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Posted 3/16/2015 4:26 PM (GMT 0)
Hi, I'm new here and this is my very 1st post.

I have been depressed on & off for a long time. I do not relate to many people who have both depression AND anxiety. My depression makes me tired & lethargic. I lack the energy to feel anxious. It is more of a dull, sluggish, not caring about anything feeling. I associate anxiety with worry and I don't have the energy to worry. I must, however, admit to the occasional crying jag over the vision of my future (& my family's future) if I don't climb out of this depression soon.

Even though I have experienced times where an event has triggered my depression, I feel that my depression is primarily due to either hormonal or chemical imbalances.

When my previously undiagnosed thyroid condition was discovered and began to be treated a couple of years ago, I had about 12 months where I actually felt normal for the first time in ages!!! I thought I found a miracle cure to my depression/exhaustion; however, in the past 12 months or so, the depression & exhaustion have returned. Multiple blood tests by my endocrinologist have shown that I am right at the perfect levels for everything and that altering my medicine one way or another would most likely make me feel worse.

I was on a couple of different antidepressants for postpartum depression after the birth of one of my children, but couldn't handle the drowsy effects and didn't really feel like they were doing anything anyway.

I live in an fairly rural area with OK access to primary care doctors and some specialists (i.e. my endocrinologist), but with almost no mental health professionals. I'm not sure if counseling would do me any good anyway, since I once spent several months pouring out my problems to a very nice psychologist who gave me almost no feedback. It felt more like I was just chatting with a friend than getting any useful advice, so I stopped going.

Sorry this is so long. Any comments, commiserating or advice would be most welcomed!
Posted 3/16/2015 6:04 PM (GMT 0)
You may need to find a psychologist that works with CBT or DBT to fight your depression. Basically CBT is cognitive behavior therapy which works with the way we think about things. And DBT (I believe) is delectable behavioral therapy. Which works a little different. Though I have never had it and don't know exactly what it entails. We do have to do a lot of the work. We also have to let the psychologist know what we would like to explore.

Many of the antidepressants will make you feel tired in the beginning. You need to continue taking them and the tiredness (usually) goes away. There is also Wellbutrin which is a stimulating type of antidepressant and it doesn't normally make you tired. I would talk to the doc about it and see if they think it would be right for you. It takes six to eight weeks for an antidepressant to reach it's full effect. So you have to give them time.

There are a few books you could get on depression, some work books to help you. Also there are sites that you can visit. Our first thread titled "depression resources" has some sites that you can visit and some books that are good. So do check it out.

I often "chat" with my psychologist as I am pretty stable at this point. But I wouldn't give her up for the world. We have gotten to know each other pretty good and the visits are pretty casual. But if there is something I would want to explore, she would be there in a minute. Being comfortable with your therapist is really the way you want to go. Not saying some just don't talk about the things you need to discuss, but saying you need to direct them on the path you want to follow. Just ask, or bring it up...

I am glad you found us and I hope you keep posting. I do hope you start to feel better soon. Depression does (or can) make us feel very fatigued. I found if I go for a walk it gives me some energy. Helps me make it through the day. Also exercise in any way you can. I also have fibromyalgia so I do have chronic fatigue to go along with the mix. But if I am depressed too, I am much more tired.

I hope you feel better soon. I hope you find a therapist that will help you. Also a doctor (preferably a psychiatrist.) to prescribe you any medications you might need. I found medications such as Effexor and or Lexapro are less sedating. But there are probably others that I have not taken... I take pristiq now and it doesn't make me sleepy or tired.

Take care and do keep posting. I really do hope that you feel better soon.

