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Does anyone get these weird waves of depression?

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Posted 9/26/2012 11:22 PM (GMT 0)
I think it is related to malabsorption issues. Whenever my vitamin D levels are way below normal, I have trouble staying organized and upbeat. I am in the sun for at least two hours a day and take 5000 IU of Vitamin D a day but I probably will have to go in for some shots.
Posted 9/26/2012 11:37 PM (GMT 0)
I wouldn't suspect malabsorption to be the cause. Vitamin D deficiency is an epidemic and it hits those with colons just as much as those without. I live in sunny California, am in the sun constantly without sunscreen and I am Vitamin D deficient as well as a host of my friends and family members who all have colons. I found a new D I like better than the pills, it's a liquid that I put on the back of my hand to take...less pills to swallow. D tastes good too, it's kind of nutty.

Sue
Posted 9/27/2012 12:01 AM (GMT 0)
My doctor just told me that the majority of the population is vitamin d deficient. I was also told that even though I have no colon, I am absorbing everything because all our absorption happens at the very top of the small intestine. Not sure I'm totally sold on the absorbion thing though but that's what he told me.
Posted 9/27/2012 12:50 AM (GMT 0)
I set the lowest three Vitamin D test scores ever in our state. Perhaps it depends on the level of your deficiency? One of my girlfriends is the top state epidemiologist. She is unaware of any vitamin D deficiency epidemic in our state. It is frustrating how our doctors tell us such conflicting "facts." I have taken malabsorption tests. I was given a series of medicines, vitamins and minerals and then hours and days later I am tested for levels of that drug, vitamin or mineral. I cannot speak for all people without colons but I have malabsorption issues. The tests showed I have problems absorbing magnesium, Vitamin D, and hormones. Loss of magnesium interferes with my ability to speak clearly. Loss of hormones gives me blinding migraines and loss of vision in one eye and vitamin D makes me extremely tired and perhaps depressed.
Posted 9/27/2012 12:53 PM (GMT 0)
The deficiencies I speak of are in the single digits. Perhaps doctors in your state just aren't up on testing all patients for D deficiency yet? I find it curious that your malabsorption issues are limited so this makes me think it's not related to your jpouch surgery, but to something else going on with you.

Sue
Posted 9/27/2012 10:38 PM (GMT 0)
Sue,
I have had a colorectal surgeon, a nutritionist and a gynocologist at Good Samaritan Hospital in Portland, OR plus a primary care physician, a gastroenterologist and a second nutritionist at St. Vincent's Hospital in Portland, OR all tell me the same thing. My malabsorption issues are due to having a total colectomy. This does not mean that all people who have their colon's removed are prone to malabsorption issues only that this is a medically recognized probability confirmed by repeated blood and urine tests.
I live in Oregon and testing for Vitamin D deficiency is not part of a normal blood panel request. A doctor must specifically request this test. It is also an extra expense.
I do not understand why you keep challenging me on this. You are welcome to call these hospitals and confirm the information. Or would your prefer all of the doctors' phone numbers?
Posted 9/28/2012 11:47 AM (GMT 0)
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17138809


I pay for an annual test and have always been low. I blame my scatter brain on it. I was low before my colon was removed, too, but I have Crohn's and have had small bowel resections where VitD is absorbed:(
Posted 9/28/2012 1:23 PM (GMT 0)
Subzero,

I am sorry if it appears that I am challenging you; I just know from all the interacting I do with people that many doctors are not hip to Vitamin D deficiency. I live in CA and know lots of people in the single digits of D-deficiency and am saddened that across the country this is not a part of a regular CBC. I have also, in all my years, never heard of jpouch surgery causing random malabsorption issues. Your case seems to be unique.

Sue
Posted 9/28/2012 8:33 PM (GMT 0)
I think that the malabsorption issue is B12. It is absorbed at the very end of the ileum. Those of us with ileostomies no longer have the part of the ileum that absorbs B12 and we need to get it through injections. I can really feel it when I get low - sore joints, muscle pain, dry skin and dry mouth. It is a serious issue and can cause anemia if we don't get the shots to keep our levels up. I have been told that the shot should be monthly, but others have said weekly. I seem to go about 10 days to two weeks. I am now giving myself the shot, but I must confess that I am still not entirely comfortable with it!
Posted 9/28/2012 9:17 PM (GMT 0)
I honestly don't know what to believe when it comes to the issue of absorbion. I'm anemic currently getting iron infusions. I have had 3 different doctors tell me it's NOT because I'm colonless. Yet all the tests they have run on me turn up nothing that would be causing my anemia. Sooooooo, that leads me to believe it IS an absorbion issue. What should I believe?? Do doctors really have no knowledge of this stuff?
Posted 9/28/2012 9:19 PM (GMT 0)
Do you have B12 injections, Marianne?

