Some members of a mental health support forum which I help to administer have found Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) helpful for complex PTSD. For a general description of DBT see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dialectical_behavior_therapy read more

Type I diabetes is an example of what is called an auto-immune disease. What that means is that the immune system, which normally gets rid of pathogens like bacteria and viruses, "makes a mistake" and ... read more

I am sorry to read about your diagnosis. There are many forms of amyloidosis. If you would like to post details of the form that you have been diagnosed with I would be happy (as ... read more

I am sorry to read that things are hard for you at the moment. Writing as an ex-smoker (2 years and counting...) two things worked for me. (1) I did the "one day at a ... read more

I think that Karen and Vivienne have offered you excellent thoughts. In my case (I am a client of a psychistrist and a clinical psychologist, and it took some "shopping around" until I found them), ... read more

The heritability of alcoholism (roughly, how much of the risk becoming an alcoholic correlates with genetic rather than environmental differences) is around 50-60%. This is typical of most complex human behaviours. However, and this is ... read more

*Writing as a reseacher, not a health professional* I guess that by "did's" you mean Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)? If so, I can't find anything in PubMed (the biomedical literature database) about using ECT ("electric ... read more

I think that both Grant and Will have offered you wise counsel. The only additional thought that I would offer is that I guess that your son is adolescent. Ir is quite common for people ... read more

Amyloidosis is a general term which refers to a number of diseases. They have one thing in common which is related to protein structure. For a protein to carry out its biological function it needs ... read more

Maybe it would help if you worked with a clinical psychologist (or similar mental health professional) who has experience of using mindfulness/meditation methods with his/her clients. Mindfulness/meditation involves learning to notice, without judging, that emotions ... read more

Because amyloid diseases differ both in terms of the organ(s) affected and the nature of the amyloid-forming protein there is no general treatment for them. If you have been diagnosed with an amyloid disease you ... read more

Amyloidosis is a general term which refers to diseases in which a normal body protein has taken up a "wrong shape", called amyloid. Why proteins do this is poorly understood (and the reasons probably vary ... read more

I am sorry to read that you have had a hard time with Pristiq - often matching the "right" anti-depressant to the "right" person is a matter of trial and error. I suggest that you ... read more

It is difficult to offer an answer to your question without more information. What is the professional relationship between you and your client? read more

I am sorry to read of the death of your son and I think that Frank has given you wise advice. My only suggestion is to remember that grieving follows its own path and its ... read more

In my experience (about 12 months of weekly mainly CBT-based group therapy), it varies a lot. In my case I "graduated" (the clinical psychologist and I agreed that I was in remission after 12 months) ... read more

Somnolence is a known side-effect of taking Cymbalta, though it does not apply to all people who have been prescribed it. Sometimes matching the "right" anti-depressant to the "right" person is a matter of trial ... read more

It sounds like you are having suicidal thoughts and have worked out a plan. *Please* do one or both of these things: Phone LifeLine (13 11 14) - it is available 24/7 and there will ... read more

There is *no* link between autism and immunisation. This urban myth arose from a paper written by Dr Andrew Wakefield in 1998. This paper has been shown to be a fraud - Dr Wakefield cheated ... read more

I agree with Beulah. If you are concerned about your diet ("micro-nutrients") I suggest that you ask your GP to give you a referral to a registered dietitian. If you would rather not do that ... read more

You might find it helpful to join this forum: http://buslist.org/phpBB/index.php . It supports people in finding coping mechanisms other than self-injury ("cutting"). Declaration of interest: I am one of its volunteer administrators. All the best. read more

I agree with what Belinda wrote. Here is a link which will give you some information about Better Access: http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/content/mental-ba Apart from CBT you could consider finding a mental health professional with experience in using ... read more

Writing as somebody who is in remission from depression and alcohol abuse, I agree with what Elisha wrote about self-medication. In a pharmacological sense, alcohol is a depressant, which is a *really* bad thing for ... read more

I definitely think that you should discuss this with your psychologist. In my experience (going to AA when I was recovering from alcohol addiction) "12 step plan" self-help groups can be highly stereotyped ("one size ... read more

I am guessing that your CRP levels are unusually high. Short-term (acute) elevated CRP levels happen when somebody has an infection (viral, fungal or bacterial). Under these circumstances the job of CRP is to help ... read more

I don't know much about the legal position (perhaps a health professional member could comment here?) but I would hope that you are entitled to see the results of your tests. I suggest that you ... read more

I think that you should talk with your GP about what the blood tests have shown about your immune system. Ask lots of questions. If you need help in translating his/her answers please feel free ... read more

