has everyone got thru xmas ok?

Hi shelley, I hope you start to feel better soon, the days are getting slowly longer, it will be a couple of months before most of us start to really improve but we are getting there.

THings I take in my stride through the summer months are often a lot more difficult in the winter.

Hello everybody, I know what you are all going through.. I become very anxious, worrying and doubting myself and my abilities at work etc and panicking over things I would normally take in my stride. For a few years now i have tried to treat my SAD with St johns Wort which has worked but now is not enough. I have decided to cut down on it and commence light therapy which i have been doing for 3 days...it definately makes me feel calmer, I wish Id tried it years ago! I know it is not reccomeended with SJW but ill try to cut it out completely soon just dont want to stop it all of a sudden.

Shelley, Come back here anytime you need support. Use what energy you have to take care of yourself right now, and if we can help, we'll be glad to. Don't isolate yourself, 'kay... it's not good for us.

Me, don't worry about missing words or using the wrong words. I've understood your posts here anyhow. I've done the same, myself.

I'm slogging through... decided I made a very bad mistake with the prednisone. My mother had pointed out to me, "Haven't you been on that for awhile?" I realized it'd been over a week and yeah, I was feeling better so no need to keep taking it... but in being distracted as I had my parents at my apartment, I also forgot that I couldn't just *STOP* taking prednisone... I have to taper my dosage.

So, right now, I'm really at the very bottom, energy-wise. It's even hard for me to lift my arms -- they feel heavy! I'm going to take one pill per day for three days and then I ought to be able to come off.

Hiya James,
I get awful depression with sad which starts through december gets worse & worse through january & february & then starts to subside through march & once the sunny days & longer daylight hours are back it vanishes completely & I forget about it until the following winter when it starts all over again,I have tried just about every type of treatment for depression for at least 10 years without ever knowing it was sad until my gp noticed it seemed to start & finish at the same time of year,but I have found that for the last 3 or 4 years using a sad lamp accompanied by using st johns wort for the depression & valerian capsules to regulate my sleep seems to work better than anything,you dont say in your post but do you use a lamp? if not I would strongly recomend trying one,they are quite expensive but you can try them on a hire basis for a month first to see if it helps for around £20,I have found that some years are worse than others with sad,this year in particular has been awful for a lot of us on here,some of us were discussing in another thread that we think the awful summer & autumn we had has had an effect because we did'nt get the sunshine in the summer months as expected,as for your sleeping patterns I sympathise because my sleep tends to get all messed up too. I know its really hard but try to maintain a bedtime routine as actually with sad the more you sleep the worse you feel,I find if I use my lamp everyday at the same time ( around 8 am) that keeps me on an even keel more than if I chop it & change it about & the valerian really does help you to drop off to sleep at a reasonable hour,they are completely herbal with no nasty ingredients only valerian root & no side effects & are available from most health shops or the net & are not expensive either,I hope this helps you a bit & hang in there mate! spring is not so far away now & if you need to chat further just let us know
best wishes
Shelley

just catching up on reading some posts my energy has been so low that I just hav'nt been able to respond much the last few days but a big thankyou to everyone who has responded - it really helps to pull through the worst times just knowing that others here understand & feel the same, so a big hug to everyone x

hiya James,
valerian is used mainly to help you sleep but if it does help also if you are feeling anxious & edgy - it just helps you to feel a bit calmer without using loads of chemicals,other than that the only herbals I only use are st johns wort for the depression,but I must say the best thing is using a lamp,they really are good & I felt a definate improvement within only a few days of using it,I got mine from www.sad-lighthire.co.uk,the people there are fantastic if you are not sure what to go for you can just ring them or email them & they really are helpful - also the owners of the company suffer with sad themselves so they really know what works best,that would be my best advice for you,what herbals are you using by the way?

Hi James, I haven't heard of anyone getting a lamp on the NHS.

WOuld be interested to hear if there is anyone here that has, also how they qualified!

Yes, I would support that. I get up early, often too early, but hanging around in bed never does me any good.

I do tend to rest a lot during the day, but getting up early avoids the gloom settling over the beginning of my day.

Hi aaron, you are right about getting up quite early, I hate getting up at 6-30, but find my moods are better. If I get up later, I seem to have a lot less energy and my routine is completly gone.

Paulst - yes early mornings provided I got some decent hours and/or quality sleep are better than vegging out the morning.

I was quite badly depressed for several years recently, although not receiving treatment. I was waking desperately early which wasn't healthy.

That's why ADs are helpful for me at the moment. I am catching up on sleep although always getting up early. And I make up for the early start with catnapping during the day - but I have the luxury of time off at the moment.

Please remember SAD isn't just a Northern Hemisphere condition. I live in Australia and our xmas is HOT. So, yes I got through it quite ok.

Are you from Scotland sandyb?
I have just been referred to a cognitive therapist but my new doc says I cant get a light box on the NHS because they dont recognise SAD.
She said she is the youngest doc in the practice and even she doesnt know much about it and wasnt taught anything about it.
Maybe when I see the cognitive therapist she/he might know something about it but by the time all that happens it will be summer!
Oh and are you selling your light box since you dont use it?

I'm in Edinburgh James - where are you?

My doc didn't have any light boxes either, but the CBT nurse had just got three boxes in for the first time this year, and they were given out within a couple of weeks. It's annoying that the NHS don't recognise SAD yet. My doc doesn't tend to use the term himself, instead he says I have cyclical depression which generally starts within a week of the clocks going back and ends about March. I think some docs don't like using the term because so many people use it to describe winter blues rather than the more serious, life-altering and life-threatening illness that is affecting us just now.

I'm not selling my lightbox because my mum's going to try it out but if it doesn't work out for her either I'll let you know.

Take care of yourself and hope studies aren't going too bad for you just now (although I have to admit that in all my (many) years of studying I don't think I managed to submit a single essay or paper in January!

Sandy x

In defence of doctors, who are not here to defend themselves....

I have a great GP! We talk together about what the plan of action will be. Input from him as a professional, plus how I feel about different approaches. It's taken a couple of years, but seem to be getting the formula that helps me sorted out now. Hoping I shall get through this winter in one piece.

Hi Amalthea,
Im afraid I have to agree with you,Ive had awful experiences with doctors too,I now know Ive suffered with sad since my early teens (I am now 33)but I was only properly diagnosed with it 3 years ago & only then because I mentioned it to my GP first & then looking back at my notes he saw the pattern in my symptoms! all my physical symptoms were ignored too & Im afraid after talking to lots of people that seems to be the rule rather than the exception,I think the problem is GPs have very little time to spend with patients because of their workloads so its far easier to just keep dishing out the pills & sending you away rather than getting to the root of the problem & if you dare to disagree with them or refuse the prescriptions they dont like i,I dont think you are bitter at all,I think many of us would agree with you,
you take care x

ooops I really wasn't being horrible about docs. Some I've had in the past were unsympathetic and just tried to feed me pills (I am definitely not wanting comments on the efficiacy or evilness of pills here!!!!)to get rid of me but the one I have just now is really fantastic, he just didn't know about light boxes and doesn't particularly like the term SAD.

Docs don't actually LISTEN to what I say. If I say that I'm tired, they immediately label me "depressed" and want to give me a script.

I've been told so many times that depression causes fatigue, but for me, it's not been that way.

Now I know that fibromyalgia (and actually SAD, as documented by Rosenthal) involves sleep troubles as well.

For me, at least, the solution is starting with the need for better sleep. I haven't figured out what my best option for that may be. I have been exercising in the evenings, and that's helped a lot, but one bad night and I'm back in the rut... not feeling as though I have the energy to exercise!