…and specifically, if I really want to take them or not. I’ve been felling rather depressed, getting progressively worse over the past half year or so. Sense of hopelessness, losing temper often, mildly suicidal thoughts, difficulty in concentrating on work, etc. I finally went to one doctor who decided I’m mildly depressed and prescribed Depremel. As far as I can tell from some net research, it’s Fluvoxamine Maleate, sold in the US as Luvox. I also got a prescription for “etizolam” - I can’t figure out what the US equivalent is, but apparently it’s a tranquilizer, commonly prescribed for treating early symptoms of depression.
Would you say it’s a good idea to get a second opinion before commiting myself to this? Or should I just take them? I’m getting a bit nervous after reading the long list of side effects, and I’m not a big fan of medication to begin with. (My grandfather died from drug mis-use by his doctor) The psychatrist was recommended to me by someone I trust so I’m not too worried about his qualifications.
Speaking as a depressive myself, and soneone whose mother was driven to the wall by tranquilisers – I’d say, if youre not satisfied you know all the ins and outs about your prescription and diagnosis, get that second opinion. Chances are, though, you may well find the prescription spot on.
Chemical treatments for depression canb tend to have a long list of side effects – but in the long run, they help a lot with the re-balancing we depressives need to get back from the edge. I’m fortunate that for the last bout I only needed the light stuff, and I got off them as quickly as I could, under doctor’s supervision.
Just a thought – it always helps if there is not only chemical treatment, but also lifestyle readjustment.
If a second opinion will help put your mind at ease, by all means see another doctor. In my own case, I’m certain that without the meds, I’d have committed suicide a long time ago.
Thanks for the advice, Ice Wolf and OldBroad. I did get a second opinion at a local hospital and he agrees this medication has a good chance of helping me, so I started taking it. Wish me luck. Actually I know at least part of the cause is the pressure of work so I need to figure out what to do about that as well.
Another question - have you told people around you that you are on medication, and what were the reactions? Like co-workers and boss concerned about your work performance, etc.
Same as Opal, I have no problem sharing if the subject comes up, but keep it to myself otherwise. It’s just like any other meds I take…no one cares to know.
I know for a fact that I would not be alive today if it wasn’t for my daily dose of Zoloft. I am terrified of the prospect of ever trying to wean myself off of it. Mainly because I didn’t realize just how very bad off I had been until I got better. So I totally dependent on it. But you know what, I don’t care. Keeps me alive and makes me respond to everything like a normal enough person.
They are good things. Sometimes, you will have to try a few before you find the right one. And, with each new one, it can be a couple of weeks before it really takes effect.
So, stick with taking yours, even if they don’t seem to be helping at first.
Good luck with them, I hope they will help you soon!
Same here, except mine’s not Zoloft, it’s Paxil (with Valium and the occasional Ambien). I had an utterly miserable life from the time I was a small child until I finally got treatment for my depression and anxiety in my late 30s. I do tell people because the inevitable question in American society is, “So, what do you do?” (for a living). When I tell them I’m on disability and I obviously have no physical problems other than a slight limp…well, I’d rather just say I have severe depression rather than snap, “None of your business.”
If you don’t feel comfortable telling other people, though, it truly is none of their business, so don’t tell people if you don’t want to.
I hear plenty of positive stuff on these but not negitive, so I thought I’d add my misadventures in Shrinkdom. First is I think I have been misdiagnosed from jump street otherwise I’m sure things would have turned out so much better.
Zoloft? gave me a 24/7 buzz. To wich one of the nurces, who Knew I was a pot smoker said…“Well you aught to enjoy that” My reply was, ‘not even the most dedicated smoker wants the buzz all the time’ I wanted to smack her in the face.Imagine an Employee of a Mental heath place having this type of attitude? Can you wonder why I left that treatment facility?
Prozac? Gave me anxiety attacks. So we tried adjusting the dosage from 20 to 15 a day.Didn’t work. So I switch to…A differnt facility, a different Doctor, and a different Theripist and…
Paxil. Stole my sex drive. I’ve been off of it damn near 2 years and the modivation to go out and get some still has not returned. I see ads for this drug on TV claming it helps social anixety disorder. Isn’t that a bit oxymoronic?
Maybe it is my contstant bad attitude that keeps me in the maw of the insanity sand worm.I’m not trashing antidepressents by far, and it’s good to hear there are folks who are treated sucessfully. And perhaps if I hi myself over to a facility that dosn’t specialise in cookie cutter tratment for all, this may straighten itself out, but I’m not a babbling fool yet, and the less chemicals in my body the better.
