I've done therapy on and off for over a decade. I'm functional, but still depressed. I just work around it but's like trying to swim while wearing a backpack full of textbooks. Harder than to needs to be.

I've never tried meds but I wonder if it will make a difference. Only, I don't know too much about the long-term effects on the brain. The fact that some can actually make your depression worse doesn't help.

Anyone here ever been on anti-depressants? What was your experience?

of mood-altering and brain-chemistry altering drugs
I dont have any experience with them, so i can't offer any help, just my 2¢ for what its worth (not much)
but i dont doubt that they can help some people, and they may be crucial for some peoples recovery from depression and general well being
i think growing up in an era when docs and people havent been appropriately thoughtful about prescribing/taking them has also made me raise an eyebrow
too me it seems like one of those 'cant put the toothpaste back in the tube' kind of decisions

>too me it seems like one of those 'cant put the toothpaste
>back in the tube' kind of decisions

many of them require you to ween off of them
Im also not convinced that after taking drugs which alter your brain chemistry, that it just goes back to normal when you stop - you're fucking with a very fragile ecosystem in there

You need to be weaned off them very intentionally and with supervision.

i was just saying, there are ways to get off of them and, in some (most?) cases your brain will readjust to normal without the chemical.

Some studies indicate that anti-depressants may change your brain permanently.

paxil robbed me of my sex drive even after i stopped taking it

and i honestly feel that there is a line of demarcation in my life of before mirtazapine and after. i was "fine" before i started taking it and extremely anxious afterwards. it could have just been my generalized anxiety disorder settling in. it's difficult to tell

i suppose this is why i'm fairly anti-meds

I have never taken them but dated someone on them.

shit is no joke.

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TBH the fact that you're even a mod here fits squarely within Jag's narrative of OK-sanctioned aggression, bullying, and toxicity. *shrug*

nm

It's damn near impossible to stop once you start. At least that's what her experience was like.

This was oxy and Percocet. Is Wellbutrin one as well?

If she missed one dose it felt like she peas off for a day or 2.

****************
TBH the fact that you're even a mod here fits squarely within Jag's narrative of OK-sanctioned aggression, bullying, and toxicity. *shrug*

it takes like a few doses for them to kick in and regulate to your system...

and once you get em in..you gotta kick off that $hit.


it's wack.

IG: amadu_me

"...Whateva, man..." (c) Redman

because I had read that book Listening to Prozac and it said you would get a new personality and I still had my old personality.

But here's the thing, here's a good example of why I've taken them off and on for years and, for the last several years, taken them steadily. I am prone to depression. I think that, among other factors, this is a result of my mother drinking heavily while she was pregnant with me. But whatever the cause, I know now how to recognize it when it come around. And I also know that one of the things that is true about depression is that it is like a living organism in the respect that it will do ANYTHING to stay alive. So depression will tell you that anti depressants are dangerous or useless or that they gloss over real problems. And depression will tell you that it's not an illness or a condition, it is a rational response to reality.

So I was super depressed when I was in my early 30s, and I was in a fucked up marriage and I really hated my job, and just nothing was pleasant or pretty or nice. I started on anti depressants, and within about 4 months, I saw that I didn't have to stay in my marriage. I left my fucked up husband and, although the divorce wasn't painless or easy, I could get through it.

If anti depressants just glossed over problems, I wouldn't have been able to see the problem (my marriage) and see a way out. I would have just been soothed into thinking it was all okay.

Now I'm on a light mixture of lexapro, buspar, and wellbutrin. The balance is just about right to keep anxiety and depression at bay. Sometimes I do get depressed, but not on a suicidal level, where I've been without the drugs. And I am really horrified by the results of the election but instead of curling up into a ball, which I would be inclined to do without the drugs, I am resolved to take real action.

I have learned not to stop taking the drugs cold turkey. That's a horrible mistake. I also know, not from experience myself but from others' experience, that if you stop taking a drug, it might not work for you if you start taking it again.

When I was first prescribed anti depressants, it was through a psychiatrist to whom I was referred by my therapist, who couldn't prescribe. Now I just chat with my primary care physician about it. She knows her stuff and I know my stuff, and together we find the right way.



~ ~ ~
All meetings end in separation
All acquisition ends in dispersion
All life ends in death
- The Buddha

|\_/|
='_'=

Every hundred years, all new people

nm

there's a lot of trial and error and it can be incredibly frustrating. when it's really bad it's arguably worse than just dealing with the depression without meds

a likely scenario is that you will end up trying several meds for several months (they take ~30 days to start working in earnest), with many of them either not working or not working well enough to justify the side effects. you'll be on something for a month, adjusting to its affects, after which you'll make a decision on whether or not you want to keep taking it. if you don't want to keep taking it you may have to remain on it for another few weeks as you slowly taper off (some meds have very bad results if you just stop taking them after they're in your system for a month). there's also the possibility of dosage adjustments or supplemental meds (which is crazy to me). it's a lot to consider

but it can be worth it. in shamus' "anxiety" post from several days ago there are a few success stories. they stuck with it and found something that worked for them, and now they're able to function more effectively

