angel08955

does depression cause?

Ten Chips Down

Hey!

If you'd asked me this a year
ago I would have laughed it off. Since then Eli Lilly, the makers of Cymbalta (an antidpressent) have launched a new campaign, claiming that "the balance" of such very important neurotransmitters as norepinephrine and serotonin in the brain can actually regulate the way and degree to which we experience physical aches and pains.

Their site suggests that depression can manifest itself in somatic, or physical, ways as well as in just pain feeling bad.

Specifically--and to anwer your question--neuroscientists now seem to think that you can have everything from nagging or vague aches and pains in the joints, muscles, and other areas to digestive problems, and headaches or backaches.

Oftentimes even chest pains and dizziness are now being tied to depression. For a comprehensive overview, you might to visit Eli Lilly's "Depression hurts" site for their attempt to explain why and how. And in order to sell their medication, of course. LOL

But if there's truth to it, the claim is most definitely an interesting one and adds a whole other dimension to how we view this disease.

HTH,
John

ccgirl

A lot of mine were vague aches and pains, a lot of irritable bowel stuff, and lots of headaches (daily). Also, I felt like I was walking through molasses.

angel08955

i have been having the shakes and dizzy, fainting and just hurting.

meli2005

My chest hurt a lot, felt very heavy. Yes, have had the bowel stuff too, food doesn't taste good, etc. Headaches too..daily for me too.

margo

Hi Lovelife - I have muscle and joint pains mostly in the upper body, mostly left sided, and have developed migraine. I had a preexisting condition that caused a lot of chest pain, and still does. Unfortunately, depression can magnify physical symptoms of aches and pains and make them much harder to cope with.

Depression and anxiety often go hand in hand, and each can make the other worse so it can be a vicious circle. What you describe above sounds like it might be anxiety related - sometimes we can hyperventilate without being aware of it and that can cause some of the symptoms you describe, as well as lightheadedness; however, I think you should definitely see your doctor if you are actually fainting.

shutterbug

yes me too

and....I cursed my bladder when it made me walk 20 steps to the bathroom and just standing up....i felt like I was 80 years old!

I usually tried to describe mine like this.....imagine if someone draped every inch of your body with several inches of cement....like a long coat of cement...that's what it felt like to walk around in my body then. Just lifting my arm to scratch my neck....was very tiresome and painful.

shutterbug

I also shook very badly for months...sometimes it was actually difficult to hold a pencil or peice of paper b/c of shaking so much. And my startle response was VERY hightened! One very tiny bump noise...even sometimes from my own doing....had me jumping several feet into the air.

Ten Chips Down

OMG, I'm terrible about that. "Quick," physical therapists call it, but it's not a good kind of quick. LOL

I am doing amazingly well right now right in my new Celexa therapy and finding myself able to taper from the benzos without really too much great difficulty - which is just fantastic, of course.

Getting back to the "quick" response, it means reacting to anything in a jumpy fashion, and of course goes hand-in-hand with a really bad startle-response.

In my past as an active alcoholic, I've had it so bad people would just call out, "John!" and I'd jumped through the roof. Hypervigilance, or being super-aware of every single little thing that's occuring around you is also in that camp.

Action tremor, or intention tremor (opposite of what's called a resting tremor) is also related--perfect example is trying to drinking from a full glass using only hand and needing both hands just to steady it, or say trying to sip from a bowl of soup -- without spilling either all over youself. LOL Ugh, just awful. Awful I tell you.

Now... That last one I still have to some degree and am learning to simply live with it. I feel I've abused my body long and very hard; some permanent nerve-damage should hardly comes a any surprise.

I'm learning to cope. I'm pretty convinced as well, that once I acquire some serious clean time from sedatives, the symptoms will abate even further.

One thing for sure: It won't get worse.

Interesting memories you guys bringing back.

-TCD-

Latte

Well, I'm titrating up 120 of Cymbalta and using Ativan occasionally, but the Cymbalta is really making things better and I'm almost done with the Ativan.

I suffer from untraceable pain and can no longer take narcotics (can't take NSAIDS due to gastric bypass).

I'm really starting to feel okay. I suffer from Cyclothymia/Bi-Polar.