I am sorry to read that things are so hard for you right now. As far as grieving for your partner is concerned, all that I can say is that grieving takes its own path ... read more

Writing as somebody who knows a lot about metabolism (*not* as a qualified dietitian), your diet sounds very restricted to me and I doubt that it is healthy. I suggest that you check out http://daa.asn.au/ ... read more

"I'm a huge fan of an approach called Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)" I definitely agree with what Louise wrote. ACT and (related but different) Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) helped me a lot in my ... read more

A very hard question which I doubt has a "one size fits all" answer. In my case there were a number of factors: (1) Finding a clinical psychologist with whom I had rapport. (2) Discovering, ... read more

I agree with what Jennifer wrote. For me the most important thing has been rapport/mutual respect between me and my therapists - IMO this is at least as important as the clinical skills/experience of a ... read more

What has helped me is to keep and add to a "Positive things about me" list, which I read regularly. From reading what you have written, two positive things about you are obvious: (1) You ... read more

It sounds to me that you have a very complicated relationship with your sister. This is *just* an observation but from what you have written I have the impression that you may be judging her/making ... read more

Adding a bit more to what Lisa wrote: Type I diabetes is an auto-immune disease. What that means is that the immune system (which usually destroys bacteria, viruses, etc) “makes a mistake” and destroys pancreatic ... read more

I suggest that you talk with your GP. S/he will be able to draw up a "Mental Health Care Plan" with you. That will entitle you to a number of Medicare-subsidised sessions with mental health ... read more

Check out this searchable site: http://www.psychology.org.au/ReferralService/About/ , From a quick search I found one Italian speaking psychologist in the Brisbane area and there may well be others. read more

I am not sure from what you have written whether or not the "terrible crime" reflects your personal experience (you have posted in both the PTSD and depression threads here). If it does reflect your ... read more

I agree that it is a hard thing. It might help if you Googled "transference" (when a client becomes emotionally entangled with his/her psychologist) and "countertransference" (when a psychologist becomes emotionally entangled with his/her clients). ... read more

My understanding is that there is no definitive diagnosis for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. I suggest that you see your GP and arrange for a a full physical check-up. For example, hypothyroidism (your thyroid gland is ... read more

Perhaps the next time you see your psychologist professionally you should discuss this with him/her. It might help if you reflected on your relationship with him/her. In my case my psychologist is not a friend ... read more

Typically anti-depressants take a while (weeks) to kick in fully. I suggest that you try the Efexor and go back to your GP if you don't notice an improvement in your mood after a month ... read more

Like Mariela I am not a medical professional so I can not offer you clinical advice. But... A few years ago my psychiatrist and I decided that I should swap from one (for me, completely ... read more

I agree with what the others have suggested, especially the idea of finding a new GP who has a good understanding of mental health issues (the beyondblue Web site is searchable for such people). Such ... read more

Both Julian and Nikki have offered you excellent ideas. As Nikki said, sometimes anxiety/panic attacks can be triggered by shallow breathing, which means that the CO2 levels in your blood get messed up. Her "deep ... read more

Perhaps you should suggest to your husband that he tries some talk-therapy approaches? Two which have helped me are Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). Both of these (working with my ... read more

I think that Julian has offered you some excellent thoughts. One other one (assuming that you and your sister live in the same area): Maybe rock up to her house with some (preferably home-cooked) food. ... read more

I suggest that you seek the advice of a specialist geriatrician about this. As far as I can see Enbrel (also known as Etanercept) is approved by the PBS for treatment of various forms of ... read more

I hear that you have a lot of love and compassion for Chris and Ella. Is there a a trusted friend (who knows you, Chris and his partner) who you can look to for support ... read more

A hard question. In my case, close family members know about my depression and alcohol abuse (I am in remission from both). My two dearest IRL friends also know - this arose because I behaved ... read more

First off, depression is not a "weakness" and there is no way that you are a "failure". GPs vary a lot in their understanding of mental health issues - some are good, others are not. ... read more

I suggest that you encourage your granddaughter's parents to get her assessed by a mental health professional (a psychiatrist and/or a clinical psychologist) who has experience in adolescent mental health issues. A good assessment is ... read more

I am sorry to read that things are hard for you ATM. One thing which my clinical psychologist taught me is that when depression is bad then "back to basics" is the way to go. ... read more

I agree with Grant's ideas. The only extra thought that I can offer is please *look after yourself first*. It took me some time to understand that is not a selfish thing to do - ... read more

Writing as somebody who is a volunteer administrator of a world-wide forum which supports people who self-injure, hair-pulling (trichotillomania) is seen as a form of self-injury. However, the nature of the self-injury (trichotillomania, cutting, burning, ... read more

