so you hopefully can avoid medication interactions and keep your bones stronger than I have, even if it's just going up and down the stairs a few times a day or pacing around your house and getting some Vitamin D through supplements, if your doctor recommends it. (My oncologist discourages taking calcium supplements, since too much calcium can create its own problems, but it seems like that differs between doctors. Also, you may want to check the interactions of all your meds with each other as well as food and drinks, in case your doctors have missed anything. (Warning labels on the Rx bottles tell you to avoid having calcium or iron-containing supplements within 4 hours of my levothyroxine, but I recently learned that caffeine can interfere with its absorption as well, if you take it at the same time.)

(Sorry if this is blathering/TM...I'm not great at self-editing. ) Take care!