Ten Chips Down

Man, that's great to hear, ESPECIALLY about the Ativan, omg. (BZDs have been the bane of my FRICKIN' existence over the past years. LOL)

I'm seeing el-shrink-o once again in two weeks (December 1st) and will ask him to up my Celexa to a full 40mg (a "usual, recommended" dose) since I have done so well with it over the past 6 weeks straight. (Side effects, what side effects? I don't even know I'm on it.)

Again though, and to the topic, I have never had any untraceable, mystery pain that I can remotely associate with mood. That's just weird to me - but only b/c I haven't experienced it.

Ten

ayla zaire

oh, man celexa made me sick sick sick....zoloft works well for me, though...i know that my depression causes aches, headaches...fatigue, insomnia, and i always feel a little sick...also, depression can supress your immune system and you can get sick more often, and illnesses can last longer...

Ten Chips Down

That is so weird! Coz ...see look, back when I took Zoloft. I learned fast in the beginning that I absolutely could not take it on an empty stomach, it made me feel as if I were going to throw up.

Like straight codiene tablets do to some people, you know?

BUT! Celexa? Pffft.

Shoot, I take it in the mornings first thing when I get up - empty stomach straight water - no worries. LOL!!

People are weird man.

Mostly other people though. Hardly ever me. My daddy told me so and i always believed my daddy, he would say son don't worry it's not you the rest of the world is crazy and i believe him don't agrue with me i am mean it ok you better not or i'll... tell, or something.)

shutterbug

Ten Chips....you sure sound like someone I've chatted with somewhere outside of SR....????????

Ten Chips Down

Have i been 'made', i wonder? Well, sent you a PM, so we shall C.

And btw., at this posting you're fifteen posts away from 2,000.

* W00T *

shutterbug

hummm...I hadn't noticed that 2,000 thingy.....

I pm'd you back.....so you're going to have to hurry and respond....the wait is killing me. I'm not a woman with much patience ya know!

Latte

Well, I have pelvic pain and we can't figure out where it is coming from.

I won't go into great detail but I'm alive and I'm only taking antidepressants now. I may have to go on a mood stabilizer, we'll see.

shutterbug

Ayla...you are so right....depression can have very strong affects on us physically.

I never had so much as a headache until I went through my first major depression around 21...now have them all the time. And same with gastrointestinal issues like IBS....when i'm in even a slight depression my IBS worsens.

And NO immune system. That first episode I had a sinus infection that lasted nearly a year and docs thought I was a hypocondriac b/c I was in the student clinic about once a week trying to figure out what was wrong with me and why none of the antibiotics were working.

Ever since then i've still struggled with sinus infections and bronchitus several times a year, typically, but the difference now is that I learned that putting myself on a regemin of 1,000 mg of slow-release Vit C at the first indications of sickness helps me fight them better than any antibiotics.

Depression also affects other biological processes....and as most know it severly decreases a persons sex drive. Besides all the pain and fatigue....I found my brain stopped wanting to work too!

Focusing and remembering even the simplist of things became impossible. I nearly completely lost my short term memory during the last several months of my episode and I still have issues with it at times.

I also know that for me....the stress of going through all of that causes my body to produce lots and lots of cortisol....and I crave carbs and sugar and sleep alot....and the cortisol (stress-hormone) is why I have weight issues that started only at the onset of my bipolar symptoms during that first major depression episode.

Latte.....not sure about a specific pain in you pelvic area. If you're female I would highly recommend going for a gyno exam (if you haven't already) and see if they can find anything going on....another possiblity if you havent' already is seeing a chiropractor. If that doesn't help....some people swear by acupuncture...though I've never had an opportunity to even try it.

And if that doesn't do it.....check into seeing a bone and joint specialist.
One more possibility....some foot docs have told me that an improperly shapped arch of the foot and not having proper shoes can reek all kinds of havic on our backs and joints from just every day activities.

I too am only taking anti-ds right now, but I know I can't go it with them alone for much longer. I will have to get back on a mood stabalizer and try to find one that will work well for me. I believe I was able to come out of my major depression sooner than I would have....had I never ended up in the position where I had to stop the mood stabalizer for a while. But please know that I don't recommend any bipolar doing this without guidance from a good psychiatrist b/c it can cause more major episodes of mania induced by the anti-ds.

Also, Latte.....you might look into ECT if things don't seem to be getting better soon...because ECT can offer near immediate results to many depressives who are not seeing much results from meds....or who need to get relief sooner than it often takes with meds.