I think that it would be a good idea if you talked with a GP who has experience in working with people who have mental health issues: the beyondblue Web site, http://www.beyondblue.org.au/index.aspx?, is searchable for ... read more

GPs vary a lot in their understanding of mental health issues. Some are good, others are not. I suggest that you check out beyondblue (http://www.beyondblue.org.au/index.aspx?). It is searchable for GPs where you live who have ... read more

I agree with what Brigitte has said. One additional thought: Often recovery from eating disorders in general and anorexia in particular needs help from a mental health professional with *a lot* of experience in this ... read more

Do you have any particular IRL interests/hobbies - eg, cooking, gardening, playing bridge, etc, etc? If so, maybe see if there are any clubs/interest groups related to those where you live. A commonality of interests ... read more

Writing as somebody who is not a mental healh professional but as somebody who is a volunteer administrator of a world-wide forum which supports people with mental health issues: Dissociative Identity Disorder is not common. ... read more

*All* people sometimes make mistakes at work so please don't beat yourself up about this :-). I suggest that you have a talk with your GP and ask him/her to give you a referral to ... read more

I think that how long it is advisable for somebody to be on an AD very much depends on their individual circumstances - there is no "normal". Talking with your care team is the way ... read more

Hi lost A few years ago I spent about a month as a voluntary patient in a private psychiatric hospital. This was done at the suggestion of my psychiatrist - the AD that I was ... read more

I think that this is something that you should discuss with your prescribing GP/psychiatrist. In my private experience, responses to psych meds can vary a lot - the first antidepressant that I was on was, ... read more

This is a hard question which I will try to answer in a combination of my "official" (Academic Professional) label here as well as in my private role as a member who is in remission ... read more

I agree with what Leanne wrote. As far as your eating is concerned, it might help if you checked out the searchable Dietitians Association of Australia Web site for a health professional geographically convenient for ... read more

Rob has offered you good advice. A couple of thoughts (based on being a client of a clinical psychologist and a psychiatrist): (1) The first few therapeutic sessions are often spent "getting to know each ... read more

For me, writing as somebody who is in remission from clinical depression, thanks to a combination of meds, my hard work and skilled help from my mental health care team, feeling "numb" was symptomatic. I ... read more

Writing as somebody who has had times of suicidal ideation (none recently), I completely agree with everything that Joe wrote. Please see your GP ASAP and tell him/her *everything* about the "tablets" that you took. ... read more

I am sorry to read that things are hard for you right now. As far as your possible depression is concerned, I suggest that you check out the BeyondBlue site (http://www.beyondblue.org.au/index.aspx?) for GPs in your ... read more

Infliximab is a listed medication on the Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) so it is available here (see http://www.medicareaustralia.gov.au/provider/pbs/drugs1/crohns.jsp ). However (I guess?), as you are not an Australian citizen I doubt that you would ... read more

It depends on the details of the relationship between you and your family member. You could try to expain to her that alcohol is, in a pharmacological sense, a depressant. Therefore, taking two drugs (alcohol ... read more

The Butterfly Foundation (http://thebutterflyfoundation.org.au/) has many resources for people who may experience disordered eating or an ED. read more

I am reading and I care. Maybe it might help if you thought about the things that you enjoyed in the past and think about revisiting them? read more

Perhaps it would help if you wrote down the reasons that you "feel extremely uncomfortable" with the psychologists that you have seen so far. Also, write down what you would expect from a psychologist who ... read more

It is hard to say because obviously I know neither of you IRL. In my case my psychiatrist is a straight man (as am I) and my clinical psychologist is a straight woman. Neither of ... read more

A fairly recent study suggests that a diet which is characterized by higher intakes of salad dressing, nuts, fish, tomatoes, poultry, cruciferous vegetables, fruits, dark and green leafy vegetables and lower intakes of high-fat dairy ... read more

Typically psych meds take a while (weeks - months) to kick in fully so maybe wait for a while with the Lamictal and see if it helps you. As far as your suicidal ideation is ... read more

For me, the most important thing has been rapport and mutual respect between me and my psychologist. Perhaps it would help if you wrote down a description of your concerns about your therapeutic relationship (this ... read more

Being drowsy is a known side-effect. You might find this link helpful: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/meds/a698019.html As always, discuss anything that you do not understand in it with your health professional care team. read more

Generally my suggestion would be to just sit with your friend, letting her know that you will listen (without judging) to whatever she wants to talk about. More specifically, as far as her self-injury ("cutting") ... read more

I am sorry to read that things are hard for you. I suggest that you talk with your GP. S/he will be able to draw up a Mental Health Care Plan with you. That will ... read more

