Depression/pain/old

[cuddles64]

It's been some time since I posted on here and since then a lot of deaths have happened to family and friends in my life plus two births and a third due this summer. However, I am still feeling very low, depressed and suffer with a lot of pain and frustration. I am 52 and feel like I am missing out on life because I want to do things and go places but because of all my illnesses and the lack of financial support, I am stuck in my world of existence.

[Marz]

Have you had your thyroid checked ? What are your B12 and VitD levels ?

Are you taking any medications ?

[Judmilla]

I second what Marz said. Talk to your doctor about getting all of those parameters checked. I don't know which chronic diagnosis you have, but WHATEVER it is, it will be made worse if you are walking around with deficiencies. Almost everybody in the country is deficient in vitamin D. Especially people who are sick and therefore stay indoors a lot. B12 deficiency is erroneously reported as "below 200" by American labs, but in Europe it is defined as below 500, and in Asia, as below 550. So while officially, B12 deficiency is said to be uncommon here, there are actually millions of people walking around with levels between 200 and 550, who are symptomatic but are told their B12 is normal. The older you get, the more sensitive you will be to a low level. The literature says "the elderly may be symptomatic at levels of 500". My opinion is, if they have symptoms of a deficiency, they HAVE a deficiency, regardless of what the lab (and Medicare) define a deficiency to be. And you really need to find out what your levels are before you start taking a supplement, so you know what you are dealing with, and so your doctor can tell if supplementation is working. If you have malabsorption problems, you could be taking what you think is a hefty dose, and it might still not be enough. I DO have malabsorption problems, and have to take 10,000 Units of Vitamin D3 a day just to keep my levels in the normal range. (Don't take that high a dose unless your doctor says so. That dose would be way too high for someone with normal absorption.) Also discuss omega 3 oils and other healthy fats and oils with your doctor. The American diet is very deficient in omega 3s. I can't use fish oil, so I use flax oil, and I make sure to eat lots of nuts and avocados and olives and coconuts, all sources of healthy fats. Hang in there.

[Marz]

Any thoughts on the posts above - feed back would be good

[Szs1210]

I am sorry you are going through this.