Hugs, Karen...
Posted 3/16/2015 7:18 PM (GMT 0)
I am so sorry you are struggling. It sounds like you have a pretty good grasp of your body. Glad you found out about your thyroid. Here is an article that might be helpful. http://bit.ly/1BKhF1b I know there are licensed counselors who you can talk to if you call this number 1-800-A-Family. The call is free and the counselors at Focus on the Family might have some good advice on how to proceed. Hugs! #notautomatic-
Posted 3/16/2015 8:50 PM (GMT 0)
Hello and welcome! How well do you sleep? Do you snore, have sleep apnea? Hours of sleep are not equal to quality of sleep. Are you drinking enough water? Dehydration adds to lethargy. Are you vitamin D deficient? Do you take a multi vitamin? How is your diet?

The reason I ask these things is I often have a lack of energy. I suffer from occasional bouts of insomnia. Sometimes from pain, sometimes from night sweats, sometimes for no particular reason. I have to 'force' myself to drink water and not just coffee, coffee and more coffee! I also have problems with seasonal affected depression so in the winter months I take the supplemental vitamin D. I tend to be low on the B complex as well. My diet goes to comfort foods in the winter. My summer eating is much more healthy.

I hope some of these suggestions lead you to an answer. Talk therapy definitely helps!
Posted 3/17/2015 12:30 AM (GMT 0)
I have the same thing as you describe. It is vegetative depression. It is this feeling that no matter how hard you try, nothing good can happen. Joy for a minute and then the usual blahhhhhh. I tend to focus on negative events. Being realistic, much of my life is quite negative. I am alone, live in a small boring town (I am from NYC) have terrible asthma and allergies and have handicapped plates and bad osteo problems and very bad feet.

On the other hand, I am retired and read a lot, have been published a lot, enjoy studying new things either in an academic setting or alone.

Have met so many bogus people that I stay by myself most times. Find a lot of people sort of boring, small minded, etc.

I do like to swim and eat healthy, rest a lot and keep hydrated. Lately I can't swim. Came down with a bad virus and it has been WICKED COLD here.

So that's my rap...I bore myself to death.

Best wishes to all
Posted 3/18/2015 7:10 PM (GMT 0)
welcome to the forum!

I surely can not add anything to the good advice you already received.

I also have thyroid and experienced improvement when fixed. However, went down again, while working on childhood trauma.

I am sorry to hear that you live so rural and out of touch with docs. Only bad thing about rural.

Oh, there is one thing I can add, if you eat processed foods, try to reduce your intake. Especially if they contain red and/or yellow food dyes. NO SODA. Lots of water. Some people have an allergy to artifical ingrediants and the dyes. Sometimes it causes mood disorders. I personally am on a whole food diet, along with my hubby. We feel better, still I am meds. I am a tough case.

Keep posting, we are here to listen and support as much as possible.
Peace
Trina
Posted 3/19/2015 6:52 PM (GMT 0)
I want to thank you all for taking the time to respond!

Thank you Karen for all the good advice. Also, I had heard of CBT before, but not DBT. I looked it up and it sounds like this kind of therapy might really be helpful to me if I can find a good therapist near me.

LisaBT - Thank you for the link to the Focus on the Family site. I used to use that site occasionally when my kids were younger, but had pretty much forgotten it existed. Thanks for the reminder. There are some excellent resources there for so many things!

pitmom - I already take Vitamin D & a B Complex, but may need to up the dose. I drink a lot of water, but also probably too much coffee. Sleep isn't an issue except that I struggle to get the 8 to 9 hours my body probably needs, so by the time I lay my head down at night, I practically pass out immediately. I have been getting between 6 1/2 & 7 hours a night lately. My body is extremely nap-resistant, though, so I can't make up for the sleep any other time of the day.

Joan M. - I'm a bit of a loner myself. I get along with people O.K., but have trouble connecting on a deep enough level to have a good group of close true friends. I see this more of an offshoot of my physical & psychological state rather than a cause, but I guess it cycles back as well.

BnotAfraid - I've often wondered if I could just cut some food(s) out or add some foods in to my diet to get my body feeling more normal. Like pitmom, I tend to eat better in the summer, but am not sure how much my better feelings are due to diet and how much they are due to sunshine (although, I am not above being really depressed on a beautiful day). I feel like I am a tough case as well.
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