From a PubMed search (search string “propecia finasteride depression”) the answer to your question seems to be “no”. The only paper which is close is this: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22939118 . It looks unconvincing to me - small ... read more

I agree with what Susan said about the importance of rapport. I definitely recommend CBT. You could also investigate Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). ACT combines CBT methods with mindfulness concepts - my clinical psychologist ... read more

Writing as somebody with professional knowledge of molecular pharmacology, *not* as a clinical professional: Endep and Cymbalta are both serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), exerting their effects in the brain. Duriomine interacts with the ... read more

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an auto-immune disease. What that means is that while usually your immune system recognises and gets rid of pathogens (bacteria, viruses, etc, (a good thing)) sometimes it "makes a mistake" and, ... read more

It might help if you reflected on activities which you have enjoyed: reading, cooking, playing bridge, gardening, whatever... Then check out where you live for groups who share those interests. A commonality of interests can ... read more

I think that matching the "right" antidepressant to the "right" person is often a matter of trial and error. Eg, the first antidepressant that I was on was, for me, worse than useless (bad suicidal ... read more

A Cochrane meta-analysis of many clinical trials (with 5259 subjects) supports the idea that Metformin is beneficial for people with Type 2 Diabetes: http://summaries.cochrane.org/CD002966/metformin-monotherapy-for-type-2-diabetes-mellitus read more

I can't help with the legal ("visa") matters beyond suggesting that legal advice might help. I suggest that you ask your GP to give you a referral to a psychiatrist. A psychiatrist will be able ... read more

Good :-). I see that you are "Our newest member". Please post on any of the BUS forums - none will judge, all will support. If/when you do I will introduce myself to you there ... read more

I am sorry to read about your experience of sexual abuse and wish you well in your journey of healing and recovery. This site might help you: http://www.asca.org.au/ There are a lot of good resources ... read more

The concept of mindfulness (which my clinical psychologist introduced me to) might help you. Essentially mindfulness is learning to notice, without judging, your thoughts as they come and they go, accepting that they are just ... read more

The most recent study that I can find (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22771037) suggests that the answer is "probably yes". read more

CF is a genetic (non-infectious) disease. However: "People with CF can harbour harmful viruses and bacteria that will not affect a person who does not have CF but can potentially be transmitted to other people ... read more

There is some information about Seasonal Affective Disorder here: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/seasonal-affective-disorder/DS00195 read more

Are there any particular things which interest you? A (completely random) list might include photography, cooking, following a particular sport, gardening, reading science fiction novels.... If so, maybe check out the Web for organisations where ... read more

I wish your son well in his journey to healing. You might like to share this Web site with him: http://www.asca.org.au/ There may be resources there which can help. read more

+1 to what Marianne wrote. The most important thing for care-givers is to *look after yourself first*. That is not a selfish thing - if caregivers do not do that then their ability to offer ... read more

Going cold turkey on any anti-depressant is a REALLY bad idea - the side-effects are highly unpredictable. If you want to discontinue your Cymbalta then I suggest that you discuss that with your doctor and ... read more

The latest free-access paper that I can find showing that genetics *is* a risk factor for osteoarthritis is here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22763110 read more

The clinical health professional members are better equipped than I am to comment on the details of your questions. My take on them (as biomedical researcher and as somebody who is on an AD (not ... read more

I hope that it is OK if I ask you a slightly challenging question: If you "felt better" when you were on meds, why did you discontinue them? It has no "right" answer - just ... read more

I am writing this as one of the volunteer administrators of a world-wide community which supports people who self-injure (SI, "cutting"). SI is a coping mechanism. You might need medical attention if your SI puts ... read more

The clinical health professional members are better qualified to comment on this than I am. However, from looking at various professional Web sites (PubMed, etc) it seems that Topamax is indicated as both a mood-stabilizer ... read more

I am not sure what the point of your post is and I note that you have done a copy and paste of it many times elsewhere in this forum. The mental health professional members ... read more

I see that you have joined - I hope you find it a helpful and supportive place :-). read more

The biochemistry of this is fairly (though not completely) well understood. Visceral or abdominal fat (technically, adipose tissue) is metabolically active - it secretes a number of proteins (variously called cytokines, hormomes...) which, as others ... read more

Writing as somebody who is an administrator of a mental health support forum, my impression from member contributions there is that sometimes EMDR can be very effective, especially for PTSD. On the other hand, sometimes ... read more

You might find it helpful to join this on-line community: http://buslist.org/phpBB/index.php It exists to provide support for people who self-injure and is a very welcoming place. A number of its members have other issues as ... read more

