Well I've dealt with panic attacks since i was 12, and also been depressed since then. i refused meds as a kid and teen for I knew what study in the US later proved they aren't for kids and teens(thank you interweb) . I know i suffer from high anxiety though never been treated for it.

Sometimes i wonder if i was bipolar just for the fact my high feel amazing, last a while and my lows are so low i'm numb and last forever but after being forced to deal with so many doc's at an younger age i really don't want to see them again for anything ever a lot of them got mad at my parents for not forcing the anti depressants on me.

So in other words i just deal i've been dx with depression and suffered from panic attacks ( only one i had to go in for which they then said i should talk to my doc about meds but i didn't want to cus i knew where that would lead) I avoid a lot in life, and try and focus on the things i can deal with and make me happy which i've been doing for way to long. Also try and find people that understand to talk talking is a big deal for me.

is any of that healthy no, am i'm willing to change much of it soon not really.

Since i've been DX well the depression has hit, i'm alone most of the time right now and it feels like no one really cares.

This is an interesting post. I have read some studies on it as well but think that a lot of doctors have yet to read them themselves and don't take the time to relate this to their patients!!
I also suffer from axiety and depression. Some of which is from the amount of medical issues I deal with the other (I'm told from my therepist) carried on my my childhood where there were problems. Either way these are life things that made me who I am I like to think.
I take a low does Wellbutrin daily for it. Which my neurologist thinks is ridiculous and is trying to get me off of. I of course won't seeing is how I need it. I know I'm not bi-polar as I have been told I"m not by professionals. But I do believe the pressures can play a role in all of this with the mood swings and things I mean it is constantly fluctuating how can our moods then not!!
Very relavent post!
Mandy

Wow I am still kinda new here and ofter wondered if they are linked. I have been told I'm bi polar but have always had a hard time with that Dx becasue I am very high functioning. I keep a job for a long time, take care of my kids, run baseball fields with my boys, keep hubby happy and try to find time for girlie stuff. 5 years ago is when a Dr officially Dx with it and gave me Topamax...why I don't know but now I believe we were treating the silent PTC! So of course when the pressure went down my mood stabilized! I never went back after a few month because the Topamax made me super hyper and he was way to expensive I am so glad as of right now my outlook looks good and I am learning more and more everyday from y'all.
I hope you have a nice weekend.

This is very interesting, I get I guess would be high anxiety, I never told anyone, not even drs, But I go through periods of time when I can't seem to go out, answer the phone, even when I know it is someone I want to talk to, It is like I am phobic. It isn't like me and lasts sometimes up to 6 months. Then I am normal and can function again. I get obsessed with new things then quickly drop them and move on, Tv shows, books, anything, and the mood swings at the drop of a hat ! I am sever angry and yelling and in the same breath am fine and making a joke. I don't consider myself a depressed person, but this has made me think it could all be connected, very interesting!

Nicole I feel you on the phones, i hate calling anyone and sometimes don't want to pick up even if it's a friend though i've learned to text everyone and only order pizza when i get it online.

MM# Do you have any links to any studies/reports about this? i would love to read some and pass them to my mom she even made a comment one day after i was DX about how maybe if they fix this my anxiety will go away.

As I have previously posted, I too have anxiety/depression. I was in "remission" after being treated with Acetazolamide for 9 months. 18 months after not taking the medication, the first "symptom" I noticed was my increased anger/aggressiveness - after battling my emotions for a couple of months, I scheduled an appointment with my neurologist. Of course, as he is wont to do, he scoffed and said that is not a symptom of IIH.

After struggling for over a year with the mood swings, etc. I went to my PCP and he would not prescribe an anti-depressant for me - until I went back to the neurologist to make sure the IIH was not returning. This time, the neurologist latched onto my depression causing me to have muscle tension in my neck and shoulders causing the headaches. I am now taiking Prozac daily, and am so tired I can barely make it through a work day. When I told the Dr. about being tired, and that the headaches were getting worse, he recommended that I double my dose. However, I don't see how increasing the dose is going to help. Also, he prescribed for me to go to physical therapy twice a week (I can't get the local PT dept to schedule me - so I've been going to massage thereapy). This is not helping with the headaches, but for a couple days I get relief from the neck/shoulder pain.

