I am curious about this too. I had been on 300 mg of Wellbutrin for 3 years and weaned off for 6 months and was taking 5htp instead. Unfortunately, my depression spiraled downward and it got quite gloomy- pretty bad...so I decided to I start up again at 150mg. It's been less than a week. I am getting headaches and am not sleeping well- however the suicidal thoughts seem to have subsided.

Recently, a blood test showed that I have low T3 and cortisol levels so my naturopath will put me on an herbal Adrenal Support (which I will start today). I'm wondering if hypothyroidism is more to blame than the absence of Wellbutrin. I found articles that say that low cortisol definitely contributes to depression...and low T3 causes joint pain.

Now I'm considering going back to 5htp with the herbal Adrenal Support and dropping Wellbutrin again since it hasn't quite been one week since I started.

Sorry for the long post, but hopefully this may shed some light on your situation as well.

Here's one article:

stopthethyroidmadness.com/thyroid-depression-mental-health

Low cortisol can be an additional problem

"In addition to low T3 levels causing psychiatric and psychological disorders, low cortisollevels can be an additional culprit—even when you feel you are adequately treated for your thyroid. Low cortisol results in cell receptors failing to adequately receive thyroid hormones from the blood, and can explain certain emotional and behavioral symptoms even when a patient is on thyroid meds, such as the need to avoid leaving one’s house, seeking peace and quiet, unable to tolerate stress, low tolerance to loud noises, rage, emotional ups and downs similar to bi-polar, panic, obsessive compulsive tendencies, hyper sensitive to the comments of others, phobias, delusions, suicidal ideation….and more.

Symptoms of low cortisol
The following list, also found in the revised STTM book with more detail, is a compilation of symptoms experienced by patients with adrenal issues. And they point to high cortisol, low cortisol, or often a combination of both. These can also be found or exacerbated while raising natural desiccated thyroid or T3 and can occur at low doses of desiccated thyroid or T3, or waited until the patient got as high as 3 grains and more. They are in no particular order, and you can have some and not others:

continuing hypothyroid symptoms with a high free T3
shaky hands; shakiness
diarrhea
bad palps
higher heart rate
pounding heart
feeling of panic
weakness
inability to handle stress
inability to handle interactions with others
inability to focus
rage or sudden angry outbursts
emotionally hyper sensitive
overreacting
highly defensive
feeling paranoid about people or things
exacerbated reactions to daily stress
no patience
easily irritated
mild to severe hypoglycemic episodes
nausea in the face of stress
taking days to recover from even minor stress
taking days to recover from a dental visit
flu-like symptoms
headache
all over body ache
super-sensitive skin
extreme fatigue
scalp ache
hyper feeling
jittery
clumsy (drop things, bump into things)
confusion
suddenly feel extremely hungry
low back pain
dull
cloud-filled head (happens when this patient is due for a next cortisol dose)
jumpiness
muscle weakness
“air hunger”
dizziness
light headedness
motion sickness
coffee putting patient to sleep
vomiting even running up the slightest incline
almost passing out every time patient gets up
dark circles under my eyes
waking up in the middle of the night for several hours
difficulty falling asleep
frequent urination
IBS symptoms
worsening allergies"

Here's the other article:

thyroid.about.com/cs/symptomsproblems/a/pain

"Hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism can cause a variety of muscle or joint-related symptoms. Both hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism are known to cause what are called myopathies -- the medical term for diseases that affect skeletal muscle.

Symptoms for those with hypothyroidism include:
General muscular weakness and pain, including cramps, and stiffness
General joint pain, achiness, stiffness, known as "arthropathy"
Tendonitis in the arms and legs
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome-- similar to carpal tunnel, with pain, tingling,burning and other discomfort in the arch of your foot, the bottom of the foot, possibly extending into the toes."