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Beginning of depression?

Hey, so I don't know how to put this so I'm just going to basically word vomit here.. For probably whats coming up to about 3 weeks I've felt really low, like sad, and when I'm not I feel kind of just numb, but I really have no good reason for it..which makes me just overthink it and feel worse. I noticed I'm sleeping more than usual (like 8-11 hours, usually I sleep 6-8) and when I wake up i feel exhausted and have no motivation to do anything. (A part from last night, when I just couldnt stop thinking and found my self getting maybe 2 or 3 hours of sleep). on top of that I've lost maybe 15 pounds in the last few weeks, which doesn't make sense since I've been eating a lot (and I know I'm skinny, but I eat way more than it would appear) and my diet hasn't changed much, if anything I've been eating better. I've also been getting anxious, like that nervous feeling deep in your stomach and it just causes me to feel all emotional.

I'm a little worried, knowing that Crohn's has been linked to both anxiety and depression. Over the past (at least) year This has been going on off and on, but usually just a few days, maybe a week (I guess I'm never 100% but its never this bad or even this long) so it's scary that its going on 3 weeks. Could these be signs of there being something wrong such as depression? OR something else? I see my specialist with in the next month and I'm not sure if I should bring it up if I still feel how I do now..

and if you've gone through this what did you find helped?

I apologize for the novel, I'm sure I missed some stuff but like I said..word vomit
 

Trysha

Moderator
Staff member
Hello surfryan
Sorry to hear you are feeling low
This seems to be part of the crohn's syndrome.
It is good that you will soon be seeing your specialist and it definitely something you should mention.
You can be helped through this with the proper attention.
Meantime perhaps a call to your family doctor might bring some help for you.
Many of us do get this kind of thing and there is help available.
It may be as simple as a change of your meds.
Feel better soon
Hugs and best wishes
Trysha
 
I don't think it has anything to do with meds. I remember having these feelings back at the start of high school (like 5 or 6 years ago or something) when I was on completely different meds

Thanks for the response! :)
 
Hey, so I don't know how to put this so I'm just going to basically word vomit here.. For probably whats coming up to about 3 weeks I've felt really low, like sad, and when I'm not I feel kind of just numb, but I really have no good reason for it..vomit
Hi there.

I'm new to the forum but I work as a therapist, so I've spent my life working with mood disorders like depression.

The main questions are things like ... do YOU think you're depressed? Have you been depressed in the past ... if so how long did the episodes last ... how did you know you had depression (how would you describe the thoughts and feelings you qualify as depression?).

Also, most importantly, you must rule out all physical illness possibilities before any assumptions about psychological problems. This is very, very important.

PM me if you would like to talk more, I'd like to give back to the forum as much as a can as I'm new here.

Cheers.
 
I feel ya, if it's any consolation I went to hospital 2 days ago for a panic attack which personally I think was caused from the stress/depression, mind you I had some edible cannabis which triggered it, but I feel what you describe almost everyday, it's not good I'm going to see someone for it soon. Maybe you should consider a psychologist aswell? Anyway sorry I can't help more just wanted to let ya know you are not alone in your suffering! Hope we both feel start feeling sooner!
 

DJW

Forum Monitor
Hi. I'm being treated for anxiety and depression...also a crohns flair. I agree with MrBleu, it's important to rule out physical causes.
Hope you feel better soon.
 
Hey surfryan
Sorry to hear you are feeling this way. Have you had a crohns diagnosis? If you have then there is definitely a link between depression and crohns. I have suffered with it over the years and at my worst I was on mertazapine for 6 months or so. At the time I didn't know I had crohns, I was told it was ibs and it ruled my life pretty much. There are two connections I have read about, the first is the obvious, crohns makes a lot of people's lives a misery. For that reason it is easy to understand why someone could get depressed. The second is more medical and it has links to crohns within the terminal ileum. This is the part of your small intestine that absorbs vitamin b12. I had this until mine was removed and I now have b12 shots every three months. I wasn't absorbing b12 for a long time before I found out and had surgery. After my shots I am now a different person and have a different outlook on life. Deficiency in this vitamin is known to cause anxiety and depression aswell as having effects on the digestive and nervous system
My advice is to get down the docs and try and get it sorted
Good luck
 
I was going to say what grt73 has said. Sometimes feeling low/tired/fatigued and other things can be linked to vitamin/mineral deficiency. It can't do any harm to look at your nutrition and definitely look at how much good fat you have in your diet and consider vitamin D also. There are a number of reasons why you may feel like this but the above is something you could try in the meantime and see if it helps at all.


All the best.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
MrBleu: I guess only a doctor could rule out any physical illness, but I haven't shown any symptoms really, and as far as I can tell I'm not sick in any other way, but I am definitely going to speak with my doc in a couple weeks when I see him..if I can figure out how to even bring the topic up..

Joshuaaa: Yeah its rough, I hope you start to feel better as well! Let me know how everything goes!

grt73/Lulabelle:I have been diagnosed sine I was 4, so well over a decade ago, When I'm at the docs I'll ask about vitamins, thought I do take them every day, and nothing has shown up in my past blood work :/

Thanks for the responses guys it means a lot!
 
Hi Surfyan,

If possible it would be worth having a psychiatric assessment. As you may know, there is high comorbidity of anxiety and depression with IBD, and it may even be that untreated depression is a risk factor for multiple chronic illnesses through mechanisms such as causing increased levels of cortisol, a stress hormone. It may be helpful to know what's out there in terms of medications and types of therapies. You probably know this too, but if your mood ever takes a serious turn for the worse, or you're having suicidal thoughts, you can always go straight to the ER of the nearest hospital. I hope you pursue assessment. Caring for our mental health is an essential aspect of healing with this disease.
 
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