After taking the prescription for 2 months, I am starting to notice the anxiety/depression returning - as well as some disconcerting lessening in visual acuity and increasing intensity and duration of my headaches...Guess it's time for a second opinion?

I too have recently found articles that list anxiety/depression increases with IIH and neck/back pain being a symptom of increased intracranial pressure. Guess I need to make some reading suggestions to my neurologists :)

There was a recent post by MrsLily with an IIH thesis which discusses the prevalence of depression in IIH patients.

None of my friends can tell, they all think i am cool as a cucumber, I appear to get excited easy or upset easy, I tend to roll with the punches as it happens, I work in a high stress place, but inside, I suffer from anxiety, I worry worry and worry some more. But then like i said not every one can see that, I hide it well.

This is a very helpful topic to read, makes me feel like less of an outcast, A ton of things are falling into place here and this IIH goes so much deeper than the doctors, and us even want to admit. This is why it is so important to research and experience each others stories and find our voices, because as a whole if we don't who will?

Thanks for posting this MM3. I have often wondered about my last bad depression episode and if it was caused by this disease. Now that i am healthier I don't have the huge mood fluxuations like I was having before. hmmm...

While I am certainly not relieved to hear of your personal battles with moods fluctuations...I can relate. As with my other post...would any of you mind if I shared your responses with my doctor. I think he would be interested in reading these. As for the studies that I have read regarding IIH and moods...I will find them again and post them here for your use. Stay tuned.

Much love,

MM3

MM3 i'm pretty much an open book if i post it here it's up for grabs to the world. And if someone wants to know more just ask.

Oh my gosh, after reading MM3 post and the replies I feel like I am reading about myself. I have been on meds for anxiety & depression for the last 8 years, currently zoloft & celexa. As mentioned by Nicole I too have periods where I don't want to talk not only on the phone to people but will go for several wks or months and not see my extended family (mom, dad, sisters, best friend) although we all live in the same town. Anxiety has not been as big of an issue maybe because as Lilly mentioned I try not to let people see that but sometimes I would have to leave a store or go into the bathroom at work and hide to pull myself together. I also wonder about the migraines I have suffered from for about 16 years. Even though they were bad at times they were nothing like what I am dealing with now. Makes me wonder if all this time it was migraine or IIH. Is that even possible? Would my optometrist have noticed paps during my regular eye exam? I guess that's one of the bad things about this disease is there are so many unanswered questions.

momof3

Momof3:

You know, your story sounds so similar to mine. I had migraines from the time I was a teenager and was diagnosed as being bipolar when I was 31. Now I can't help but wonder if it was IIH all along. Certainly seems to be the case. Hmmmm....

MM3

Hey, I say if you can use this to help in ANY way go for it! I would like to do the same with many items on here!

This is very interesting to me . I am on disability for panic disorder / agoraphobia that began because of panicky feelings on a car trip one day . I would feel as though I was going to pass out and the docs ( after doing the usual battery of tests ) would all say "panic disorder" . Ultimately , I became afraid on occasion to leave my house . I still don't go anywhere by myself . Why doesn't everyone have their eyes dilated at some point ? It sure would save some trouble ..who knows how many people have this . My symptoms have alwasy been so vague ...I have always described myself to others as "not feeling comfortable in my skin" so receiving this diagnosis has really been thought provoking . I also believe that I have had it for many years ...it just goes in and out of remission. I can remember having all the same symptoms , being off balance , head pains , etc ...only this time it affected my eyes . I do remember once in my twenties I blacked out for a few seconds twice ...was told it was a sinus infection but I had no other symptoms !