Hi all,
So I'm guessing that this has been covered and also that a whole lot of people will have a pretty staunch viewpoint but..can veganism just be bad for some people at least for a little while? 
I've been vegan for a while and feel great but my housemate has been vegan for about 10 years, has a qualification in nutrition, takes supplements and eats very well, yet has been suffering all kinds of physical ailments as well as depression for apparently no reason. 
It pains me to hear doctors saying " You should be eating a few eggs a week " or " Just a small serve of dairy a day would greatly increase your tryptophan levels " etc. but that's what they keep telling her. 
She and I both scoffed, but then, nothing else is working. Is it plausible that a vegan diet can cause depression, anxiety and general low vitamin counts in some people or rational that she eat dairy for a little while ?
I'm not even sure what I'm asking. More just for..any experiences ex-vegans might have had or thoughts on why or why not to be vegan, in terms of health. 
Or something...

Peace :) x 

Possible but unlikely . Actually some studies show that vegetarians and vegans have lower rates of depression than omnis. That is, there's more evidence that a veg diet improves mood rather than the opposite.
See: http://www.pcrm.org/health/medNews/vegetarian-diets-improve-mood-and-lower-stress

If she had depression, it may be due to life situations/stress and not veganism at all. I remember only once being really depressed as an omni, and that was because of a situation that happened. Overtime, time healed me though and I recovered on my own.  The physical ailments may also be related to the depression she is feeling.  I'd recommend your roommate get out and do some non demanding social activities. This can relieve a lot of stress.
 

Doctors should not be telling people be eating eggs or any other animal products for a few weeks. That's illogical and in my opinion, disgusting. If somebody really cared about helping someone, they would do it within the ramifications of their veganism. Whenever doctors want you to eat meat or whatever, I find it as a ploy to defend their and the world's troubling actions of eating animals. They are in a position of authority to to control/ influence people, and they know it. Morbid that they would even suggest that drinking from a tortured cow's mammary glands would make you feel better. That's how I see it anyway.

 

Best of luck <3

Some foods can boost moods and such, but depression is a chemical imbalance in the brain.  depression Can be worsened by lacking in vitamins and nutrients, but all of those are available in a vegan diet so its not technically a vegan diet that is making her depression and health problems worse.

 

a good book to read is Potatoes Not Prozac.  It explains all the tryptophan/serotonin uptake in pretty simple terms.  also just try eating a baked potato (w skin and not loaded with sour cream and butter subs...) once a day and you can see how it actually does help.

Thankyou so much. I just showed her these very helpful posts and she was both relieved ( that she doesn't 'have' to drop the long-term veganism she's enjoyed ) and worried ( about the chemical imbalance stuff ) . I've tried to get her out and doing things but she feels that she just needs to 'rest'..as if it's all some sort of virus. Personally, having lived through a similar thing ( as a lot of us have ) I find that treating it as such doesn't treat it at all, y'know? 
But there's only so much you can do as a housemate, I think. Ack. 

Thankyou again. Very helpful AND interesting :D 
xx