My suggestion is to try journalling (ie, writing down in a safe, private and secure place), your perceptions of what you have experienced during your nightmares. I don't get nightmares but I journal every day ... read more

This is a very hard question which I doubt has a "right" answer. For me, writing as somebody who is in remission from depression, the most important thing has been to find mental health professionals ... read more

Anti-oxidants (examples include alpha-carotene, Vitamins C and E, selenium) are compounds which can neutralise chemicals called (generically) free radicals. Free radicals are produced in various normal metabolic processes and can cause mutations (damage DNA) . ... read more

I am in no way trying to invalidate your experiences but sometimes panic attacks can have purely physiological causes (hyperventilation). Often a breathing exercise can help: (1) Sit in a chair, both hands around your ... read more

As far as your daughter's self-harm is concerned, she may find this support forum helpful: http://buslist.org/phpBB/index.php I don't self-harm but am one of its volunteer administrators. read more

If you have, in your words, "severe depression" then it is possible that anti-depressant medication may help you. A psychiatrist may be able to help you with this. In my experience (as a client) rapport ... read more

This is something which is not well understood. A lot of current research is focused on a protein called alpha-synuclein. There is fairly good evidence that alpha-synuclein can adopt a "wrong" shape (amyloid) which accumulates ... read more

That is great Steven! All that I hear from you (writing as someone who is in remission from depression, thanks to a combo of my hard work and help from my mental health care team) ... read more

I think that you should discuss this with your prescribing doctor. Quite often anti-depressants can take weeks-months to kick in fully. read more

Well done for getting the referral - I hope that you will benefit from working with the psychologist. read more

A Cochrane meta -analysis of 78 clinical trials, including about 300000 subjects concluded that: "The increased risk of mortality was associated with beta-carotene and possibly vitamin E and vitamin A, but was not associated with ... read more

One of my dearest friends is a survivor of child sexual abuse so I have a faint understanding of how things may be for you. You might find this link helpful: http://www.aifs.gov.au/acssa/crisis.html . It is ... read more

The short answer is, in general, no. This is something which health professionals have considered - there are 1527 papers in PubMed (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed) retrieved by the search string "religion AND depression" - there is no ... read more

Writing as somebody who is in remission from depression, thanks in part to an anti-depressant, matching the "right" anti-depressant to the "right" person is often a matter of trial-and-error. If Zoloft is not helping your ... read more

A skill which my clinical psychologist has taught me (which I am still learning) is called "speaking in the I". Roughly, it is basis of communication in a relationship with healthy (compared to rigid or ... read more

I agree with what the various health professionals have written though my perspective is different. I have experienced suicidal ideation but, thanks to help from MH professionals and my hard work, not for a number ... read more

When my depression was untreated I could have written your post - not feeling happy, not feeling sad, just feeling nothing (and wanting to curl up into a ball, hoping that the world would go ... read more

I think that you should discuss this with your GP. S/he will be able to draw up a "Mental Health Care Plan" with you - that will entitle you to a number of (Medicare-subsidised) sessions ... read more

The Butterfly Foundation is an excellent resource. Another one is ANAD: http://www.anad.org/ . It is American, so will not provide links to Australian support mechanisms and is primarily focused on anorexia but there is a ... read more

James, I agree with all that Grant has said though my perspective is different from his. I have been in the dark place that you seem to be in now - chronic depression, suicidal thoughts. ... read more

You might find this site (and links therein) helpful: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/depersonalization/DS01149 read more

There is is evidence that high levels of consumption of red meat (not chicken or fish) is a risk factor for colon cancer. See: http://www.health.harvard.edu/fhg/updates/Red-meat-and-colon-cancer.shtml read more

As far as the industrial relations side of things is concerned, you might find it helpful to check out http://www.fwa.gov.au/index.cfm?pagename=disputegeneral ;(and links therein). To quote from it: "An employer MUST NOT take any adverse action ... read more

A meta-analysis of 110 homeopathy clinical trials compared to 110 conventional medicine clinical trials showed that the (weak) evidence for the efficacy of homeopathy could be attributed to placebo. See: Shang A et al (2005) ... read more

I guess that by NPH you mean Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus? If so, you might find this link (and links therein) helpful: http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/normal_pressure_hydrocephalus/normal_pressure_hydrocephalus.htm . All the best. read more

Claudette, with respect, the peer-reviewing medical literature is not consistent with what you have written. Specifically: "When you get the cold or flu then definitely keep taking it as it is very beneficial." Almost certainly ... read more

I agree with what Susan wrote. All the best with the HSC. But... (in my day job I am associated with one of the GO8 Universities), please remember that your HSC/ATAR score will not define ... read more

