7 ms·

I thought I was depressed and anxious for almost two years. It turned out I just had a chronic sinus infection. I'm suspicious that a lot of what gets consider

I thought I was depressed and anxious for almost two years. It turned out I just had a chronic sinus infection. I'm suspicious that a lot of what gets considered as psychiatric problems are really physical health problems. Anecdotally, a lot of people switch to a nutrient dense diet and cut out potential allergens and wind up feeling all better.

sillysaurus 14y ago
How did you treat it?
lepacheco 14y ago
I also have some anxiety problems and from time to time my sinusitis shows up. What do you mean you just had a chronic sinus infection (instead of anxiety/depression)? What kind of symptoms are you talking about? This might be relevant to me...
gfunk911 14y ago
Also very interested in your story. I have a deviated septum causing sinus problems and an anxiety problem.......
- DenisM 14y ago
  Did you try to get that fixed? it might be worth the money.
  - gfunk911 14y ago
    It happened 18 years ago. I never thought it had any effect until 4-5 years ago, when I started getting chronic nosebleeds. 2 years ago I went to a doctor and had the surgery setup, but canceled it cause I wasn't comfortable with the doctor. Going to another doctor in the near future.
the_economist 14y ago
Not just anecdotally -- plenty of studies confirm this. Some people -- 30% of the people by some estimates -- simply suffer from fructose malabsorption. This means that when they eat foods with excess fructose (even fruit), they fail to properly absorb nutrients. In particular, individuals who suffer from fructose malabsorption fail to absorb tryptophan: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fructose_malabsorption http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fructose_malabsorption Tryptophan deficiency is extremely common in depressed individuals: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2148339 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2148339 Tryptophan is a serotonin precursor, so to anyone who has ever taken an SSRI, it intuitively makes some sense that it could be related to happiness. Sadly, no one wants to be told that their diet is a problem, or that they have to do all the hard work of changing their diet. They just go for a pill. Which wouldn't even be so bad, if the pills we made were truly effective and side-effect free. But they aren't.
- neutronicus 14y ago
  Or, you know, they just believe that non-doctor people telling them it will get all better if they just eat X are out of their minds.
- mej10 14y ago
  Any time I have mentioned that someone should change their diet to help them deal with any number of problems (weight, mild depression, seasonal affective disorder, overall energy levels), I am universally met with disbelief and dismissal. The fad diet industry has ruined people's ability to think clearly about the topic of diet. The part that gets to me the most is that I have had profound changes in my life due to diet and exercise changes, and they know that. They still won't even try.
  - mcguire 14y ago
    Possibly because there are many people out there with any number of problems (weight, depression, asthma, acne, diarrhea, rising of the lights,...) who, when mentioning those problems, are universally met with suggestions to change their diet. From someone who has no idea what diet the sufferer has. But I'm with you, there, buddy. It's like these people don't even know rutabagas exist and supply all of the particulas vitae necessary for human existence.
theycallmemorty 14y ago
> Anecdotally, a lot of people switch to a nutrient dense diet and cut out potential allergens and wind up feeling all better. I agree with you, but also, the placebo effect is very powerful.
ta12121 14y ago
Did it make you congested? Could it have been sleep disordered breathing (sleep apnea)?

sillysaurus 14y ago

How did you treat it?

lepacheco 14y ago

I also have some anxiety problems and from time to time my sinusitis shows up. What do you mean you just had a chronic sinus infection (instead of anxiety/depression)? What kind of symptoms are you talking about? This might be relevant to me...

gfunk911 14y ago

Also very interested in your story. I have a deviated septum causing sinus problems and an anxiety problem.......

DenisM 14y ago
Did you try to get that fixed? it might be worth the money.
- gfunk911 14y ago
  It happened 18 years ago. I never thought it had any effect until 4-5 years ago, when I started getting chronic nosebleeds. 2 years ago I went to a doctor and had the surgery setup, but canceled it cause I wasn't comfortable with the doctor. Going to another doctor in the near future.

the_economist 14y ago

Not just anecdotally -- plenty of studies confirm this. Some people -- 30% of the people by some estimates -- simply suffer from fructose malabsorption. This means that when they eat foods with excess fructose (even fruit), they fail to properly absorb nutrients. In particular, individuals who suffer from fructose malabsorption fail to absorb tryptophan: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fructose_malabsorption http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fructose_malabsorption Tryptophan deficiency is extremely common in depressed individuals: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2148339 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2148339 Tryptophan is a serotonin precursor, so to anyone who has ever taken an SSRI, it intuitively makes some sense that it could be related to happiness. Sadly, no one wants to be told that their diet is a problem, or that they have to do all the hard work of changing their diet. They just go for a pill. Which wouldn't even be so bad, if the pills we made were truly effective and side-effect free. But they aren't.

neutronicus 14y ago
Or, you know, they just believe that non-doctor people telling them it will get all better if they just eat X are out of their minds.
mej10 14y ago
Any time I have mentioned that someone should change their diet to help them deal with any number of problems (weight, mild depression, seasonal affective disorder, overall energy levels), I am universally met with disbelief and dismissal. The fad diet industry has ruined people's ability to think clearly about the topic of diet. The part that gets to me the most is that I have had profound changes in my life due to diet and exercise changes, and they know that. They still won't even try.
- mcguire 14y ago
  Possibly because there are many people out there with any number of problems (weight, depression, asthma, acne, diarrhea, rising of the lights,...) who, when mentioning those problems, are universally met with suggestions to change their diet. From someone who has no idea what diet the sufferer has. But I'm with you, there, buddy. It's like these people don't even know rutabagas exist and supply all of the particulas vitae necessary for human existence.

theycallmemorty 14y ago

> Anecdotally, a lot of people switch to a nutrient dense diet and cut out potential allergens and wind up feeling all better. I agree with you, but also, the placebo effect is very powerful.

ta12121 14y ago

Did it make you congested? Could it have been sleep disordered breathing (sleep apnea)?