Anyone diagnosed with atypical depression?

I was reading a depression sourcebook tonight and the chapter on major depression, bipolar I and II mentions atypical depression. It sounds exactly like me. I've never come across any mention of it before, even though it's the most common of the depressive subtypes. Go figure.

You suffer the usual aspects of depression, but instead of the lack of sleep, loss of appetite, and weight loss, you need more sleep, have an increased appetite and gain weight, feel fatiged and weighted down, and complain of anxiety and suffer from phobias. Bingo, except for the phobias! Your mood is also reactive based on external stimuli. Something good happens, you feel how a "normal" person would feel, and may feel a bit high. But the normal moods are unstable, and if criticized or rejected the person suffering atypical depression will be devastated and relapse.

Treatment's the same as for depression - SSRIs or MAOIs but not tricyclics.

I have to take this book with me to my psych appt. It explains exactly what I go through.

Shirley,

I just wanted to say that I think it's great how you are researching to better understand yourself and also think it's a good idea that you are going to take that book with you to your appointment.

Sorry though, I'm not able to help you on the "atypical" depression--- my symptoms have been just the opposite(sometimes dangerous weight loss and insomnia) and I have a diagnosis of "major depressive disorder-recurrent".

I wish you luck with your appointment-- let us know what happens-K? t/c

mandy

Thanks Mandy. I'll definitely let everyone know how it goes. I still have 2 weeks to wait though.

It definitely fits me. I was starting to wonder if I was bipolar, but it doesn't fit.

I wonder if DocJohn could add some info about it in the disorders section?

I have atypical depression, and I take an MAOI. SSRI's have never done it for me. It was a huge relief for me when my T told me he thought this is what I had. I had not heard of it, and I always thought I was just lazy and a slug in addition to being depressed.

I hope it helps for you to know more about it.

Take care,
gg

That's how I feel GG, like "why can't I do more?" I was thinking ADD, but that doesn't fit. Then with the feelings of normalcy or excitement and then the lows, I was thinking bipolar. With the external factors helping the mood swings along, I was worried about borderline. But atypical depression puts all of my symptoms together and it fits. What a relief if this is it.

I had good luck with Celexa at a low dose until outside factors changed and it got to be too much to handle, but my family practice doc wouldn't increase the dose. I'm just now, 9 months later, getting myself in for a medication evaluation by a psychiatrist. I've only had internists or GPs "diagnose" me before after listening to me for 10 minutes.

Hubby has atypical depression. Zoloft seems to have worked for him.

i have what is call severe depression.

One psychiatrist proposed to me that he thought I had atypical depression. It sure resonated with me. I thought it gave the best description of what I go through. SSRI's never helped me at all. This pdoc wanted me to try a MAOI. When I saw the dietary restrictions, I didn't think I could handle it. Plus I've always been somewhat helped by tricyclics.

Now, I'm wondering if maybe I didn't miss the boat. I would like to know what MAOIs actually do for those who find them helpful. It's the one and only class of psych drug that I've never tried. Maybe I should try it.

I thought I was maybe atypical depression, especially the eating too much and sleeping too much bits. However, in this episode I've lost my appetite and am sleeping badly. My pdoc accounts for the fluctuations in my mood as either high functioning or just maybe bipolar. I am kind of hoping that I might try an MAOI next as neither tricyclics nor SSRI/SNRI are an option for me anymore.I guess I'd get used to the dietary restrictions especially if I was feeling better.

TheOriginalMe - If you have a positive experience with the MAOI, I would love to hear about it.

Welcome to my world - citalopram has worked wonders for me, but rather not take it forever, hence therapy.

Holy crap this is me. Especially for the weight gain aspect and the instability.