BS: pills for depression

Subject: BS: pills for depression
From: GUEST,Debz
Date: 28 Feb 06 - 05:32 PM

I will speak to my doctor to get a prescription, but I was wondering if the mudcatters have any experiences to share of taking pills for depression ?

I am scared of becoming addicted to something, or of becoming "another person" while under their influence.

Subject: RE: BS: pills for depression
From: Alba
Date: 28 Feb 06 - 05:42 PM

I think rather than asking here you should talk your concerns over with your Doctor.
There are many different medications out there to treat Depression and I hope your Doctor finds the med, or no med at all, that suits your needs. I also hope that the Doctor does not diagnose you to have depression. That would, indeed, be wonderful.
Good Luck
J

Subject: RE: BS: pills for depression
From: Bill D
Date: 28 Feb 06 - 05:56 PM

anti-depressants 'often' have side effects. There is no way to know except by trying. They help some people a great deal, and make others just sleepy and washed out.

Remember, medically, 'depression' covers a wide area of stuff. As said above, ask your doctor what might work...

Subject: RE: BS: pills for depression
From: Anonny Mouse
Date: 28 Feb 06 - 06:02 PM

Dealt with this a lot of my adult life--there are indeed pills, many of which are NOT addictive, will NOT turn you into something else, and WILL help; had a Dr. Friend who told me there are something like 45 receptors in your brain, controlling certain chemicals, excretions etc. like seratonin, nor-epinephrine, etc. One gets out of whack and it can domino into all the others, and create a depressive state. TALK to your Dr. Don't be shy about talking to a psychiatrist (someone who has an M.D. and can prescribe!!), and you may find something out there to balance things for you. My sister and Mom were on such--they boosted certain chemicals and whatnot-and worked-they were inexpensive, non-addictive, and only changed things for the better. They WON'T make you into something you're not! BTW, go to that site depressionhurts.com--while they are pushing their own drugs, the information is worthwhile. You needn't suffer! Depression is a treatable illness-NOT a character flaw.

Subject: RE: BS: pills for depression
From: Sorcha
Date: 28 Feb 06 - 06:10 PM

And what works for one, won't for another....might have to try several.

Subject: RE: BS: pills for depression
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 28 Feb 06 - 06:30 PM

I am scared of becoming addicted to something, or of becoming "another person" while under their influence.

Consider: the purpose of taking an antidepressant is to "become another person."

I understand the concern, that medication could make you something other than what you want to be; but accepting that you want to be someone other than "this person who's depressed" may make it easier to decide that you want to explore and proceed with treatment.

One of the things you may want to discuss with your Doctor is whether you should tell a friend or trustworthy associate that you are beginning a treatment, so you and/or your Doctor can inform them of any possible side effects that concern you, so that your "impartial observer" can provide "unaffected" observation to let you know if any unexpected or undesirable change results from the treatment.

For most of the commonly used antidepressants, you Doctor probably will assure you that it's not necessary; and informing others who don't need to know can sometimes be something of a social risk (people can be idiots); but discussing your concerns with your Doctor before starting treatment is something you should be sure to do.

John

Subject: RE: BS: pills for depression
From: Divis Sweeney
Date: 28 Feb 06 - 06:38 PM

Dear GUEST,Debz Be sure to express your fears of dependency on medication to your G.P.A lot of the addictive ones have been removed over the last ten years. In most cases the G.P. will favour a small selection that he has seen results with, again what he scripts you will depend on the information you give him. Most G.P.'s are as aware as you are of dependency, Medication for depression is a short term crutch to support you. Look at the factors within your own life as to the case of your depressive illness and relate these to your G.P. Don't have fears of starting a first time course, most G.P.'s will script you a low dosage and do a case review within three weeks. As I said if you can look at the cause of your depression, maybe, just maybe talking and verbal support could be enough.

Good luck with it and keep us informed.

Subject: RE: BS: pills for depression
From: Peace
Date: 28 Feb 06 - 06:53 PM

To add one thing--or actually reinforce something that was alluded to above: Do you have depression (clinical and diagnosed) or are you depressed? The two are not necessarily the same thing.

Subject: RE: BS: pills for depression
From: Divis Sweeney
Date: 28 Feb 06 - 06:58 PM

Good point Peace.

