Antidepressants.....

lol well since I passed fat about 20 lbs ago and moved into OMG what the he@@ happened I think it's a stupid reason...my Mother's sid of the family got a whammy as I like to say..all of us are nuttier n' fruit cakes..I'm talkin electric shock (yes they still do that) nutso. We are bipolar, manic depressive. I'm lucky that I don't up cycle anymore (heck doing good to get me OUT of bed) but the DS can go days without sleep and then has the down cycle when you just don't want to be around her, she's has paranoia, unrealistic self exspectations...whole deal...but god forbid she gain that five lbs! Her marriage is falling apart because over the years the damage she's done with her wild temper and flair ups has just taken it's toil on an already unstable relationship, she has made her already unstable daughter worse...all in all it's really a shame.

Saint,
I'm so sorry to hear about your DS...saddens me to hear stories like that. Esp. given that the drug companies are already making improvements on prev. meds that caused weight gain. That's an ongoing issue - "feeling right vrs. looking right" I hate when folks think they have to make that choice. And yes ECT ("electric shock") is still used in appropriate cases...not nearly the horror procedure portrayed in "B" movies of years ago.

Jesse,
Good going girl to talk about it! The more folks discuss it - the less taboo it becomes. I still get "looks" when I openly talk about Psych disorders outside of the office. Many times I even get responses - as annoying as some are, it does provide an opportunity to educated someone. Just think what that could accomplish if each of us could make just one person "understand!" Then they could pay it forward....

Jesse, you go girl!!!! i have been bi-polar my adult life and am the most compliant patient my MD has ever had he said....I willingly carry around this extra weight.............Life is Great because I am more fearful of being psychotic than being overweight....take my meds without fail.....gives me the stability and energy to garden all I need and want!!! I lost all credibility (sitting on hospital boards, school board, et.) when this first happened. It took me several years to create a new life ..............never enjoyed those jobs anyway.....a lot of work with little thanks and constant division, etc...Now I have been a happy camper for over 25 years .....the lows happen less often and the highs (thank you God) don't come as often as they used to....glad you all started this thread...Jesse, sometimes i think acceptance of the dignosis and consequences are just part of the journey.....................yes, you are right in saying.....no one understands.....they don't but i just figure that God didn't make junk and He made me just the way I am...............after all, we really only play for an audience of one....that being God (not other people)...
gail

I haven't read every line on this thread....
So I don't know if its been brought up.
Lexapro works for me.
I'm a happy camper.

I tried Lexapro and Celexa and they did not work for me. I always wind up coming back to Prozac.

Jesse

I believe that everyone reacts to meds differently plus some bi-polar people have the major side of depression and some have a major side of being manic. I lean towards manic for good or worse...I have been on these same meds for over 10 years and they continue to work with the same doses.....Lexapro (Celexa before Lexapro came out), Clonazapam (cousin to ativan),Seroquel and Trileptal. If I didn't take all these before bedtime I can assure you that I could stay up for nights with disastrous consequences. This way, I sleep 9 hours every night, slow to wake up but eventually get going and enjoy a wonderful productive day.
The first five years were tough...starting a new life...but, because this was such a humbling experience I feel blessed that today I have more compassion for anyone with ANY illness...be it cancer, diabetes, mental illness, or any other disabling diagnosis. Everyone on this thread genuinely cares about one another.....and for others all over the world with health problems of any kind.
Jesse, I am now getting ready to get on Medicare.....your illness will get better I promise with age and time....I depend greatly on my family (kids,too) to let me know that I am getting off on an irrational direction....I truly appreciate their help....I might not notice until too late....although my body has become my own best friend and I really listen to what my body is telling me....I wish you the very best!!!!

bettygail,
I know what your are saying about your body telling you what you need. I started taking antidepressants about 8 yrs ago...and when i try to go off of them, my body, my mom, husband, girls tell me...Mom did you take your pill???They so know that when i don't and when i do.. I take mine prozac before i go to bed and it is 40 mg and i have to say that the prozac helped me the best and been on it for like 5 yrs now.
I hope that no one is ashamed to get the help they need and are embarressed to say they take it....I was at first but then i thought WOW i am doing something to help myself and my family and to make my life and theirs a better one.

