can depression kill??

[grrrrr8]

On May 26th,my Mom had her gallbladder taken out.By June 28th, she was hospitalized because she had lost 35lds and was dehydraded.After taking a series of test,which all came back normal,they told her she was depressed,gave her some medicine and released her from the hosp.She was unable to eat at first because all of the food tasted bitter,but then anything she ate came right back out.We took her to another hosp knowing that something happened in her surgury,but again,after a weeks stay,they told her she was depressed,changed her meds,and sent her home.They told her to follow up with a physiciatrist,but when we called to make an appointment,they asked a ton of questions as to why she needed to be seen,and we really didn't know.We didn't understand.A couple weeks after that,she had fainted,so we took her back to the hosp because enough was enough.They told her nothing was wrong with her,and if she wanted to feel better,she had to want to feel better. Mind you,she couldn't take 3 steps without being out of breath,let alone eat anything.She tried,I seen it myself.We all agreed to give the medicine the 3 weeks it took to see some noticable difference,but her body didn't hang on.After switching to a different Dr he agreed she was depressed but he also suspected something else was wrong.He agranged for a series of test,But as she was taking the medicine for the CAT SCAN,she went into cardiac arrest,and within 20 hours,all of her organs shut down all at once.I know she died because she starved to death, but can depression be detected in the autopsy? I need closure and education.

[molayne]

I AM SPEAKING FROM EXPERIENCE... DEPRESSION CAN KILL, IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE. I ALSO LOST THE WEIGHT AND WAS VERY CLOSE TO TOTAL BODY COLLAPSE WHEN MY DOCTOR AND FAMILY FINALLY INTERVENED AND STARTED IV NUTRITIONAL THERAPY. I WAS IN THE HOSPITAL FOR A SOLID MONTH, AND ON IV THERAPY FOR MUCH LONGER. I BELIEVE IN MY HEART THAT I WAS SUBCONTIOUSLY SLOWLY COMITTING SUICIDE. SOME TIMES THE MEDICATION AND THERAPY AREN'T ENOUGH TO HELP US WANT TO LIVE. I AM STILL BATTLING MAJOR DEPRESSION AND AT TIMES A STRONG DESIRE TO JUST FIND A WAY TO MAKE IT STOP, GO AWAY. THE MEDICATION DOESN'T ALWAYS WORK. I HAVE TRIED ALL KINDS, AND MOST COMBINATIONS. MY DESIRE FOR AN END IS FOR ME, BUT ALSO FOR MY FAMILY, BECAUSE IT SEEMS  EVERYONE IS TOUCHED AND AFFECTED BY THIS DISEASE. YES, DEPRESSION CAN KILL.

[SHOTSY]

Hi, my thoughts on this. Hire an attorney for a malpractice suit. Evidently something didn't go right. I'm sure they did pre-op testing on your mom before surgery? Also have the dr. researched for any other problems he may have had with patients.And check that autopsy report and ask if the looked for any surgical instruments, or any thing unusual. The only thing is they like to cover their asses. But mistakes can and are made. I would try to find out the cause of your mom's death. Good luck and I'm sorry you lost your mom this way. And let your anger motivate you. It's good fuel to take on this task.

[grrrrr8]

Thank you. We are still pursuing this matter. She died on Aug. 21st, and they still don't have an answer. What they put down on the death certificate was extreme weight loss and gastroentitius. The hospital that did the autopsy was the 3rd hospital we took my Mom to. The Doctor that last looked at my Mom only knew her for 5 days. They are still waiting for some more results. My Mom was only 55 years old.

[Roger Gould, M.D.]

I am sorry to hear about this tragic death. No, depression can not be diagnosed at autopsy. Also, depression does not kill. It sounds like your mother had a medical condition that was not properly diagnosed,and was certainly aggravated by the malnutrition you described after her surgery. I would purse these questions with the pathologist in order to find out what happened.