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Posted 11/24/2008 9:31 PM (GMT 0)
My favorite question that doctors ask me when I go in to see them for any of my numerous health issues is "Are you depressed?"  GEE, YA THINK??? I've only had "invisible illnesses" for years and have been consistently told that they either can't find anything wrong or can't do anything about the things they DO find wrong. I have illnesses that completely deplete my energy and leave me in constant pain! I have no social life, and can hardly remember my name when I answer the phone at work sometimes. And I'm only 28! So my answer is "Yes, oh smart doctor who went to school for a bajillion years...I just may be depressed...but THATS not causing my symptoms!!! I'm depressed because you and your colleagues can't friggin fix me!" Am I the only one who gets really really irritated to hear that come out of a doc's mouth? Like they just can't WAIT to explain away your very REAL physical pain with the easy scapegoat of "Oh you're depressed". Yeah, gee thanks Doogie Howser. I never knew that. mad

Grrrr.

Posted 11/24/2008 10:22 PM (GMT 0)
LOL, Honey. Oh, yes. Yes, yes, yes. Absolutely.
Posted 11/24/2008 10:25 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Honeyprincess,

There are types of depression that can cause pain and fatigue, but I don't think that is what your doctor is saying. It sounds like he is wondering if you need a med adjustment. Do you take any antidepressants or go to counseling? Sometimes we need counseling and medications to help us deal with the symptoms that we are suffering. So I hope that your doctor helps you with that issue. It is only obvious that we are going to get depressed when we have so many things that go against us.

I hope that you feel better soon.

Hugs, Karen
Posted 11/24/2008 10:54 PM (GMT 0)
I so understand your frustration.  I have an inner ear disorder that causes vertigo and balance problems.  It took me about a year to get diagnosed, with a couple of "specialists" telling me that it was just anxiety. 

 

Well, lets see... If the room is spinning, you feel like you are falling in a hole, and you can't stand up straight - YES, you are going to have anxiety! 

 

I know that both depression and anxiety can cause pain and fatigue, but they are also very often symptoms of other illnesses.  Often, when the primary illness is treated, the depression and anxiety will lessen.  Of course, sometimes treating the anxiety/depression is just part of the total package of illness management.

 

Hope you get some relief soon.

 

BTW - The Doogie Howser comment is just too funny. 

 

 

Posted 11/25/2008 8:12 PM (GMT 0)
Yeah, I mean I know I had depression before and I have PTSD and I was also a social work major (before I had to stop going to school) so I understand how depression can manifest itself somatically. I just absolutely cannot STAND that they always ask that question because they have that tone in their voice like THATs what it has to be.

***On a side note...never ACTUALLY call a doctor "Doogie Howser". I guess they take offense to that lol. But what was I gonna say? The guy was still in med school (I went to a "teaching" hospital) and he looked like he wasn't even old enough to drive yet! I have clothes older then this guys looked! But yeah, don't call them Doogie to their faces. They get pretty offended lol.
Posted 11/26/2008 2:30 AM (GMT 0)
honeyprincess ...
Oh hel, I wrote you this long long essay and said I think you wrote the best,
truest and funniest post I've ever read.
Somehow I poked the wrong button and it disappeared into vast cyberspace.
Well I've said enough. You surely get my point.
btw, Are you Depressed?
Pamela Neckpain
Posted 11/26/2008 1:34 PM (GMT 0)
I have a friend that also has fibromyalgia. In our area, there are only 3 rheumatologists. She was referred to one(a rheumy) that told her that FIBROMYALGIA and DEPRESSION were one and the same...grrrr. Yes, I have fibro. And I have had depression. I was NOT depressed when this pain tried to take over my life. Needless to say, I did not waste my time going to that particular doctor.

Cyndi
Posted 11/26/2008 1:50 PM (GMT 0)
Yes, I do have some depression...well PTSD to be more exact. It's just funny to me when they look at my whole big long medical history and I'm there as chipper as can be (I'm just not one of those people who can let their pain show) and then I get asked that question!! It's so crazy to me!

Thanks PamelaNeckPain for what you said lol I try to keep up a sense of humor otherwise this illness would completely tear me down!
Posted 11/26/2008 2:02 PM (GMT 0)
hp21,

 

OMG-how many times have I heard that question-and not just from my doctor.  I still hear it from my mom.  Oh and BTW-if you're depressed, then you must be crazy, suicidal, or both, right?  Uh, yes, Doogie, this chronic, terrible, pain that invades every aspect of my life does tend to make me a little down sometimes.  LOL-sometimes I think that doctors are the most ignorant people on earth. rolleyes

 

I think that all of us at one point in our lives have dealt with some form of depression.  Personally, I've dealt with it for over 20 years.  But, did I have fibro 20 years ago?  I don't know.  But, I do think that depression and fibro go hand in hand.  But, which one came first-the chicken or the egg (that's for you Mama Bird! wink ).  Seriously, does it really matter?  All we want is to be able to function like "normal" people.  Well, I don't think I'll never be normal, but that's just me. wink    All we want is for someone to listen to us when we tell them that we hurt.  All we want is for someone to tell us that he/she hears us, and will help us try to feel better.

