Nope, not dead

[justalurkr]

No news at the mo, either. Just:

OMG THIS

edited to add:
Okay, and this, a very British programme for overcoming depression. I'm pretty sure it's working, but don't care to risk going off my meds to find out how well. High points for me: plan your day, be flexible when the universe laughs at your plans, and play a musical instrument. This book has me journaling (when I remember,) exercising and (gasp) meditating. The Dalai Lama couldn't even manage that last one. :D

Comments

[nialla]

I remember going to many doctors, who were eager to write off my chronic pain as depression. When they'd outright ask if I was depressed, I'd answer, "Of course I am, I hurt all the damn time!"

It a vicious circle, something I think can only be controlled as best we can but it's always there, lurking and waiting for something else to pounce on.

[justalurkr.livejournal.com]

I have been informed recently that 40% of Caucasians have a genetic mutation (http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/gene/MTHFR) that impairs their ability to methylate folate. This failure does two main things:

1. Honks up the ability to create a balanced supply of neurotransmitters, resulting in an increased risk of anxiety, depression and attentional difficulties.

2. Diddles over the management of inflammation, leading to increased levels of homocystein in the blood, which contributes to an increased risk of cancer, dementia, heart disease, lupus and fibromyalgia.

(note: spellcheck does NOT approve of most of those medical terms, so either they're not in the standard check or I abused them liek woah.)

Pretty sure you can guess why the psychologist brought it to my, ahem, attention and then why I brought it to yours. I'm doing a 23andme.com (https://www.23andme.com/) gene test to verify, but in the meantime on the psychologist's advice (to be confirmed or invalidated by my GP next week) am taking L Methyl Folate from Solgar. (http://www.amazon.com/Solgar-Folate-Metafolin-800-tablets/dp/B001LR2RVQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1374020837&sr=8-1&keywords=methylated+folate)

Link to an abstract of the Psychology Today article (http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/88282558/queen-b) she was handing out.

[nialla]

Funny you should mention 23andme.com, because I looked at the site about a week ago and was giving it serious consideration.

[justalurkr.livejournal.com]

Make your dad do it, too. Without a Y chromosome in the sample, they can 't tell you anything about your paternal line.

[nialla]

I've ordered mine mostly to see what it says medically, but I admit the ancestry part could be very interesting too. I'm curious to see if the migraine mess shows up in some way, which is almost certainly paternally passed, though he himself doesn't have it.

[justalurkr.livejournal.com]

To be fair, women carry the much deadlier hemophilia and men are more likely to express it.

Something tells me that's not much comfort when the lights start to flash, though.