Subject: RE: BS: pills for depression
From: Peace
Date: 28 Feb 06 - 07:02 PM

PS

There is no 'quick fix' for clinical depression. The causes of it are many. http://www.healthyplace.com/communities/bipolar/trillian/depression_index.htm


Depression of the 'my girl/boyfriend and I just broke up' is a different kinda thing. I am sure you know this stuff, but jus' in case. Please see your doctor.

Subject: RE: BS: pills for depression
From: Peace
Date: 28 Feb 06 - 07:05 PM

As were yours, Divis--and thank you.

With all the types/causes of depression (educational film I saw recently with an interview with a doctor from Johns Hopkins stated that one in four kids from birth to lates teens suffer serious forms of depression.

Subject: RE: BS: pills for depression
From: Divis Sweeney
Date: 28 Feb 06 - 07:12 PM

Just retired Peace last month after working in a psychiatric hospital for 26 years treating it. So now a pensioner at 46 !
Ah life now begins.

Subject: RE: BS: pills for depression
From: Peace
Date: 28 Feb 06 - 07:23 PM

Bless you, Divis.

Subject: RE: BS: pills for depression
From: Divis Sweeney
Date: 28 Feb 06 - 07:35 PM

Take care friend and now time for bed !

Subject: RE: BS: pills for depression
From: Bobert
Date: 28 Feb 06 - 07:51 PM

I'm assuming, GUEST, Debz, that you have explored alternatives to medications... like exercise, changes in diet, herbal teas, meditation, counseling, relaxation therapy, etc., etc...

But if you haven't, please ask around and find a holistic practioner to go to...

And like others have said, it is treatable and in most cases, the downers do pass... I know... I was hospitalized with a severe bout of depression about 24 years ago and the greatest thing that I did learnt from it is that if you do the right things, in most cases, it will pass...

Hang in there, do the right things and you'll get thru this, with or without the meds...

Bobert

Subject: RE: BS: pills for depression
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 28 Feb 06 - 08:09 PM

I have been taking Zoloft for several years now, and have absolutely no regrets—except that I didn't start sooner.

This topic has been discussed a lot at Mudcat. These are the threads I could find, oldest first:
very much OS: Suicidal Friend
BS: Minddrugs and Creativity
Help: St. John's Wort
Help: When a friend is depressed
BS: Chemical antidepressants -- yea or nay?
Non-Music: Cyclical Depression
BS: sliding into a depression
BS: Sliding into depression part 2
Music and Depression
BS: for those going through Hard Times
BS: Anti-Depressants / Getting off of
BS: Depression and Anxiety

Subject: RE: BS: pills for depression
From: GUEST,Desdemona
Date: 28 Feb 06 - 08:16 PM

I agree with those who have posted above viz. this being an extremely personal and case-by-case matter. That said, I *can* say from my own personal experience that these medications can be helpful under particular circumstances, and this is something you'd have to determine with the help of a doctor, perhaps a therapist, and most importantly, a lot of self-examination, since only YOU know what's actually going on in your life.

I completely understand your disinclination to "need" a foreign substance; several years ago I was going through an intensely difficult time in my life, and resisted the notion tooth and nail...after spending an entire weekend in bed, feeling well nigh unable to go to work, and realising that I was tipping the scales at a mighty 98 lbs (I'm 5'4" and NOT a Hollywood ingenue!), I agreed to give the idea a try, and it really, really helped me get things back into perspective. I was on the meds (in my case it was Zoloft, but there are many others available now) for about 6 months; I stopped taking them with the okay of my MD when I noticed that I'd been forgetting to take them for days at a time.

So: medication might be an answer for you, or there might be some other, equally effective answer. What I will say is that I think it's a mistake to automatically take against the idea without exploring it thoroughly. As a friend of mine put it at the time, if you have a massive boulder in your yard that needs to be removed, chipping away at it for years with a chisel will eventually remove it as well as a stick of dynamite (for that matter, time alone will erode it, without your stir!)...it's really a question of which tool you want to use to get the job done.

Good luck, and I hope that you feel better soon.

Best,

~D

Subject: RE: BS: pills for depression
From: Raptor
Date: 28 Feb 06 - 08:34 PM

I lived with someone with depression and I don't want to scare you but in 5 years and 50 diferent combinations they didn't find the right dose.

Each new drug needs about 7 weeks of trial to even know if its gonna work and each drug can make one very sick.

Its a long hard road.

But you can always turn to us for support. Most people here are good listeners.

