Today is World Mental Health Day

[psychocandy]

How do you know if you're sufferring from depression? How does anybody know?

You'll know...

[sasguru]

The other thing a wise old coot once told me is to develop a hobby - doesn't matter what it is, do something you enjoy for its own sake and for its own sake only.
Churchill used to deal with his "black dogs" by painting.

[d000hg]

Seriously though, the best antidote to mental health issues is to cultivate a sense of the ridiculous and a sense of humour.

Just because its all 'up there' doesn't mean its something you can get yourself out of.
Its a real illness. If you broke your leg you wouldn't expect to be able to fix it yourself, would you?

I know psycho wasn't replying to you but he might as well have and it IS the case many mental illnesses have a physiological cause.

However, the counter-argument to that is that the brain is well documented as being able to dramatically affect healing of 'proper' illnesses, for instance the placebo effect and so on. Of course when the illness is affecting your brain in the first place, that's a bit tricky.

[OwlHoot]

Today I saw my GP and have just swallowed my first levothyroxine pill. Optimistic that years (decades) of feeling knackered and bloody miserable were all caused by low thyroid hormone and two weeks from now I should be a new woman!

Watch this space!

I looked up the side effects of levothyroxine

Hyperthyroidism (excessive thyroid hormone production) is the most common side effect of Levothyroxine. Symptoms of such medically induced hyperthyroidism include:

Tachycardia (high heart rate)
Mood changes
Hyperactivity
Nervousness
Irritability
Anxiety
Tremor
Feeling hot
Increased sweating
Flushing
Fever
An increased appetite, along with weight loss
Muscle weakness
Vomiting
Diarrhea
Stomach cramps
Difficult or painful breathing
High blood pressure
Heart palpitations
Chest pain
Insomnia
Hair loss
Menstrual problems
Seizures
:::
Fatigue
Severe or persistent headache
Heat intolerance
Excessive sweating
Changes in appetite (increased appetite or anorexia)
Nausea
Vomiting
Stomach cramps
Diarrhea (sometimes severe)
Fever
Joint pain
Lowing bone mineral density (especially in women)
Leg cramps
Muscle weakness
Seizures
Tremors
Shortness of breath
Chest pain
Arrhythmia (fast or irregular heartbeat)
Increased left ventricular mass index
Enhanced left ventricular systolic function
Trouble sleeping
Anxiety
Irritability
Nervousness
Unusual weight gain
Weight loss
Changes in menstrual periods
:::
Dizziness
Breathing difficulty
Wheezing (unusual hoarseness)
Flushing
An unexplained rash
Urticaria
Hives
Itching
Unexplained swelling (especially of the face, lips, mouth, tongue or throat and neck)
Angioedema
Serum sickness

[Mich the Tester]

I looked up the side effects of levothyroxine

death by ebola,
rabies,
etc...

Don't look for medical advice on the internet; it'll just convince you you're dying.

[d000hg]

Unusual weight gain
Weight loss

[Mich the Tester]

Fair enough. I suppose 'weight loss' could be seen as an 'unusual' form of weight gain.

[Gibbon]

That is actually possible; as drugs can affect different people in a variety of ways. My step sister's husband is a stem cell research scientist at Jimmys and we were discussing why some people have side affects to various drugs. The simple explanation he gave me is that we don't all have the same chemical pathways and we usually have more than one to achieve a particular job. Most drugs alter a particular pathway which is fine for most people as they will through some lefty over from evolution have another that helps them get round the 'blockage', but some people don't have an auxiliary one and then suffer side affects.

[BrilloPad]

I looked up the side effects of levothyroxine

Sounds just like PMT.