Diagnosis: major depressive disorder, part 7

Things have been going significantly better over the last two-three weeks. Hopefully I am on the upswing!

I had the doc run bloodwork to make sure nothing is wrong outside of the depression. He did, found nothing. He said that for some people the symptoms of depression just seem to show up in the body... Rather than having distorted or gloomy thoughts.

I recently purchased the Estrogen-Depression Connection. I found it very insightful, though I didn't quite understand it fully. The gist is this: estrogen has a direct effect on serotonin function and when estrogen levels dip (after childbirth, premenstrually, menopause, etc.) so falls the availability of serotonin in susceptable individuals.

So, in a nutshell, I think that I have figured out what is going on with my body. Having gone through tremendous stress and then losing a child, my brain chemistry is already wacked out. Add a hormone fluctuation and bam! I'm a goner.

So the shrink has me on the upper dose of Lexapro and an upper dose of wellbutrin. As well, I am on a continual (meaning I do not take the sugar pills) birth control pill called Levora. My periods stopped in January, but I still felt some hormonal fluctuations. I haven't felt bad lately, so maybe they are leveling out. I hope.