Doctor diagnoses depression?

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patsworth

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Nov 2, 2010
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Hi everyone,

Just wondered if anyone else had this...I went to my doctors last year feeling extremely tired/fatigued etc. Turned out vit b12 was low. I went to my GP to discuss how I was feeling and she really tried to force the idea that I was so tired, had no energy, was getting dizzy spells because I was depressed. She asked if I had money worries, job security etc which is all perfectly fine! I felt really frustrated about it and felt like I was going mad; I'm pretty certain I'm not depressed. I'm due back to see her next week to discuss things again following an inconclusive colonoscopy. Just hoping she doesn't try to say I'm simply tired because I'm down.

Has anyone else had this?
 
Did she order the blood tests or did you have to talk her into it? Because I think "tired, fatigued" for someone with Crohn's or an even and undiagnosed bowel disorder would indicate a vitamin deficiency or anemia.

BTW, I felt the same way and I was severely anemic. The iron helped but once i started getting b12 too, I felt like a new person!!

Good luck at the doc next week.

- Amy
 
Yeah, Depression is a very subjective diagnosis. If you dont think its that, then dont agree to that label, especially if you yourself dont feel depressed.

Having crohns its likely a deficiency of somekind.

Vitamin D
Vitamin B
Omega 3 fatty acids
iron
magnesium

are all common deficiencies with us crohnies.
 
I'll respectfully say that depression is not a very subjective diagnosis when diagnosed properly, but I have a lingering concern that some GPs do not have the level of training and/or the inclination to go about it the way that a clinical psychologist would. The psych rotation for a GP in training can be awfully brief. If the GP diagnoses you with depression and you do not feel it is accurate, you might want to consider requesting a referral to a psychologist who will (one hopes) be more thorough in her/his assessment.

(Disclaimer: PhD in research psychology, NOT a registered psychologist.)
 
Thanks for the replies. I've just had a blood test to check thyroid and other auto immune diseases too. Going to get the results back next week. My last colonoscopy said that it looked as though it was illeitis but biopsies didnt confirm it. I'm still waiting to see gastro but the tiredness is really killing me at the moment so that's why I went back to GP. I'm very pale, tired and feel achy like I'm getting flu.

I'm going to stop up on some new supplements and see how that goes. The vit b
12 jabs did boost me a little but it didn't have the radical effects that others' have said. I'm hoping this will start to boost me so I can get out of bed in the morning and not look like I've been dug up I'm so pale!
 
Last edited:
You'd be waiting a long time for a referral to psychology...about 1 year wait in many areas of the uk. Scandalous but true.
 
You should have asked her if she thought of a career change lol.
I bet she wants you to go on a drug.
referrals here in Queens NY take so many months, its crazy.
I wonder why, if they're really that busy.
My colitis had made me depress so much when it was out of control. That and a few other issues, thankfully it can be cure.

Vampires we are sometimes......
B Vitamins has helped me and my mother. I feel tired often now but because of low iron. I hate thinking about these issues. I pop on here once in awhile then go away since reading about ppl problems gets to me sometimes (or all the time). all this crap we deal with. If it wasn't for say my brother, mother and help from here I would be still so awful so always ask for help. it helps!
 
The right doctor makes all the difference in the world, a few years ago before I was diagnosed I went to my GP with joint and chest pain, he never did any tests and told me he thought I was depressed even after all the tests he made me do showed I wasnt. After that I moved and got a new doctor, my chest pain got so bad and my arms started to go numb and paralyzed, I couldn't even lift my left arm at one point. I went into my new doctor and he told me that I had costiocondritis which was an inflamation of the catrlidge and joints between my ribs which is also connected to my nerves which was causing the paralysis of my arms. Thankfully with heat and anti-inflamitories I was able to get it under control, but it would have never gotten that bad if my first doctor would have listened to me and not just jump into medicating me with anti-depressants. Try your best to make your doctor listen and dont second guess yourself, you know your body and when something is not right. Hopefully everything works out for you and you start getting some answers.
 
patsworth said:
Hi everyone,

Just wondered if anyone else had this...I went to my doctors last year feeling extremely tired/fatigued etc. Turned out vit b12 was low. I went to my GP to discuss how I was feeling and she really tried to force the idea that I was so tired, had no energy, was getting dizzy spells because I was depressed. She asked if I had money worries, job security etc which is all perfectly fine! I felt really frustrated about it and felt like I was going mad; I'm pretty certain I'm not depressed. I'm due back to see her next week to discuss things again following an inconclusive colonoscopy. Just hoping she doesn't try to say I'm simply tired because I'm down.

Has anyone else had this?
Click to expand...

Hi patsworth

I had a Dr tell me to take anti depressant tablets after i'd had a few heated disagreements with him about my crohn's treatment.The Q's you mention i was also asked (money,work,private life, etc) and like yourself i was not depressed - just at the end of my tether with Dr's not listening to my obvious CD complaints(I only had 21 yrs experience of CD).I took the tablets just to see if they would slow my bowel movements down - they did nothing,apart from give me a horrible itcy rash all over the soles of my feet.When i went to my GP he gave me cream to clear that up & told me never to take them again.Despite the hell i went through with CD i feel i did a decent job of trying to lead a normal life - i had times when i was totally fed up & had a few rants,but who wouldn't?
Thankfully within a few months of that i found the help i had always needed.
Happy Days!
 
