If it doesn't work, try something new

Please feel free to ignore this or even shoot me down in flames, I don't want to be alarmist, but it doesn't sound completely fanciful to me. Some people are more senstive than others.You work as a plumber, so you must have been exposed to a fair amount of lead in old pipework and solder? Also you have lived in California where the air pollution can be bad and you are of an age where petrol (gas) used to have lead added to make the engines run smoother. I think I've read about toxic waste in the woods in Michigan too, so you could have had a pretty high lifetime exposure to lead. Symptoms of lead poisoning can include depression and mood disturbances. Lead Poisoning | Doctor | Patient.co.uk

Another possible source is the mecury amalgam used in some tooth fillings, what is your dental work like? I once read about tooth fillings causing all sorts of long term health problems. The only reliable science I could find was inconclusive, so I think my level of concern on that one is more about my own personal anxieties.

Slightly off topic, I'm interested in the subject of heavy metal toxicity as it has been used as a theory to explain the long term decline in serious crime in the developed world. Particularly linking the drop in delinquency to the switch to unleaded petrol in the 1990s.

To me, heavy metal toxicity in someone with known exposure and already predisposed to mental illness seems like a theory worth investigating if only to rule it out as an aggravating factor.

Actually I did think about all that.

I grew up when lead was still in fuel.
Half my career as a plumber was with 50/50 lead based solder. Not really any exposure to old piping, lead, and asbestos because it was all new construction. I know I have had high levels of copper in my system from running copper pipe for days on end. I think that leaves your system though whereas lead and mercury don't.

Not sure about California pollution as they don't have any coal fired power plants. The main source was smog from the bay area from autos, and lots of dust, pollens, and allergens where I lived. In the summer the central valley would have a high pressure dome sitting over it all summer so there was no air exchange. Bay area smog would filter over. I don't think heavy metals are high though.

Growing up in Northern Michigan is anyones guess. Less likely because it is rural northern but I did spend tons of time in the woods. It all depends on if Dow Chemical and the like bothered to drive this far to illegally dump their toxic waste in the woods. There is plenty of woods in Southern Michigan for them to dump. Hard to know but I think the area I grew up in had pretty clean air and water even back then. Mercury and acid rain were problems then.

I don't know how to get it checked out. It would certainly be worth the test. I will look into it. My pdoc will probably poo poo it.

The depression definitely started before the plumbing. The most likely sources then would have been mercury and lead in the air. Oh and I forgot......In 7th grade science class after school we played with mercury like it was a toy. It is a very cool and bizarre element. The fact it has such a high density and is a liquid.

I am sure I have fillings with mercury in them if they haven't fallen out. A lot of the old ones fell out. I could have swallowed them.

Maybe I will print this post and give it to my docs.

Thanks for your concern.