Monthly Depression

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toro

toro

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I am certain I have posted about this before, but I will do it again.

So I've been seizure free about 8/9 months now. I have had aura onsets, but no real aura developed. I used to have massive 3 day long migraines once a month, but I haven't had one since mid August.

Meanwhile, like clockwork, I go through cycles of severe depression around once a month (mid-August, early to mid September, and now early October). This happens year-round. Effectively the only thing that changes is the severity of it. The bouts of depression last anywhere between 5 to 12 days. It really is pretty severe and it can affect my personal and professional life when it's happening. I feel depressed, irritable, moody, stressed, anxious, and ambivalent to work and family.

Does anyone else go through this?

I'm on 2 g Keppra and 600 mg of lamictal daily.
 
Hi toro,
I don't know what to say about the monthly nature of your depression. I think this might be called rapid cycling? See if a search for that yields any information. I was on Keppra several years ago, and I was very depressed while I was on it. So it may or may not be related to your medication but it's certainly possible. It is definitely worth mentioning to your doctor. I thought mine would brush me off when I mentioned the depression, but they actually took it quite seriously and helped me change my medications to resolve the issue.
 
Thanks. This was the first time I had heard about cycling. Everyone else I asked just seemed to think because it cycled so frequently it wasn't depression so much as mood changes.

I'll ask my new doc. I had to change my neurologist I've been seeing for two years before my next check up because my insurance changed the in-network hospitals.


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So, my doctor was the first doctor to actually take the monthly aspect of it seriously and not just chalk it up to being unrelated. He said he had never really heard of it in men before, but it sounds like it is a part of everything for me.

He also told me that there is a known phenomenon (the phrase escapes me now) where people with temporal lobe seizures sometimes have an inverse relationship between seizure frequency and level of depression. The result being for instance, doctors have used inducing seizures to treat depression. As such, he thinks it may actually be that the decrease in my seizures has led to the depression response in my brain increasing.

I was very happy that he took it seriously.
 
Really glad that he listened and took you seriously. That can be hard to come by. Was the phrase he used "forced normalization?" Did he give you any ideas for how to help with the depression?
 
I don't want patronise and I sure it been said before but is it possible you expect them monthly you telling yourself it going to happen.i do this.Has anyone done thyroid test be it could well be hormonal .the thyroid Hormone can change levels each few weeks it not constant head ache depression certainly can present like that.
I had over active years ago and days of migraines were awful depression certainly were part of it
 
Hi Toro

How awful for you..:O(

I think seagull has a point..

Our brains tend to latch on to a " Trauma " and what i mean by that is something that has effected you in a way that makes you " fear " it so it becomes a behaviour or habbit and you think you cant change it... Im going through a similar thing, i think its to do with finding the happy hormone again and NOT focusing on the stuff that makes you feel bad which is hard. we tend to lapse in to the negitive for some reason..What ive been trying to do is mentally let it go what bothers me ..I think keeping busy, fit , is a key to make you feel better...which im starting to do...

Someone said to me few weeks ago which really made sense to me was that you dont really think of the things that go right you more likely to think of whats going to go wrong...

I hope you feel better Toro

nicola...xxxxx
 
depression

could it be from the medication? its possible.i myself am not going through that.
 
I was mainly wondering about the cyclical nature of the depression, the epilepsy period thing was always weird, but I just assumed I was an odd case, nothing more. In terms of the pattern, I wasn't the one to notice it at first, it was a family member. It's not strictly regular, it's a little less than a month apart, with a one week variation. So, late August, mid September, early October, etc. some times four weeks between cycles, other times three, and other times five, but usually a bit more than 4.

I mean, there's a reason they call it idiopathic, it's because they can't explain it. I'd just call it (for want of a better term) idiopathic cycling.(TM)

The idea that depression (in other cases schizophrenic patterns) and epilepsy can be inversely related would effectively explain the cyclical depression to me. I looked over my notes, and yes, the doctor used the term force compensation and referred me to a psychiatrist as he thankfully agreed with my request to not change mess since they are very successfully controlling my seizures.

If I find a happy hormone, I will market it and give everyone here sale at distributor price.


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Is it possible it just human condition if I could get through a month not getting depressed or pissed off b miracle would for everyone.Maybe your family member who said this should be more explicit ..sometimes we want hang our hat on the inexplicable but we can't...I very subject to what others tell me,I get up feeling well enjoying myself someone say oh you look ill seem down then that's my day down the tubes
 
I would suggest you seek a good psychiatrist to rule out depression or other mental disorders. Personally, I have been diagnosed as bipolar. I've never heard of rapid cycling depression, but in the context of bipolar, rapid cycling means going through several mood cycles a year (approximately 4 at minimum). I see you take Keppra and Lamictal, which also happens to be the same medications I take. Additionally I take an antipsychotic called saphris because I've experienced psychosis. Lamictal is useful for treating bipolar as well as certain types of seizures; it is a mood stabilizer, like most anticonvulsants are.

It can be easy to shrug off depression. The key is to know that it is not normal and has neurological causes that can be corrected with medication. It could be that you have multiple issues going on, or that you are experiencing side effects from the medication. A good psychiatrist should be able to help you determine what is going on.
 
Saw a psychiatrist yesterday, and he said it sounds like depression (amazing diagnosis) and he doesn't think I'm bipolar. He's not concerned with the cycling aspect of it, but imagines I probably have very mild depression that got magnified by my drugs.

He wants to put me on anti-depressants (Lexapro). I'm not sure I want to play with my meds as I'm finally not having seizures for the first time in almost 10 years.
 
That's a totally valid concern that you have about adding a new medication. Especially since you finally have good seizure control. I wouldn't write it off completely, though. I think that many antidepressants have been found to be pretty safe for people with epilepsy.
 
toro said:
Saw a psychiatrist yesterday, and he said it sounds like depression (amazing diagnosis) and he doesn't think I'm bipolar. He's not concerned with the cycling aspect of it, but imagines I probably have very mild depression that got magnified by my drugs.

He wants to put me on anti-depressants (Lexapro). I'm not sure I want to play with my meds as I'm finally not having seizures for the first time in almost 10 years.
Click to expand...
I wouldn't go for that lexapro anyway my sister was put on that and put on around 100 pounds.
 
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