Scott
Posted 9/29/2012 6:42 AM (GMT 0)
Subzero, what do you mean by 'waves'? Do you mean, it seems as if one color fades out as another (depressed) color fades in? (Or something like that.)
Posted 9/29/2012 7:28 AM (GMT 0)

TMC said...
Do you have B12 injections, Marianne?

Scott

No, this was never suggested to me by my dr. The iron infusions however are helping immensely. I have 3 more to go in a series of 8. I'm just wondering what the follow up care is going to be. I have an appt. with my hematologist in a couple weeks to discuss all that. I will inquire about the B12 shots.
Posted 9/29/2012 11:19 AM (GMT 0)
Good suggestion about the B12, TMC! Totally forget the symptoms caused by lowB12.

I only have to inject myself every month but it's so individual and in the grand scheme very inexpensive!
Posted 9/29/2012 11:56 AM (GMT 0)
I thought I was the only one that feels this way. I got my vitamin D levels up to normal level, granted low normal, but normal just the same. My doctor said to drop from 50,000 IU's a week to 2000 IU's everyday. Well I started noticing I was more moody, more depressed, more tired. I didn't connect the vitamin D until the doctor did more blood work and my vitamin D levels had dropped significantly. Well I started thinking there must be a connection. My doctor told me to take 5000 IU'S of vitamin D every night and so I did. It has been 2 weeks now and I have been feeling better. He said I can take up to 50,000 IU's every week.

I also taking B12 shots every week.
Posted 9/30/2012 4:35 PM (GMT 0)
B,Dereh,
I had a week when I was having trouble taking my supplements at regular times. I had three days in a row where all of a sudden I would feel like a thick fog of despair and hopelessness would cover me. It would thin out and I would feel better and then thicken again. It was very strange because there appeared to be no stimuli for it. Now I am very strict with myself about taking the supplements at exactly the same time of day and I have had no more incidents. It was scary.
Posted 9/30/2012 4:42 PM (GMT 0)
I appreciate everyone's posts. The more information we can put together, the better we can advocate for ourselves.
Posted 9/30/2012 4:47 PM (GMT 0)
Yes, I do. It is a particularly vicious sort of depression, too. I am on an antidepressant but also taking a B12 supplement (sublingual so I don't have to ponder absorption) and Vitamin D and I am feeling a lot better. Regular exercise helps me, too....a regular shot of endorphins does the brain good. :-)

I hope you are feeling better soon!
Posted 9/30/2012 6:07 PM (GMT 0)
Subzero,
I didn't know that absorption issues could go so far, and I didn't know that we could feel so badly as quickly as just a few days of missing supplements. I am going to speak to my GI about getting checked for Vit. D, although I'm not feeling unusually depressed, just stressed about finding a new job, and getting through the last weeks at the institute with a bullying colleague.
I hope you're feeling better and I also hope that things even out at some point so that you aren't totally dependent on the supplements. Is that possible?
Posted 10/1/2012 12:42 AM (GMT 0)
Run4pancakes, I agree. I completed 7 miles yesterday and felt great. I do five miles twice a week and then a long distance on Saturdays. Next week I am aiming for 8 miles on Saturday. I am sorry you have to go through this too. It was scary not to understand why I was overcome with despair. It seemed completely irrational and out of control.

