Antidepressants, what's your experience?

[Cornputer]

Hey all,

 

 

Curious question here. I was first diagnosed with depression when I was 13. At 19 the diagnosis changed to high functioning depression.

 

Antidepressants have not worked for me. I have been on 5 different meds, the first month has always been hell (seems to be the norm with antidepressants), and after that, just complete apathy. No sadness, no happiness. I hardly remember those phases. But every single time, after about 4-6 months, I hit massive lows. I became terribly suicidal, wouldn't eat, couldn't sleep, it was horrendous. I tried to always wait it out, but eventually just had to quit taking the meds and got a bit better, although I was still hurting.

 

I am in an okay place now. I have a strict routine (helps a lot), I eat healthy, take any frustration out in kickboxing and take 5-HTP to help keep my mind active. I still "feel" it, the depression, but I'm okay living with it. Even though sometimes it does hit me real hard.

 

Has anyone had luck with antidepressants? How did they help you?

[Garcon1986]

As depression is a very complicated subject, the treatment is also very complicated. I've had to help a variety of people with depression over the years, and it has never been straightforward. The root problem is - depression is a complex neurological condition, and we don't have a great resolution picture of how the brain works yet. It's like only being able to zoom in to NYC at a 10 000 ft view, but you are hard pressed to see all the individual people going about their business.

 

 

I've seen most of the side effects that these drugs entail, and also have seen success stories. I've also lost colleagues to suicide from depression related to committing medical errors. The key for me is exactly what you are doing, and also exploring multi-modality treatment including alternative medicine. Most people with depression do not have an additional medical disorder complicating it like hypothyroidism or anemia. Keep up the righteous fight my friend! I admire your dedication. It's a heavy weight but use Loveshack as an international restaurant where you have great friends you can chat with.

[preraph]

Do you always take your meds exactly as they are prescribed, no more, no less, and no matter what?

[d0nnivain]

I tried them on 3 different occasions with terrible results. One time I ended up in the hospital unable to move my extremities. Granted mine was an extreme reaction but I really hate the things.

 

Last year a different mental health professional was really pushing me to go on something again. I resisted & we compromised. I got a complex DNA test that measured my tolerance for various types of meds. Turns out nothing in the anti-depressant, anti-anxiety, anti-convulsant, anti-psychotic family of medications is good for me; all produce horrible side-effects without a comparable benefit.

 

We doubled down on talk therapy. I learned more about mindfulness, mediation & breathing. I started keeping a journal about all the things for which I was grateful. Me personally, I went back to Church, & found tremendous peace there. My depression has been under control ever sense.

 

My non-scientific stance based SOLELY on my personal experience is that you will not find happiness or peace in a pill. I did get some relief in the form of mind numbness when I had to undergo a medical procedure that I had to be awake for; when my dog died & when my father died. On those 3 occasions I took 1 valium & checked out for the day but that obviously was a very short term solution. I probably could have gotten the same result with a few drinks.

[Mr. Lucky]

The only real success story I know is my BIL, and it was through CBT. No medication seemed to work well for him but the behavioral therapy did.

 

Have you tried it?

 

Mr. Lucky

[d0nnivain]

The only real success story I know is my BIL, and it was through CBT.

 

Good point. My SIL has enjoyed the best results from this. She takes the stuff over the counter from a health food store.

[Veronica73]

I’m on venlafaxine and buspirone. The side effects aren’t bad, unless I miss a dose or two of the venlafaxine, and then I feel awful. I also tried Celexa which made me feel terrible and just dead inside, and Prozac, which helped but the side effects were bad.

 

I had cognitive behavioral therapy a several years ago, and that helped a lot. Now I’m in therapy again (but not CBT), for...kind of bigger, deeper issues that the CBT didn’t address, and that seems to be helping too.

[GorillaTheater]

I was on ADs around 15 years ago. I suspect all by themselves they wouldn't have made much of a difference, but the combination of ADs, exercise, and thrashing out the nonsense in my head with a counselor did the trick.

[preraph]

I accidentally took them when I was so depressed, but I'd gone to the doc for a nerve pain that got real bad. At the time they really had nothing approved to take for that (now they do) and so they gave me something they knew had worked in trials that was actually an antidepressant that had been around for quite awhile. For pain, it was only a three-week course. It made it nearly impossible to get up in the morning, but once up, you're fine. I was very low at this point, and along about the second week, I found myself humming for the first time in several years. So yeah, I believe in antidepressants.

