I don't have depression but I have ANXIETY. I'm always waiting for the next thing to go wrong and I stress like crazy even going to the doctor.

I have RA, rosacea, and dry eyes. No sjogrens diagnosis - no other dryness except eyes. I use restasis drops 2x day and have lotemax to use when needed. Honestly, most days my eyes are good to go except after 8pm when they are gritty/itchy/burning. I just have to use the drops and go to sleep.

I think it's normal to have depression. I don't know if it's being attached so much to a disease that doesn't let up that gets to us or if somehow the actual disease makes us depressed. In my anxiety, I know it's understanding the situation all too well - I know how the road is going to be (bumpy, miserable at times, and completely altered from the rest of the world). If something terrible happens, the reality check gets me in a good mental state. (Like a friend of my husband who is 55 has lung cancer. It's now in his kidneys and they thought his brain - their family celebrated it not being in his brain as if there wasn't cancer everywhere else! That put me in a grateful state of mind) Eventually, something happens and I worry myself right back into a tizzy.

It's definitely worth talking to your doctor about. You will certainly be reassured that you are well within your right to be depressed.

I've been attempting to research more. Came across a web site that listed depression in conjunction with RA.
Then again with such a diagnosis & another along with it I sure would not think it's abnormal.
I went through a period of feeling depressed & still do from time to time.
I would not deem it clinical but it's there.
At one point I attended a support group at my pain managements office. Honestly I think I was the only one not on an anti depressant.
Can't touch those MEDS with a 10 foot pole. Bad reactions.
He retired so the group closed. Sad as it helped.
I am having trouble copy & pasting from my IPad. If I ever figure it out Ill share all the info I come across.
For now I'll check to see if I book marked that site for you.
Really hope it gets better. Very tough on top of everything else.
Hugs, Sammy

Thanks for the insight. I greatly appreciate it. I will make an appointment with my PCP.

Yes, RA and depression are linked. I see it in every symptom list for RA. I also have fibro, which includes depression as a symptom. I found out the hard way that I have to be on an antidepressant.

You could certainly try one and see. For me, it helps me be able to bear everything going on with my health.

Let us know!

My depression has definitely increased since getting RA. The pain, the fatigue, the worry about the future, the inability to do the things I was once able to do have all led to a significant increase in my depression. It is common with RA.

Thanks Sally. I am usually the one with the thinking that there is always someone out there that is worse off than me. I'm not ready to go off the deep end by no means. You have made me think and will try to get back to the feeling that I am very fortunate compared to others that have RA. I greatly appreciate you taking the time to talk to me. Bless you and have a great day!

I'm in severe depression. I know it has a lot to do with all my other diseases. When I start going down with pain and weather fronts coming in or changing, my depression gets worse too. It's frustrating! Also I came on here to ask if it was better to see a neurologist or psychiatrist when you have other things to see about with a neurologist? Funds are low so Im trying to make the best decision.

Hope you find help with all of this. I think the chronic pain, even if low at times, somehow affects us chemically through depression or m as bye the inflammation is pressing on certain parts of the brain. I'm always trying to figure it out. Best wishes and hugs to you. You are not alone!

I think I have been depressed (off and on) most of my life, but never to the point of being debilitated by it. I mention this because I am fairly sure that my depression was there before I ever got RA and I have had RA for most of my life as well.

Some things in life are inherently depressing. Like RA. It keeps us from being as mobile as we want to be. It limits us and threatens us. And it hurts! And it won't go away! To be depressed by that is normal.

For all of my experience with both depression and living with RA, I can say that I am quite sure that the best thing to do when you start feeling depressed is to just get up and do something... anything. Even (especially) if you don't "feel" like it. Before you know it, you will feel better because you move that internal focus outwards.

There is a very fine line between hope and denial. The line is equally thin between realism and depression when there's a chronic illness in the mix. I guess that's just rephrasing what Sally and others have said.

Vette, there's always someone who has it worse. No matter how burdensome our own troubles are, I don't know too many people with whom I would trade their troubles for mine. You have some new things to deal with. Don't they always feel like just the last straw? But then they're not, and you go on another day, stumbling towards the next pothole.

Trooper, I'm a big believer in the "act as if" trick. "Perhaps if I act as if I'm a functional human, I'll get my pathetic ass out the door and headed to work this morning." "Maybe if I act as if this bat$#!t crazy person is sane he'll start behaving a bit more reasonably." "Maybe if I go to this party and act as if I'm enjoying it, it actually WILL be fun." Works as often as not.

my rheumatoid does not feel any better or worse if I personally sad sack it for too long.

it tends to feel better if i use fake optimism. fake movement (call it chair dancing) and limit negativity.

i have been called a pollyanna, that doesn't get anything but a positive rise out of me. i just kind of smirk and say, "not really."

i notice that this side of my personality is constant since childhood. i did not have any use for it then, it works to my advantage, now.

depot

Thanks everyone. I really appreciate all of you telling me how you feel. I am feeling much better. I do think it was just the idea of another thing to deal with. I am getting into the routine of dealing with the eyes and they are actually starting to feel better. Soft gentle hugs to you all!

I have had depression my whole life. RA has definitely made it worse because of the pain, fatigue, lack of ability to do what makes me happy, etc.

i've been depressed as long as i can remember and have shown symptoms of mental illness since age 6. i've been actively depressed since age 12 and have collected a plethora of mental health diagnoses at this point in time. however, my depression and anxiety took strange turns when i was diagnosed. i ended up going back to talk therapy and it has made a world of difference in my life.

it is overwhelming; adjusting to the RA and sjorgrens and figuring out your 'new normal' can take time. if you can afford it, seeing a psychologist or therapist who has some experience in chronic illness would be a huge benefit. if you cannot afford it, try to find a local support group for something - call your local hospital. on long island i know of at least one hospital that has a sjogrens support group. if all else fails, look for emotions anonymous - it's a twelve-step 'meeting' based around mental illness and depression. at the very least you may make some connections with people who get what you're going through.