Posted by andrewb on November 9, 1999, at 21:19:33
In reply to Long-Term Dysthymia -- Please Help, posted by HeidiK on November 9, 1999, at 18:02:48
I've read that by far the greater proportion of dysthymics can be helped with medication. I certainly have been. There are a lot of options you have yet to try, so take heart.
Why are you intimidated my your current psychiatrist? To get better you will probably need the help of a psychiatrist and it helps to get the best psychiatric care that is out there. You may find such a psychiatrist aligned with a major university or hospital. He or she will have experience with refractory depressions and may be self described as a psychopharmacoloigist.
I also would like to mention that fatigue, low motivation, low mood, weight gain, low concentration and lack of libido are all symptoms of hypothyroidism. If you haven't already done so, get your free thyroid hormone levels checked. Note that you need to get your FREE T4 and T3 levels checked as total thyroid hormone levels can be unreliable. Even if you do not have low levels of thyroid hormones, you may benefit from taking T3 for fatigue and depression. It is a fairly common augmentation strategy.
poster:andrewb
thread:14899
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/19991108/msgs/14906.html