Anti-depressants anyone?

ktwlpn, LPN · Sep 17, 2003

Originally posted by teeituptom
Why not just pass it out like candy or appetizers at a party nowadays. Seems to be the general attitude. Then you watch all those commercials on the idiot box called TV.Are you unhappy. is life getting you down, do you need a pick me up, then go and take drugs and you wont have to deal with it anymore. Just take it like you take your vitamins.
Next thing you know they will be handing out Paxil, and Prozac, and welbutrin, ativan, xanax and others instead of treats when your kids go trick or treating.
My Oh My

I get by with a little help
from my friends

COME ON ,TOM! I can NOT believe that in all of your time on this board you still have not learned about depression....I can not believe that an educated medical professional would have such an attitude in this day and age...GO back and read the other threads regarding depression.....It has all been said-over and over again....A reminder-my meds don't get me "high" or "make me happy" but they enable me to get my self out of bed in the morning and go about the business of living....Life is not"getting me down" -as a matter of fact we are quite comfortable financially-our marriage is solid-our child and extended family members are healthy(thankfully) and I get to go to work every day and actually do something I enjoy (most days) DEPRESSION IS A CHEMICAL IMBALANCE IN THE BRAIN....It is not having a blue day once in a awhile-because the store sold out of the shoes you really wanted.... :rolleyes:

why do I feel like I am beating my head against a very hard surface?

kayelle · Sep 17, 2003

I was on wellbutrin. I didn't lose weight and it didn't really "help" me. In fact I was on Prozac (gave me the worst heart burn), Celexa, and Paxil (made me gain weight).

You know what finally worked for me? Exercise!

I know that sounds crazy, but give it a try.

Studies have shown that exercise has some of the same therapeutic effects as antidepressants. Plus there's no bad side effects and you DO lose weight with exercise (60 lbs for me).

But what works for one person may not work for another, ya know?

Either way I wish you luck!

Kayelle

LauraLou · Sep 17, 2003

Originally posted by teeituptom
Why not just pass it out like candy or appetizers at a party nowadays. Seems to be the general attitude. Then you watch all those commercials on the idiot box called TV.Are you unhappy. is life getting you down, do you need a pick me up, then go and take drugs and you wont have to deal with it anymore. Just take it like you take your vitamins.

With all due respect, it is obvious you have never had a major depressive episode. I have had several, which is why I take an antidepressant every day.

Imagine feeling completely isolated from the rest of the world, as if there was a long dark tunnel between you and everyone else. Imagine feeling so miserable and unhappy that you wish you had never been born. Imagine a life with no joy, no happiness, just pain, loneliness and despair. That is depression.

People who have never experienced true major depression can never understand. They say things like "just look on the bright side" or "you could snap out of this if you wanted to".

My depression is a chemical imbalance in the brain and runs in my family. My grandmother, two cousins and an aunt all suffer from it. It is a debilitating illness, just as valid as any "physical" illness.

Thank God I was finally able to get help and find an antidepressant that works me. Without it, I wouldn't be here today. So while I respect your right to your opinion, I think you are passing judgment on something you truly do not understand.

dreamon · Sep 17, 2003

Personally, I think that negative post about substituting drugs for candy at parties should just be ignored.

lisaloulou · Sep 18, 2003

Type I diabetics have 2 choices- take a "drug" every day or die.

People with depression face much the same choices. What would your choice be Tom?

I heartily agree that vigorous marketing to the general public by drug companies can be a not so good thing. I love the Procrit billboards.....feeling tired? Ask your doctor about Procrit- HA! But if you have a drug to sell and the patent is expired....come up with a different dose and color and sell it under a different name (ie:wellbutrin) backed by your own research study showing it's effective for another indication.

Depression is a real disease that causes disability and untimely deaths. There are effective medications available. I don't see the problem with choosing to take the meds.

Anyyyyyway, I have depression and take Effexor for it, which is moderately effective. All your posts have encouraged me to follow-up regarding some side effects. Thanks for the inspiration to get off my can and do something positive for myself :)

Those who have been untouched by any disease and dont have to take any medications- thank your lucky stars and genes.

JUSTYSMOM · Sep 18, 2003

I wanted to add my 2 cents here.

Depression runs deep in my mother's side of the family. My grandmother, mother, uncle, sister and myself have all suffered from various forms of depression.

Unfortunately for my grandmother, they didn't have anti depressants in her day. They just considered her a very "nervous" person. She would not leave her home for days on end until the "spell" passed.

My mother had untreated depression that spiraled into phychotic depression. Before she passed on, she spent 2 years in and out of mental wards .

My uncle has tried almost every kind of anti depressants out there and he can't seem to find the right one. He suffers so much that he hasn't worked in almost 15 years.

My sister STILL suffers depressive episodes and she has been on different anti depressants herself. Right now she takes Lexapro.

I am currently taking Wellbutrin 400 mg with 40 mg of Celexa. This is the first time in a looooooong time that I have felt balanced and even happy. I am so grateful that I have found the right combination.

