Before SLE and others
:blush: Before I was diagnosed with everything I have now

I was diagnosed with cyclic major depressive episodes as well as anxiety, and post traumatic disorder and borderline personality disorder, :worried: the last two I have worked very hard to get past the symptoms and stereotypes. 8) I have been through all kinds of anti-depressants, most of them in fact, but now I am on Cymbalta, and although I find for me it doesn't do much for pain it had started to help with depression, but since it, depression, has been such a problem for me last year I got a vagus nerve stimulator, :excited: it is a little device implanted into my chest with lead wires to my vagus nerve on the left side of my neck. Every five minutes it sends stimultion to the leads for thirty seconds 24/7 unless I turn it off with a magnet. It increases the serotonin in my brain. It has worked miracles, of course surgery should never be undertaken lightly especially with all the pre-excisting conditions, but at the time I did not or rather was not diagnosed with autoimune diseases. I am on Medicare and Indiana Medicaid because I am on disability...the surgery was well worth it, although it had to be approved since it is expensive...in my life I have tried meds, therapy, shock treatments and none of it really made that much of a difference, but now at least I am not depressed, although the prednisone has made me somewhat down and sad, but nothing like the deep dark episodes I used to suffer.:worried: A lot of it had to do with a disfunctional childhood, abuse, genetics and my life situation. Now that my symptoms have names and there are medicines to try and I have all of you

things are ok. Only occasionally when things get really bad to I start to feel that depressioncreeping back in

I usually come to this site and something gives me support or a reason to smile. Karly