OK I Have Just spoken to my Neuro - and said I am not happy - are you depressed he said

[shasha]

OK I HAVE JUST SPOKEN TO MY NEURO - AND SAID I AM NOT HAPPY - AREYOU DEPRESSED HE SAID - NO I SAID AND PROMPTLY BURST INTO TEARS - WHAT I MEANT WAS I AM NOT HAPPY 'COS I am not getting any better and all he does is keep upping my meds - OK i shall report back tomorrow - maybe i am depressed ?

[WayneP]

Well hon, I know how you feel. And how are we to feel as it slips away from us a little more each day? My friends and family are always telling me how they never hear me complain about my situation and how brave I am. Well truth be told it would make no difference if I did and really now, do you REALLY want to know what we live with daily. It is depressing. And they give us pills for the depression!!! How funny is that. It is just hard to fight the good fight every day that we all stumble every so often. Spring is here and summer is close and so go out and enjoy the outdoors!!! Most of all, I remind myself as bad as I may think I may be their is always someone worse off than I.

[shasha in reply to WayneP]

hi wayne and thanks for your words of encouragement - i will def not be going on meds for depression though a sbwfore i was diganosed in jan 2010 i saw a neuro who very lsyly gave mr anti depressants to - 'RELAX me ' well they did the very opposite to that and drove me nuts - i was about to kill my darling husband when i stopped them ...

[Brooke in reply to WayneP]

Well said,I agree with you!

[etterus]

I just saw a neuro yesterday and stated that my worst problems are anxiety/depression. She stated that it is 2 fold. One is the situational reality of decline without a cure... who wouldn't feel depressed? The other is the organic fact that dopamine is the reward transmitter for many parts of the brain. When limited we feel depressed. I definitely feel better when c-l dopa is working.

[shasha in reply to etterus]

i did not know thar about dopamine - i am def not feeling depressed as i get plenty of that !!

[export]

Hi Shasha . I wish my neuro would up my meds . I feel when will i have 3 good hours on the run . not sleep't for 4 days and i am starting to get mad .

my GP tell i am not depressed so I said to him which is best to be down or to get mad . He look at me for agood two mins and never answer me.

i would rather get mad than depressed .Although it has got me any were. I am still standing up for my self.. I don't know if you find this help full.

yours EXPORT. X

[shasha in reply to export]

thanks fir your input export will fight the good fight eh ?

[esrob]

Hi Sasha, When people ask me if I am suffering from depression, I say that I am not suffering from clinical depression but do get depressed now and then, as any person would. My tears are tears of frusstration, not depression.

[shasha in reply to esrob]

exactly esrob - i am not depressed but just so fed up with not getting any better

[harding55 in reply to shasha]

I feel the same way - but then I remind myself - things could be worse.

[Hidden]

How was you visit to your dr.?

[shasha]

hi di - my appt is this moning at 11.30 - so will let you mnow what hesays after we get back from limoges

[soup]

Hello Sasha,

There's a lot of emmotion connected to the word depression and it often provokes feelings of failure: failure to cope; failure to overcome; 'its me'' I can't manage...

I lived with a depressed husband for many years and he would not get help because he saw it as a sign of failure. It was only when he discovered that clinical depression can be a symptom of early onset Parkinson's did he begin to take what I was saying seriously.

Often the last person to know they are depressed is the depressed person. When John and I talk to newly diagnosed people the look of recognition is quite apparent.

A common response by people who don't have Parkinson's is to say, 'Well I'd be sad if I was diagnosed with Parkinson's.' It is not sadness, John still gets sad and now and then, has a few hours feeling sorry for himself, as do I. However, it is not the mind numbing, watch what I say, walking on tip-toes, depression that he had in the early days.

My advice (and hey what do I know about anything) is to discuss your sadness with a trusted person who could be relied upon to give you an honest answer. Try to step out of yourself and see yourself as others see you.

John took anti depressants for a awhile and found the lighter side of himself again. He hasn't taken any now for a year and still remains well.

