Depression, medication vitamin levels, hormones?
I have been living with depression since my early teens im in my mid twenties have been on medication for 3 and a half years give or take. I have recenlty been tested for various vitamin levels hormones. I was wondering I found out I have extremly low iron level and am now on iron supplements (not a huge fan fo red meat and eating 3 times a day is a new thing in my "routine" about 3 months and im aware I can get iron from fruits and veg ) what veg do you know of that increses iron levels any good recipes to aid with this (based in Australia) and if I can get my iron levels to improve and steady apart from my energy levels incresing will this in turn help with motivation my mood swings, will this help eleviate my depression where I could disscus with my gp a drop a medication dosage and then hopefully reduce to minium and stop taking meds or is this wishful thinking?
@SomebodyyouKnow I should also add will my libedo pick up and would this have any effect on my hormones?
I've had to take Iron supplements and change what I eat a couple times for anemia (very low iron). The Mayo Clinic is my go-to for medical information, as they're widely regarded in the US as one of the best sources for treatment. Their page for Iron Deficiency Anemia is http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/iron-deficiency-anemia/basics/definition/con-20019327 and they have a list of iron-rich foods here http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/iron-deficiency-anemia/basics/prevention/con-20019327 - you'll see that red meat is absolutely not the only source for iron. You can get it from pork, poultry, and seafood, too.
*FOR ME* better iron levels didn't impact my mood swings, motivation, or ability do drop medication dosage. It DID impact my fatigue and lightheadedness. What I've found over the years is that I have to keep increasing the dosage to get the same results, because my body gets used to the lower dose (because my liver works really really well!). The chemicals in my brain that are screwed up to give me bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder, and all the rest, they stay the same, but my liver gets better at metabolizing the medication, and does it faster, so I have to take more and more OF the medication.
I've also found over the years, that creative endeavors, things like sewing, painting, pottery, music, coloring, scrapbooking, writing, can help alleviate depression. So can spending time with friends. And therapy. 7 Cups has helped, too, with the 1-on-1 chats, the group support chats (there are THREE for depression!), the forums (when I'm really depressed, I try to help other people feel better), and the Self-Help Guides (there's one for depression, and a whole bunch for other things that might apply to your life - 24 of them apply to me (!!!) out of the 37 that are there).
@FlamingosWearLipstick thankyou for your response and sharing your resources with me ill write a proper response latter after some sleep im exshausted looooonnnnggg day and having sleeping problems
@SomebodyyouKnow No worries. I completely totally understand exhaustion and sleep problems. (I'm on 4 hours of sleep right now, with 2 hours the previous night. My "normal" is 10 hours.
@FlamingosWearLipstick Thankyou so much for your paitence your post helped alot especially the links you provided I apreciate it.I'd also like to say thankyou for sharing your lived experiance it takes courage to do that so again thankyou and a big hug I do hope that you have gotten some sleep andthings are improving if they aren't the best thing you can do is try even when its really hard all the best :)
Thank you so much for posting your questions. I've been wondering about iron levels myself. After seeing this I want to get tested. I am always fatigued and unmotivated. I'm taking Cymbalta which keeps my depression somewhat controlled but I can't ever seem to get anything done and am always worn out.
i agree about needing a creative outlet but sometimes even that seems unappealing. I'm so sick of this! I need some answers so thanks so much for the links and the original post!
@Gpcmom3 Your welcome in all honesty check all your vitamin levels because you just never know. I decide to go down this path as I dont want to be on medication for the rest of my life so Im learning alot about food and its impacts and a vegetarian diet / vegan diet is looking more and more apealing but we will see something interesting I learnt about iron is that if you have caffine it decreases the absorbostion of iron which is a bummer as somedays I live of caffine. Vitamin c intake while taking iron suplements seem to be recomended as it is alledged that it helps you body asorb the iron better but soya bean isnt a good thing it also hinders absorbortion. regards creative outlets I can be like that but thats also why I have lots of options hehehehe I scrapbook I sew I colour in sometimes I paint by numbers sometimes I work on my dollhouse repairs but somestimes nothing is apealing or nothing seems to be right so I dont bother good old facebook and netflix come in handy at times. I hope you find something to help with your energy levels I highly recomend mindfullness as well, as anoying as it is :) hugs to you all the best