I hope everyone see's the positive in this thread and takes alot away from it. :o)


Char

I just had to post to this thread, because I want to ask a question. If it's already been answered, I apologize in advance, for not reading the whole thing.

I am currently taking Effexor XR, but I recently had to up my dose from 75 to 150 mg. The only other med I've used is Celexa, but it made me feel drugged, and I just wanted to sleep all the time. Anyway, I was always under the impression, that when life becomes too overwhelming to a depressed person, antidepressants are used to take the edge off, so one can function (I was having trouble dealing with the most simple of lifes struggles), but my Dr tells me that they are supposed to actually make you feel 100% better. Is this true? I mean, I can understand how a med can help me cope, but I personally don't see how one can change the way I think. I don't know if I'm explaining this properly or not.

The best example I can think of is to tell you this. Sometimes I wonder if my medicine is even working. My husband assures me that the medicine is working, because if I ever forget to take it, he notices a huge difference in my mood that day. If I'm extra grumpy, nervous and panacked, or in one of my crybaby moods, he asks me if I forgot my medicine, and nine times out of ten, I have. Now I, on the other hand, can't tell if it's even working, because inside, I sometimes feel as crummy as ever. Does this make sense, at all?

jdee, this makes perfect sense to me. If I take my medicine on a regular basis, I make better decisions which greatly improves my life. Also, I don't thrive on chaos anymore. The meds allow me to have boundaries and keep me from jumping into someone else's crisis. With meds, I can support that person and have empathy but i no longer think I can 'fix' everyone's else's problems. I can be more realistic and realize that i can barely manage my own (with a lot of effort)....Even when I feel crummy, I do know my limitations, don't talk about them and complain to others.....my doctor has always told me that the best way to stay grounded is to do the everyday chores around the house....something as minor as putting a load of clothes in the washing machine or loading the dishwasher. I now know that he is ever so right.....I just cozy up around the house and not expect too much of myself knowing that "this, too, will pass". Sometimes it may take a week or two to get out of those lousy crummy blues...they always pass. Before I know it I am ready to go to do something nice for someone else...that helps me so much. Just a few flowers to an elderly neighbor , etc...helps me to get back in the swing of life. God Bless all of you and me!!!
gail

my Dr tells me that they are supposed to actually make you feel 100% better. Is this true?

No..and you can tell the doctor I said so! LOL I've been on medication for years, and have done tons of research so I feel safe in saying that. You might still have highs and lows but you can now cope with those much better because you can see things and situation for how they actually are.

araness, you are funny!!!! I reread your original post................I agree that it runs in families...it does in mine.....the predisposed genetic tendencies are there, but the strange part to me is that whatever part of the brain that is involved can express itself in just horrible depression, drug addiction, alcohol addiction and bi-polar, etc......we are a fun crazy nutty family.....wouldn't change my life......

This message was edited Feb 3, 2007 6:06 PM

That is the funny thing...I've had some very low low's that have shamed me and my family and caused me life long repercussions due to my bi-polar and manic depression before I went on medication (very late teens and early 20's) and people always take for granted that I would change that if I could...funny thing is I probably wouldn't. Yes I'd like to take away the pain it caused my parents as well as a few of the negative side effects if I could but the overall experience I wouldn't...it's made me who and what I am today. I'm one of those people who don't learn unless I'm smacked on the head with a 2x4 and that was my wake up call to get help. So nope wouldn't change my life...

As for being funny...in my family it was either laugh or cry..it crying got you noplace fast.

Thank you so much for answering my question. We have been in the process of finding the right Dosage for me, and when I go back to the Dr, she'll ask me if the current one seems to be working for me. I didn't know what to tell her, because on one hand, yes, I'm not a bundle of tears and nerves at the slightest sign of struggle, but on the other hand, no, because inside, I still FEEL like bursting into tears.lol

Now, you've made me see that the medicine is, indeed working. I still may feel blue, and nervous, but I'm able to at least function, and realize which struggles are real, and which ones are just my imagination, brought on by too much fear. I just was so afraid that if I wasn't able to tell her (my Doctor) that I feel 100% better, I'd end with my dose raised again when it's not necessary. I always go through a druggy feeling stage until my system gets used to the new dose, or med. It makes me want to sleep all the time.