[basil67]

Wow, so many stories of problems with them. I had no idea!

 

As for me, AD's changed my life. No side effects.

 

My son takes them too. He's autistic and the goal was that they might help his obsessional tendencies. They didn't really help that, but have made him far more talkative. Didn't see that coming.

[Cornputer]

As depression is a very complicated subject, the treatment is also very complicated. I've had to help a variety of people with depression over the years, and it has never been straightforward..

 

Thanks for the very informative answer! I'm sorry you've had to see people around you hurt so bad they felt like there was no turning back, I have no idea what that must've felt like. Hope you're doing okay, thank you for the good wishes!

 

Do you always take your meds exactly as they are prescribed, no more, no less, and no matter what?

 

I always had my alarm go off and missing a day was incredibly rare. Finding the right antidepressants for an individual is a hassle, but for the sake of my sanity, I gave up before I could find my match! Although I am happy for anyone who has had success.

 

I tried them on 3 different occasions with terrible results. One time I ended up in the hospital unable to move my extremities. Granted mine was an extreme reaction but I really hate the things.

 

Really sorry you had such an experience.. What I also find a bit odd is that a professional tried to push you onto the meds, I didn't think that was okay? But glad you got the tests done and saved yourself from further trouble. Bless your puppy and father, hope you've reached your peace.

 

The only real success story I know is my BIL, and it was through CBT. No medication seemed to work well for him but the behavioral therapy did. Have you tried it?

 

I've seen a psychotherapist, I believe that's something similar? CBT should be a bit more advanced if I'm correct. It did wonders and helped me understand my thought process a lot better, but unfortunately the clinic got shut down and in the small town I live, there is no other place to attend psychotherapy.

 

I’m on venlafaxine and buspirone. The side effects aren’t bad, unless I miss a dose or two of the venlafaxine, and then I feel awful. I also tried Celexa which made me feel terrible and just dead inside, and Prozac, which helped but the side effects were bad.

 

I had cognitive behavioral therapy a several years ago, and that helped a lot. Now I’m in therapy again (but not CBT), for...kind of bigger, deeper issues that the CBT didn’t address, and that seems to be helping too.

 

Hope you feel better soon, best wishes.

 

Wow, so many stories of problems with them. I had no idea! As for me, AD's changed my life. No side effects

 

Also why I was curious, I ended up thinking the only people claiming they work are the ones prescribing them..

 

I'm glad to hear you two have found a match!

Edited May 2, 2019 by a LoveShack.org Moderator

[d0nnivain]

What I also find a bit odd is that a professional tried to push you onto the meds, I didn't think that was okay?

 

The marketing reps for the pharmaceutical companies did their jobs. everybody is convinced that magic pills are the answer to everything. I got way more out of the doing the agonizing work then I was ever going to get out of pill.

[Wallysbears]

Nothing about CBD is regulated.

[Mr. Lucky]

Good point. My SIL has enjoyed the best results from this. She takes the stuff over the counter from a health food store.

 

Nothing about CBD is regulated.

 

CBT is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. CBD, or Cannabidiol, obviously very different. I'm more than a little skeptical about something who's supporters claim cures everything from arthritis to epilepsy...

 

Mr. Lucky

[divegrl]

I would stay away from anymore antidepressants.

 

I was put on Paxil when I was 13. 13 years old! I was on and off Paxil, lexapro and Wellbutrin. It took me a year to wean off Wellbutrin because I unknowingly took this drug for 6 years.

 

I am now off all Western medicine and most days are full of joy. I would suggest trying to find the root cause of your depression. This will be different for everyone. I had trapped emotions in my body that needed to be released.

 

You could have a micronutrient imbalance, allergy, inflammation, leaky gut. The list goes on. These symptoms of depression is the body’s way of saying there is an imbalance. Get really curious about these messages.

 

Sending joy and energy my friend!!!

[d0nnivain]

I read another thread of yours. There are a lot of factors impacting your mental health right now:

 

* your mother's heath

 

* your transitional age (20)

 

* the end of a toxic abusive relationship

 

* this new non-exclusive 4 month

old

sexual relationship where you feel insecure (duh, sex + not exclusive = no foundation for security)

 

* your fears stemming from the prior relationship where you were cheated on & gas lighted.

