Posted by LostBoyinNCReturns on March 25, 2012, at 13:39:45
In reply to new pdoc says there 'are no answers', posted by raisinb on March 24, 2012, at 9:01:20
There are still things to try. Many are non psychiatric.
For starters, have you seen a good sleep medicine specialist, one who is board certified in sleep medicine? Preferably a pulmonary based sleep specialist. Even mild sleep apnea can have profound negative effect on your mood, cause anxiety and the sleep deprivation sleep apnea causes has even been found to sometimes cause psychosis.
Being diagnosed with sleep apnea and getting put on CPAP moved me from the "hardcore" TRD category to the "able to work and much more normal" category. Im telling you, CPAP changed my life. Again, even if it is MILD sleep apnea, TREAT IT with CPAP if you have a mood disorder!
Also, a full battery endocrinology workup, I pushed some of my doctors years ago and found out I have low testosterone. CPAP seems to have increased my T levels a little, but it is still in the extreme low normal ranges. Thyroid is the other biggie.
Also, mild anemia can cause nasty chronic fatigue that is oftentimes overlooked and ignored by both GP docs and by psychiatrists. Vitamin D deficiency is also something that can cause low mood.
There are so many things that you can get checked out for, the odds are at least one of them will come back negative and your psychiatrist will act embarrassed about it when you tell them. Mine did.
Relying on psychiatry only is like relying upon the federal government, it is a joke. You have to combine psychiatry with other branches of medicine, sleep medicine, endocrinology, GP docs to get results. It takes a lot of work, a lot of money and a lot of medical testing and seeing a lot of specialists. And you have to do it yourself, your Pdoc will almost never refer you to the specialists you need to see.
Eric
poster:LostBoyinNCReturns
thread:1013788
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20120316/msgs/1013942.html