Ive been a vegetarian for 1.5 yrs now....we made the switch after our 3rd child was born. ARound that same time I developed post partum depression. I havent had it with my previous children. The PPD has lifted...but for the past few months I still havent felt well. Im always exhausted, massive brain fog, achy joints, still having some depression at times, and now Imlosing hair. ive had my thyroid checked like 5 times in the past year. Im worried that Im missing some major nutrient or something.

This sounds like it could be several things. I know you said you've had your thyroid checked several times, but there are other tests. Get a metabolic panel done - that will show if you are getting inadequate nutrition in any area. (Several years ago, before I went vegan, I was feeling cruddy all the time too. My metablic panel showed I had low iron, low calcium, low protein, and a few other things. I sounded malnourished. No wonder I felt horrible.)

While you say the post-partum depression has lifted, you also say you are depressed from time to time. That can cause phsyical symptoms. Are you being treated for depression? You might want to consider treatment. Depression can really knock you on your butt. My mother's post-partum depression after my youngest brother was so horrible - it was all she could to get out of bed in the morning, and she ususally would get as far as the living room couch and have to take a nap. She was totally exhausted.

How about chronic fatigue sydrome? Epstein-Barr? A virus? An auto-immune disorder? (They strike women more frequently than men, and once you have one, you're at higher risk for more of them. Not to scare you, but there's information here on auto-immune disorders: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000816.htm.

Don't go self-diagnosing any longer. If you really feel these symptoms - especially the achy joints, whcih makes me curious about some sort of inflammation in your body - you should get to a doctor and get a full check up. And if your doctor gives you a 'there, there' attitude and doesn't seem at all interested in testing you or helping you, fire your doctor. You don't have to go through life feeling horrible. Demand medical attention!

PirateBean

I'm sure with three children you must be exhausted! And since you battled PPD, you may be having a relapse. The achy joints are a bit concerning - perhaps you should have a heart to heart with a good doctor. If you don't get any info/answers from the one you're seeing now, try someone else. When you say you are vegetarian, I assume you eat dairy and eggs...usually it's vegans who miss major nutrients. Be persistent in your quest for answers...don't settle for feeling bad for a long time - uck.

I started a slide towards (eventual Clinical) Depression a year after going Vegan. There is a genetic predominance in my family, but I had managed to avoid it until college.

When I finally got out of Depression (after seeing many specialists and taking Homeopathy), I found that my illness was best controlled by exercise and changes in my diet. Now... the diet and exercise didn't get me out, I needed help, but now I maintain a healthy outlook with exercise and diet.

My diet changes were simple: I now eat much more soy yogurt and other foods with healthy bacteria. I try to eat more Omega Fatty Acids rich foods such as flax seed oils, and walnuts. I also tried to eat less gluten and a greater veriety of grains (especially rice). Those changes help me stay well, and I've found that I now can go a few weeks without exercise and a good diet and still be fine. That is a new trend. It used to be that I would "relapse" after only a day or two of eating badly or not working out.

The thing about Depression, is that to get out, a change in diet will unlikely be enough. However, once you are out, what you eat can be another tool to help you stay well.

What worked for me, however, may not work for you. Be open to figuring out what works for you without comprimising what you believe. What might be the most help is finding a healthcare professional who is willing to work with you to find solutions that satify you mentally as well as ethically.

I "feel" like there is inflammation in my body. Ive gone to 3 different Drs...well one was a nurse practitioner, since my dd was born. I was tested for lupus...nothing, all my panels came back fine...etc. When I was finally able to admit I had PPD since I couldnt do anything, and felt like I lived in a tunnel, the Dr told me I was just overwhelmed having 3dc, and to exercise and rest. After my 2nd ds was born I was back in great shape 6 months pp, had TONS of energy and felt awesome! Im only 10lbs under what I weighed after giving birth to my 3rd, and still have 30lbs to lose. I know I should go to the Dr, for some reason its so hard for me to go. Mostly the depression comes back when I have pms...so for 2 weeks out of every month Im totally not anything like myself. :dizzy:

your cholesterol could be too low (connections to cognative difficulties, depression, joint pain and discomfort, and even hair loss) or you could also have a b12 deficiency. you could also have an iron or vitamin A deficiency.

the menstrual element is also interesting. you could even have a sugar and flour sensitivity, or a soy sensitivity that could be giving you problems.

are you vegetarian or vegan?

Good luck!

Im vegetarian mostly....but during Church fasting periods (Lent, Nativity, etc) I am vegan (our fasting is from animal products) Ive been taking a multi vitamin and I do eat fortified cereal and soy milk. My dd is 18 mo and i just got my cycles back 3 months ago. Im just confused....at my initial diet change I felt better than I had during my pregnancy....but not to the level I felt before my pregnancy. Over the months I have started feeling worse and worse. Im a vegetarian for health reasons....but my health seems to be SO much worse. Never in my whole life have I felt so incredibly awful. I am going to go to the Dr next week and ask for some specific tests and a full workup.

Try using fitday.com and see if your intake is what it should be, and if you're getting all the vitamins/minerals/protein/ect you need. The only thing is I find you have to create foods on there often since they are not listed (things like nutritional yeast, Silk soy milk, other random veg. things). But it's a great program in figuring out it you're eating properly :) I hope you feel better!