Thanks again,
Jennifer

jdee, my first medication (after lithium many years ago) was depakote....I bounced off the walls literally for over 3 months....I slept 15 hours a day....

Jennifer only you can tell when your on the right dose of medications...feeling like bursting into tears still isn't a good thing. How long have you been at your current dose?

Wow. The first medicine I took was celexa. I know it's a great medicine for some people, but I felt like a zombie. When I was working, I'd fall asleep in the breakroom. When I was at home, no matter how busy I tried to keep myself, I'd just HAVE to "take a little nap." Well that "little nap" would last until the wee hours of the morning, then my days and nights would be mixed up.

lol ahh depakote...the one drug I haven't taken...lol wonder if I could lie and say I have and blame all my weight on it *G* "Ah yes, I use to be thin as a rail..then *sigh* I took depakote"

Jennifer,
I can't answer from a first person perspective but more from what I've heard. Please remember that even those feeling "normal" experience highs and lows...that's a matter of life being life. It's when those highs and lows affect your day to day living...your quality of life..then it's an issue. Feeling 100% 24/7 isn't possible for anyone. If you don't notice a difference at all - or your family doesn't notice any difference, then it would be good to tell your doctor so that she/he can adjust your dose or change the med. Communication with your prescribing doctor is the key.

Araness, I've only been at this dose for a month. It's so strange, but I get that way only at certain times of the day, and only when something in particular has me extra worried.

ahh ok then...and I totally agree with Chantell...and remember if YOU don't feel that this doctor is managing this part of your health well find another for just this. I've had two doctors before one as a GP and then my "crazy doctor" as I call them. I'm just lucky that the one I have now is all in one.

Jennifer,
Your doctor has more room to "play" with the Effexor dose - try to keep track of how often you're "out of sorts" and the situation surrounding it...then share that with your doctor. It will make it easier for your doctor to make decisions.

This is a very interesting thread. Jennifer, thanks for asking your question. And Chantell thanks for your insight - it's always appreciated. And Araness - just to clarify you now have a crazy GP for a doctor? LOL

I am taking Xanax for my anxiety. Most of the times it seems to work like I think it should. Sometimes I feel like I have not one ounce of patience left in me. And I have always felt like I was a very patient person. Part of my job is customer service and lately I just don't feel like talking to anyone that calls. Yesterday, even though I wasn't at my best I had three customers tell me how wonderful it was to talk to me. One gentleman called from Australia and I apologized to him for the problem. He said he was happy to have the problem so he could talk to me. Maybe that's what I needed for a change some happy people to talk to.

LOL - you're funny Elsie re Saint's crazy GP!! Don't know if it'll make you feel any better, Elsie....but I can tell you, I go through those "times" when I just want to pull my hair out with folks. And I KNOW it's me...b/c they're not doing anything differently then they would any other time. Much as I hate to admit it...I do think our hormones have a play in it...some more then others.

Chantell, if I ever lose my warped sense of humor I don't know what I will do. I do know that most of the time it's me and probably my hormones. Part of my job is customer service and I am always told that I am great on the phone. We publish craft magazines and it's the best job I have ever had. I think the problem is that customers call and act as if their missing magazine is the end of the world. I tell them I will replace the magazine and they continue to whine and moan. I guess with my recent health problems I'm not too moved by their tirades. I just want to get the info and get off the phone.

I would like to get away from the customer service part of this job but I don't think that's going to happen any time soon. So I will grin and bear it. The company I work for is family owned and the owner has been very, very good to me.

ROFL...I'll have to tell Dr. Chen Hah she's now my crazy GP she'll get a kick outta it.