I think that Grant has offered you great advice. Writing as a male (so PMS is not one of my issues) I don't think that you are being a "sook". Writing as somebody who, thanks ... read more

My clinical psychologist has used aspects of schema therapy with me, which I have found quite helpful. This link (and links therein) might help you: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schema_Therapy read more

You have asked some hard questions which I have no definitive answers to. Like you, I have chronic depression and have had bouts of suicidal ideation - none recently - I am "in remission". I ... read more

To some extent Acceptance and Commitment Therapy overlaps with CBT though there are some differences. This link (and links therein) is a fair summary: http://www.get.gg/act.htm . read more

Hi lander23 I was struck by one thing that you wrote: "Ive suffered from **depression**, anxiety, **bipolar** for a few years now. " Depression and bipolar are very different - typically their treatment/management needs different ... read more

It is a hard question which I doubt has a "one size fits all" answer. The members of my family are aware of my depression and have been very supportive. I have many casual friends ... read more

I find that going for a brisk walk, just noticing without judging the colours and shapes of what I can see (mindfulness) helps. My clinical psychologist has told me that physical exercise aids in endorphin ... read more

I am sorry to read that meds and ECT have not helped you. Other therapies that you could discuss with your care team include: repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, vagus nerve stimulation and cranial electrotherapy stimulation. read more

This is a very complex question. I am not a health professional but, because of my day job, have a good understanding of the molecular pharmacology of ADs. Also, in my private life I had ... read more

I would be inclined to suggest that you encourage your son to see his GP. S/he will be able to draw up a "Mental Health Care Plan" with him. That will entitle him to a ... read more

Often panic attacks have a purely physiological basis (not meaning to invalidate you here).They can arise from hyperventilation (= breathing too shallowly so the CO2 levels in your blood get messed up).A breathing exercise can ... read more

I agree with Lucy's suggestion of journalling. I keep a regular journal of my thoughts and feelings - it helps me to gain a sense of objectivity about them. A practical thought: privacy is important ... read more

Steven1, I think that both jennyz and Johnny have offered you excellent advice. Writing as somebody who is in remission from depression, one of the hardest things that I have had to do is to ... read more

I agree with what Leanne has suggested, with one caveat: "I would always recommend that you talk to your local GP." I suggest that you check out the beyondblue site (http://www.beyondblue.org.au/index.aspx?) - it is searchable ... read more

Bear in mind that adipose tissue has a lower density (mass/unit volume) than muscle tissue does. So, what may happening because of your exercise is that your adipose tissue is decreasing and your muscle tissue ... read more

"I sometimes get these crippling panic attacks which start with a sick feeling in the stomach, then i cant breathe," Often panic attacks have a purely physiological basis (not meaning to invalidate you here). They ... read more

Writing as somebody who is in remission from depression, I think that journalling is an excellent idea. For me, it gives me a sense of objectivity about my thoughts and feelings. Privacy/security issues are important ... read more

Often panic attacks have a purely physiological basis (and I am not meaning to invalidate you here). They can arise from hyperventilation (= breathing too shallowly so the CO2 levels in your blood get messed ... read more

Sometimes mental health professionals will suggest ECT to people who have treatment-resistant depression (ie, depression which does not respond to ADs or talk-therapy). An alternative is transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) - there is an account ... read more

Usually ADs (like Lovan, aka Prozac) can take a while (weeks-months) to kick in fully so my suggestion is to give it a bit more time. Obviously discuss this with your prescribing health professional but ... read more

I think that your husband (if he hasn't already) should see a psychiatrist (not a GP) about this. Making a differential diagnosis between Bipolar and Major Depressive Disorder usually needs the skills of an experienced ... read more

You should discuss this with your prescribing health professional. I was on Effexor (150 mg/day) for a while and my psychiatrist and I decided that my recovery was such that I could discontinue. So, with ... read more

Hi TC This worries me: "I just want to put my affairs in order and find a way to disappear relatively cleanly. An unfortunate accident " Sorry if I am wrong but what you have ... read more

Hi TC This (from Michelle) really resonated with me: "Knowing that other people had had similar experiences and reaching out to them for support and understanding made me feel less crazy and less alone and ... read more

Hi TC I am sorry to read that things are hard for you right now. As far as anti-depressants are concerned, please remember that they can take some time (months) to kick in fully and ... read more

Weight gain is quite a common side-effect of Avanza (aka Mirtazapine or Remeron). There is some official (FDA) information about this here; http://www.drugs.com/pro/remeron.html . You might like to print it out and discuss it with ... read more

