A Lost Boy...

So these past 365 days have been rough on me, but it sparked a flame into starting this blog so I guess some good things have come out of it.

Before November, I can't remember the last time I had to be infused (except for a show injury, but that doesn't count. That's expected. Hahaha). Since then, I have had a head injury, an ankle injury, and a shoulder/neck injury that all had to be infused (or at least a Stimate regimen). And since all this has happened, I cannot help but feel the looming cloud of depression hovering over me as it did in my dark past. It has me wondering... What is the connection between Hemophilia and Depression.

From personal experience, I always get depressed when I am injured. It's hard having to rely on the ones you love for extra help, from big things like getting out of bed or trying to take a shower, to the little things like not being able to open a Tylenol bottle without someone doing it for you. I have always assumed that it is just conditional... While dealing with the cultural aspects of being injured, depression sets in. I get better; it goes away.

But with so many injuries lately I'm beginning to wonder if they feed off of each other. If being injured keeps me depressed, and the depression puts my body in a place to be injured.

Now, I don't want this to sound like a "oh, woe is me" type post. There are MANY people worse off than me and I thank my lucky stars on a daily basis to have been so blessed with the life that I have right now, but with everything that has been happening, I can't help but wonder...

So off starts the hunt for clinical studies. Seretonin and endorphin levels while bleeding internally. How are they effected, if at all? Let's find out...

There was a study done through the University of Arizona involving patients of the Arizona Hemophilia Treatment Center in Tucson comparing patients with Hemophilia to patients without bleeding disorders at the same hospital.

"About 37% of patients treated at the Arizona Hemophilia Treatment Center, in Tucson, were diagnosed with a history of depression, compared with 4% of the general population of adult males, said Alison Stopeck, MD, director of the center." (Susman)

The article continues to discuss that depression in Hemophiliacs with Hepatitis C and/or HIV don't have a higher ratio of depressed patients than those without these diseases. (Susman)

And that was pretty much the only article I could find. The link follows. http://www.medpagetoday.com/Psychiatry/Depression/21167

So my question now becomes, why aren't there more studies in this? Doesn't anyone else find it interesting that there are these connections? For someone who has been battling with depression for years, I know I do.

So "What's Up, Docs?!" Let's get this show on the road! And now that I have passed a brief battle with lethargy, I will be back to blogging and tweeting in full swing!!!


Till we meet again...

Location:8th Ave,New York,United States