Thanks :)

Jules

juji fruit · Sep 18, 2003

I have tried effexor (gave me horrible orthostatics) and wellbutrin in the past. I am currently back on wellbutrin and the side effects have been minimal. when I was just taking the starting dose of 150 mg, I had a constant headache, but it resolved when I started 2x/day. No insomnia, but I do notice a little trouble relaxing when I first lay down. Also, I will wake in the middle of the night and seem to be wide awake, but I fall back asleep fairly quickly (weird). I can already see a change in my outlook and the way I am reacting, especially towards my ever-challenging 5-year-old (although, I still have no patience for my damned misbehavin dog :0). No sexual or weight effects so far... On a side note, I put off antidepressants for many years because I just don't like drugs in general (mom was an addict). I am so glad I have decided to take them though, because I have been pretty miserable for years. Not suicidal or anything like that, just blah and NOT HAPPY. I really have not enjoyed alot of things for a long time. What kind of life is that to live? Both parents had or have depression (mom passed away), so I definatly have a genetic tendency. Recognizing my own depression has definatly given me the capacity to empathise (sp?) with those who suffer from much worse mental disturbance than I do... Maybe I should go into phsyc? (or not :0)

Court

carpe_de_em · Sep 20, 2003

Wellbutrin causd MAJOR insomnia for me.

Anyone know much about Neurontin? It seems to be prescribed for everything! My doc wants me to take it as a mood stabilizer. M family doc wants me t tak it for fibromyalgia. My daughter had a head injury and it prevents involuntary muscle spasms for her. Every stroke pt gets it, I've seen it used w/ MS, migraines, fibromyalgia, chronic pain, and various other assorted conditions. Is it being over-prescribed? The only benefit I've acturally seen is the 'tics' my daughter had. Wht does it actually do?

Any other tips for insomnia. I fall asleep easily, but am awake and up by 4-5 am (I work 3-11.) Ambien gives me exactly 4 hrs sleep--no more. Trazadone makes me groggy in am, Benadry does the same. Melitonin doesn't keep me sleeping, past 4am. Soma doesn't help. Maybe Neurontin could fix this, too.

MarkHammerschmidt · Sep 25, 2003

Right - definitely doing the familial depression thing at our house, and two of my kids and I are doing the med dance with varying degrees of success. One thing very much worth mentioning is the Omega-3 fish oil thing. This honestly really does seem to work for my son and me, although my daughter won't take them, claiming they give her fish burps. There's actually some pretty good science on this, and one of the big investigators (from Harvard - hoo-wah!) went commercial, putting out a product of his own. After serial investigation and lots of burps, I've settled on Natrol as my brand - it's easy to find on the shelf, nice purple top. Weird, but it actually works. Very surprised. Gives you the craps wicked (I'm in Boston), and have to take imodium once or twice a week, but it's better than feeling like death. Oh yeah, and I take all that other shit too: a tricyclic, couple others...

I'm so sad since they proved that marxism doesn't work. Does this mean that the revolution is off? Guess I'll have to stick to Scientific American then.

LilRedRN1973 · Sep 25, 2003

I used to take Zoloft, but couldn't stand the yawning (when I would yawn, I would feel as though I was going to vomit..not a pleasant feeling!) and the sexual side effects sucked. I also gained a lot of weight on it. So then I switched to Paxil....no yawning, but the sexual side effects were even worse!! So I went off anti-depressants for a few years. Recently, I got married to a great man who has 2 kids from previous marriage (and unfortunately, a psycho ex wife I have to deal with). I was having problems dealing with the children's mother (they live with us and I have to deal with all the hatred and resentment from this woman constantly because of the custody arrangement...like it's MY fault!). So I ask my gyno what to do about the anxiety I had when I knew it was time to face her (every other weekend and a few occasions here and there). Plus, I knew I would be starting nursing school and wasn't looking foward to dealing with all this while trying to keep smiling. He ended up prescribing fluoxetine (Prozac) 10mg per day prn. I was VERY reluctant to take this med as there seems to be a stigma attached to Prozac. But he said it's becoming quite common to prescribe for things like PMS, PMDD, and a myriad of other situations and disorders. So I went ahead and filled my Rx. I don't have many S/E from it, except the damn yawning!!! I yawn constantly, throughout the day. It's very annoying and I'm sure everyone thinks I don't ever sleep. I also think it was contributing to my sleepiness. I would take in the AM and by early evening, I was ready to conk out (this coming from a night owl who can't ever get tired before midnight). I have not taken it for the last week or so and the yawning is gone and so is the sleepiness. But the stress has returned and ex wife is worse than ever....and school is getting tougher! LOL So I think I may try again and just take it at night before heading off to bed. I do think that anti-depressants seem to be over prescribed in today's society, but what the hell....everything else is all screwed up too! LOL I mean look at all the children physician's are diagnosing as ADHD! The majority of them are just being normal kids....yes, there is a small portion of the population that needs the drugs, but for the most part, parents don't want to deal with the hyperness and expect physicians to prescribe something. Actually, a lot of adults are like that too....."Okay, Doc, give me a pill to make it all better". I HATE the idea that I have to take anti-depressants...but I have tried just about everything else before taking the AD route. Nothing else worked and I wasn't able to function 100%. So I take the damn pills.

teeituptom, BSN, RN · Sep 27, 2003

Do you hear what you are saying

ktwlpn, LPN · Sep 27, 2003

Originally posted by teeituptom
Do you hear what you are saying

Do YOU? WE are saying that we are treating our disorder medically.Just like a patient with HTN or hyperlipidemia treats their condition......DEPRESSION IS A CHEMICAL IMBALANCE IN THE BRAIN