Feeling lost and unsure if this is just depression or something else 💔

Hi everyone, I’m a 29 y/o F

Since March, I’ve been feeling worse and worse, and it started pretty suddenly. I became depressed out of nowhere. I’ve had some stress and trauma to process, but this depression felt completely unexpected and unlike anything I’ve experienced before. I’ve dealt with anxiety and ADHD in the past, but never actual depression.

The weird thing is, it’s not constant. Some days I feel lighter, other days I feel really heavy. I have hay fever but haven’t noticed any strong reactions to food except apples, almonds, pears, and some other fruits—they make my palate itchy. I also often have headaches, acne, and red, dry cheeks since giving birth 3 years ago. I frequently get heart palpitations around hormonal fluctuations.

I’ve looked into PMDD, but my periods of low mood and anxiety aren’t strictly luteal. Usually, it lasts around 2 weeks and then I feel better. At first, it happened during and after my period, but now it starts around ovulation. I’ve tried paying attention to high-histamine foods, but it’s extremely stressful. Sometimes I panic because I don’t feel safe eating anything.

I’ve now started antidepressants because the anxiety and depression became too severe. I was waking up with panic and nausea, I can’t work, and taking care of my 3-year-old daughter feels overwhelming.

The thing is… I had an iron deficiency in March. I took iron supplements, but my symptoms didn’t improve. I even got an iron infusion, but that didn’t help either. Afterward, I caught a flu-like illness, and ever since then (almost 5 months now) my arms and legs have been extremely sore.

Does this sound familiar to anyone, or is this just depression? I feel lost and don’t know what to do anymore.