Hi there, friends,
I just briefly read through this thread, this happens so often, first a gp or a pdoc may dx a person who has all the symptoms or part, as being "clinicall depressed", give out ant-depressants, but somewhere along the line, in a few months, even a couple of years, it "poops out" or just partly addresses(sp?) the problem. Further evaluation(s) result in another dx or dx's, and meds get switched or added on, mood stabilizers seem to make matters improve. . . this first dx turns out that the person was actually Bipolar, either Bipolar-I or II, BP-II, being the milder form, but wasn't noticed or picked up on due to the patient's depressed side being more outstanding, noticed by the average gp as depression. My first DX started as just "clinical depression", 2-3 yrs later after some stuff going on in my 3d I was DXed by a psychologist and pdoc as being Bipolar-II(mild) and ADD. Maybe I am not making any sense here, and I'm just rambling, the point I want to bring up to viewers, is do not just take a gp's dx, seek a mental health professional once any physical stuff is ruled out. I have had hypothyroidism for years, I knew it, all the symptoms, the whole 9 yards, but the test's "normal range" is much too broad, and so many people are under DXed and suffer, or is told, "I think you are suffering from depression", grrrrrrrrrr! This happened to me too, just 2 yrs ago when I was almost sleeping all day, did the tests show up that I indeed needed thyroid meds., they helped a lot for several of my physical complaints (even constipation,which I never had problems with) but sadly for years it was always sloughed off as me being "depressed", grrrr!! Sure, anyone feeling that miserable will become depressed. Okay I have taken too much of everyone's time here, but I want to stress, this whole DX of disorder(s) and proper dx can often take time, money, a toll on one's well being, etc. but never give up.
Good luck to y'all with this.
Take care now,
Rosanne

((((((((((((( everyone here )))))))))))))