[dog lover]

I have been doing some research to see if there is a connection between depression and MG. I have been in a pretty deep depression for a couple of weeks now. I am trying to decide if it is med related or if I am simply depressed. I am on an antidepressant which my Neuro doubled a couple of months ago. I am still on pred and also cellcept. I am having ALOT of side effects from the cellcept and the neuro dropped me back down to 1,000 mg a day to see if that helps. If there is no improvement in 3 weeks he plans to take me off of it. I mentioned in another post that I am having severe memory loss to the point it is scaring me. I have a little dog I go visit everyday and twice in the last week I forgot the alarm code!!! I have been using this code for 2 years and it terrified me the first time but the second almost sent me over the edge. The alarm went off and I had to call the dogs owner. I am also having alot of shaking in my hands and night sweats so bad I have to sleep with a fan blowing right on me. My neuro said these are side effects of the cellcept and that is why he lowered my dose. I have had bouts of depression before but nothing like now. I feel like I want to shut myself up inside my house and not interact with other people. This is really out of character for me and I HATE feeling this way. Do any of you suffer from depression and if so do you think it is related to meds, dealing with a chronic disease or do I need to be concerned that I have fallen into a clinical depression? I am not having any suicidal thoughts but do have days where I feel like if I die I am ok with that because I am so tired of feeling sick and not able to live the life I used to. Sorry for sounding like a whiner but I am really scared because like I said this is so out of character for me.
Kendra

[jana]

Kendra, MG doesn't make me depressed, but, Prednisone sure does. You've probably already seen me "rant and rave" about it before, but, just in case........here is a link:

http://www.drrichardhall.com/steroid.htm

I've been having memory issues lately, too -- and I'm only on Mestinon.

Depression is awful -- I am so sorry. I feel helpless -- I WILL be praying for you!!

[dog lover]

Jana,
I read the link and have to say it terrifies me!!! I am convinced my mental stability isn't what it should be. If I don't snap out of it soon I'll call my Dr.

I feel helpless too.... it is an awful way to live. Are you still on Pred? If so do you think that is what is causing your memory loss and depression?

Thank you for the reply and the prayers!!! You will be in my prayers also.
Kendra

[jana]

No, Kendra, I am NOT on Prednisone. I avoid that stuff like the PLAGUE!! As long as I stay away from that AND from IV solutions that contain corn sugars, I don't get depressed, now. I wouldn't wish depression on my worst enemy. Migraines are bad -- hate, hate, HATE them -- but, they are like tiny splinters compared to DEPRESSION!!

I can't figure out what is causing my memory loss -- it seems worse at some times than at others. I'm really trying to figure out a pattern. So far, I seem to just be misplacing things, not remembering names, and forgeting how to work some math problems (and I was a math teacher for a large part of my career). I feel like there is a "fog" in the front part of my head -- and like there are "holes" in some spaces of my brain -- like swiss cheese. Some parts of my brain are working just fine -- others, not so well. It is a strange feeling -- I don't know what to make of it. My neuro is running tests.

The prednisone psychosis is, in my opinion, FAR more prevalent than doctors want to admit. My brother-in-law's mother had it -- went TOTALLY psychotic after heart surgery and a dose of prednisone. They thought they were going to have to put her into a lock-down mental ward!

[DesertFlower]

Originally Posted by dog lover

I have been doing some research to see if there is a connection between depression and MG. I have been in a pretty deep depression for a couple of weeks now. I am trying to decide if it is med related or if I am simply depressed. I am on an antidepressant which my Neuro doubled a couple of months ago. I am still on pred and also cellcept. I am having ALOT of side effects from the cellcept and the neuro dropped me back down to 1,000 mg a day to see if that helps. If there is no improvement in 3 weeks he plans to take me off of it. I mentioned in another post that I am having severe memory loss to the point it is scaring me. I have a little dog I go visit everyday and twice in the last week I forgot the alarm code!!! I have been using this code for 2 years and it terrified me the first time but the second almost sent me over the edge. The alarm went off and I had to call the dogs owner. I am also having alot of shaking in my hands and night sweats so bad I have to sleep with a fan blowing right on me. My neuro said these are side effects of the cellcept and that is why he lowered my dose. I have had bouts of depression before but nothing like now. I feel like I want to shut myself up inside my house and not interact with other people. This is really out of character for me and I HATE feeling this way. Do any of you suffer from depression and if so do you think it is related to meds, dealing with a chronic disease or do I need to be concerned that I have fallen into a clinical depression? I am not having any suicidal thoughts but do have days where I feel like if I die I am ok with that because I am so tired of feeling sick and not able to live the life I used to. Sorry for sounding like a whiner but I am really scared because like I said this is so out of character for me.
Kendra

Kendra,

I am sorry you are feeling depressed.

I feel depressed sometimes and I think it is just from dealing with MG and the way it prevents me from doing so many things that I want to do. I don't think I have any form of clinical depression, it is just so hard to accept that I can't do everything I want to. Having MG is definitely depressing for me.

I hope you figure this out. It is no fun being depressed.

I am only taking Mestinon and I know Mestinon effects my mood. If I don't get enough of it I tend to get depressed and have memory problems and if I get too much I am nervous and feel crazy...it is a fine line between the two for me. I can only imagine that many drugs can cause, or at least indirectly contribute to, depression.

Did this depression start, or get worse, when you started cellcept?

I wish I could help.

[AnnieB3]

Kendra, I am sorry you are having such a rough time. Being on those drugs is not easy. I have moments like that but nothing like what you experienced.

