Depression really sucks

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Yesterday it all got to be too much for me. Let’s not get into the details. I ended up calling my mother and crying for an hour. She drove me and Pricegal to the psychiatric emergency ward, or whatever it’s called in English. Spent five hours there. Spoke to a doctor. Didn’t like her much, but Pricegal liked hers. Anyway, we’re going to be contacted by a psychiatric clinic close to home, and they’ll see if we need therapy or drugs or whatever.

I’ve heard these horrible horror stories about antidepressive drugs, that you get fat and impotent, but the doctor claimed they’re not true. I don’t know what to believe.

We’re both home from school. For me, that means not finishing my paper due Friday. I don’t care right now. I’ll take this week to rest up. Not that a week will be enough.

I’m babbling. I’ll shut up now. But depression really does suck.

2

There are loads of folk here on these boards, and I’m one of them, who have been or are on antidepressants, Priceguy. Go by what your doctors says.

3

I will. It’s just the side-effects that worry me.

4

Priceguy, Ice Wolf is right, listen to a professional but a pharmacist will be more prepared to answer questions about specific medications. Do your reseach there and take it to your doctor. I’ve been working on my mental health now since about 1989. Shake my family tree and a bunch of nuts fall out. You’ve heard horror stories about anti-depressants because these are the most commonly prescibed psychoactive drugs. There are problems, but they are over stated, it’s better than hanging yourself. You want side-effects, try living on antipsychotics, I’d rather hear the voices.

5

I did some time on Celexa a couple years ago. I can’t blame it for making me fat, because I was (still am) already. My gripe with it are that I lost my ‘edge’. I was like the good Kirk in the ST episode where there were two Captain Kirks. Someone could have run over my dog, and I would not have cared. I didn’t lose the ability to sprout wood, but the lack of edge also left me with little motivation to use it after the wood sprouted.

With all that said, would I use it again? Yes, if my situation got that bad, because it pulled me out of a very deep rut. The lack of edge is a sign that I actually didn’t need it anymore.

Antidepressants (actually any pharmaceutical) will have all the negatives reported, and none of the benefits. The bad side effects show up in a small percentage of the patients who take the drug. You have to assume you’re part of the unaffected majority, until proven otherwise.

My advice is to get a prescription, and take it at least as long as it takes to get you going. Once you have some energy and spark, you can try something else to battle the depression.

6

While the board went into shutdown, I had to go get some sleep. hlanelee said basically what I was going to reply (thanks, hlanelee).

Before you go off believing the wild stories and letting your anxiety and fear of what might happen build up, Priceguy – do the real research into the side effects. Bet that you’ll find they aren’t as severe as you fear.

Take care, and get better soon, fellow Doper.

7

I have a problem with side-effects but I think it is more related to anticipating that I will experience them. I make it a point not to read the flyers about the side-effects. Let your SO or mom do that and keep an eye on you. You can describe what the medication makes you feell like with outprior knowledge.

I found that excercising every day has really diminised my depressive moods. Try walking fro 20 minutes a day and gradually build up to a faster and longer workout period. It will also help with weight gain.

Good luck and hang in there.

8

Another anti-depressant proponent here. First of all, like others have said, the side effects are definately overstated. Also, you have to balance the side effects with feeling like crap every day. When depression starts to affect your everyday life, it’s time to make a change. A temporarily reduced libido is a small price to pay to not feel like your whole world is crashing in on you.

MD’s don’t have a ton of expertise in anti-depressant/therapy. I would consider including traditional talk therapy with the drugs. The two together are what seem to work best for me. And, if the first one doesn’t work so well, try another one. They all seem to work a little differently so don’t be quick to give up.

Godspeed, priceguy. We’re here if you need a shoulder to lean on.

9

Yes, depression sucks tremendously, but I’m glad you two sought help. Getting better won’t be easy, but in the end it will be far better than where you were at, and you have to keep remembering that.

Antidepressants do have side effects - but so do all other medications, and they can be similar to any side effect that an antidepressant might produce. Apparently as a child, I had violent mood swings from penicillin, so doctors just try to avoid prescribing it to me in case it’s an allergy variant or it happens again. I’m on an antidepressant that’s used for migraine prevention, and it makes me feel like I’m going to pass out if I stand up too quickly after I’ve been lying down or crouching (vision grows dim, head swims, etc.), so I try to get up more slowly. It’s a fair tradeoff for going from a migraine a week to one in three months. And I’m on a different antidepressant for depression, which gives me a feeling of dry mouth, so I drink water or suck on sugar-free hard candy. But hey, I feel like I have hope, I have more motivation, and my sex drive came back to the point where my husband is starting to worry. :wink:

They can also take a while to have an effect. You probably won’t notice any dramatic change for at least a couple weeks, perhaps a month. Don’t let this discourage you. Keep taking the medication. If you notice any side effects that are tough to deal with, call your doctor and ask for advice. Not all antidepressants work for everyone - the various drugs called antidepressants can affect one or two out of three or more different neurochemicals, and do different things to them - cause their release into the brain, prevent them from being removed from the system too quickly, and so on. Depression is a very complex thing. Give it some time, communicate honestly with your doctor.

If you’ve had blunted emotions from depression, once you start feeling better, it can be rough dealing with feeling real emotions again, especially negative ones. Just remember that feeling hurt in that instance is a sign that you’re getting better. Talk to someone who’s understanding.

