Hello everyone. I am quite new with my diagnosis that’s why I seek advice from you all:
I am often very tired and depressed but not sure when to call it depression and when just exhaustion from living every day with the pain and medicaty. When would you see warning sides that you slip of into a full blown depression?
I’m so sorry about your diagnosis. the one piece of good news is that there are many here who share & understand - all too well - what you are going through. I believe it’s impossible to tell initially whether the depression is just initiated by the pain (circumstances) or whether it takes on a life of its own. regardless of the initial cause, if you’ve had it for more than a few weeks, or it is interfering with your ability to function well (in addition to problems from the pain itself), it’s time to seek some professional help. this disease is hard enough w/o having the challenges of overwhelming depression on top of it. all too often, the two go together. chronic pain changes you…
I realised that TN is changing you as a person and I even try to be as positive as possible and seeing more the smaller sunny sides.... enjoying being able still to teach, a smile or laughter or good conversation without pain, my children, my husband.... but sometimes it frightens me how angry, frustrated, bitchy and grumpy it makes me and I often feel for my family. Seeking help is not very easy in the part of the world where I am living. That is why I am so glad that I found this page. The advises help a lot and reading through the stories and thoughts of other persons with TN makes not feel alone. I guess we have to learn a lot of self control... ?
i had a good friend who developed a very painful viral meningitis (she caught it from one of her patients). she used to be very light-hearted, with a funny sense of humor, she became a bear, totally changed her personality… & I confess I wasn’t very tolerant. I felt that just b/c she was miserable, she didn’t have to make everyone else miserable. once I got TN, I went back & apologized to her. I had no idea what she was going through. I felt so bad. Ive lost most of my sense of humor, & positivity. the people around you need to somehow understand that this type of pain (unlike many other ‘aches & pains’), changes you in a way that you have very little control over. it is a completely different animal than anything else, & nothing that other people can relate to.
Wow! Isn't it incredible. Sometimes the past hits us in really nasty ways.
But how do you make them understand if they give you the impression they don't want to hear or tired of it? I understand this too. If you husband or wife has to live with it every single day and see you sometimes in moments where he / she can not help they want to enjoy the small moments between anyways busy lifes and work without talking about it.
How did you friend react?
she accepted my apology. she was never completely the same (personality-wise), but did recover fairly well otherwise. we are still friends 
I also am tired , exhausted and sometimes feel depressed for short periods. On-going pain takes a toll. I hate the way I look now, gained so much weight with meds. When I look back at pictures and see the happy person I was ten years ago, I feel bad for both my husband and myself.
But, I've had a major depression major many years ago, and I can tell you it felt a whole lot different than this. I didn't care about anyone or anything. When you start contemplating suicide, plan it out and have the means to commit it is when you've really jumped the ledge into full blown depression. ( Hope this isn't out of place, but I don't care to share more details now).
Take care of yourself, and find any small things that make you feel better for awhile. And be sure to write back in if your in trouble.