 

A pill is not going to change any of those things. You need quality long term talk therapy. You will need to do the emotional work to center yourself.

 

Do create a journal where you list things for which you are grateful. You write 3 in the morning & 3 every night. They should vary every day but they don't have to be profound. For example I got a rare deep sleep last night & awoke refreshed; I had a great dream which gave me a solution to a nagging problem & I recently discovered a new flavor of herbal tea which I am enjoying right now. You have to be able to see & appreciate the simple things. Making these lists helps you see the abundance you do have in your life rather than only focusing on the bad negative garbage.

Edited May 1, 2019 by d0nnivain

[amaysngrace]

I took topomax for my nerves and it made my hands and feet get tingly and feel cold. I loved how it made me feel otherwise but both my BF and my mom told me they hated me on it because it made my personality flat.

 

I stopped taking it cold turkey shortly after they said that because at the time they knew me best so for them both to be saying the same thing said a lot.

[preraph]

There are thousands of combinations of meds for depression and you have to work with a qualified psychiatrist and psychologist (usually how it works) and give something a chance to work, then amend either dosage or med or add something to it and keep working on it. You can't expect a general physician to prescribe you the right thing. You need to go for psychological testing and then assessment by a psychologist, who will then refer you to the psychiatrist who can prescribe meds and keep working with them. A nonpsychologist doctor can't possibly assess you.

 

So start with going to a real psychologist if you haven't. Report all side effects and progress or lack thereof, but each drug or combination will be different how long it takes to have any effect, from instantly (rare) to a couple of months of buildup. You should never ever just stop taking them without talking to the psychiatrist because that's where you get many of the horror stories. A sudden cessation can actually cause psychosis, so that's why I started by asking if you took meds as prescribed, but you did say you went off them.

 

Then you try different ones in different combinations and dosages and if you have been diagnosed and the diagnosis is correct (why it's important not to do just through your general physician), something should help. But it can be a process to find what it is.

 

In medicine, in general the same principle applies. I'll use my dog's recurring iurinary tract infections as an example. Her vet diagnosed that her recurring UTIs would make her die of kidney disease. For years, I did what she said to do, treated frequently with antibiotics but they came right back. Meanwhile, she was restricted to only this one dog food and no treats or scraps. Took her to another vet, an old vet, in his 70s who was treating things like this before there WERE antibiotics. So back then you had to know a lot about nutrition, and he did. He took her off the Science Diet that was made especially for UTIs the other vet had prescribed. And we began testing her on new food. After about three months, she tried some wet salmon food, and her UTIs went completely away for the remainder of her life and she was about to have chicken and small scraps and treats and everything. The Science Diet special food was keeping her sick.

 

It's just not an exact science because every person and every dog is different and what works on one won't work on the other.

 

So be certain you have a professional testing and assessment and start again and don't give up.

[lana-banana]

Antidepressants are complicated. They don't cure your depression, but for some people they're the difference between "I will never get out of bed again" and "I don't want to get out of bed but I will try". If you're at a point where your depression is that severe, then antidepressants may be a good idea. But ideally they should be a short-term solution, not a long-term one. Yet some people do take them in the long run and they're okay.

 

I took many different drugs over the years, until I got serious about CBT and was finally able to wean myself off. Some were great for me, with little to no side effects. Some were devastating - one was so bad that I had to stop it immediately. Some were useless. Some helped in small ways, but hurt me so much in other ones that it wasn't worth it.

 

You need a lot of time with a doctor and some serious introspection before deciding whether antidepressants are right for you. It's easy to say that you shouldn't take them when you're capable of carrying on with your everyday life. CBT is the only truly proven way to beat depression, but you can't succeed in CBT unless you're well enough to do the work. At my lowest point I was on powerful antidepressants until I could manage the work of CBT, and did both antidepressants and CBT for a while until it was finally time to quit the drugs. It's not easy, it never is. Good mental health is like eating right. You have to go out of your way to make conscious choices about the right thing, every single day, and when you backslide you can feel it.

