Depression really affected me before my diagnosis of CIDP in Feb 2010 but hasn’t been an issue for me since because I haven’t had any regressions or setbacks once I received plasmapheresis treatments.

I told my doctor that I wasn’t going to take anti-depressants once I came home from the hospital and that was it. I haven’t taken any for a year now.

But having CIDP unquestionably changed the lifestyle I live now and I take out all of my aggression at the gym 5 days a week.

My CIDP is now in full remission and I also dropped 130 lbs to boot. I’m physically able to do things that I haven’t done since high school (I’m now 37).

This enormous change has me feeling just as strong mentally as I do physically.

To be frank, and people may think this is rather selfish, but the mindset that “others have it worse than I do” was never something that worked for me.

Sure, I realize some people have it worse, but how the hell does that help me? I was a 35 yr old man who almost died in a nursing home! At that point, I didn’t care who had what worse than I did. I just wanted someone to figure out why my condition continued to plummet.

Once that predicament changed and my neuro finally figured out what was wrong, everything else changed – both physically and mentally.

I didn’t have many positive thoughts until I had positive [B]results[/B]. In my opinion, it didn’t work the other way around.

But I’m a rather unconventional kind of guy, so I don’t expect others to follow in my footsteps.

I was pretty depressed about my CIDP diagnosis in Oct. 09. But when the IVIG made me feel stronger and I was able to work again and be useful, I felt somewhat better. But now, I am worried about the future and how I will be when I get older. Always worried if someday my medical insurance may deny my coverage of IVIG. I guess I can say my life is pretty stuck because of my lifeline of IVIG of every ten days. Can’t really travel.

I think depression is an actual part of having a disease that does goofy things to your nerves. I felt like my brain was drowning in black ink.

My neurologist prescribed nortryptalin which is an anti depressant AND a pain medication in addition to my Lyrica. It took a couple of weeks to make a difference – but now my emotions are much more even. I am still angry and unhappy to be sick but there are no more wild dips down into the ink.

Please talk to one of your medical team and see if they think an anti depressant would help you.

Take gentle care of yourself,
Flossie

[FONT=”Comic Sans MS”][SIZE=”2″]PKS
Sleeping ‘too much’ can also be sign of depression. Been there, done that!
Big distinction though, if the sleep is restful then it’s okay no matter what time of day or night you get it, take it from a life long night owl. Fortunately my job lets me work all night and sleep all day.
On the other hand if the sleep is not restful and leaves you feeling even worse, then there’s a problem.
So that’s ‘Dr. Veronica’s’ diagnosis.
Now, it’s about this swelling around my ankles and feet.
V[/SIZE][/FONT]

Yes, thanks for posting this, Ali. I have often thought myself that the stages I went through were very similar than those of people who are dying or have lost a loved one, but I have never seen it in print before. I think the reason that it is different for people with cancer or heart disease, is that either you beat it & go on to live a similar life to what you once had, or one dies. There isn’t the obvious physical impairments (for many of us permanent), or the continued deterioration of physical abilities seen in illnesses such as a severe case of MS. I think the stages sum up exactly what I went through the first 3years of severe CIDP. I did refuse antidepressants, however, as I felt that it was situational depression that I was feeling & quite normal under the circumstances. Maybe back then I should have taken them, although now I am in the acceptance mode after 5 1/2 years…

Hello Sue,
Yes, I do go through depression! Not a debilitating kind, but a “poor me, my life can never get better” weepy kind. I am a strong person and so far, I’ve always been able to get control and pull myself up again. I have not really tried anti-depressants because my depressions can be few and far between. But if I knew something would help me, I would not hesitate to try it. I just don’t know what to take and I don’t want to experiment with different kinds trying to find the good one. I am taking elavil to help me sleep at night, but I don’t think it’s working.

I was diagnosed with depression 18 months before i got GBS. I would cry for absolutely no reason and no matter how often i told myself there was nothing to worry about i was constantly anxious. There was no logic to the way i felt and no events etc that triggered my depression. My doctor told me that in some people it is just a chemical imbalance and I believe that as since being on medication I have been fine and have been able to cope just fine with events liek the death of my grandmother etc.

When i got GBS the doctors knew i was on anti-depressants. I had a couple of days where i was really low, felt like i couldnt go on etc but i would have a cry (well, as well as i could with dry eyes from not being able to open or shut them and no sound becuase of the tune down my throught 😀 ) and would get over it. I also found that the mornings were worst, especially if i had had a bad night. I felt fine when i was well rested. I know the nurses got really concerned but honestly, who wouldnt get depressed being paralysed, not knowing if and when you were going to recover. I thought i did well to stay positive most of the time and i think the times i did lose it were more to do with GBS than pre-existing depression.

GBS is definitely life altering and i can fully understand how anyone would be affetced psychologically by the experience.

Being a newbie to this forum, I would just like to say thank you. I have been diagnosed with CIDP and have undergone three rounds of IVIG therapy and high dose Prednisone with no improvement. I continue to weaken. I have recently gone to a wheelchair. My life is changing rapidly and I find myself falling into tears and sobbing at the drop of a hat. I have had several bouts just perusing the forum. I try to keep a positive attitude and hope that I will recover. Everyone has been supportive and I am truly blessed. But the tears still come and the sorrow is real. I was a very active person and now I am totally dependent and helpless. But I can see I am not alone. Thanks again.