Completing medical school with chronic severe depression?

[technocrat626]

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I'm a 25 year old non-traditional student, and I have chronic, severe depression in the form of Major Depression Disorder, diagnosed by a psychiatrist and treated with a combination of therapy and medication. I am, for the most part, emotionally stable, but I still have a few episodes each week which essentially take me out of commission for 3 or 4 hours at a time. I have decided that I want to go into the healthcare field, but I'm not 100% decided on whether I want to attend medical school or PA school. I'm worried that my depression will be a limitation in one or both of these endeavors. I have to receive academic accommodations (through the center for educational access on my campus) in order to complete many of my undergraduate courses. As med school and PA school are both several orders of magnitude more intense than undergrad...well, you can see my problem. Does anyone here have any personal experience grappling with severe and recurrent depressive episodes while in medical school? If not, do you know anyone who did? How did you/they fair? I guess I'm really looking for some encouragement.

 

[DCBFan]

That sounds rough, man. I don't have any advice, but it seems to me that more important than how your depression will affect your studies is how the rigorous life of a medical student will affect your depression.

 

[Cerena]

Hi,
Sorry to hear about what you've been going through. I do have a few friends who have graduated medical school who have battled with major depressive episodes and have come out really well. I think it's doable, but as you know, there are times when it's very difficult to combat the stress of school. Also, there are external factors that comes into play and we need methods of coping with those. For example, illnesses/deaths in the family.

I think depression in medical students is actually quite common, based on the amount of chats I've had with med students and premeds.

Do you have a good support system?
And how has your treatment been progressing?

 

[biggiesmallsiz1]

move to california. 😉

 

[technocrat626]

Hi,
Sorry to hear about what you've been going through. I do have a few friends who have graduated medical school who have battled with major depressive episodes and have come out really well. I think it's doable, but as you know, there are times when it's very difficult to combat the stress of school. Also, there are external factors that comes into play and we need methods of coping with those. For example, illnesses/deaths in the family.

I think depression in medical students is actually quite common, based on the amount of chats I've had with med students and premeds.

Do you have a good support system?
And how has your treatment been progressing?

My support system really consists only of my fiancee, but she's all the support I really need. It's a fantastic, reciprocally loving relationship. So no problem in terms of support.

My treatment progress has had its ups and downs. I was diagnosed in late 2009 after being hospitalized as a suicide risk. I began medication at that time and did quite well for a while. I started undergrad studies in fall of 2010 and for the first two semesters kept up a 3.5ish GPA with no accommodations. I then got into my current relationship and things got even better. I stopped worrying about my mental condition, slowly slipped on my medication regimen, and eventually completely stopped taking it. This caused a slow decline that resulted in me dropping 6 classes over the course of two semesters, dropping my GPA to a 3.1, and eventually landed me in a crisis center about a month or so ago. I'm now back on my medication, taking it like clockwork, and I'm in weekly therapy. Things seem to be back on track. I've gone from having week long depressive episodes to having hour long episodes, and my medication is still being adjusted. I've discussed the prospect of a medical career with my therapist, and she encourages me to pursue it, but I don't know if she's aware of how much goes into medical school. She's a Master's of Social Work.

That ended up being a lot longer and more descriptive than I originally intended. Blargh.

 

[sliceofbread136]

My support system really consists only of my fiancee, but she's all the support I really need. It's a fantastic, reciprocally loving relationship. So no problem in terms of support.

My treatment progress has had its ups and downs. I was diagnosed in late 2009 after being hospitalized as a suicide risk. I began medication at that time and did quite well for a while. I started undergrad studies in fall of 2010 and for the first two semesters kept up a 3.5ish GPA with no accommodations. I then got into my current relationship and things got even better. I stopped worrying about my mental condition, slowly slipped on my medication regimen, and eventually completely stopped taking it. This caused a slow decline that resulted in me dropping 6 classes over the course of two semesters, dropping my GPA to a 3.1, and eventually landed me in a crisis center about a month or so ago. I'm now back on my medication, taking it like clockwork, and I'm in weekly therapy. Things seem to be back on track. I've gone from having week long depressive episodes to having hour long episodes, and my medication is still being adjusted. I've discussed the prospect of a medical career with my therapist, and she encourages me to pursue it, but I don't know if she's aware of how much goes into medical school. She's a Master's of Social Work.

That ended up being a lot longer and more descriptive than I originally intended. Blargh.

Do you have a psychiatrist? If so, maybe ask him for his input? Seems like he would know best, as he's both been in medical school and knows the specifics of your condition.

 

[otggwmfs]

.

 

[Jennet]

You should read "An Unquiet Mind". Fantastic memoir about psychosis in a blossoming doctor. While the author is bi-polar, I feel like you could still relate to her episodic nature. Point being, it is possible.

 

[searun]

wow, trying to succeed in med school and residency, which is much more difficult than med school, trust me, with a major psychiatric disorder, that is a high mountain to climb. This tests my limits, and i do not have your challenges, and I am pretty tough.