If you haven’t already, definitely look into therapy. Depression can be caused by external events like stress or trauma, can be caused by a chemical imbalance of some kind (including one triggered by something like a hormonal imbalance or another illness’ biological effect), or by a combination of those factors. Medication will help you be able to function better - and that might be needed to be able to face what kind of emotional work needs to be done to get you feeling better overall, if something like that is the issue.

I wish you both the best of luck.

10

Priceguy, I too am glad you sought help and wish you and Pricegal the best in getting back to good mental health very soon!

I want to add my two cents about depression meds. A few years ago at a really rocky point in my relationship with my BF (of now 6 years), among other issues in my life, I felt I needed some help. I went on antidepresssants for a year. They did help. There were little to no side effects, thankfully. However…after doing some research into some alternatives, I talk to my doctor and we started incorporating herbal supplements and regular yoga and physical activity. I only used the antidepressants for one year, then came off of them and have not been back! I did find out later that I had an inactive thyroid (when I mysteriously began getting hives!) and now take a mild dose of a thyroid medication call lavoxyl (I was surprised to find MANY symptoms I was experiencing were related to my thyroid).

If you’re not comfortable with taking drugs for your depression, as I was not, you can always talk to your doctors about alternatives, especially if you’re overly concerned with side effects. Remember, every BODY is different and reacts differently to drugs. There is no one RIGHT way to treat your depression, get as many expert opinions as you feel necessary.

All the best to you both. Yogini :slight_smile:

11

If any of this is redundant (perhaps my meds haven’t kicked in fully this morning), I apologize, but here goes…

Simply wanted to chime in and say good luck, hang in there and never give up. I’ve been battling all sorts of things (like depression) for 8 very looooooong years and it’s only recently that I’ve found something that works for me… Lamictal. Never thought that would happen. Now if I can just find something to deal with the anxiety, I’d be all set. Whew! Just glad it’s finally getting a little better. :slight_smile:

All that said, it does suck an incredible amount and is scary facing the unknown (IE: side effects), but the possible benefits always outweigh the downside. However, you’ve both GOT to stay on them, or keep trying until you find the ones that change the things you them to, for the magic help. It’ll seem like once it gets better, that they’re unnecessary, but nothing could be farther from the truth. Take it from anyone who’s ever been there, done that, we know of which we speak. So, stay on them NO MATTER WHAT or how happy you are.

Did I say NEVER go off your meds?? Yeah, it bears repeating about a million times. The resulting crash whatever time later (and how, when you return to them, they might not work in the future can be divesting – it might take forever to find something else to take their place) is so not worth it.

You guys are beyond a doubt handling this well and doing the right thing. Best wishes to you both and know that there’s lots of us praying/lighting candles for a speedy recovery. You’ll make it!

~Kemi, happy to be a survivor

(P.S. Stay on your prescription ALWAYS!!)

I’d make a great, over-protective, beat a dead horse mom, huh? :stuck_out_tongue:

12

**PriceGuy ** take it easy.

13

Every once in awhile, I go through periods of depression. When that happens, I take Prozac. I’ve never had any problems with it.

There are occasionally some side effects, but the worst of them are only found in a miniscule subset of patients on the drug. You and Pricegal can watch eachother and make sure neither of you experiences any major problems throughout the first couple months, and you’ll be fine.

14

And if you need someone to talk to, feel free to email me. I’m more than happy to listen.

15

Paxil killed my sex drive completely. Celexa helped a little (sex wasn’t GROSS anymore, just not appealing).

Now that I’ve been on Wellbutrin for a year… I’m… uh… well… so how YOU doin’?

16

Others have already said it, but I want to chime in:

Depression sucks, but it IS treatable. Seek help right away. While you are waiting for an appointment (if you have to wait) try St. John’s Wort. But seek help anyway. Make sure you discuss the St. John’s Wort with the Dr. He may, like mine, feel it is fine and a valid treatment. He may feel that there is a better path. Above all else, know that you must keep trying and that there is a path to wellness.

17

Just adding my $.02…

School obviously isn’t the most important thing right now. As for meds, I don’t want to reccomend a particular one because they have different effects on different people–I didn’t do well on Zoloft, but my grandmother swears by it. (oh, btw…depression tends to be hereditary). Therapy is also important too. Never be afraid to ask questions of your psychatrist or psychologist, if you’re seeing one. I pray that it never becomes this bad, but if you feel you can’t go on or feel like killing yourself SEEK HELP IMMEDIATELY

18

I’m on a maintenance dose of Prozac - 10 mg a day. While it doesn’t completely prevent my occasional depressions, it does defuse them to the point where I no longer spend half my time in a bleak prison and the other half of my time repairing the damage done to my life from when I was in that bleak prison. I’ve been taking it for over two years, and no side effects that I’ve ever noticed.

BTW, do NOT mix St. John’s Wort with any SSRI (Prozac and the like). It will potentiate the side effects, and if you do get hit, it’ll be fifteen gazillion times worse.

19

First a word of sympathy. I’ve had depression, too. It’s no fun. However drugs are not always needed. The psychologist I saw told me about a book and I would recommend it to you, too.

I’m not a doctor, I’m just referring you to something that worked for me and helped put things in perspective. You need to do whatever your doctor recommends to you.

Anyway, having said that, try the book “Feeling Good” by Dr. David Burns. Copyright 1980. The paperback ISBN is: 0-451-16776-7. This book helped me put things in perspective and realize what was causing my depression and how to control it if not outright stop it.

G’luck to you and if you need to talk, just let us know.

20

Depression has taken away so much of my life. My diabetes came under better control and I began taking anti-depressants, and this has been the difference in my life. I still have lingering problems but I’m not letting every negative thought rule my life.

There are tradeoffs, however…