ABout Depression.........

[Guest guest]

It seems that a very large number of people i have spoken to over the

years since my diagnosis and all the surgeries Do deal with much

depression. ~Since this post is long I thought I would try to sum it

up here and then if you wish to read it all you can~ It is speaking

about An Illness called " SEROTONIN SYNDROME " which can be caused when

anti-depressents are mixed with other medications..I had this/BAD!!

also speaking about alternatives or added things you can do in

addition to medication to help you through the rough

spots...Nutrition, Sunlight and some activities, also a bit about

positive thinking.....Hope this helps!!

NOW.......on to the long version.....

There are so many things which are understandably unsettling and

after all living with Chronic Ongoing Daily Pain and having to ration

our " SPOONS " <the " spoon theory " says that every activity costs us a

spoon = with chronich pain we get fewer spoons than everyone else so

we have to use them more wisely> AND IT IS ALL really hard to learn

to cope with. It has taken me some time to figure out ways to get

over these humps in the road.

FOR ME...There was only one Medication(anti-depres.)That one worked

for me BUT unfortunately it turned out to be a VERY Dangerous one

when mixed with other meds...

There is a condition called Seratonin syndrome, It is happening with

people who are taking added medications with certain anti-

depressents, It is a very dangerous condition and my Pharmacist did

not catch the interactions of my medications, it didn't even show ..

I was taking Dilantin & Keppra for seizures plus Cymbalta and also

pain medications...

I was so sick for so many months that I had to

have a medi-port and nutrition from a bag and tube, I could not eat

food and digest it! No one had any idea what was happening to me all

they knew is I was down to 81 lbs. and couldn't hardly stand up or

care for myself...I ended up so sick finally that I could not keep

anything down at all including my medications, I didnt tell anyone

for the first few days exactly how sick I was because i didn't want

to go back to the hospital yet, I spent so much time there...anyway,

as medications worked their way out of my system i realized I felt

better than I had in months...And that is when I caught it......

..

I AM TELLING YOU SO YOU CAN BE CAREFUL BUT DONT AVOID MEDICATIONS IF

YOU NEED THEM >>> JUST BE CAREFUL TO MAKE SURE THEY ARE OK FOR YOU!!!

FOR SO MANY they have had excellent results with medications. I

strongly think that if you can get a little boost to help you feel

better you definately should consider it.

For me, Medications and I dont get along too well,if there is a side

effect...I WILL HAVE IT! Sooooo..........For those who Dont Get any

good result from medications..there are a few alternatives that have

helped me tremendously and I wanted to share them for some of you who

may be having difficulty...

First and Foremost.....GOOD NUTRITION! IT does amazing things for

your mind set...Try to get outside for at least 20 minutes of sun

light and fresh air every day..IF it is cold be sure to keep your

neck covered so you dont get spasms and pain.It is proven to reduce

depression..

Also...A VERY GOOD friend of mine(Ann) got me on a " positive

thinking " track a few years ago, at first i thought, " YA RIght like

that will help " , hahah! But IT DID HELP!

Forcing yourself to use POSITIVE STATEMENTS and Forcing yourself to

Think AND DIG FOR POSITIVES IN EVERY SINGLE NEGATIVE has DRAMATICALLY

HELPED ME! SOON IT WILL BE HABIT and So UPlifting!!! If you are

sitting at home and can't work and it is dragging you down.....think

of it this way...Remember allll the days you wanted to take a long

luxurious vacation? Well..HERE YOU GO!

Use your time to do things that make you feel good, things you always

wished you could have time to do that you never took the time for.

Things like reading a good book, scrapbooking your photos, cleaning

out the junk drawers, sitting in a relaxing candle light bath with

some soft music, listening to relaxing music HELPS SOO MUCH when you

are stressed out also..and while you are at it, take time out for a

nap in the afternoon to help preserve your energy for evenings. Sort

out the mismatched socks and file the stacks of paper you haven't had

time to file, do anything you want...find a sit down hobby that you

can enjoy...

There are many things you can do to get over the humps and when you

dig your brain into busy work you dont focus quite so much on

pain...If your pain is too much to cope with or prevents you from

doing anything at all that is pleasurable YOU REALLY SHOULD PURSUE IT

with your DR!

Another thing I realized is that as much as I love helping others I

have to take my own " time outs " ..Reading about what everyone else is

going through sometimes is so heartbreaking for me that I get

emotionally involved and upset..when I am upset my pain seems to

multiply...I have learned that I have to take time-outs to preserve

myself so that when I am speaking to others I can truly have a clear

head and then I CAN REALLY HELP THEM and I dont have to have an

emotionally overwhelming response with added pain...

Hopefullly some of this will help someone...Everyone deals with

things at thier own pace and in their own way, I know for a long time

I fought really hard but didn't get anywhere soon enough, this way

maybe I can save someone the time of figuring it out on thier own..??