Raptor

Subject: RE: BS: pills for depression
From: catspaw49
Date: 28 Feb 06 - 09:30 PM

Hey Jim......Thanks for linking all of those. I thought I'd take a bit and do it for our Guest and I was overjoyed to see you had already done so.

But the size of that list is pretty depressing, ya' know? (;<))

Spaw

Subject: RE: BS: pills for depression
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 28 Feb 06 - 09:31 PM

Yeah, it IS depressing, especially when you consider that those threads are half full of bad advice.

Subject: RE: BS: pills for depression
From: catspaw49
Date: 28 Feb 06 - 09:40 PM

In other words, they're half empty huh?

Spaw

Subject: RE: BS: pills for depression
From: Donuel
Date: 01 Mar 06 - 09:45 PM

I just heard today on CNN that there is a new drug just released that is a good alternative to Prozak but uses an different formula unlike the Prozac like class of drugs. Sorry thats all I heard in passing.

Subject: RE: BS: pills for depression
From: mg
Date: 02 Mar 06 - 01:34 AM

in addition to seeing your doctor, are you getting sunlight/ Vitamin D? Fish oils and fish itself? are you on a low-fat diet? that can influence things. are you exhausted? have you had adrenals and thyroid checked (take temperature at waking every morning and at set times in the day...low temperature in the a.m. can be a sign of thyroid and there is a pattern that affects adrenals.) there is a saliva test that you can take to test adrenal function...this is very complicated endocrinology and it wouldn't hurt to have a thorough checkup byan endocrinologist as well as whatever psychiatrist etc. you go to. treat the body first if you can if there is time...if you are extremely severely depressed then do whatever you must do and the doctors say. mg

Subject: RE: BS: pills for depression
From: GUEST,Bagpuss
Date: 02 Mar 06 - 04:22 AM

There have been very public concerns in the media about the SSRI anti depressants (like prozac etc) being addictive. Having tried a few of them, I would say that this is only a half concern. I don't think they are addictive in the way that many other drugs can be addictive, but there are some problems which share some features of addiction. The way in which it might seem like addiction - the pills can be hard to get off. When you discontinue the drug, you can often experience some side effects which might make you want to go back onto the drug. There are ways around this, like tapering off the dose slowly, taking another drug which minimised the side effects. When I stopped an AD called venlafaxine, I got a lot of dizziness and nausea, so I cut down the dose slowly and was given an anti nausea drug and it worked fine.

In my experience you are unlikely to experience other symptoms of addictions, like craving the drug, or needing to constantly increase the dose to get the same effect. I find that once you have the right drug at the right dose, you will be unlikely to need any further increase.

And there are also the older TCA (tricyclic) drugs, which have fewer problems related to dependence. Many would say they have worse side effects like drowsiness, dry mouth etc, but in my experience, the side effects are just different not worse.

Hope you get on ok, and find the right medication to help you start to dig out of the hole.

Bagpuss

Subject: RE: BS: pills for depression
From: Pied Piper
Date: 02 Mar 06 - 05:35 AM

Hi Debz remember that you are not alone and that you will get better.
For today, try to maintain social contacts, eat well, exercise, but don't beat yourself up if it's too hard.
Try to keep in mind that depression is commoner than you may think and that lots people who have suffered have recovered.
The modern range of drugs will almost certainly help and I would look at a getting Cognitive Behavioural Therapy which is the most effective for the largest number of people. If you're in the UK, you can get CBT through your doctor but you may have to wait several months, so if you can afford and you think it's for you go private.

Good luck

PP

Subject: RE: BS: pills for depression
From: autolycus
Date: 02 Mar 06 - 04:53 PM

Certainly discuss with your G.P.

We're all unique, so there's no magic answer.

The long list of threads shows the size and extent of the situation. As a Gestaltist, I couldn't say if CBT is helpful. i know Gestalt therapy can, tho' not for clinical depression. Also, people usually think of pills/tablets first as the answer. For me, that might be rather like pushing the dirt under the carpet. Which could feel safer.

Wish you well,Debz.

Ivor

Subject: RE: BS: pills for depression
From: goodbar
Date: 02 Mar 06 - 08:43 PM

tetrahydracannibinol and alcohol

Subject: RE: BS: pills for depression
From: Peace
Date: 02 Mar 06 - 08:50 PM

Alcohol is a depressant. Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol can cause panic in some people. The above is not good advice. Don't take it.

Subject: RE: BS: pills for depression
From: goodbar
Date: 02 Mar 06 - 08:54 PM

hey, works for me when i have access.