Take care

Sue

[shasha]

hello sue and thanks for you input - i have seen my neuro now and have had delicious bread and cheese outside - being seranaded by birds - so i am feelinng fine - not that i wasnt before - it is just so awful not to be getting better - .. i have spoken at length with my neuro FREDERIC TORNY - same name as my husband and he says that either i have had PD alot longer than he first estimated or i have a very agressive version of the desease . hence he says i am m ore like a 10 year pd patient .. so he has CHANGED MY MEDS TO STALEVO - PLUS I can take modopar as wel !! #

i then have to phone him in aweek to see how i am doing - you cant say fairer than that cna you - he did discuss depression with me too but i said i did not feel less motivated or hopeless - just so fed - up with not getting annywhere - - he said also that i may have to come tio terms with the way i am - ie not getting any better - sso who knows i may need some help in the future

xxx

[gran5-]

don't have the energy tonight to read all the responses, my bed is calling and that leaves some great reading for tomorrow.

Just to add (from a retired shrink), wink, wink. There's clinical depression a psyc. Diagnosis and there's situational depression where your feeligs are totally NORMAL. It bites, but ususlly does not respond to meds the same way. that i think is ours. at least i know it is mine. So the only thing I can add is treat yourself and let others treat you. Choclaate is always nice. I'm fadinig. tooo many typos G'nite

[shasha in reply to gran5-]

but i am so FAT - I HAVE PUT ON 2 STONES IN A YEAR AND A HALF !!

[gran5- in reply to shasha]

I left Britain at the age of 1 so I do not know how to change stones to pounds, but I get the idea. It could well be meds not treats that are making you gain. Too bad you can't give up the meds and keep the treats!! Or maybe you can

I get a kick out of realizing these conversations span the planet and I do not know where most of us live!! I do tend to try to find the humor in even my hopeless situations. Some people get angry and accuse me of making light of a serious circumstance. I say I've been told "laughter is the best medicine" and being a good girl (hate that term) I look for the funny. till next time.

gran5- aka Joyce

[shasha in reply to gran5-]

you carry on making light of it -- for your info there are 14lbs to a stone - i had to tell my neuro that too - although they workin klgs here which makes it more difficult to transpose - he weighed me in at 100 klgs !!

[alanrob]

The standard app with neuro normally goes like this,''my symptoms are getting worse dr,my tremor is out of control and its stopping me from doing most things i,m also slowing down,the meds are doing nothing to supress the symptoms'',well we have tried adjusting your meds alan, are you anxious and feeling depressed''?. 'yes i,m bloody anxious,anxious that my PD is getting worse and all you do every 6 months is see how fast i can turn over my hands and how i walk down the corrridor'',its a case of what comes first the chicken or the egg,i,m anxious because i have PD and you arent doing a lot to treat me and my symptoms'' now you ask if i,m anxious no doubt with the intention of prescribing me anti depressants,why not take some time to understand and listen to me,have some pride in your job,isnt that why you chose to be a neurologist?,no answers so its another new neuro,that will be 5 now.

[shasha in reply to alanrob]

i totaly agree with you - you must get some more help

at leasr my neuro is open to changing my stuff and experimenting

keep fighting alanrob xx

[gran5-]

Alanrob, that's soo wrong, but I support trying a different MD. It means you still have some spunk. It can take a lot of energy just to keep looking, I know.

Not knowing where you are geographically I don't even have a suggestion, but unloading here is rigt on. We can at least listen.

My situation is that I tried the neuros in my town, Santa Fe New Mexico. They all failed. My son lives in Los Angeles and found a neuro at Cedars Sinai Medical Center which is a well reputed place. We found an MD who specializes in PD so I fly there every 3 months. That may not be possible for you but it started me thinking outside the box. Good skill for the next hurdle I come to.

Keep up the good struggle, and remember: we can at least listen

[wifeofparky]

Our Movement Disorder Specialist says that depression is a component of PD. In the MD office where I work, we administer a PHQ9 to every patient at least yearly. It is a standard screening test for depression. It is quite accurate and helps to decide when we are just feeling down or have real depression. My husband definitely has depression with a smattering of anxiety thrown in for good measure. The zoloft helps and he is much better than before he started on it.

[shasha in reply to wifeofparky]

what is a PHQ9 PLEASE ?

[wifeofparky]

It is a patient health questionnaire. It has nine questions and the person marks how often they feel about things during the last two weeks. It gives us a score to determine the level of depression. It helps to determine what treatment is needed and to folow up to see if treatment is helping.

[shasha]

oh i see thanks xx