Can Depression cause this?

[Ashultz986]

Hi,  I'm 21 years old and have been having some health issues for the past year or so.  I went through some pretty big life changes about that time, I broke up with my fiance', started drinking, and moving away from what my parents taught me as a child.  At first I had stomach problems with some general pain in my muscles, I had tests done for thyroid and had ultrasounds done to my stomach with no results.  I also had blood tests, for white blood cell counts, elecktrolites and everything came back fine.  About in december of this past year I started getting muscle spasms, they first started in my eyelids, and then they spread to my whole body.  I did become pretty depressed at this time because I didn't quite understand what was going on, I became very reclusive and stopped talking and hanging out with friends as much.  I went to the doctor in june and told her I was tired of all the symptoms, I was having and tired of being depressed about it, she put me on 10mg of fluxotine for depression and I haven't seen much of a change yet...I was just wondering if this could be depression causing all this, or anxiety?

[Ashultz986]

I also forgot to say thank you to both people that commented...Thanks for your insight and I've been on prozac for the 5th week on monday.  Thanks again.

[Ashultz986]

when I first "started drinking"  I went out almost every night with my buddies, I kind of went gong-ho with the whole situation, as for the past six months it has only been maybe once a week and I never over do it,  As in at the most I've had maybe 2-3 beers at any outing.  I don't think that drinking is my problem because I don't "need" to drink, I feel like I want to be able to go out and have fun with my friends as i had back in the summer.  I am also well aware the prozac doesn't really work that well if you are drinking all the time since it is a depressant.

[4afriend]

Hi! I'm sorry to hear that your having some troubles, and I understand your concern.  Things that we can't seem to make sense are always frustrating.  I was curious as to how long you've been on fluxotine?  Reason being, that anti depressants usually take a few weeks until you can actually see as to whether or not they are effective for you.  Stomach prob, muscle aches/pains, fatigue are all things that go hand in hand with depression.  As for your muscle spasms in your eyes etc. that also can be caused by nerves/anxiety issues.  I'm a nurse, but when I was 18 I was working as a CNA in a long term care facility.  One day out of the blue, my tongue swelling up was hanging out of my mouth and I had no control over it what so ever...kind of drooling and everything.  I FREAKED!  I lived at home at the time with my parents and after the second time of that happening that day my mom took me to the doc..At that time, working in the facility I was in I thought I was having a stroke or something...since thats what I saw there so much, but with the elderly.  After many tests, it was concluded that it was stress related.  What I hadn't confessed to anyone at the time was the fact that I was in a physically abusive relationship, that I kept well hidden.  I suggest that if you haven't seen any relief after being on the med for a few weeks be sure to let you doc know.  Not all antidepressants work the same for each person and sometimes it takes a couple trys to get the right ones.  Be patient with yourself and try to do your best to get yourself active, ie: going out with a friend even if its just for a little bit.  Depression is a ***** but it does get better when you make attempts to fix it...and you took the first step already by going to the doc.  Take care and best wishes to you

[Jikan]

Namaste,

What you describe could be a number of things. The first thing that comes to mind, however, is your mention of "started drinking".

You failed, however, to state how often and how much you drink. If you consume large quantities on a regular basis or binge drink, some of your problems could lie there. Alcohol is a depressant and does not help mood even when not actually drinking.

Additionally, alcohol is not recommended for use with Prozac, even though you're on a relatively small dose.

I would schedule an appointment with your provider and discuss your issues with him/her to better determine the correct course of action.  If your current provider is a GP, I would suggest you talk with a mental health provider instead. They are better equipped to deal with these types of issues.

Michael(Jikan)