Can I get your feedback on this doctor's appointment?

[Anonymous]

I've been dealing with low energy since the birth of my child 2 years ago.

Today I had a follow up appointment with my GP. She seemed super eager to Rx SSRI's for my low energy. I reminded her as she was about to write a RX for Prozac and Xanax that I would like to see if my blood work came back with any notable results. Her, :"Oh you got blood work?" Me: "Yes."

She reviews blood work. Blood work says nothing outstanding either way.

I ask her if melatonin would help me fall asleep at night. She says that research only supports melatonin for jet lag. I ask her why she thinks I need an SSRI. She said because I am anxious. I ask her why she thinks I'm anxious - she says because I don't sleep. I clarify that I have trouble falling asleep, but that I always sleep 8 hours more or less. So she decides not to Rx me xanax, but then gives me a vile of prozac. (yes random pills in unmarked container - wtf?). She gives me the prozac because it is "cheap and she has a lot of samples". She then says that I should take half a pill everyday for a month and then come and see her again. Dr. also says that SSRIs will prevent me from "wanting to kill someone who cuts me off in traffic" and "worrying about the little things." I remind her that I don't have either of these symptoms - honestly I am too tired and busy to 1. get ragey and 2. worry about stupid bs.

So I'm sent packing with a vile of prozac and the message that if it doesn't work there are many more SSRI's in the sea.

Then I get home and hop on the internet and all I can find are
1. people who took prozac for things that I don't have
2. people who had crappy reactions to prozac
3. people who got fat on SSRI's
4. people who lost their sex drive on SSRI's


Needless to say, I don't have a lot of faith in this solution so I'm either looking for people to tell me:
1. their ssri improved my energy story
2. comment on this doctor's visit
3. tell me of a gp in arlingtonish area that might be able to help me figure out a solution to my low energy problem

[Anonymous]

That's almost as bad as my friend's doctor who told her to call Dr. Laura because the SSRI she prescribed wasn't helping.

[Anonymous]

Sounds pretty sketchy to me. I am two years post partum and went to my doctor over the summer for low energy/physical exhaustion. Blood work came back clear and she had no other recommendations for me other than excercise/lose weight (I'm at the high end of normal for BMI) and Lexapro because I "might" be depressed/anxious. I didn't take the Lexapro but I did increase exercise. Most days I feel better but I still have no real answers.

I don't have a doctor to recommend, obviously, but I hope you can find a solution to feel better.

[Anonymous]

I've not taken them but I have heard from several people that if you are depressed it can affect your energy levels. I remember being two years post partum and just feeling blah all over and like I had zero energy. Eventually the feeling just went away.

[Anonymous]

Hm. I take Wellbutrin and Lexapro and I don't think they changed my energy level at all. The syntheroxine I take did though -- but she said your thyroid was fine?

So you aren't tired, per se, but have low energy -- is that right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hm. I take Wellbutrin and Lexapro and I don't think they changed my energy level at all. The syntheroxine I take did though -- but she said your thyroid was fine?

So you aren't tired, per se, but have low energy -- is that right?

Correct - I don't need to sleep but I sometime avoid going to get something upstairs in our townhouse because the idea of climbing the stairs. one. more. time. is exhausting. I generally do it anyway but I wish I could bounce up the stairs the way some can.

[Anonymous]

Low energy and trouble falling asleep can be symptoms of depression. If your bloodwork is fine and you have no other physical symptoms, it's hard to imagine what tests or orher solutions you would expect from an MD. Other suggestions would be what the PP recommended (exercise, clean eating, etc.). Oftentimes those suggestions from a doctor prompt a similar reaction to what you are having now. If none of those suggestions satisfy you, you could try alternative medicine.

[Anonymous]

Hardly anything as frustrating as a useless doctor appointment.

She wasn't listening one bit to you, and that is job one of a GP. You are not tired but have low energy and have trouble falling asleep. There are many more possibilities than depression. Sleep apnea for one, thyroid for another, too little protein in your diet for a third and a vitamin d/vitamin b12 deficiency for a fourth and fifth. And that is just a start.