B"Dereh, I would love to be independent of supplements, but only time will tell. The magnesium levels are staying steady but the Vitamin D and hormone levels are often at the lowest measurement levels. I will only need the hormones for a few more years. It really isn't difficult to keep up with the supplements. I was just surprised at how matter of fact my doctors were about it yet no one here had mentioned it. I wish you luck on the job hunting. You deserve a much healthier environment than the least job!
Posted 10/1/2012 12:40 PM (GMT 0)
Sub,
Yes, I do get the weird waves of depression also.. And I have started walking for exercise, that helps a LOT.. I see tho, that most of you jog? I would like to start that, but have developed a "leaking" issue lately.. anything that causes my cheeks to seperate in certain ways causes me to leak. I have not been able to ride my bike, jog, or do certain other activities..So I am a bit jealous of you joggers :)
But, on the depression note, I a lot of that started for me after my surgery while I was in the hospital. I started having panic attacks, then depression. I have never thought of it as an absorption issue, but now that I read this, comments my doc made make sense..they have checked my levels, and all is ok so far.
I think a lot of it has to do with what else is going on in your life right now, and how it is effecting you..
(in a nutshell, i have 5 children, 6 grandchildren..1 is getting divorced, 1 is getting married (and his new bride does not like me so my son is not allowed at my house per HER orders), 1 is moving away with 2 of our grandbabies, I am jobless, finances are killing me right now (when I got my truck 1 month before my surgery ( that was not expected), because I had seen a doc for my problems the insurance would not pick up my car payments so when I did go back to work I was 6 months behind at $450 a month, and then I could not return to my job and am now on the hunt for a new one..and our 10 year old has now had 5 surgeries for kidney stones ( all since christmas)...so YUP, everything effects us all differently..))
Sorry, that was a BIG nutshell...lol...and while we may THINK we are handling it all well, we aren't.
Good luck.. I hope it all works out
Posted 10/1/2012 1:26 PM (GMT 0)
My husband Matthew has had some pretty significant depression since the surgery. He struggled with it prior to surgery as well, likely due to 11 years of being very sick, lots of meds, prednisone, etc. However, we thought once the surgery was completed and he was off meds, things would be a lot better. It's been 14 months since his surgery and he still has struggles. He takes an antidepressant, but he had several blood tests earlier this year (March) which showed a lot of different deficits.
He was diagnosed with low testosterone, which the doctor had difficulty explaining since Matthew is only 27 years old. He even saw an endocrinologist. They basically think it's from the years of prednisone dependence as well as the illness. He also has low vitamin D, and is on supplements for that. Still working for a solution for the various issues. We still wouldn't trade the surgery for anything-- living life away from the bathroom has been amazing and unbelievable. I will say his strength is very good now, and even though he had complications and a long recovery after surgery, he is feeling physically great now. So, we work and pray that the other issues can be fixed so we can really live a good life now that he is well!
Posted 10/2/2012 10:17 PM (GMT 0)
Throwing my hat in the ring, here: like my wife said, above- I have a family history of depression and probably an undiagnosed personal history of it for as long as I was sick. I had heavy depression starting about 2 months post-surgery. Started antidepressants 5 months later. Multiple blood tests over this past March-May showed consistently: B12, Hgb, all metabolic panel was great, no problems. Vitamin D was down to 9 (should be 30 or so). Testosterone was also in the pits, especially for a guy my age. Worst of all: Triglycerides were super, super, super high (1200!!).

Of course, it's complicated (always is) and it could be many things. I do wonder a lot if it's a malabsorption thing. For what it's worth, my Vit D was low for the last year I had my colon (i.e. when it wasn't working, which would seem to support the malabsorption theory). I took weekly D supplements then, and do so now. Right now, I'm back to taking L-Glutamine powder for the first time in 11 years, this time to help pituitary function in the hopes the T can raise --the Endocrinologist's blood test showed very low LH and FSH, thus low T.

Hope this helps!

--
Matthew
Posted 10/4/2012 5:39 AM (GMT 0)
Mrs. Bugzy,
You have a lot of company with the panic attacks and depression after surgery. Usually it passes after a few months but many people have posted great results from cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and/or anti-anxiety and anti-depressants. I hope you have some emotional back-up. You are under a tremendous amount of stress and deserve extra support.
It is very unclear as to what the exact connection is between malabsorption and depression. I think we have to do our best to look at all avenues of treatment. I am glad you checked with your doctor so you can rule it out.
I am sorry to hear about the leaking problem. I have had days like that if I eat certain foods like chocolate mousse cake. Is there a pattern to the leaking or perhaps a rectal muscle condition that could be causing the leaking? I find the days I have to wear Depends tough but I still keep walking. Depends Silhouette does not show under my walking clothes even though I wear running shorts.
I get jealous too of any fit, healthy people who race by me. But then I remind myself, I was in bed for 1-1/2 years, on a walker in March and still using a cane until Sept. 1. I am walking a half marathon in Dec. In the beginning it was very hard and painful. Now I can do 17 miles a week without pain. Thinking about that turns it around for me--instead of feeling jealous, I feel proud of how far I have come. I really like walking and I may decide not to start running. I may be the last person to finish at the race but I do not care. I will be so proud for simply completing it!
Posted 10/4/2012 6:14 AM (GMT 0)
Matthew,
I found your information very interesting. I wonder how many people have lower hormone levels when our colons are either inflamed or removed? i have not found any research in this area. My hormone levels dropped to postmenopausal levels when I had mega toxic pan colitis and during the last two years of severe ulcerative colitis flares before my colon was removed. Hormone levels returned to normal after the total colectomy but the colon toxins that had leaked out had damaged my reproductive organs too much. They had to be removed so I ended up with surgical menopause. Has anyone given you any reason as to why your T is so low?
Your triglyceride measurement is a little scary. Is it under control now?
It is indeed very complicated. Genetics, deficits, use of steroids over long periods, and dealing with a chronic illness can all lead to a variety of problems including depression. I am glad that your wife is an active advocate and incredibly supportive. You are very lucky!
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