Several issues here

[CoolguyAT]

I recently went in to see my Doctor about high stress and anxiety leading to high blood pressure (which I was diagnosed with back in February) and after asking me several questions she diagnosed me as depressed, which at the time I didn't think I was but it makes sense since I am irritable, have periods of crying, generally sad, tired, and not motivated to do anything. She prescribed me a generic form of zoloft, which I waited until I saw my therapist to get his opinion. He recommended I take the zoloft and so I started that a week ago - so far it's working alright though it does give me a headache and I have had some nausea.

One thing my therapist recommended that I do after describing my symptoms and how I am always so fatigued and tired, even after a good night's rest, was to get my testosterone checked since low testosterone can also be a cause of those symptoms. I e-mailed my doctor and she agreed to order the test - I got the e-mail from her today stating that my T cell count is 194 and to add to that I am only 27 years old..

I called my Dad to ask him if he has ever had that same issue and while he answered the question, which was no, he gave me a big speech about how all of my problems would go away if I just thought positively and exercised every day and eat all healthy food. He added that Doctors are in the business of making money so that I should take their advice with a grain of salt basically because of course in his world it's all about money and how everyone wants to screw us out of our money basically.

Add to all of this - I have a shoulder injury that I need to go to Physical Therapy for and it's been recommended that I get a circumcision for my phimosis, and I have high cholesterol. Maybe i'm being paranoid but I feel that I have way too many health issues for someone my age and most of all I can't afford to be shelling out money for all of these doctor's and therapists visits but at the same time I know that my health is very important.

Just looking for some advice and maybe which health issues to tackle first or which ones to ignore even. Any input is appreciated.

 

[lonnie1]

Find yourself a job with good health insurance first.

 

[KaraBulut]

... I am always so fatigued and tired, even after a good night's rest, was to get my testosterone checked since low testosterone can also be a cause of those symptoms. ... I got the e-mail from her today stating that my T cell count is 194 and to add to that I am only 27 years old...

Just clarifying this part of your post...

The pharmaceutical industry has been running ads about "low T" which is causing a lot of confusion.

T-cells are a type of white blood cell. T-cells (also referred to as CD) play a role in the functioning of the immune system. T-cells are one of the cells affected by the HIV virus. There are different types of T cells and the reports usually provide a separate count of each type.

Testosterone is a male hormone.

A serum testosterone level of 194 would be subnormal. The problem with testosterone levels is that they are affected by stress and depression, so unless you have other symptoms like sexual dysfunction or delayed development, there's little justification for treating this as a primary cause of your problems.

 

[Jdaylight]

Sounds like you have got your plate full and you need to take a deep breath before this overwhelms you and you crash! As someone who has had depression issues I know your problems don't just go away, yes, diet and exercise has helped me in dealing with depression but even with that I have to constantly work on myself and realize I have an illness(along with alcoholism) Please don't worry about your testosterone right now as you have got to work on your depression issues and get that shoulder in working order and when you get your health back you may feel better. You have to take control because what i have learned is no one is gonna fix me I have to fix myself with the help of a therapist my primary care doc and the few close friends I have who have helped me! Don't give up just breath deep and good luck and we will keep working on ourselves!!!

 

[evanrick]

there are types of depression.

you lose your job, you get sad, but not depressed.

a loved one dies, you get sad for a little longer but not depressed.

a single life event cannot trigger clinical depression unless you were teetering to begin with. clinical depression is measurable biologically while feeling down is just a sense of defeat/hopelessness.

there are two kinds of depression, teenage hopelessness that results from a single incident, when you cannot see the forest for the trees, and clinical depression.

i think we throw around the word depressed much too much, when there is a huge difference between having a depressed mood and clinical depression.

while they have the same symptoms, there are biological differences.

zoloft wont help a depressed mood. a pill cannot make a person optimistic.

my doctor gave me paxil when i was "Depressed" 7 years ago and all it did was make me smile more (for no reason! and i knew it) and delay ejaculation.

i was not depressed, i was just pessimistic.

now that i know clinical depression and all its tragedy i would be more concerned about your anxiety.

anxiety is what is causing your fatigue. stress causes anxiety.
when you have anxiety and you sleep, there is a part of your brain that is still overactive, so you will not rest fully.

i just want to say im speaking from experience, im not trying to engage in anything im not qualified for.

i think your dad has it right & you probably have chronic fatigue because of your anxiety as well.

 

[CoolguyAT]

Find yourself a job with good health insurance first.

Actually I already have both but the co-pays add up when you visit the Doctor which is why i'm considered about the cost. The Physical Therapist I pay 20% of the total cost, same thing with operations.

 

[hyperion]

I reread your post and was somewhat concerned about your T cell count. I always find it very difficult to answer health questions when the person is not in front of me. So, I’ll stick to facts that you have given. If your T cell count is indeed at 194, you definitely want to follow up on that. Depending on the testing facility lab, normal T cell count is between 500-1500 per microliter. There are 2 main types of T cells, CD4 and CD8 (CD4 T cells are the ones which, basically, coordinate the immune response and CD8 cells are the executioners). With a normal CBC, there is no way to distinguish the 2. If your T cell count is indeed at 194, I would recommend that you have the test repeated again, as there may have been a problem with the instrumentation. Do you have the results of your other white cell counts? A T cell count can be normally on the low side. Personally, when I’ tested, I always have low total white blood cell counts, on the very low end of normal. But I find 194 T cells very low. It may be nothing, I really don’t want to alarm you as I don’t have your file nor have I questioned you at all, it may be related to your lack of sleep. But definitely, follow up.Hang in there.

 

[CoolguyAT]

^thanks for your opinion but I should clarify that it is my testosterone that is 194.
Karabulut clarified that t cells have to do with white blood cells. I got that mixed up with testosterone which is what I was tested for and is 194. I was recently tested for HIV and that came back negative which is good news.