Has it started again...

[northstar]

I am waiting for medical records to arrive at new docs office.
Once she has them, tests will begin. Not even sure which tests.  
Just looking for answers to my extreme fatigue and depression.
I know the cause of some of it, but it's becoming not so livable these days.
So much has changed in the last year, that I can't be sure it's even hep c related.
It could just be normal. Although I don't really know what that feels like anymore.

[ceanothus]

I'm so sorry to hear of your loss. Anniversaries like that are capable of turning us inside out emotionally. I'm in a pretty fresh stage of grieving right now, having just lost my beloved father on March 16, so I have an inkling of what you are feeling, though I really can't even imagine surviving my own husband without serious anti- depressants. Truthfully I can't imagine it even with them, but I guess what I meant is that I can't imagine TRYING to survive that nightmare without AD's. Please talk to someone about this pain. It's not too late for grief counseling, but at the least you need to talk to one good friend or therapist for emotional support and one decent doctor for possible pharmaceutical support. Depression can definitely cause fatigue too, just as much as Hepatitis C can. You don't need to face that double whammy. Please ask for some help so you can start to feel better.

[Frank J. Perrotta]

Hi northstar,
I am very sorry to hear about your loss! What a shock you must have gone thru then and continue to be going thru.

As you have already said you are not sure what test your doctor is going to run and I agree. It seems obvious you are and probably have been depressed and should be under the care of, at least, a therapist if not a psychiatrist.

The words you are using are words that tell one you might need anti-depressants.  As ceanothus has already suggested it can take some time to find the best one for each individual and they do have some side effects but they can help your mind to relax a bit and can help you to have a bit more energy.

I would suggest that you call your doctors office and tell them that you need to talk to the nurse - tell the nurse that you are seriously depressed and need an appointment with a therapist or psychiatrist asap.

During HepC treatment I thought I was strong and would never need anti-depressants! Boy was I wrong. I nearly let a truck take me out one day!

I hope you will make that call and if your doctor doesn't give you a reference then call a hotline.
take care,frank

[northstar]

I'm coming up on the 1 year anniversary of my husband's very sudden death. I called 911 and 3 hrs later they're telling me it's not stroke related, but that he was in final stages of brain cancer. 2 weeks later my love died at home with me by his side.

[ceanothus]

I hope you get some help really quickly. Lots of us suffer a high degree of fatigue, and many also struggle with varying amounts of depression, but having a high degree of both can be really dangerous. Please be sure that the depression is worked on right away. Even if it is a side effect of having been illl for a long time you really can't just hope to cure it by treating the underlying illness. You need to get the depression under control first in order to have the stamina to follow through on diagnosing and treating whatever is causing the severe fatigue. Sometimes the depression itself can cause severe fatigue too. Have you taken antidepressants in the past, and did they work for you? If you've found some that work for your body chemistry then its best to go back to them, but otherwise you will probably need to try different ones over several weeks to find what works for you.

I had to take antidepressants for nearly 20 years myself and was only finally able to stop them last fall. I'm glad I finally don't need them anymore but I'm even more glad I had them when I did need them. They clearly saved my life. Good luck with your tests and with figuring out the causes of your fatigue and depression, but please ask about anti-depressants soon. Your letter sounded like your depression is at a scary level and I'm worried about you.