Hi all; an update on my lamictal and what not. I did see my therapist on Thursday a.m. and I did call on Thursday and made an "as quick as I can" visit appt. for Friday. I went in (as my therapist had helped me with questions) symptoms and things I was/am doing to help the depression.
I would like to say before you read this questions I was very diplomatic and tactful and explained I was not questioning him as a professional but I am curious about these things.
The first question I ask him is the diagnosis bipolar or major depression - I want to know because he wanted to augment the lamictal with another mood stabilizer.
Second question: There is much data to support the correlation between women over 40 with increased incidence of depression, and hormones have a positive correlation in effecting depression, so I asked him why weren't they (he and gyn) working or at least consulting each other as obviously being on HRT and dx with PCOS could impact the depression. He ask me to sign a release to get medical records and to discuss things with her.
I asked him if there were tests that I had posted about in another post to scan the brain using nuclear medicine why weren't they used and could the more specifically identify the areas the brain was not firing/functioning and increase the probability of getting the right meds. He said Insurance won't pay and told me what my scan would probably show with my diagnosis of Major depression.
I asked him to please give me something to augment the lamictal, wellbutrin was an idea I had, but he was the professional. THat I had taken it in the past but was with a different medication which, not knowing at the time was having a horrendous set of side effects). He agreed to let me try that one - wellbutrin. And to back off the lamictal to 400 mg as I had become quite zombie like. I assured him I didn't care what I got, I just felt I needed something and the increase lamictal wasn't doing it for me.
I then ask him if I was doing this CBT program, therapy, meditation, exercise, working part-time, not isolating as much, etc. etc. And these things helped me get more "out of the depression" why weren't they working to keep me out. After abit of discussion the bottom line is quit worrying about cause and effect and start worrrying about getting out of this downward spiral and DO NOT quit doing anything I'm doing. It is helping even though the effects might not be so obvious.
He asked me if I had had a physical in the past year and initially I said no, but then I remember my annual gynecological exam and she had done blood work, stating my B12 was low and asking me to start taking RX B12 and I asked if otc would work as well and she said no lower than mine was, it would work. He indicated if my B12 was low that that is significant and ordered a bunch of blood work and me to go to gp to get annual physical (non gyn) there. I have an appt for Wed. A therapy appt. thurs and see him next week. I am working on getting the wellbutrin at the right level, by then it will be.
I guess I left with some hope but still the crying, the depressed, the push, the energy zapped, emotionally drained just going there. I had an outing with a bunch of friends at a cabin and the guy I'm seeing was planning on being there. What an internal FIGHT to make myself go. I made myself go (pat on the back here). I had a good time. I played golf for the first time in I think 8 years and I felt like a new woman on the golf course. It made me think, I might be babysitting and I got to the point in my depression, I thought I could handle seeing someone after 4 years, but I wasn't really doing anything I enjoyed for me, that I did pre-depression. The