Have you tried magnesium citrate to help you fall asleep? This has been highly recommended here. Many swear by Natural Calm, which you can buy at Whole Fields. Getting sleep straight always helps. I'd also look at your diet for sufficient protein and consider whether you could be vitamin d or vitamin B12 deficient (which can go hand in hand with low protein, especially vegetarian, diets.)

As for depression, you know yourself best. If you are able to be honest with yourself, you should be able to tell if you are just having trouble falling asleep or if you might be depressed. Giving you an unlabeled bottle of prozac is unacceptable in my view--how do you know it really is prozac anyway?

At the risk of sounding fanatical, I just loathe the way some doctors jump straight away to psychological explanations of medical issues. I don't know whether it's laziness or what, but you need someone who will at least make an attempt to see if something else is going on. That said, I hardly remember the first two years of my life after having my second child--between work, the house and two small children I was pretty spent most of the time. It did get better after that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hardly anything as frustrating as a useless doctor appointment.

She wasn't listening one bit to you, and that is job one of a GP. You are not tired but have low energy and have trouble falling asleep. There are many more possibilities than depression. Sleep apnea for one, thyroid for another, too little protein in your diet for a third and a vitamin d/vitamin b12 deficiency for a fourth and fifth. And that is just a start.

Have you tried magnesium citrate to help you fall asleep? This has been highly recommended here. Many swear by Natural Calm, which you can buy at Whole Fields. Getting sleep straight always helps. I'd also look at your diet for sufficient protein and consider whether you could be vitamin d or vitamin B12 deficient (which can go hand in hand with low protein, especially vegetarian, diets.)

As for depression, you know yourself best. If you are able to be honest with yourself, you should be able to tell if you are just having trouble falling asleep or if you might be depressed. Giving you an unlabeled bottle of prozac is unacceptable in my view--how do you know it really is prozac anyway?

At the risk of sounding fanatical, I just loathe the way some doctors jump straight away to psychological explanations of medical issues. I don't know whether it's laziness or what, but you need someone who will at least make an attempt to see if something else is going on. That said, I hardly remember the first two years of my life after having my second child--between work, the house and two small children I was pretty spent most of the time. It did get better after that.

Hi,
She did say my B12 was low but skipped right over it. As in, "oh your b12 is low but your vitamin d is high" and then kept right on talking so I assumed it was irrelevant. I will look more into this b12 deficiency.

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hardly anything as frustrating as a useless doctor appointment.

She wasn't listening one bit to you, and that is job one of a GP. You are not tired but have low energy and have trouble falling asleep. There are many more possibilities than depression. Sleep apnea for one, thyroid for another, too little protein in your diet for a third and a vitamin d/vitamin b12 deficiency for a fourth and fifth. And that is just a start.

Have you tried magnesium citrate to help you fall asleep? This has been highly recommended here. Many swear by Natural Calm, which you can buy at Whole Fields. Getting sleep straight always helps. I'd also look at your diet for sufficient protein and consider whether you could be vitamin d or vitamin B12 deficient (which can go hand in hand with low protein, especially vegetarian, diets.)

As for depression, you know yourself best. If you are able to be honest with yourself, you should be able to tell if you are just having trouble falling asleep or if you might be depressed. Giving you an unlabeled bottle of prozac is unacceptable in my view--how do you know it really is prozac anyway?

At the risk of sounding fanatical, I just loathe the way some doctors jump straight away to psychological explanations of medical issues. I don't know whether it's laziness or what, but you need someone who will at least make an attempt to see if something else is going on. That said, I hardly remember the first two years of my life after having my second child--between work, the house and two small children I was pretty spent most of the time. It did get better after that.

Hi,
She did say my B12 was low but skipped right over it. As in, "oh your b12 is low but your vitamin d is high" and then kept right on talking so I assumed it was irrelevant. I will look more into this b12 deficiency.

Thanks!

Also think you for mag. citrate rec!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hardly anything as frustrating as a useless doctor appointment.

She wasn't listening one bit to you, and that is job one of a GP. You are not tired but have low energy and have trouble falling asleep. There are many more possibilities than depression. Sleep apnea for one, thyroid for another, too little protein in your diet for a third and a vitamin d/vitamin b12 deficiency for a fourth and fifth. And that is just a start.

