Depression

[plix (imported)]

I think I would be doing so much better without this depression

I have come to face the fact that I am severely depressed, and the depression seems to be getting worse with each passing day.

I was depressed before castration, and that is probably why it is so bad now. I've battled depression on and off for most of my life. I've had plenty of suicidal periods, and those continue into today.

I know this is pretty ridiculous because look how far I've come and how few people my age could be this far. But I can't help it. I'm still depressed.

[JesusA (imported)]

Depression is nothing to take lightly. There is a serious chemical imbalance in your brain that tends to feed it and medication is essential to reduce it. The HRT that you are taking will help, but you need your doctor to prescribe one of the SSRI medications. There are a number of them available and some people have better or worse results from particular ones.

Since you are a student, you should be able to get the student health service to prescribe (and maybe even to provide) an SSRI. They should also monitor you closely for the first couple of weeks to make certain that it is the right one for you.

Don't hesitate. Show up on their doorstep tomorrow morning as they open for business!

[Paolo]

In the meantime, eat chocolate. Not the Hershey crap, either, some real stuff. Works wonders.

[Eunuchist (imported)]

I think I would be doing so much better without this depression

I have come to face the fact that I am severely depressed, and the depression seems to be getting worse with each passing day.

I was depressed before castration, and that is probably why it is so bad now. I've battled depression on and off for most of my life. I've had plenty of suicidal periods, and those continue into today.

I know this is pretty ridiculous because look how far I've come and how few people my age could be this far. But I can't help it. I'm still depressed.

My suggestion: stop taking estrogen for a while. I've read a few reports done on cancer patients wich showed that those in the orchiectomy only group had a better state of mood than those on estrogen. F. inst:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/quer ... uery_hl=13

"The group of patients on oestrogen treatment had a higher average score for depression than those treated with orchiectomy or radiation treatment."

It seems that estrogen may contribute to depression in men. I know of one eunuch who experimented with estrogen and he couldn't tolerate the stuff even for a few days. Now that you are a eunuch you have all the time in the world, take a break from estrogen and see what happens. You may just as well discover that you're better off it.

Good luck!

[plix (imported)]

Since you are a student, you should be able to get the student health service to prescribe (and maybe even to provide) an SSRI. They should also monitor you closely for the first couple of weeks to make certain that it is the right one for you.

Don't hesitate. Show up on their doorstep tomorrow morning as they open for business!

I actually do have an appointment with them, but it's later on today rather than at opening time. It's mostly to try to talk him into hormones again. I probably wouldn't get SSRIs from him because the insurance wouldn't cover anything prescribed by him.

Hopefully tomorrow I can talk to my new PCP about SSRIs. She may want to refer me to a psychi

atrist though like the one at the extended care did.

In the meantime, eat chocolate. Not the

Hershey crap, either, some real stuff. Works wonders.

How can I find the real stuff?

[Taylor (imported)]

Get help. Go to a doctor or have a friend drag you to a doctor and get help.

It may not seem like it but there are prescription antidepressants that WILL make a difference.

[Leona Lee (imported)]

Hi Plix! As I said on a previous Post. When you begin ingesting estrogen, many times your hormone levels become fixed and for some of us , we don't cope well with our surrounding pressures. Depression is always present and drags us down lower and lower. And you at your age ,having had an orchiectomy, this is very crucial. Your hormones are probably fixed and cannot fluctuate as normal. At this point and time, I would recommend you stop ingesting anything and see how that goes. I know Proxac

is a bit of an anti-androgen and also may not be right for you at this point. Please continue to seek our input because you sound like your in crisis. We all wish to be helpful and I myself was suicidal at one point. The enemy of our souls waits and hopes to destroy us.Hugs, Leona

[strassenbahn (imported)]

I think I would be doing so much better without this depression

I have come to face the fact that I am severely depressed, and the depression seems to be getting worse with each passing day.

I was depressed before castration, and that is probably why it is so bad now. I've battled depression on and off for most of my life. I've had plenty of suicidal periods, and those continue into today.

I know this is pretty ridiculous because look how far I've come and how few people my age could be this far. But I can't help it. I'm still depressed.

SSRI's can literally be lifesavers. I'm sure they saved mine when I was in a non-castration (I'm just a wannabe) career-related depression and had serious siucidal thoughts.

[thefraj (imported)]

You are a truely wonderful person, Plix. And my heart goes out to you. I've been there myself, and I can only imagine how it feels.

As Jesus often told me (not our Lord! The one on these chatboards ) when I was going through these phases, it's important to remember there's nothing wrong, except for a minor chemical imbalance, which can be easily straightened out over time with antidepressants.

I know how hard it is to hear this at the time - but it will pass. And when it does, you will be a stronger person for it.

I gather your doctor prescribed Celexa, make sure you keep taking them! (I had a habbit of missing a few every so often, and it does make a difference!)

Very soon you won't even need those, but will be back to your normal, wonderful self.

~Rog

[JesusA (imported)]

TheFraj is exactly right. DO NOT miss a single dose! Once you have begun taking one of the SSRIs, there is a powerful rebound effect when you stop.

Once your brain has had a chance to heal, which it will do with the Celexa, your doctor can help you to taper off the medication. It usually requires taking a small dose of a different SSRI while your body adjusts to not having the Celexa in the system. You than stop the second SSRI before your body adjusts to needing it to protect the brain.

You need someone nearby to watch you for reactions for the first week or two.

If you're faithful in taking the medication, you should be in great shape by the time I get down there to see you in a couple of weeks. I'm looking forward to seeing you again.