[basil67]

There's a lot of talk on this thread about fixing one's own issues rather than taking anti-depressants. In the circles I walk in - with parents of disabled kids - SO MANY of us take anti depressants to cope with what our particular lives bring. See, we don't have old baggage - we have lives which others watch and say "I could never do what you do"

[Foxhall]

As a hobby I studied alternative therapies there a few years ago and one of the interesting things was the degree of emphasis on the mental health side of things and as to how mental illnesses such as depression can affect the physical well being,

 

 

my studies were based though on all natural or herbal remedies and that really any type of prescribed medication or pills should be avoided unless absolutely necessary.

 

 

these therapies would lean towards taking specific herbal medicine treatment (calming herbs etc) combined with techniques such as massage/meditation/strong physical exercise and even things such as writing on forums like this as a means of dealing with anxiety.

 

 

I was just speaking casually to a former work colleague one day and I says to him whats your secret- well you are always buzzing and in a good mood. He replied "would you believe that I had serious problems with depression and that take anti depressant medication every day for the last ten years"

I had picked up on a possible anxiety issue with him but I would never have guessed this.

 

 

Because of my own keen interest in herbal healing, I am sceptical of conventional medicine, however I think based on the example of that work colleague,

I would be prepared to take anti depressants if I thought I ever needed them "happy pills" lol.

 

 

I guess it is something I tend to be aware of , I do from time to time have feelings of mild depression although hopefully I am not at the stage where anything like this is needed,

so while I would much prefer to avoid them perhaps they are a good thing too.

[preraph]

I have in the past talked to a handful of acquaintances who said Prozac worked wonders for them. And that is one of those that typically has to build up for a few weeks before it's effective and it has the most horror stories attached to it because 80 percent of mental patients don't take their meds as prescribed and if you just stop cold off Prozac, it can make you have psychosis. But taken correctly, it has helped many people.

 

The one that lifted me out of a several-year rage filled depression for a moment was amitriptyline, but its bad side effect is what I can only describe as morning sleep paralysis -- however, the dose I took for the nerve pain was 50 mgs, but the regular does for depression is only 25, and one doc tried me on just 25 but it didn't cure the nerve pain -- but also didn't make me where I couldn't wake up. So it's a good example of one that has to build up for a couple of weeks and that the dose has to be tweaked. 2 weeks at 50 and I was slightly joyful for first time in a long time. (When I tried the 25, I don't know if it would lift depression because I was not depressed at that time)

[Daisy2013]

I battle some depression. Never tried anti-depressants, but tried St. John’s Wort because I’d heard good things. It made me want to kill someone. Not literally, of course, but this one person was annoying me big time and I thought I wanted to kill her. I got off of them at that point bc I didn’t like where it was taking me. A therapist friend said I might have had a reaction and can’t take those.

 

Just be careful.

[preraph]

Supplements aren't FDA approved for a reason. Just remember that. I can't believe people opt for them over tested meds. If they were really that effective, the big pharma companies would have already monopolized the natural resource for them.

 

I've actually had a doctor recommend a couple and both made me sick to my stomach. The only one that hasn't made me sick (but can't tell if it's beneficial either) is turmeric.

[major_merrick]

Supplements aren't FDA approved for a reason. Just remember that. I can't believe people opt for them over tested meds. If they were really that effective, the big pharma companies would have already monopolized the natural resource for them.

 

 

The tested stuff worries me. Some of the SSRI's have horrendous side effects, or you become permanently hooked on them (with terrible results if you quit.) Drug companies love a permanent customer - they are not in the game to help you, but to make money. Their tests are not impartial, and the FDA is bribed. The only way you can know for sure what works is to try things yourself and see what happens. For better or worse, you get to be your own guinea pig.

 

Herbals and supplements have different effects for different people. What works for me might not work for you. Some people say St. John's Wort works. For me, it did nothing. I can't take anything at all since I'm pregnant. However, there's one thing that has worked for my husband. Not a cure, but it takes the edge off some of what he feels:

Try 5-HTP. Available without a prescription, it gives the brain the building blocks to make extra serotonin. Essentially, it is supposed to have a similar but milder effect than a prescription SSRI. It doesn't modify your brain chemistry, or have bad side effects if you have to stop taking it. Some people have digestive issues taking it, though.

 

At least read up on it, and see what you think. If you try it, be aware that it takes several weeks to start working. In my husband's case, about six weeks. He's been taking it for more than three years now.