Elise I know what your feeling...I stopped working with the public when the little voice inside my head that makes the smarta@@ comments back to rude and pushy people started coming out of my mouth instead of staying inside my head like it should have *G*

Right now, I'm a housewife, but I used to be a hairstylist. Now, there's a brutal business for a person with no self esteem. lol I sometimes think I treat my cats like babies, because I like them better than I like most people.

I know...I should be ashamed for saying that.

lol heck no...I KNOW i like my dog better than I like 90% of the people I meet daily...*evil grin* and I'm pretty sure she likes me more than they like me too!

lol, I know what you mean. Pets are the best, aren't they.

Hi to all... This has been an interesting thread.
I can relate to much that has been posted here.. I was diagnosed with Fibro/depression 9 months after my sept 2000 back surgery. Was given Prozac and it helped for awhile, altho dosage was continuously upped over time, to 40mg 2X a day.
When Cymbalta came out, i asked to be placed on that.. Worked like a charm for a long time. Then menopause kicked in, big time.. my 60mg dose was helping with the pain levels but not the depression, sleepless nights were back... Anger and Nasty were building up within me, and i almost wasnt functioning. I went back to the DR just recently and he put me on Remeron, along with the cymbalta. Oh, and a very low dose of Estrace. That has helped considerably! Im no longer the nasty creature i was. Remeron has helped me get good sleep and has helped overall in a big way, anger and nasty have left me.
Amazingly, many had noticed the 'attitude' that came over me.
Im just glad this has remedied my situation.
All i can say is to do your research about ANY drug you may need to take.



This message was edited Feb 15, 2007 5:51 AM

Years ago a passing Gyn sent me to a pshrink who thought I needed an antidepressant to combat bulemia ...
I threw it away myself after about 3 weeks. Never went back. It gave me odd skin sensations,massive heart palpitations and made me want to kill myself and most disturbingly Others.

That stuff just creeps me now.

simply passing on things said to me by my 'shrink' that have been indelibly printed on my heart and mind. I was fortunate enough to have a really good doctor that I have stayed with for 30 years....One time I was so depressed and wanting to give up. He lovingly looked at me and said, "Gail, you know that we can check you in the hospital again and take good care of you for as long as you want and need, but I want you to know you do have a choice. You have to fight for your mental health....how much do you want good health and feel good?" I have never forgotten those words when I get depressed or feel overwhelmed....how much do I want it to be better...............today I know that 'this, too, shall pass' and I fight like crazy during those times to get back on my feet and going strong....
wishing everyone happy days ahead...
gail

Ninnian some effect people that way others don't just judge all anti-depressants by that one plz...are you still bulemic?

Well, many (30+) years ago I was prescribed Doxepin by a Neurologist for depression. I was scorned by friends and family as I kept taking it for several years.
A dear sweet lady expained it to me this way. She said those nay-sayers wouldn't expect a diabetic to be able to "overcome" their disease and quit taking insulin, and that I might have to take an anti-depressant for the rest of my life.
Well, like so many of you I too have taken most of the drugs above at one time or another, with varying success. Celexia was also supposed to be good for compulsive shoppers, so I really wanted that and wheather it was the power of suggestion, or whatever, I did slow down on impulse buying. They quit making it.
I did also find that I could take all of my Doxepin at bed time as it always made me drowsy.
30+ years ago I was taking 300mgs a day.
10 years ago I asked my doctor for a 3 a day 25mg Doxepin perscription so I could have something to help me sleep, especially when working nightshifts.
30+ years ago I went from an overwhelmed mess of a housekeeper to a super efficent spotless housekeeper and over all whiz.
In the last few weeks I have gone from 3 25mgs a night to 4, then 5.
This morning I got up and scrubbed my kitchen from one end to the other.
I can hardly wait for my Dr to return from her vacation. I am feeling and seeing the same results I did 30 years ago and am going to ask for a increase to 150mgs a day.
Look out world, here I come.
;)

Quote} One time I was so depressed and wanting to give up. He lovingly looked at me and said, "Gail, you know that we can check you in the hospital again and take good care of you for as long as you want and need, but I want you to know you do have a choice. You have to fight for your mental health....how much do you want good health and feel good?" I have never forgotten those words when I get depressed or feel overwhelmed....how much do I want it to be better...............today I know that 'this, too, shall pass' and I fight like crazy during those times to get back on my feet and going strong....[end quote]


One time i was depressed..... that one time lasted years... and i continued with life, growing up, marrying, having kids and having a career. My one time lasted way too long. There are many who suffer depression and go on with their lives, Not feeling a thing, just going thru the motions and suffering very quietly.
Im glad there are meds out there that help others.. Not all depressed people require it, but others do. Depression is not pyschosymatic, its not something that can be wished or thought away. It is very real and affects every part of a person.