Hi Like Damien I had to do a Google to find out about about COPD. You might find the information here helpful; http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/copd/DS00916/ . (The Mayo Clinic is a not-for-profit group of US health professionals.) read more

Genetic factors *may* pre-dispose people to develop some mental illnesses. However that does *not* mean that they can not be successfully treated. Very often this involves a combination of meds (prescribed by a GP or ... read more

I think that Joe has offered you excellent advice. I have had periods of suicidal ideation (none recently). Something which my clinical psychologist has impressed on me is that if someone is thinking about killing ... read more

I have been on Efexor (150 mg/day) for a few years. Initially I noticed side-effects similar to yours but they went away after a few weeks. I don't think that you should feel "guilty". If ... read more

I am sorry to read that you are not in a good place right now but it is certainly possible to recover from depression (I am "in remission/recovery" from it). Some thoughts which I hope ... read more

In the specific context of Alzheimer's Disease (AD), the short answer to your question is "no" - most cases of AD are sporadic, meaning that they are not genetically inherited. But, there are some exceptions. ... read more

Yes there is hope :-). Some suggestions; As Neil has suggested, I think that it would be a good idea if you talked with your GP. Often matching the "right" AD to the "right" person ... read more

For me (I am in remission from MDD), the most important thing has been to have rapport with a therapist. For example, I had zero rapport with the first psychiatrist who I consulted (though I ... read more

I am sorry to read that you are so "weary" and I think that you do need help. I suggest that you check out the beyondblue Web site (http://www.beyondblue.org.au/index.aspx?); it is searchable for GPs in ... read more

A bit of elaboration... The protein which is associated with CF is called Cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR). Its job is to transport chloride ions across epithelial barriers (gut, lung, etc). The gene for ... read more

Please forgive me if I have got this wrong but if you mean by "harming myself", you feel that you would like to cut, burn or otherwise injure yourself without suicidal intent, you might find ... read more

I think that you should be very proud of yourself for taking steps to get the help that you deserve. As far as your suicidal thoughts are concerned (I have been there, though not recently) ... read more

Edit to my last post - the bits, in upper case flagged by **, in what I quoted from Kempton et al., are my emphasis, not theirs. read more

Brain scanning methods (both CAT and MRI scans) have been used to distinguish between people with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and Bipolar Disorder (BD). For a (very technical) summary of this see; Kempton et al., ... read more

SSRI = Specific Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor. SNRI = Serotonin and Noradrenaline (sometimes called Norepinephrine) Reuptake Inhibitor. Serotonin and Noradrenaline are neurotransmittors - their job is to "send a message" across the gap (the "synapse") between ... read more

Quoting Dr Lemerle: "you can do a free online survey at www.authentichappiness.com" A definite +1 to this. I am in remission from depression - my psychiatrist recommended Seligman to me. I do a regular mood-check ... read more

I don't think that there is a right answer to this question. Matching the "right" anti-depressant to the "right" person is a matter of trial-and-error, more an art than a science, probably because the underlying ... read more

As somebody who is in remission from both alcohol addiction and depression I can relate to what you have written. For my, with alcohol, I have found that "one day at a time" is the ... read more

Hi Aisun Thanks - I am travelling well :-). Now, thinking about you... From my extensive reading and personal experience there is good evidence that a *combination* of meds and talk therapy is often more ... read more

Disclaimer; I am not a health professional. There is some professional (FDA) information about Escitalopram, including possible side-effects, here; http://www.drugs.com/pro/escitalopram-tablets.html . Perhaps you could print it out and discuss it with your GP? Writing as ... read more

"lymphocyte surface markers" Lymphocytes are white blood cells. There are a number of different kinds of lymphocytes. The cells of each type of lymphocye have different kinds of proteins on their surfaces - these are ... read more

Disclaimer; I am a biomedical scientist, not a heath professional.You have asked complex questions which do not have simple answers, mainly because the neurobiology of depression is poorly understood (though this is an on-going research ... read more

*Important disclaimer* I am not a mental health professional. From my personal experience plus a fair bit of reading I think there is good evidence that people with mild-moderate depression can recover well with talk ... read more

I am sorry to read that you have been having suicidal thoughts - I have been in that dark place too, though not recently. One thing which my clinical psychologist impressed on me is that ... read more

In my experience this can happen. The first anti-depressant that I was on was great for the first 3 months. Then it stopped working (actually, worse than than that - bad suicidal ideation :-( ). ... read more

This is a good question which I don't have an answer to. It came up a lot when I was going to a weekly mood disorders therapy group. The consensus of our discussion was that ... read more

