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Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
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Posted 1/10/2007 12:05 PM (GMT -5)
I posted this on the depression forum because I'm not quite sure where my quesiton belongs if anywhere and they said to try this forum.  So if no one can help me here, can you maybe point me in the right direction? Thanks!   :-)

Here is what I posted on the depression forum:

Hello everyone! :-)   I don't have depression per se but I do suffer from SAD.  I get depressed in the winter/early spring months here especially with the long stretches of cloudy snow/rainy days.  The rest of the year, I'm fine and my depression symptoms go away with the sunny months.  It seems the older I get the worse it is becoming and I have never been on medication for it in the past.  So my question to any of you that suffer from SAD and are currently on no medication for depression is....do doctors prescribed a short term anti-depressants for conditions such as this or do they not use the medicinal route with this but the sun lamps?  Is the use of short term anti-depressants safe?  I have never been to the doctor for my SAD and I haven't even been clinically diagnosed with it (I have all the typical symptoms though).  So I was thinking of going to the doctors (to get a proper diagnoses and help) because it's hitting hard and very early for me this year.  I just remember last year when it hit and I don't want to go thru those feelings again!  My heart truly goes out to anyone that has to deal with those feelings on a daily basis...it's rough thats for sure.

I wasn't sure if this is the right forum for a SAD question but I figured I had to start somewhere.  If it's not, can you point me in the right direction?

Thanks bunches........

Posted 1/10/2007 2:29 PM (GMT -5)
Hi Sherry and welcome to the CFS forum. I have an older brother who has SAD and he also had chronic epstein barr virus for a long time (I'm not sure if the two were related or not). My brother was prescribed anti-d's during the months when his symptoms were bad and he did think they helped and then he was able to go off of them. I have also heard that the artificial sun lamps help a lot and might be a good place to start if you are hesitant to try the anti-d's. I would recommend a doctor who is familiar with SAD and knows which anti-d's work best with SAD. There are so many anti-d's out there and although there are some similarities, they all work a little differently and it can be tricky finding the right one and the right dose. I hope this helps a little. I'm guessing the people on the depression forum will be able to help with this too. I really hope you find something that works well for you. Take care
Posted 1/10/2007 3:53 PM (GMT -5)
Thanks for the reply :) I have a sun lamp already and it does help a little but not enough to get me out of my "funk" when it's bad. I'm not worried about taking yet "another" pill I just don't want to be on it long term since this isn't a long term condition and I wasn't sure if I could just do a month or two of an anti depressant.
Posted 1/11/2007 12:17 AM (GMT -5)
Sherry,
I have severe S.A.D. and have been very successful with the light treatments. My doctor also has it so that may explain why she started me off at four hours a day. When I first started I used to lie on my side and put the light in front of my face with it propped against a pillow while I took my naps. The light gets thru your eyelids and still works on your pituitary. It's possible that you aren't using the light long enough each day. Is it next you your computer and staring you right in the face? Do you move it to the kitchen while you fix dinner?

The first winter I got it I put ceramic tile in my bathroom, bought a sewing machine and made a patchwork baby quilt from scratch as well as started up a third business. I've learned to cut back since then, but I didn't know I had fibro at the time. Almost did myself in with all that energy!

By the way, it's really common in peeps with fibro.
Posted 1/11/2007 7:30 AM (GMT -5)
Thanks Jeannie! I guess maybe I'm not using my sun lamp as long as I should then. Like I said, I've never been clinically diagnosed yet so I was using the sun lamp without a doctors guidance. So I'm anxious to see how long I should be using it when I go see her. Does the sun lamp ever throw your internal clock out of whack at all? Meaning, does it make it difficult to fall asleep at the end of a the day?

I didn't know it was common in fibro.......hmmm chalk it away for future reference :) Thanks!
Posted 1/23/2007 10:42 PM (GMT -5)
Sorry I didn't get back to you... Busy with putting on a bridal show... My answer to the internal clock thing is this: When you were a teen and used to lay in the sun all day did it make it difficult to sleep at night? When you get more sun exposure in the summer does it give you insomnia? For me the answer to both of these is no. We don't limit our sun exposure in the summer so I can't see any reason to be ultra careful with the amount of lamp exposure either. You could always cut back if you find yourself staying awake. I personally just find that I have more energy to accomplish what I need to do.
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