http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/22/he...er=rss&emc=rss

In patients with depression, anxiety and other psychiatric problems, doctors often find abnormal blood levels of thyroid hormone. Treating the problem, they have found, can lead to improvements in mood, memory and cognition.

Now researchers are exploring a somewhat controversial link between minor, or subclinical, thyroid problems and some patients’ psychiatric difficulties. After reviewing the literature on subclinical hypothyroidism and mood, Dr. Russell Joffe, a psychiatrist at the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System, and colleagues recently concluded that treating the condition, which affects about 2 percent of Americans, could alleviate some patients’ psychiatric symptoms and might even prevent future cognitive decline.

Patients with psychiatric symptoms, Dr. Joffe said, “tell us that given thyroid hormones, they get better."

Has anyone here been treated for hypothyroidism even through your test results were technically normal? It's my understanding that the current tests aren't sensitive enough to detect hyper/hypothyroidism in certain individuals, which means there may be a segment of the population walking around with untreated thyroid disorder who believe they're suffering from "treatment resistant depression".

I wonder how to best broach this subject with a physician. I imagine that it's going to take some time before the medical establishment gets on board with this new approach to treating patients with symptoms of thyroid disorder who have clinically normal test results.