John, everybody here (health professsionals and others) have made great suggestions. For me the first and by way the hardest step was to accept that that I needed help from mental health professionals. You have ... read more

I think that (if possible) it is best to have access to *both* a psychiatrist and a clinical psychologist, working togther as a professional team. That has been my experience - I am in remission ... read more

Re: Donna Aston A quick Google pulls up this; http://www.donnaaston.com/index.php . Ms Aston describes herself as a "Fitness Therapist" whatever, if anything, that may mean. I can not find anything on her site which provides ... read more

Thank you for your kind suggestion. I have. The second Google hit, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Poliquin), notes that "This article relies on references to primary sources or sources affiliated with the subject, rather than references from independent authors ... read more

In the interest of continuing this conversation, which may be of interest to others who read along here... "other evidence PROVES that 75% of the population are carb intolerant. " Two questions: (1) *What* "evidence" ... read more

Re: Dr Mark Hyman I have visited his site (http://drhyman.com/) and a number of things about it concern me; (1) It is linked to a site (http://www.ultrawellnesscenter.com/) which Dr Hyman seems to have a beneficial ... read more

*Important disclaimer* I am not a psychiatrist but have been on an anti-depressant for a while now and (thanks to my day job) understand their underlying molecular pharmacology fairly well. The different anti-depressants are targetted ... read more

The "Get Help" part of the BeyondBlue Web site (http://www.beyondblue.org.au/index.aspx?) will let you seach for GPs in your area who have experience of working with clients with mental health issues. read more

The Cochrane Collaboration (a not-for-profit collaboration of health and science professionals which assesses the quality of clinical trials) has looked at this. Based on clinical trials involving about 1,500,000 subjects, they concluded that "We could ... read more

I think that whether or not somebody needs to go IP will depend a lot on individual circumstances and I would certainly encourage you to suggest to your friend that she talks about this with ... read more

They can vary *a lot*, depending on the person and the AD. This site may be helpful; http://www.drugs.com/pro/ . It is searchable and provides professional (FDA) standard information about ADs and other meds. The information ... read more

As always, discuss this with your health professional care team. In my experience "in combination" has been best. My clinical psychologist explained it to me by saying that ADs can help in building a strong ... read more

Often anti-depressants can take a while to kick in fully (weeks to months). Also, matching the "right" anti-depressant to the "right" person is not always easy. That was certainly my experience - the one that ... read more

Hi mig For sure it is important that you talk to your doctor about this. Your might find the information in this link helpful; http://www.drugs.com/pro/citalopram-capsules.html . It is professional (FDA) information about Citalapram. It could ... read more

I would like to endorse what anonymous has said. There is *a lot* of good evidence which shows that a *combination* of anti-depressants and talk therapy (eg, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, though there are others) is ... read more

My suggestion is to talk to either a psychiatrist of a GP who is experienced in working with clients who have mental health issues (the beyondblue Web site (http://www.beyondblue.org.au/index.aspx?) has lists of such GPs). Matching ... read more

Typically antidepressants (ADs) work by increasing the levels of two neurotransmitters (serotonin and norepinephrine) in the brain. Neurotransmitters are chemicals which “send a message” across the gap (the “synapse”) between one neuron and another in ... read more

Variants (alleles) of a number of different genes are risk factors for developing Type I diabetes. There is some general information about genetics and diabetes here; http://www.joslin.org/info/genetics_and_diabetes.html read more

I am sorry to read about your brother - I have been in that dark place though not recently. The advice that my clinical psychologist gave me is that if somebody is having suicidal thoughts ... read more

Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, dementia with Lewy bodies, Huntington's disease, and Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease have one thing in common, though the details differ. In each of these diseases a normal brain protein (Alzheimer's disease; Abeta, Parkinson's ... read more

Hi bw-67 Welcome to the medi-go-round; been there, done that, got the postcard but not the T-shirt . Seriously, I have never been on Luvox so I can not say anything helpful about that. But, ... read more

Hi cooper94 As far as your self-injury is concerned, you might like to check out this support forum; http://buslist.org/phpBB/index.php . (I don't self-injure but I am one of the volunteer adminstrators of that site.) read more

Hi Sadgirl93 I am sorry to read that Lexapro is not helping you. I can relate - the first AD that I was on was, for me, worse than useless (suicidal ideation) but what I ... read more

Hi I can relate - I was on mirtazapine for a while and my initial response to it was similar to yours. According to my psychiatrist it can take up to a month to kick ... read more

I guess that you are referring to this; http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20519557 It is interesting but seems to refer mainly to older people. I can't find anything in PubMed (search string "depression" AND "vitamin" AND "B6" AND "B12") ... read more