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Blood Tests to Diagnose Depression?

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Blood Tests to Diagnose Depression?

11 years ago 0 +0 / -0 1022

Thank you for your response Eleveno... this sort of scientific "proof" is very encouraging. Thanks for sharing.

11 years ago 0 +0 / -0 619

I want to add an update on my recent blood tests. My serotonin level is 101 (4 months ago was 15). The normal range is somewhere between 117 and 193. This means that serotonin increased more than 6 times in 4 months. My doctor congratulated me for the success of the treatment and told me that with the continuity of the treatment it is expected for serotonin to get back to normal in 3 months (he prescribed me more blood tests in 3 months from now to confirm this).

Hi ~m,

Sorry for answering only now your question but I just saw your message today. The other parameters the blood test covers are (thanks Google for the traslation from Portuguese to English):

T3 - triiodothyronine
T4 - Total Thyroxine
TSH - Thyroid-stimulating Hormone Pituitary
Total catecholamines
noradrenaline
adrenalin
dopamine
ACTH - adrenocorticotropic hormone
cortisol

serotonin (already indicated)

P.S. My doctor is the first psychyatrist (I consulted 4 before this one) who asked for this type of blood tests. I know he based his treatments with the help of these blood tests.

12 years ago 0 +0 / -0 1022

Eleveno, What other parameters does the blood test cover? I did not know this was available... none of my doctors has done a blood test for mental health markers. Not that I remember anyway.

12 years ago 0 +0 / -0 11215

Thank you for sharing Eleveno. Very interesting. Please let us know what you find out.

Ashley, Health Educator

Here to help :)

12 years ago 0 +0 / -0 619

I did a blood test to analyse serotonin levels and other parameters (prescribed by my psychiatrist) at the beginning of the treatment. The only parameter that was not good was serotonin (super low). Now I am schedule another blood test to May. I think my doctor want to check if my serotonin levels increased with the treatment.

12 years ago 0 +0 / -0 1022

Vincenza... any hard scientific "proof" of mental illness of any sort would be an absolute dream come true. I used to fantasize about MRIs that would take pictures of my brain activity to "Prove" what was going on. All I had was my experience but without actual proof of my internal pain, I didn't give it much credence... At some point I started self-injuring to make the pain "real" ... because if I couldn't see it or touch it or show it... It wasn't real. I was just lazy, stupid, worthless, faking...etc., etc., etc. What a gift it would be to have a blood test explain it all!

12 years ago 0 +0 / -0 1853

Depression is typically diagnosed through psychiatric evaluation - which is not always accurate. However, there is some promising new research that may help better identify those at risk of depression. Researchers have been able to identify a number of biological markers taken from blood samples in both teenagers and adults that helped them differentiate between those who had depression and those without. These blood tests are not intended to replace psychiatric evaluation but instead can add more solid information to a patient's health status.

What are your thoughts? Do you feel this is promising research?

Radcliffe, Shawn. Men's Fitness. New Blood Tests for Depression. Retrieved from: http://t.co/jfrzyov5. Retrieved on April 21, 2012.

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Blood Tests to Diagnose Depression?