Omega 3 fatty acids is the first thing to try for a uncharacteristic mental problem. It often helps, never harms, and most of us do not have enough of it from normal eating.

Inflammation also affects the mental process in a negative way. Since we have an inflammatory disease to begin with, this is not uncommon for us.

Dan
 
I'm sorry you are feeling so crappy, but glad you are coming here for support.

I can relate - for many years I was told that I was highly emotional, stressed, depressed, etc when I would come forward about my gastro issues. I felt ashamed and defective and started to clam up.

I recognize that there were things about my physical condition which caused emotional ups and downs... I began to do less and less outside of home because there were too many "urgent" trips to the bathroom in the grocery store or at the mall. I didn't want to eat out or at someone else's house because I didn't want to be "that person" who can't eat anything on the table. I never went to a movie because I couldn't make it through without running to the bathroom.

I retreated and my normally out-going self became very anti-social. This caused me to feel very low and yes, I have in fact suffered with anxiety and depression along with my illness. But for me it is like the chicken and the egg.

Did my emotional state bring on flares? Probably. Would my emotional state have been better if I was healthy? Definitely.

I am on Effexor now, and feel much more accepting of myself. I have less anxiety and have to work on getting more active outside the home.

Be gentle with yourself. If you do in fact feel like you are a depressed, don't feel ashamed. Crohns robs us sometimes of things we find joy in and that can absolutely cause distress, anxiety or depression.

And if you are depressed, it doesn't mean that what is happening in your gut is really manifesting via your brain/emotional state. Keep talking too - there are so many of us here who have walked similar paths.

Please take care, and I hope you find much support here. :)

Jan
 
I'm very pale, tired and feel achy like I'm getting flu.
Click to expand...

I too felt this way when I was anemic. My blood work showed significant anemia. I felt like a brand new person after going on iron pills.
 
Hi everyone.

Thanks for your lovely words. I went back to GP who didn't actually say anything about depression this time, thankfully! She didn't do a great deal either though. I had new bloods which were all fine but I'm waiting to see gastro again and it's been months since colonscopy so will have to chase it. I've stocked up on loads of vitamins, omega oils and probiotic tablets as well as really working on my diet and trying to not stress. I'm feeling some benefits but that's prob from stress and diet mostly. I've found that having conditions like this relies a lot on you working things out for yourself.
 
GPs and Doctors think everyone is depressed by the sounds of it, even when they blatantly aren't. The number of times I've been diagnosed as depressed is laughable, because I've NEVER been depressed in my life.

I Think they listen for specific symptoms that match the diagnosis and choose to ignore all the other many symptoms that don't fit.

Of course your not on top of the world, you've got Crohn's! That doesn't mean you're clinically depressed though. Makes me angry when doctors dish out diagnosis like that and label people. :ymad:
 
I think it's kind of like a, "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?" type of question. My mother was an RN and she quit regular nursing to work in the, "Health Education," department of the hospital. Because she had been an RN, unlike some of the others in the department, they assigned her to work with asthma and chronic pain patients. I was in the process of diagnosed with Crohns at the time. Mom was a big supporter and very helpful in my time of need. She said that most chronic pain patients (it didn't matter what the cause was) had low seratonin levels, which could lead to depression. I guess there are some doctors that think that most people who are in pain are struggling with depression. It's usually the other way around; the chronic pain causes the depression. Like, Heidi indicated, there are those with chronic pain who are not depressed.
 
I have recently started taking an SSRI to help with my chronic fatigue. It really has helped! Before I took it I did my own research, and found that serotonin regulates the sleep/wake cycle, and low serotonin is associated with unsatisfying sleep. Also most serotonin is produced in the gut! So coupled with what Andi said about chronic pain and low serotonin, it makes perfect sense to me that I could have low serotonin and should therefore take something to treat it. If you didn't want to take an antidepressant, maybe you could try a serotonin supplement and see if it makes any difference?
 
I think 5 HTP, Gaba and SAMe are good for serotonin, if that turns out to be the problems, and they are natural. Melatonin is also good for the sleep cycle.

St John's Wart is a herbal remedy that also helps many people, but I think it has quite a few side effects so don't take that one without doing your research first, and certainly never take it at the same time as SSRIs.

xxx
 
Depression is much more common in those with a chronic illness. It's not that the depression causes all the symptoms of your disease but can add a few extra. Extra tricky to diagnoses or miss in IBD as some symptoms overlap . It's just about treating the person as a whole and not just focussing on the condition they have. Because depression is more common and can add to debilitation caused by chronic disease it is common practice to regularly ask a few 'screening' questions.
We should try not to feel that these questions imply the doc thinks we are 'just depressed' as that is not their intention .
Does that make sense?
 

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