Glad you are doing ok with your way of coping.. you are lucky, for you truely arent depressed. :)

Besides my mental illnesses, I also have Fibromyalgia. And I used to be in so much pain and I was also in a wheel chair (because of my bad back pain). But the worst part of it was that I kept feeling like I had this huge wooden stake going through the front of my chest on the right side and coming out the back. They kept doing xrays and CT scans and an MRI and they did not show anything. It got so frustrating because no one could help me and I think the doctors thought I was making this up or that I was just out to get attention but that was not true. That pain was there all the time and never went away. After years of having this same pain, I went to a new doctor and he put me on Amitriptyline. He said that would help with the Fibromyalgia. I was sort of skeptical because I knew that Amitriptyline was an antidepressant and I did not understand how that would help with the Fibro and the horrible pain that I had in my chest. But I started taking it and would you believe that it totally took the chest pain away. I could not believe it. The chest pain was finally gone. Anyway, I say all of this to say that some drugs are meant for one thing but can help with another, and to always be open to at least give things a try. And most importantly for those of you that have Fibromyalgia, if you haven't tried Amitriptyline, ask your doctor about putting you on it. It sure did change my life. I still have the bad back and it has kept me in bed for the last 4 days, but the chest pain is still gone. And there have been times when I have forgotten to take my medication for a couple of days and that pain in my chest comes back. So I try to always remember to take them. They really do help me a lot.

Jesse

terri......I didn't mean to mislead people.....i don't suffer in silence....I take more meds than I care to list, including Lexapro among many others.....Trust me when I say I will be taking meds the rest of my life..I am grateful for them. What i meant to convey was that for 30 years I felt totally out of control with the depression and mood swings.....today I take my meds faithfully and when the bad times come(as I know they will almost on a cyclical basis) I choose to not panic and want to give up. I have become best friends with my body and unless I absolutely have to, I choose to get better at home and not be admitted to a hospital (I personally don't like psyche wards!!) There have been times in my life when I had no choice but go be admitted.
My mother suffered from clinical depression all her life.....she said her psychiatrist told her the same thing.....fight for your mental health. She took meds all her life, too.

I failed to mention that also like diabeties, depression is a chemical imbalence in our bodies and can't just be prayed, or wished away.
;)

Plantcrazi.....I am sorry that you have Fibromyalgia...one of my best friends has that and will pass on your good experience to her....
sugarweed and others who have misunderstood me: i am not going to argue about mental health.....I know more about mental illness than i care to know and have experienced...............I just know that for me...........a positive attitude helps me a lot with coping with bi-polar illness. Maybe faith comes with age but today I do trust that God is good through the good times and the bad times. Only He knows where I have been with my mental health and how grateful I am today for a happy productive life due to medical genius......I wish all you well....I trust my adult physician children to tell me, "Mom, you don't sound real good....do you need any help from us or from Dr. _________?" They know me as well or better than I sometimes know myself....they can see warning signs that I sometimes don't catch as early as they do....

I'm not sure I understand Terri's post...Terri care to break it down for me?

Gail - what a blessing to have a doctor so caring...with such words of wisdom. Nothing comes easy...for some, meds will do the trick alone...others it requires more - whether that be therapy - support groups...for each it is different. A marathon can not be won simply by good diet, vitamins & supplements...it requires training - exercising and more exercising...it's hard work. I get what your doctor said by "but I want you to know you do have a choice. You have to fight for your mental health..." Isnt' it wonderful that folks can touch us for years with a simple statement they make? I'm so happy for you!!