depression post open heart surgery

i had endocarditis in october followed by a mitral valve repair in november.  the surgery went well.  however, since the surgery, i have been depressed, not sleeping well, and beset by existential questions like what am i supposed to do, why did i make it through, etc.  i had an episode of depression in 1994 and have really done well since.  now i am on only 1 cardiac medication but ambien, paxil, and wellbutrin; i returned to work 7 weeks after the surgery but now am on a leave- what should i do and how can i feel better- it seems like everyone around me is uncomfortable- thanks stu

[Roger Gould, M.D.]

I know a lot about your condition, and I can tell you it is not uncommon to have this kind of depression, and it is very important that you seek counseling about it.  You can save yourself a lot of worry and cut the depression short with some help. The risk in not getting help is that it goes on too long and feeds on itself. You want to avoid that.

YOu are on medications but it doesn't sound like you are talking to anybody.I would encourage you to do that.

[k]

I am suffering the same sort of thing after removal of a tumor.  There has been promising new research and results with the medication bromocriptine.  Ask you doc about it or look it up on the net, it targets a certain kind of depression that the usual anti-depressants don't help. Good Luck!