personally i'd rather just deal with the depression most of the time. feelings of worthlessness, suicidal thoughts, that horrible sinking feeling just below your stomach, etc. are kind of bearable if you can recognize them for what they are. i treat them like nervous tic or spasm; something that i'm not in control of that just happens. and i'm not trying to trivialize those thoughts and feelings. they're horrible and disruptive. that's just the way i'm choosing to deal with them currently

but there are days where it's just too much to deal with and i wish i had something in my system that would "correct" these incessant errant thoughts that i don't want in my head and do nothing but harm me

but I'd rather cope with whatever's bothering me at the time than deal with the side effects of escitalopram again. instead of making me feel better or less depressed, it made me feel nothing at all. I dont need to be that numb

***
I ain't lyin. This shit i'm making up is true...

the first time was when i was in college. i took a medical leave from school due to depression and one of the conditions was that i had to try medication and therapy before i could be readmitted. i started the meds right when i moved back home and came out of my depression 4 months in. it was like night and day! the trial and error of finding the right meds can be frustrating for most. i only tried one other med before finding the right fit and didnt have any side effects. so overall no complaints.

After two years, i went back to school and immediately began feeling depressed. the meds werent "working" and i spiraled into a deep depression. in retrospect, my environment was more of a factor in my depression than the meds. hard to tell how much the meds really helped since everything was so bleak around me: i hated the school, was extremely isolated, and had no support system.

i didnt see anyone locally. no therapy bc i wouldnt afford it and my doctor prescribing rx was in my home state and we had skype appointments smh. since the meds were no longer working and i wasnt functioning in school, my doc starts giving me all different meds to try. one made me suicidal. scary time in my life esp since i was out there experiencing this all alone. i weaned myself off the meds once i graduated and was insurance-less, also very dangerous. thankfully, no side effects getting off.

second time: ffw to last year. still depressed and feeling on the verge of a breakdown. primary care doc urged me to try meds again. i didnt want things to get any worse so i gave it another shot. no side effects, but no improvement in my mood. i asked my doc to take me off after 3-4 months. again, no side effects getting off.

maybe the meds didn't work bc they just aren't for me, maybe i didn't find the right meds, or maybe bc meds were the only way i was treating my depression (no therapy, no exercise etc). i dont know.

i say all that to say: meds don't work for some, but can be a miracle for others. i don't think it hurts to try.

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ctrl+alt+del

they were wired and gettin' a lot done, but they still looked depressed.

and high.

tried weed? like edibles, maybe?

I know weed is a depressent, but maybe a sativa? Whichever one makes you clean up $hit.

IG: amadu_me

"...Whateva, man..." (c) Redman

I actually think I don't smoke nearly enough.

________________________________________________

The ULTIMATE negation of everything.

The space between despair and orgasm is hard to fill ~ Maron

I am not a practitioner can't tell you whether or not meds would help you, but in my estimation it won't hurt much to try the meds, especially if your situation is more of a chronic depression which seems to linger.

I had some major blocks to taking meds. I thought God would rebuke me for allowing myself to take mind-altering drugs to survive, especially since I am in a state of recovery from substance abuse.

It's not likely that your struggle to take meds is based around religion, but I sympathize with your crisis. In the end, depression is a condition that permeates through all of your consciousness and it's likely that your reluctance is a sense of shame for needing help during a vulnerable point in your life.

They have side effects, yes. But in my estimation, I think the side effects had more to do with my mental illness having some kind of reaction with the meds and myself not having a frame of reference on healthy ways to manage the side effects.

I don't know how young you are, and I don't mean to diminish the reactions that a couple of posters listed here, but those, at least in my life, were rare. (I believe that meds in younger people have a higher likelihood to cause harsher side-effects) Some meds helped out more than others, but I can't recall a reaction that was so serious that I was concerned for my life.

The meds don't really allow you to 'zone out' or gloss over your problems. Anti-depressants seem to blunt the worst of the impulses to move towards internalized anger and rage, but alot of the core issues which surround your condition will remain for you to address.

It's good that you're currently in therapy. That's a sign of a woman who is willing to go to the mat to improve their life and in my experience, that drive to improve your life, even if it looks like you're just bailing water out of a ship that's taking on water, makes a big difference.

If you are concerned that the meds would take away your drive to manage your own health, what may happen is that you would experience a bit of a break from the experience of depression and be able to build the motivation and energy to move to a better quality of life.

O Cipo-Rei vai ligando
Esta Terra ao Astral
Na sua folha Rainha
A visao que descortina
A Verdade Universal

The most effective and efficient medicine known to man is called ayahuasca.
Per usual, the people of the Amazon rain forest have all of the answers when it comes to medication...

As defined in California Health & Safety Code Sec. 11362.5(B)(I)(A) & 11632.7(H)

Relly

low dose shrooms worth a shot too. well maybe a big ole dose and see what change that brings going forward then little reminder doses can really work wonders. can unglue stuck type thought/perceptual patterns that hold a lot of people down.