Best O’ luck on further treatment. Stay on thre meds, and keep seeing the docs long after you have started to feel better. Things do change for the better, but not without a ton of work on your part!
I’ve been taking Effexor for the past few months, and I feel like a new man! My shrink thinks I may have been depressed since childhood. The feeling that I’ve been swimming in molasses is definitely gone and I feel a whole hell of a lot better.
At first, I kept this info to myself, but I’ve been discovering among my friends and coworkers that depression is a fairly common condition. I’ve found it is a chemical imbalance. The synapses in your brain became numbed at some point in your life, and the medication helps to rebuild them.
Otherwise, I don’t burden anyone with my problems unless I pay them.
SSRIs stole my sex drive too. I don’t even remember what it feels like to want sex.
Worth it, though, for not being miserable all the time.
Those of you on the board who have witnessed my periodic psycho episodes [always corresponding with a problem in my medication] can probably well imagine what I’d be like without meds at all! Not worth it just to get horny now and then.
Paxil wiped out my boyfriend’s sex drive, but has only dimmed mine slightly. Good thing, because my sex drive is so much higher than his that if I weren’t on Paxil, I’d be raping him at knifepoint.
He quit the Paxil and is coping with his depression on his own.
Everybody’s chemistry is different. Every depressed person’s depression is different. I started out with Prozac, and it served me well for a couple of years. Stuff that use to make me furious or drive me into the depths just didn’t matter anymore. Then, one day, it didn’t work anymore. My doctor says that happens sometimes. He switched me to Effexor, and I’m doing much better. By the way, one of the side effects is Delayed Ejaculation! That means the ability to screw for a longer time without coming. Not a bad side effect, as side effects go. I never tried Paxil, but the grapevine says that, with Paxil, either you don’t want sex or you want it and can’t do it.
I would not take Xanax, ever. It’s very addictive, and a few users experience uncontrollable rage. I personally know two men who committed murder on Xanax. Hell, I take antidepressants to get away from rage, not to find it.
What I just wrote has the potential to get me flamed, or sued. I refuse to soften it. It is true.
I am depressive and get by on St. John’s Wort. But yes, most of my co-worker’s know and my boss as well. Most of my friends know too. I have never had any feeling that anyone thinks that it is a problem, not at work, not from my friends. Actually, the guy in the office next to me teases me that it is “medication time” but he is not being malicious at all. However, I would only mention it if it comes up.
Poster girl for Serzone strikes again! I have been at least mildly depressed since childhood (just not able to be happy like “normal” people), and have had an anxiety disorder for about 11 years now. My latest treatment has been with Serzone, and it is a wonder-drug for me. Virtually no side effects, no sexual side effects, and wonder of all wonders, I just feel normal. I still have good days and bad days like normal people; they’re just not as high and as low as they used to be.
I’ve tried to go off antidepressants three times now, and every time I’ve tried, my anxiety disorder became unbearable (ever think about the same thing for three weeks straight? People with anxiety disorders are champion obsessors). So, I’m basically on antidepressants for life, and I can live with that. I fiddle with my dosage, taking it as low as I can and still feeling okay, but I will never be normal and drug-free. It could be worse though; there’s a ton of medical conditions that are nowhere near as common and easily treated as depression/anxiety, and I would rather take a pill every day than a needle (no offense to diabetics, of course). My fiancé with bad asthma and allergies will never be drug-free, either. You just deal with it and move on.
As for telling other people, I just don’t. I had a bad experience with telling someone who was clueless about mental disorders a long time ago, and I just won’t take a chance with that again. Things are probably better now, and people more understanding, but the stigma isn’t gone yet, and I’ll just keep it to myself, thank you very much.
Xanax (alprazolam) isn’t an antidepressant. It’s a benzodiazepine usually used to treat anxiety or panic disorders. It might be prescribed on a limited term basis for reactive depressive symptoms. (i.e., a loved one dies, et cetera.) As for its addiction potential, it’s probably on par with alcohol since it potentiates the activity of the inhibitory neurotramsitter GABA as alcohol does; however, I believe it’s more selective as it doesn’t interfere with NMDA or glutamate systems, doesn’t cause neurotoxicity in theraputic doses and doesn’t block vitamin absorbtion. The problem lies with ignorant doctors who write out 'scripts for large doses of benzos with umpteen refills without informing the patient of the addiction possibilities. Under the care of a competant medical professional, benzodiazepines are generally safe and the majority of people who are prescribed them do not get addicted. Invariably, we read headlines about how the person who shot up his high school/workplace and/or commited suicide had levels of [insert psychiatric drug here] in his system. Some people are predisposed to violence and correlation does not always eqaute causation.