GP thinks I'm depressed, I don't think I am

[CrabbitArse]

I've been exhausted since DD's birth 3 years ago, made total sense previously as she didn't sleep until she was 2. I nod off most evenings on the sofa, have no energy, no motivation, I have brain fog, memory problems and oddly can no longer climb up a ladder without getting light headed. I have also developed rosaeca. Prior to pregnancy I was happily functional on 5-6 hours sleep a night. However I still take great pleasure in various aspects of my life, I can still laugh and have fun, enjoy a nice meal or an interesting conversation. I do take propanolol for anxiety occasionally.

I decided enough was enough & booked an appointment to see the GP for some blood tests, the results of which have just come back as normal. Doctor raised the issue of DD being recently diagnosed with autism and I felt as though she had decided I was depressed before I walked in. Got a long lecture on the effects of long term stress on seratonin levels and I do get where she's coming from but I've been depressed before (20+ years ago) and this doesn't feel the same. I'm supposed to be calling to discuss the next step but she has already told me it'll be anti depressants which I'm not keen to take.

How can I convince her I'm not depressed? I'm not sure what exactly she tested for but can I ask for further tests? I've lost all my fight since this has been going on & it was a big deal for me to finally take my health in hand, I don't want to be dismissed as a stressed out mother of a SN child (which I am, but that's not all I am).

Any words of advice?

[wigglybeezer]

I upped my vitamin D, they were at the borderline for low/ normal but Dsis has MS so I felt it was worth taking some, I feel it did perk me up a bit. I was like you, down and listless but perking up when something fun came along. When DS2 had a bad accident, involving many hospital stays and operations, I perked right up, which sounds awful, but I had to step up, had a fixable problem to deal with, I had to leave the house and travel into the city and everyone around me was concerned (I think they had compassion fatigue about his ASD DX). Made me realise I needed to make an effort to get out more and do stimulating things,. Which I did and it has helped.
I had anti-depressants suggested but resisted because I was worried my libido would disappear completely, my adequate sex- drive has definitely helped glue my marriage together through everything.
Good sleep makes the biggest difference to me, can't function well without it these days, I have had to give up caffeine and cut back on alcohol sadly but it's worth it. Still have hormonal ups and down but they seem to have diminished with age (49).

[mumznet]

Also consider natural things which we forget such as exercise, sex 😯, and healthy foods ☺️

[CrabbitArse]

Gosh thank you all so much for making me feel so much less ridiculous! I'll definitely call the GP on Monday & ask to see my results. If everything is all completely normal then I guess I'll have to give the anti depressants a shot but I am really keen to avoid them if at all possible so fingers crossed there's something else I can work on first.

[AntiQuitty]

I had a range of symptoms, especially extreme tiredness and brain fog and it was put down to low vitamin D. After months on a very high dose I was still struggling and some symptoms had got worse. At the docs we went over all the blood test results together and there was a red box around one of the two thyroid results because it was a tiny bit out of range. I Googled it when I got home and all my symptoms could be explained by hypothyroidism. I had to actually argue my case to go on thyroxine. I was probably symptomatic even within the NHS range. Anyway, I feel loads better and my "depression" is gone as well as loads of other things. And a blood test proved I did have the antibodies attacking my thyroid. But like I said, I had to put forward my case for it.

[MoreProseccoNow]

OP, have you completed any of the online scoring charts for depression? There are some on NHS choices, it's things like the HADS scale, which will give you a definitive score & you can use this as a basis for discussion with your GP.

[CrabbitArse]

Brilliant idea Prosecco I've just done that & my results said not depressed, I will definitely feel more prepared at the GP now.