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.