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lavendersage · Aug 10, 2015, 10:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Little Cat

I realise you're in the States and I'm in the UK, but have you ever read Steven Bazire? I'll post some links if you haven't. He's done a lot of work on the side effects of meds and psychopharmacology.

Little Cat - Thank you.

I have not heard of Steven Bazire. I'd appreciate you putting up the links. I've lost half of the volume of my hair in the past 18 months so I'm hyper-sensitive to taking anything that will make it continue to thin. My hair has always been very fine but I used to have a ton of it. Now....no. I'm taking biotin supplements, Viviscal, and Super Collagen + C by Neocell. The biotin sure makes it grow longer faster but hasn't done anything to increase growth of new strands. I only began the other 2 things about a month ago so it's too soon to tell. However, this morning's shower had another big blob of hair at the drain. I read somewhere that initially taking Viviscal can make things worse before making things better. I just don't know....I'm so terrified to keep losing more hair.

I'm beginning to reconsider women's Rogaine. But I heard that while it grows hair for sure, once you stop taking it, it all falls out again.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tea Biscuit

Thank you, lavendersage for this post. I could relate to so much of what you have written. And I appreciate your generosity and the effort you put in to writing it.

I have no sage advice, just

and thanks. Depression is hell, and I will be following this thread.

((Tea Biscuit)). I so love your username, btw. Tea + Biscuits: 2 of my favorite things! And sounds so British (another love of mine). I'm sorry that you can relate - nobody should have to go through this.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jo_thorne

Thanks for this wonderful post, lavendersage!

I can identify with so much of what you said. When I first came to the Psych Central forums in January of this year, the Treatment-Resistant Depression forum was the first place I looked. I had spent most of the previous year in bed at least 12 hours a day, if not 18 (not sleeping all the time, just basically living there.)

I'm doing quite a bit better now (relatively speaking,) thanks to 7.5 mg Remeron at bedtime for sleep and lots of psychotherapy. I gained 7 pounds from the Remeron, but my weight seems to have stabilized and the food cravings it was causing seem to be lessening.

Realizing that it was making me crave food seemed to help me to deal with that problem some. It does do that, though. I even really enjoy looking at photos of food now. It has definitely done something to my brain in that area. I seem to have more enjoyment of food in general, though, so if I keep healthy food around, I get excited about that, too.

I'm now a proponent of "FIX THE SLEEP FIRST". When my sleep got better, lots of other things started to look possible.

I'm working on things now like housekeeping, getting my finances and paperwork in order, eating a healthy diet (FIX THE FOOD) and am screwing up my courage to start an exercise program.

At the risk of doing one of those "have you tried?" things, have you tried bioidentical progesterone cream? I am nearing the end (I HOPE) of perimenopause and found that progesterone cream seemed to keep my mood more stable. That might mean steadily blah, but it helped to keep it from swinging around. I have mostly stopped using it during the past few months.

I have also been looking at my ADD type symptoms and also came to the conclusion that they were probably caused by depression. They get much better with SLEEP and FOOD and when my depression is better.

I am hoping to get back to the yoga and enjoying clothes and makeup and going to church, etc. eventually. Right now I'm at the "Look! I washed my dinner plate and fork." "I made a smoothie." "I showered five times this week." "I made my bed." stage and pleased to be there.

jo_thorne. You're welcome. I'm basically just blabbing away to myself here so I can get my thoughts off the rat-wheel inside my brain and out on to paper but if it helps you or anybody else, I'm glad. I was happy to see that you, in particular, read my post because I identified with one of your posts in the Attention Deficit forum so, so much.

I actually did try bio-identical progesterone cream and it was not a pretty picture. Holy buckets did it plunge me in to a very, very dark place. I became suicidally depressed and that was only after using it for barely 2 weeks! Now I take compounded progesterone in a pill form sublingually. I also take a compounded estrogen/estradiol/testosterone pill sublingually. Since I began taking these my (mild - thankfully) night sweats have disappeared as well as the hot flushes (I never got to a full-on dripping sweat "flash"). My libido is still pretty much DOA, however. But, let's be real, there are other factors at play here for me beyond tanked hormonal levels.

I can totally relate to being pleased about washing two kitchen utensils and a plate. In 2014 it was all I could do to get myself back and forth to my job every day. Everything else went to the dogs. There's probably a permanent indentation in the center cushion of my couch.

I'm doing better than that now, but so nowhere near where I want to get.

Hang in there!!!