Seriously, as someone who loves a good trip and has had plenty of experience with clinical depression, I think it's downright irresponsible to recommend psychedelics to people struggling with their mental health, with nothing of a caveat attached.

It's not that it shouldn't be discussed at all, but there are serious risk involved with any drug taking, and "natural" stuff is no exception to that. Ayahuasca can exacerbate previously undiagnosed conditions, it can interact with medication and to top it off there's the risk of your shaman just being a date rapist with a knack for spiritual bullshit.

___________________
"So this is what everybody's always talking about! Diablo! If only I'd known. The beauty! The beauty!"

i am not a doctor. psychedelics are not for everyone. please be careful. it is, however, becoming increasingly possible to use them in therapeutic settings, watched over by doctors intent on helping guide the experience so as to prevent very bad trips.

transcranial magnetic stimuation (TMS) and ketamine are two other alternative therapies that are gaining traction in the medical world. Neal Brennan has done both and says TMS was most effective by far over traditional antidepressant meds and ketamine. He talks about it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfsUxrGmbdU

>Seriously, as someone who loves a good trip and has had
>plenty of experience with clinical depression, I think it's
>downright irresponsible to recommend psychedelics to people
>struggling with their mental health, with nothing of a caveat
>attached.

>It's not that it shouldn't be discussed at all, but there are
>serious risk involved with any drug taking, and "natural"
>stuff is no exception to that. Ayahuasca can exacerbate
>previously undiagnosed conditions, it can interact with
>medication and to top it off there's the risk of your shaman
>just being a date rapist with a knack for spiritual bullshit.

All of this, and this post is specifically about pharmaceuticals for depression. I know there are "natural" treatments but spider venom is natural too. Natural doesn't mean safe.

I'd argue that a single psilocybin experience monitored by a trained professional is far LESS likely to have negative long-term effects than taking an every day sort of pill such as an SSRI. I'm not in the 'natural is better because it is natural' camp. An interesting thing about certain psychedelics is that a single experience can help some people for a long time. They also tend to provide what is subjectively experienced as genuine insight into the state of one's life. There is no issue "getting off" psychedelics because their efficacy isn't based on changing the state of one's neurochemistry with exogenous chemicals on a daily basis. This kind of regimen is something I personally avoid. Our brains are tremendously complex and there is a massive potential for unintended consequences when taking antidepressants daily. A lot of what goes on is unknown; doctors and neuroscientists still do a lot shrugging. I understand the concern about psychotic breaks and I'm not advocating that you or anyone elseg o out and experiment recklessly with psychedelics. They are not for everyone.

Also: sleep, exercise, meditation, diet (cut out bad shit, address nutritional deficiencies, experiment with intermittent fasting). I'd do some real tuning in those areas, if you haven't, before considering anti-depressants. Just my two cents.

From reading about them, and my personal experiences using two of them (venlafaxine in my early 20s and fluoxetine more recently, I'm 35 now), I have gotten the impression that they're more of a hail Mary than a reliable solution.

It's hard to tell their effects, and even trained psychiatrists aren't that much of a help with them since the research into them has been very wonky over the decades. It's obviously helped some people, but I suspect there's a lot of people on them who would be better off without them. I don't even know which category I'm in.

It's not up to me obviously, but if your depression is currently manageable, maybe you're better off accepting that it's part of your life and giving it a place, rather than taking chances trying to eliminate it completely (which is unlikely to happen).

Whatever your choice, good luck and take care.

___________________
"So this is what everybody's always talking about! Diablo! If only I'd known. The beauty! The beauty!"

Have you considered whether your diet is a factor in this?

I do not at all mean to say this is the only answer. But in my case, it absolutely was, and could be worth exploring. I'd been eating too much sugar, refined carbs, etc. For me, it was causing all kinds of problems physically, but crazy enough, was causing problems in my head as well, to the point where I was routinely traveling very dark roads mentally.

Cleaned up my act about six months ago (I went low carb high fat, but again, could be different for everyone) and a week or two in I could start telling a difference. Six months later I'm a new person. When something goes wrong, I don't immediately think "well fuck it all". I don't have that existential despair. I want to engage more, have more energy and good will, am more oriented toward self preservation, etc.

This could all be irrelevant for you - I don't mean to underplay the importance of brain chemistry (though surely diet plays into our chemistry anyway). I also don't mean to stigmatize anti-depressants. Plenty of people out there have found this to be their lifeline, and if that's how it works for you, then it's a blessing. But if you think there's any room for improvement for what you're feeding your body and brain - I'd say it's worth exploring.

Good luck!

"I don't have to squeeze just to appease your dream." Lady Miss Kier

and even when you do it'll be a question of can you deal with the side effects.But they can def help!

_________________________________________
"Too weird to live.... too rare to die..."

IG: KnowOne215 | PS+ ID: KnowOne215

you're not adding substances to your brain or anything.

It still works for me, but you won't be able to avoid the most common side effects of more fatigue and lower sex drive. Just gonna have to get used to those, but with depression you're probably feeling those anyway.

As others have said, make sure you're keeping a good diet and exercise routine.