 

But, instead, we get dismissed as crazy, or depressed, or drug seeking. mad   And that's if we can find a doc to even believe that fibro exists.  Sometimes I just want the people who roll their eyes at us to try living in our bodies for a few days and then tell me how they feel.  Don't tell me I'm making this all up until you've walked a day in my very painful shoes. 

 

LOL-sorry, I hijacked your vent and vented myself.  Thanks, I needed that.  BTW-I could go on and vent some more, but I've got to take my meds-because I'm depressed. smilewinkgrin

Posted 11/26/2008 2:16 PM (GMT 0)
LOL@ Kelly71....hijack away, that's alright with me :-) I'm actually relieved that I'm not the only one who feels this way! It drives me so crazy, but I started thinking maybe I was just getting irritated for no reason over it. It's funny, I read in a fibro book that one symptom is "rage attacks" and anytime I get worked up over something like what Dummy Doctor Doogie said, I start to wonder "Hmmm....is this a rage attack?" Side note about the rage attacks: When my boyfriend or family really start irritating me (usually about "oh you cant be feeling that bad" or "I'm sure you can just do this one thing"), I just look at them and say "Rage Attacks" and they back off. It's become like a code word now lol. I think that may be the only part of Fibro that actually makes me laugh a little.
Posted 11/26/2008 2:41 PM (GMT 0)
For me the depression and anxiety preceded the fibro. I have fought depression and anxiety most of my life off and on. Were they the cause of fibro, who knows. I know I'm depressed and the meds I'm currently on are not doing the job they should be doing. I have had three docs tell me to try cymbalta. I tried it a couple of days and got a headache but this was a few days before DH had a pacemaker put in so it could have been stress headaches. I'm going to give it another try after this week when things quiet down. So is the cymbalta commercial right that depression hurts all over, we will see.

 

luv and hugs

Marlee

Posted 11/26/2008 2:47 PM (GMT 0)
First I would like to apologise for how long this is going to be... I guess I need totell my story so that you know that it isn't just you that feels the way you do!!!! 

 

Everything started for me 8 LONG years ago and at that time I also developed a nodule on the right lobe of my thyroid.   I had tons of tests to make sure it was not cancerous and dealt with the side effects of it for approx 5 years before having a partial thyroidectomy.  Since the the doctor found the nodule every time I went to see him he blamed everything on my thyroid, mind you, the other half of my thyroid took over for the missing lobe, and my levels have been normal for 3 years now.  I have seen a few other doctors as well and as soon as they see my history they too try to blame it on my thyroid, but when the levels come back normal they try to blame it on my depression and anxiety.  My heart use to race between 130 – 140 beats per minute, so of course that had to of been due to anxiety, the doctor put me on xanax which didn’t seem to help, and tried blood pressure medication, which made my blood pressure dangerously low (I have had low blood pressure through all of this) finally he found that if he kept me on the combo of low dose xanax and low dose beta blockers I was able to bring me heart rate to around 100, which is still quite high for my age and weight, but it is atleast bearable now.  Needless to say the pain in my legs and arms were still pushed off as being due to stress, I was tested for lupus a few times now and they came back normal.  The doctor I just saw finally told me that he believes that I have fibromyalgia, because I have a TON of the symptoms but he too would not dx me with it until I saw the reumy… which I can’t see until late January.  I feel you pain and frustrations… without a doubt.  After everyone telling you there is nothing wrong with you (including family and friends) it is hard not to feel crazy inside!!!!  How can this pain NOT BE REAL????  Why can’t people see that we are in pain and need help????  I have had debilitating headaches for 2 weeks straight now and my legs hurt so bad that it is difficult to even drive.  I’m not sure about everyone else, but for me to stand for even a short period of time it hurts even writing hurts me… I remember one day when I was trying to peel potatoes and was almost in tears!!!  I hope that you find answers soon, as do I!!!! 

Posted 11/26/2008 3:06 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Honey,

You gave me a good laugh. Yep, I think I might be rich right now if .. well you know the rest! I've also dealt with a major depressive episode(hopsitalized several times) in the past (it's been over 11 years!) brought on by PTSD but thanks to a great shrink and the right meds at that time (I'm no longer on any)I'm now a much stronger and vital person than I had ever been in my past. Now I have all the aches and pains that one can have from arthritis, fibromyalgia and episodes of pericarditis but I can mentally deal with them much better than I could have in the past and yet the first thing out of the mouths of the docs especially in the ER is....yup! rolleyes .Fortunately, my boyfriend who has been with me since then just rolls his eyes also and thinks they're idiots too! And yes, I don't tell many people that I know now about my past depression because there is still that stigma that depression equals crazy...Sheesh.

love and light

Cynthia

Posted 11/26/2008 4:43 PM (GMT 0)
hp21,

 