 

[NYCMS2]

So your cum GPA is now 3.1? Your chances at med school are pretty limited if so, so maybe PA school is more of an option.

Med school is a butt load of pressure - there is no dropping of classes when the going gets tough - med school robs you of healthy sleep patterns, and challenges the most mentally stable among us.

I say go for PA school - it is shorter, and yet highly rewarding. Med school plus residency is a 7+ year tunnel through hell - preserve your health and sanity and avoid it.

 

[technocrat626]

Thanks for all the replies, well wishes, encouragement, and even the discouragement. It's all being taken into account and I appreciate the input.

Do you have a psychiatrist? If so, maybe ask him for his input? Seems like he would know best, as he's both been in medical school and knows the specifics of your condition.

This is a great point. I'm going to see my psych today. I'll discuss the issue with him.

 

[technocrat626]

Well, I just spoke to my psych. I asked him, "Do you think an individual like myself, with chronic severe depression, can make it through medical school?" His response: "I've had a chronic, severe depression disorder for my entire life. I made it through med school. So yes."

That's all I needed to hear. :-D

 

[O2Doc]

Med school, provided you can get in, will be able to accommodate much more than residency. Nobody really relies on you in med school, it's about you as the student. It's hard, but you are the "client" as it were.

In residency you simply cannot have "a few episodes each week which essentially take me out of commission for 3 or 4 hours at a time". In residency you are an employee, and patients rely on you for their care. What if an episode hits when you're a senior resident looking after a unit and supervising interns?
Residency will make accommodations for disabilities too, but they have to be reasonable accommodations. Accommodating for the random, frequent occurrence of episodes that make you unable to work for hours at a time is not reasonable.

 

[technocrat626]

Med school, provided you can get in, will be able to accommodate much more than residency. Nobody really relies on you in med school, it's about you as the student. It's hard, but you are the "client" as it were.

In residency you simply cannot have "a few episodes each week which essentially take me out of commission for 3 or 4 hours at a time". In residency you are an employee, and patients rely on you for their care. What if an episode hits when you're a senior resident looking after a unit and supervising interns?
Residency will make accommodations for disabilities too, but they have to be reasonable accommodations. Accommodating for the random, frequent occurrence of episodes that make you unable to work for hours at a time is not reasonable.

You have a good point. If I have not developed the coping skills necessary to continue functioning during a depressive episode by the time I finish undergrad, I'll consider careers outside of healthcare.

 

[ppfizenm]

You have a good point. If I have not developed the coping skills necessary to continue functioning during a depressive episode by the time I finish undergrad, I'll consider careers outside of healthcare.

+1 for reasonable OP. GL man

 

[bayarea15]

Op

You can do it. I'm not pre med or a med student, but I say go for it.

Sent from my PC36100 using SDN Mobile

 

[duress]

Naturally, this is anecdotal, but here you go: most of my friends here and in other medical schools really don't seem to have that much significantly wrong with their lives (relatively, of course) aside from occasional exam week breakdowns. This can be hard to accept, and also make you feel quite isolated, especially when the pressure hits. You may also need to prepare to feel hurt or uncomfortable when your class discusses personal, crippling problems (including depression or other health issues) as if no one in the room could have them.

But, even if you feel you can do that, as everyone else said, you really need to be mindful of how frequent your episodes have been occurring, and realistic about how they will affect you in medical school and beyond.

Best of luck to you, whatever you decide.

 

[hmockingbird]

Naturally, this is anecdotal, but here you go: most of my friends here and in other medical schools really don't seem to have that much significantly wrong with their lives (relatively, of course) aside from occasional exam week breakdowns. This can be hard to accept, and also make you feel quite isolated, especially when the pressure hits.

Not to knock this advice as something to be prepared for/know how to deal with but I feel like this is not exclusive to medical school. I think you will encounter this everywhere, honestly. Part of it is, IMO, cultural bias and stigma against not just mental health but the disabled and "weak". I have had chronic health issues my entire life and I have also felt this way my entire life. I am sure the OP has probably already encountered feeling this way in undergrad - it's also often an exclusive environment so more people will be privileged. I know for one of my friends going through things with me has probably been the most traumatic thing to happen to her, she just has a great life. She is really supportive though so it's okay, but it can be hard to find people like that because they don't understand. Anyway, I think this is a good thing to be prepared for but I think you will encounter feeling like this no matter where you go/what you do unless you specifically seek out people with a similar situation, by going to a support group or volunteering or something like that.

Encountering people talking about your disease - I never thought about that since I've had to deal with my health issues for my entire life. I think that is a good thing to be prepared for too, it can be weird (I've had it happen to me in undergrad). Not to mention the potential to offend.

OP I think you are being very reasonable about it by considering how you are able to improve your coping skills as you get closer to graduating and okaying the decision with your psych.