Fatigue from depression or depression from fatigue

So many things...

I might ask my doctor for a different anti-depressant, sometimes they stop working or were not the right one to start with.

I never felt "right" on any prescription drugs. Not saying that's the problem, but 10 years on one anti-depressant seems like a really long time.

ChelzFit wrote: »

Thank you-I don't have a psychiatrist but I do have a therapist that I see every so often-she just cant prescribe meds. I always hesitate to tell my gp my loss of interest because he always wants to jump to medicating me. I have thought for sometime that I might need to switch to a different anti-depressant, I just wish I knew what the cause of the fatigue is.

Then who prescribed your meds?

I am not in the same Universe as your fitness level. I do know about anxiety and depression. You probably eat fruits and vegetables all day long but I felt a world of difference when I started eating frozen mixed vegetables and frozen berries. I was missing something my body needed. I also had a vitamin D deficiency which shocked me because I had spent the previous two summers at our campground sitting outside on the deck. But it was shady so no vitamin D. We also went south for a couple weeks in the winter and got some more sun. But I am not a big milk drinker so I didn’t get supplemented that way. You probably run outside so get plenty. Also added a quality multi-vitamin and primrose oil supplement to help with the female hormones.
I don’t know if any of these will be any help in your situation but in case one of them could help, I wanted to share what helped me.

ChelzFit wrote: »

For the past three months I have noticed way more fatigue and due to this I have a loss of interest in most things. The thought of doing things just sounds exhausting. I am still forcing myself to do things even though I don't want to. Come the weekend I usually crash and take a 2 hour nap on Saturday and Sunday. I have been to the doctor-thyroid and iron levels all normal-really has no answer for me. I even took a week off from exercise and no improvement.
I currently get up at 4:50 and workout 4 days a week for a hour-40 minutes of moderate cardio and twenty minutes weights. The other three days I walk lightly on the treadmill for about 50 minutes. On the weekends I sleep in until 6:45. I am ALWAYS in bed by 9:00. I am a kindergarten teacher and have two little ones that I am rushing to activities all the time-but I have been doing this for years. I eat around 2,400 cals and weight 130 and I am 5'7.
I do have a history of anxiety and I have been taking Lexapro for well over 10 years. Last year I upped it to 20mg. I don't like the feeling of not wanting to do anything and I have no motivation and I know that can be a sign of depression, but I am not sure if it is because I am so tired that it is making me depressed.
**I did have COVID back in November, but the fatigue really did not start until the end of February beginning of March.

I took Wellbutrin for about 20 years. It stopped working last summer. We tried a few different meds. You're supposed to give them a month or so but I only gave them a few days. I settled on Cymbalta, which made a huge difference in my mood and energy level. I tend to be sensitive to meds so she started me on the lowest dose, 20 mg. Last month I noticed I was wanting to nap all the time and had some other things going on that led me to discussing upping my dose with my psychiatrist. (I'm with the VA and have to get mental health meds from a psychiatrist - I was fine getting them from a GP prior to starting health care with the VA.) I felt a little speedy the first few days on 30 mg, but then settled in and am enjoying my improved mood and energy level.

Cymbalta warning - I go into withdrawal 45 minutes after a missed dose so set two alarms to make sure I take it the same time every day. I am aware that discontinuing it completely will be painful, should the need ever arise.

There is a chance this is still covid related. Covid has the ability to flare up every single virus laying dormant in your body that you may have encountered. People have had the cold sore virus flare up. Epstein barr...I have fibromyalgia so that flared up horribly. I had Covid in October and had an unexplained drop in my kidney function suddenly. This was found as they did my annual blood work. But kidney issues can cause exhaustion also. All around I was exhausted for months after covid. Is there any viruses you have laying dormant in your body that is known to cause fatigue when it's active? You don't have to answer that publically...just something to think about.

Iagree with what everyone has said about easing up and giving yourself some down time and space to rest. But please also talk to your primary care physician about the fatigue and the timing of it and any other symptoms. Many things can cause fatigue whivh we can;t even begin to comprehensively guess at here - nutritional deficiencies including vitamin D which is common post winter in the north east and mid atlantic US, iron or various B vitamin deficiencies which can cause anemia, lyme disease if you exercise outside would not be crazy to check for, and the list goes on. You should be able to check most things with blood tests. Don’t try to address nutritional deficiencies on your own because if you have some imbalance at a level that is causing fatigue then you would typically need prescription strength doses of vitamins to get back to the right levels, and doses at those levels can be dangerous if not actually needed. Also ask your partner if you are snoring or have interrupted breathing at night/gasping for air. Some people suffer from sleep apnea and wake up hundreds of times a night without realizing it themselves. There are a variety of possibilities, some with fairly straightforward remedies - others more complex, but fatigue is such a nonspecific symptom and you have such a busy life and schedule it is important to get a dr to see past that and understand that you are saying you aare feeling something physically different than normal fatigue associated with your level of busy/strain.

ChelzFit wrote: »

Thank you everyone for the great advice! I did reach out to my PC again and he is going to do some more extensive blood work. I did have mono when I was 25 and I have never felt the same ever since having it-always suspected CFS. My PC mentioned that as well this time when I met with him. I am officially on summer break so I am really going to work on slowing down and hoping that I will see some improvement in my fatigue. I am also considering working with someone other than my PC to talk to me about the possible depression.

CFS and Fibromyalgia have a lot of similarities. Long covid is a lot like both of these too. That being said, you can get tired from being depressed AND depressed from being tired. Having CFS and/or Fibromyalgia can be depressing for some. I have days I'm depressed because the pain and exhaustion seems to rob me of my day. Having the Epstein barr virus at some point in your life does seem to be a risk factor for getting CFS or Fibro, though doctors are still sketchy on how solid this link is...shoot they are sketchy on just about everything CFS and Fibro related. Anyway, knowing the cause of why you feel like you do is such a relief to a lot of people. Eventually you will learn what causes your body to flare up and start to learn how to avoid these things...be it diet or behavior related. Anyway, I hope you find answers soon. Just know, it's okay to feel that way. It's okay to be tired. It's okay to be sad. Beating yourself up isn't going to help either. Hang in there.

I'm so sorry for those of you experiencing all of these other symptoms after thinking you'd recovered from Covid. A friend said to me that "Covid had the key that unlocked my Epstein-Barr." We just don't know enough yet. I hope you all get answers and relief. Covid is bad enough. Lasting issues just doesn't seem fair.