Quote:
Originally Posted by LovebirdsFlying
I have had depression since I was about six years old. I was an abused child.
But only in the last ten years has physical pain been debilitating. Could it be that since I *do* have depression, everything that's wrong with me is automatically blamed on that?
Edited to add, some of these tests have been done or are upcoming, and my psychiatrist also wants to test and see if I have a vitamin D deficiency.
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It's possible for depression to cause a lot of physical symptoms - but really that doesn't much matter (in my opinion). It's not the cause that's important, nearly as much as what you do about it. The pain has to be treated, regardless of the cause.
Doctors aren't very well educated on pain. I didn't learn that until I met doctors who were pain specialists. The American anti-drug ethic assumes that you should never take pain medication unless (and until) you really need it (only when the pain becomes excrutiating and unbearable).
Pain specialists have discovered (the research backs them up. Luckily, more and more research is being done on pain) that it's easier to prevent pain than to break its grip once it takes hold. Often a person can get by on a very low dose of pain medication, if it's taken BEFORE pain gets a grip. Even though such a person is taking a lower dose than they would need if they had waited, taking the pain medication BEFORE the pain appears - will earn you the label of "addict" by many folks (even doctors who haven't been trained in pain management).
Here's my theory for what it's worth (and since I'm not a medical professional, it isn't worth much). It doesn't really matter how you get into a pain loop, once you're there it can take over your life, and it can be very difficult to escape the loop. The pain has to be treated for you to be able to function. Even when depression is the cause of the pain, treating the depression may not be enough to treat the pain - the pain has to be treated as it's own separate medical issue. Do not let anyone tell you that the pain is imagined - it is not. Rather depression is often associated with a neurotransmitter problem (similar neurotransmitter problems are associated with chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia. They're not sure whether it's a cause or an effect of the disorders).
And everything I said about pain applies to fatigue as well. Fatigue is just as much a loop, that can be self-perpetuating.
Even if your symptoms are being caused by the depression - it doesn't mean that treating the depression will treat the symptoms. Depression can lower your resistance to infection. If you get pneumonia because the depression has compromised your immunity, your doctor wouldn't prescribe a stronger antidepressant, he'd prescribe antibiotics to treat the pneumonia.
Pain is much the same. Some drugs that are antidepressants also treat pain (such as Cymbalta, amitriptyline, lexapro.....) which can further confuse patients. My husband and I have a friend who was furious that his doctor had prescribed an antidepressant for his insomnia, because he was NOT depressed. I explained that drugs that are used as antidepressants do have other uses, and treatment of sleep disorders and pain are two of them.
It can be confusing, because it's not always clear when a doctor is taking a patient's concerns seriously. And really there's no way to no for sure, except to be as communicative as you can with your doctor and ask (demand, really) the same respect and communication.