Checked Up

Well, got in my almost-annual doctor appointment this morning. I'm still alive, that's a good start. Getting allergy tested last year has helped in a few areas. Still a tendency toward dry skin. Could use more exercise. Could probably eat healthier, though I still try to mitigate my intake of junk.

The main thing on my mind was sitting down and saying the St. John's Wort doesn't seem to be making any measurable long-term difference in my periods of depression. It still hasn't been bad enough to keep me from going to work or sparked any real suicidal thoughts (feelings of worthlessness of life, sure, but not actually thinking of ending it). It does, however, continue to hang over me in general, making it hard to motivate toward improvement or to really enjoy much. That's been about the size of things for the last... I don't know. Five to ten years maybe?

So we talked about that a bit. He pointed out that exercise and such can help - not news to me after my experiences over the summer, but it gets really difficult for me to motivate to do much with any disincentive like cold weather, muddy/icy ground, and inconvenient timing. Sometimes a medical nudge can help get the ball rolling in other areas too, so we're going to try Citalopram, I believe it was, a serotonin-related antidepressant. I'll go back in four weeks and we'll discuss how that is or isn't affecting me. Here's hoping for a net positive.