Chronic fatigue syndrome and possible depression

[NatashaDR]

I am 36 years old and have always been in good health.I was a licensed physician in Spain -practicing neurologist and I had a great life.Last year my husband decided to come to US for his PhD studies and I came with him,not knowing what I wanted to do-the decision happened so quick!After coming over here,I immediately got a job in science(since I have  PhD as well) and I currently work as a scientist.I delivered a baby boy in January(first child) and my life totally changed.Here I am with all these symptoms that I never ever had-extreme tiredness,weight that I put on during my pregnancy and it wont come off(20 pounds still to lose) -increased level of stress,hardly any sleep,abdominal intermittent pain with no obvious reasons,headaches,irritability and nervousness-my labs are fine,TSH and T4 as well,no signs of any distress except slightly lower Fe than usual(still within normal range) and I am experiencing menorhagia and pronounced PMS -which I never had before I gave birth.On top of all that I have my USMLE(ECFMG) medical licensing exams scheduled for early January and I am spending every possible minute studing for that.I am becoming depressed and after all the effort in my career here I am at the beginning in this country-living like a studnet once more!Considering the fact that I had very nice career already in Madrid(I should have made assistant professorship next year if I had stayed) I just feel so hopeless,wondering if I have enough strength to go through long years of residency training once more and STAY SANE!
For my son I know I have to-especially since my husband wants to stay here and does not want to go back to Europe.
I need to feel better so I can make it-how do I fight these symptoms?
I was never a fan of pharmacology(especially neuropharmacology and antidepresants as they are not causal treatment)-I am trying to exercise and eat healthy but then I crave sugar when I am studing and my entite diet goes to hell!!!
I never thought I'll end up like this and no matter what I know-I simply cant find a way to help myself.I think about my life in Spain and I crty almost every day.

Thanks for reading this.

[FurballsMom]

Medhelp also has a Fibromyalgia/CFS forum and an expert forum for these as well.  If you're not a fan of pharmaceuticals, I can certainly understand that.  I have Fibromyalgia myself.  The symptoms one has to deal with lead to the depression.  It's very difficult to find a physician who understands what we're dealing with.  I probably have CFS, too, since sometimes I deal with a lot more fatigue than I do pain.  I'm lucky I got my doctor to understand that I'm dealing with Fibromyalgia (FMS).

Not everyone on the forum is using pharmaceuticals, although a lot of them are.  You might find some useful information on the forum anyway.

I would also take a look at the thyroid forum and the adrenal insufficiency forum.  They have some useful information there that isn't just pharmaceutical.  If you find you have a measurable thyroid issue, watch out for the Synthroid.  I don't think it's a good first choice.  I know of more than one person who has actually had their own thyroids disappear after being on Synthroid long-term.  They do talk about non-pharmaceutical solutions for thyroid issues, too.  Not something you want to play around with, though.

I suspect adrenal insufficiency may be the root of the problem, as it is for so many people.  You will find that this is addressed better with natural medicine than with conventional medicine, because conventional medicine generally only checks for Addison's disease and assumes that any other numbers don't account for insufficiency.  Adrenal insufficiency should be checked out, though, along with thryoid levels.  Both of these glands are meant to work together.  Conventional medicine generally only addresses TSH and does nothing more unless they see something wrong with the TSH, as if things were really that simple.

These two glands play a huge role in our emotions, too.

Another related forum you may wish to check out is the Epstein Barr Virus (EBV) forum.  A lot of evidence has been shown that this virus is at the source for many with CFS in particular.  I suspect I have EBV issues, but I can't get anywhere with my doctor and am ready to pull my hair out on that one.  The lady on the EBV forum who really knows her stuff is PlateletGal.  I believe she is the community leader there.  She used to be the community leader for the Fibromyalgia/CFS forum.  She has done a lot of research and has gone through a great deal herself.  She knows what she is talking about.

[remar]

You said you had your thyroid checked but did they check your Frees? Ft3, FT4 and antibodies also? If not, I would ask for these tests. Alot of women have thyroid problems after giving birth. You have some of the symptoms of low thyroid.
You do have alot on your plate right now and this could be stress but I would still ask for more testing to be done. Take care. Remar