Have you tried magnesium citrate to help you fall asleep? This has been highly recommended here. Many swear by Natural Calm, which you can buy at Whole Fields. Getting sleep straight always helps. I'd also look at your diet for sufficient protein and consider whether you could be vitamin d or vitamin B12 deficient (which can go hand in hand with low protein, especially vegetarian, diets.)

As for depression, you know yourself best. If you are able to be honest with yourself, you should be able to tell if you are just having trouble falling asleep or if you might be depressed. Giving you an unlabeled bottle of prozac is unacceptable in my view--how do you know it really is prozac anyway?

At the risk of sounding fanatical, I just loathe the way some doctors jump straight away to psychological explanations of medical issues. I don't know whether it's laziness or what, but you need someone who will at least make an attempt to see if something else is going on. That said, I hardly remember the first two years of my life after having my second child--between work, the house and two small children I was pretty spent most of the time. It did get better after that.

Hi,
She did say my B12 was low but skipped right over it. As in, "oh your b12 is low but your vitamin d is high" and then kept right on talking so I assumed it was irrelevant. I will look more into this b12 deficiency.

Thanks!

If she said you have low B12 you have a problem right there that could explain almost everything. Most labs label any level over 200 as normal. Doctors in the know however, want to see a level over 450, and a cardiologist I went to this year says he finds anything under 500 too low. In Japan the minimum level is 550. So if you are low in the labs, you are deficient.

Call the office and get a copy of the labs or at least have them tell you the B12 level. Get a good B12 supplement. Methylcolbalamin is usually considered the best form--get the type you put under your tongue so it dissolves (sublingual). You can pick this up at Whole Foods as well. I'd go with 5,000 mcg.

[Anonymous]

PP again. Actually, have them fax over the labs to you and look through them carefully. If she skipped over the B12 no telling what else she might have missed. Another possibility is anemia--there is an iron deficiency type, but also a type caused by B12 deficiency.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP again. Actually, have them fax over the labs to you and look through them carefully. If she skipped over the B12 no telling what else she might have missed. Another possibility is anemia--there is an iron deficiency type, but also a type caused by B12 deficiency.

Thanks I'm picking up a copy tomorrow.

[Anonymous]

Even better--would be curious to know what your B12 was.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hardly anything as frustrating as a useless doctor appointment.

She wasn't listening one bit to you, and that is job one of a GP. You are not tired but have low energy and have trouble falling asleep. There are many more possibilities than depression. Sleep apnea for one, thyroid for another, too little protein in your diet for a third and a vitamin d/vitamin b12 deficiency for a fourth and fifth. And that is just a start.

Have you tried magnesium citrate to help you fall asleep? This has been highly recommended here. Many swear by Natural Calm, which you can buy at Whole Fields. Getting sleep straight always helps. I'd also look at your diet for sufficient protein and consider whether you could be vitamin d or vitamin B12 deficient (which can go hand in hand with low protein, especially vegetarian, diets.)

As for depression, you know yourself best. If you are able to be honest with yourself, you should be able to tell if you are just having trouble falling asleep or if you might be depressed. Giving you an unlabeled bottle of prozac is unacceptable in my view--how do you know it really is prozac anyway?

At the risk of sounding fanatical, I just loathe the way some doctors jump straight away to psychological explanations of medical issues. I don't know whether it's laziness or what, but you need someone who will at least make an attempt to see if something else is going on. That said, I hardly remember the first two years of my life after having my second child--between work, the house and two small children I was pretty spent most of the time. It did get better after that.

Hi,
She did say my B12 was low but skipped right over it. As in, "oh your b12 is low but your vitamin d is high" and then kept right on talking so I assumed it was irrelevant. I will look more into this b12 deficiency.

Thanks!

If she said you have low B12 you have a problem right there that could explain almost everything. Most labs label any level over 200 as normal. Doctors in the know however, want to see a level over 450, and a cardiologist I went to this year says he finds anything under 500 too low. In Japan the minimum level is 550. So if you are low in the labs, you are deficient.

Call the office and get a copy of the labs or at least have them tell you the B12 level. Get a good B12 supplement. Methylcolbalamin is usually considered the best form--get the type you put under your tongue so it dissolves (sublingual). You can pick this up at Whole Foods as well. I'd go with 5,000 mcg.

+1. Great advice.