It helps to understand what drugs do to you. Prednisone is an antiprostaglandin. One of the things it does is to reduce the gel coating of the stomach. You produce less stomach acid and may have trouble getting calcium, iron, vitamin B12 and other nutrients from your diet. What can help is either eating fish or adding a fish/flax oil supplement to your diet (which are good prostaglandins). I always find it amazing how "turned on" my brain gets after eating fish. Mrs. D. could probably give you a lot more info and other suggestions about diet while on these meds. I know she is a proponent of SAMe.

It wouldn't hurt to add some sublingual vitamin B12 to your daily routine. Some recent research has shown that it helps with Alzheimer patients. www.iherb.com has great prices and with certain amounts there is free shipping. I've ordered from them for 10 years. You can't make acetylcholine as well without B12 and you can't make stomach acid without acetylcholine. The brain needs acetylcholine too.

http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=2122455

So many doctors forget about what vitamins/minerals do to help the body. And many drugs deplete the body of various ones. Just the diarrhea alone that many people who take cellcept have can make you lose nutrients. Taking acidophilus helps keep the GI tract good/bad bacteria balance.

I hope you will try some sensible supplements, if you haven't already. It's good to introduce one at a time, in case you have any adverse reactions. Although no study I have found has said a person can have too much B12. It's not like B6, which can be bad for things like a neuropathy. B12 is so essential to every cell in the body. I know firsthand, having had a B12 deficiency. Not fun. And I was on the verge of full blown dementia.

You could speak to your doctor about all this (primary doc, not neuro) but don't expect them to give a hoot or know about any of it. A lot of docs don't have knowledge of supplements and how they can help you.

I hope you can feel better somehow. Depression is not something you can easily get over. If you can speak to a psychiatrist or psychologist, that might help too. They can often give a lot of new coping skills to deal with depression.


Annie

[johnc666]

Gidday doglover, I think bouts of depression and memory loss is reasonably normal for us who suffer mg, I am on 25mg prednisone and 60mg mestinon 4 times a day and sometimes it is really frustrating trying to remember something simple and everyday being on prednisone has tripped me into diabetes and I take high blood pessure tabs too, I get bouts of " fuzziness " and really feel depressed too especially on those gloomy overcast grey days, but bright good days do come too so I try to enjoy those to the fullest, go for walks in nice places along the river, you have to keep on going and try to be upbeat taking of dogs, I like " jack russel " terriers, I dont have on but if I got a dog that would be it, did you know they suffer MG too, regards john

[rach73]

I totally sympathise with you. I suffered with stress and depression before I became ill and being ill certainly hasn't helped it any. Now I suffer with anxiety......over everything. I'm sure this pattern of behaviour reared its ugly head due to the prednisolone.I have always had an anxious personality but it spiraled out of control on pred.

I wouldn't say Im depressed but I will happily admit that I have days where I don't feel life is worth living. My worst day so far was back in March when I finally got the report back from Oxford. I completely shut down, couldn't talk, couldn't do anything. I nearly rang the samaritans (suicide / depression) helpline, because I honestly couldn't see anyway out. I luckily had friends and family that could sense something was very wrong and they helped me, but it took a few weeks before I felt back to normal again. That's also another reason why I haven't been on here a lot as I just couldn't cope with anything.

Its very hard when you are depressed to see any light at the end of the tunnel. Eating foods that contain natural serotonin like Brown rice can be extremely beneficial.

Setting small goals everyday to do something, even if you don't want to. Gentle exercise where you can (obviously some MGer's like me can't), putting your favourite songs on and belting out the words. Anything that you can do to help lift you up out of this.

There are still days I feel low and on those days I allow myself to feel like that. But I try and limit it to 24 hours and then you have got to start the new day a fresh.

However If you have tried all of these things and nothing is helping, then you may need get some medication.

I hope this helps,

Love
Rach

[dog lover]

Desert,
Yes things definitely got worse after starting cellcept. I decided yesterday to stop taking it. I am still on Mestinon and Pred but the cellcept has made me feel worse than I did before. I feel like I am so overmedicated and live in a fog most of the time. It seems like for every side effect I have from one med they prescribe 2 or 3 more to help with that. It has becone a vicious cycle and has driven me deeper and deeper into this foggy depression. I am going to talk to my neuro about slowly coming off some of these meds. I know I have posted about insomnia in the past. It had gotten better as my pred dosage was lowered but the cellcept started it right up again. My internal med Dr gave me ambian to help. I took one Fri night and had a horrible reaction!!! I woke up yesterday and was shaking all over from weakness, felt like I was going to pass out and couldn't hardly walk. I spent the entire day in bed or on the couch. It scared me so bad. I have never come that close to a crisis since being diagnosed. I decided then that I need to trust my instincts and stop letting the Drs. put me on one pill after another.
Thanks,
Kendra

[dog lover]

Annie,
Thank you so much for this info....I have sublingual B12 and will start it again today. After reading your reply I am wondering if the severe memory loss is because I am deficient in something. I had a CBC done Fri and should have the results back by Tues.
You are so right about most Drs not being educated about the importance of supplements. It seems like they want to treat one side effect with another med. It is so frustrating. I have an excellent chiropractor who has given me alot of info on natural remedies and vitamins. I am taking calcium with Vit D, Vit E and B complex daily. Maybe adding the B12 will help. Thanks so much. If I don't pull out of this depression soon I will definitely talk to a psychologist.
Kendra