I have got to look into these "rage attacks."  I really thought that I was just having these weird moments of anger where I'd just flip out-really out of nowhere.  I really thought I might need anger management or something.  If you don't know my history, I just moved back home into my parent's house because I can't work and I thought that being around family would help.  So, yeah, here I am, almost 37 years old and I feel like the biggest loser (and I don't mean the TV show where people lose weight).  It is humiliating to have to ask your parents for money so I can go to the grocery store, etc.  Anyway, my mom loves to make these snide remarks and rude comments about me just "leeching" off of them (because obviously, I'm just lazy and tired all the time).  So, when she says this stuff, I completely flip out.  And, OMG, the eye rolling and mumbling under her breath just loud enough so I can still hear it? mad   I need to look up the definition of rage attacks.  BTW-I think I'll start to use your "warning," anyway. wink   Maybe I should just start growling or something.  I mean, I'm already crazy, right? smhair

 

 

BTW-realpain, I've tried the propranolol, too, and it did the same thing to me as it did to you. sad   My BP bottomed out and my pulse was still over 100.  I had a psychiatrist who was very against benzos, so she kept me on the propranolol for almost a year.  Finally, I went to my GP (BTW-my shrink, GP & rheumy were all in the same hospital system) and he immediately took me off the propranolol and started me on 1mg of Klonopin twice a day.  It does help my anxiety a little, but it makes me very sleepy.  I usually only take it at night.  I suppose I should just take it as directed.  I mean, I don't sleep, anyway. rolleyes    Good luck with finding some answers. :-)

Posted 11/26/2008 5:03 PM (GMT 0)
Lol, yeah I thought the same thing...I was convinced I was permanently PMS-ing or something. It seemed like EVERYTHING would bother me. So when I read about those rage attacks, I was pretty happy (how screwed up does that sound??). I've even gotten into the habit of screaming at people who cut me off in traffic "RAGE ATTACKS!!!!" I swear, it's like my battle cry. You know how like when The Hulk gets p!ssed, he turns green? Me? I yell out "RAGE ATTACKS!!!" Then everyone knows they have about .5 seconds to apologize or I'm either crying or develop a very bad attitude lol

My parents are pretty good with helpine me out if I need it. I try to explain to them when I miss a day of work a week or every other week that there are some people who can't even work but that doesn't seem to do much. Because I"m the "smiley" type (unless I'm in oneo of those rage attacks), then they think I"m okay. It's like I'd hav to be bleeding out my eyeballs or something for someone to go "Oh wow, you really MUST hurt!"
Posted 11/27/2008 12:46 AM (GMT 0)

hp21,

Um...are we related? confused    Seriously, are we?  Our mothers have got to be related somehow.  Does your mom like to play the martyr?  OMG-if I hear, "I'm a terrible mother," one more time! mad    LOL-I've begun to use what I like to call "reverse b****ology" and say, "I'm a terrible daughter."  LOL-I know, I am very mature.  Now if I could just get that eyeroll down... rolleyes

Thanks for the laughs smilewinkgrin

Posted 11/27/2008 1:33 PM (GMT 0)
Lol...Kelly71 you are making me laugh! My mom does the "Sometimes you have to toughen it out" route but then other times its "Oh I wish I could take away your pain". I know she's trying but she doesn't get it because she's one of those people who never gets sick and rarely even goes to the doctor. So I think she thinks I"m a big baby. I know she's TRYING to understand, but it's really hard! lol
Posted 11/27/2008 8:55 PM (GMT 0)
Well I guess I must have had a "rage attack " yesterday! My boyfriend was acting cranky about every little frickin' thing and no matter how I tried to either talk to him or offer to help or stay away it was the wrong thing. Now most people who know me well, say that I'm the kindest,gentlest most calm person to be around and generally that's true. Well he wanked off one time too many yesterday as we were getting in the car to go somewhere and I just lost it. I must have looked like a combo of the tasmanian devil in the old Bugs Bunny cartoons and the girl in "The Exorcist"! My hands and and head were flying around and shaking and I was spewing babble from my mouth. His eyes got huge shocked   and he proceeded to apologize up and down to try and calm me down. He was as gentle as a kitten to me the rest of the day tongue . Yeah.. "rage attack" that's it! I have to say I felt so much better after that!
Posted 11/28/2008 6:15 PM (GMT 0)
Since menopause and xanax I am normally a pretty calm person and it takes a lot to push me over the edge but yesterday there was a period when I was ready to blow and the tasmanian she devil was about to show her face. I'm sorry to say my grandchildren get on my nerves anymore. The five and six year old boys were chasing each other through the house and I kept telling them to stop before someone fell and busted their head open on the tile. I kept telling their parents that someone was going to get hurt but they didn't say anything to their children. I didn't want to be the grouchy grandmother but enough is enough. Then I catch the six year old jumping on the beds in the guest room. Just because they are at grandma and grandpa's doesn't mean they can destroy the house while their parents sit on their butts. My sons were not brought up to treat other people's homes that way but they seem to have forgotten all that and don't get me started on daughter-in-laws.

 

See Kelly mothers can have their own rage attacks. devil I feel better now.

 

luv and hugs

Marlee

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