Lexapro

[jaimealmostRN]

Is anyone here taking Lexapro? Care to share you expirences with it, any s/e? Thanks!

[Sheri257]

I don't think you can just "snap out of it." It took me several years to get out of depression.

But my doctor insisted that we do it without meds. She said I'd be better off without the drugs and that if I beat the depression without the meds I would be better off in the long run. And, quite frankly, she was right. I've never taken an anti-depressant and I don't have a problem with depression anymore.

Personally, I'm really glad she took that stance because I learned how to cope without the drugs. Besides, I just don't like the idea of having to take a pill to feel better. Drugs may be a short term solution but, I don't think they can address or fix the root causes of depression.

Just my opinion.

:typing

[Jo Dirt]

I don't think you can just "snap out of it." It took me several years to get out of depression.

But my doctor insisted that we do it without meds. She said I'd be better off without the drugs and that if I beat the depression without the meds I would be better off in the long run. And, quite frankly, she was right. I've never taken an anti-depressant and I don't have a problem with depression anymore.

Personally, I'm really glad she took that stance because I learned how to cope without the drugs. Besides, I just don't like the idea of having to take a pill to feel better. Drugs may be a short term solution but, I don't think they can address or fix the root causes of depression.

Just my opinion.

:typing

It isn't a matter of "learning how to cope" or a "bad attitude" in many cases. I lived with it for many years because I didn't want to be "doped up on medication." There are some people who CANNOT come out of depression by learning how to cope, because that isn't the issue. When I finally admitted to myself I needed to give medication a try that was the single best decision I made for myself in a long, long time.

I'll agree there are plenty of lousy attitudes and episodes of self pity that can be worked out with some diet, exercize and counseling, but someone who has never suffered from true depression cannot understand, and it only makes it worse when they allude that those who take medication are weak or don't try hard enough. In my case as well as many others, antidepressants will need to be taken the rest of my life. It is a mental illness just like schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. Antidepressants aren't a "quick fix" for people who don't want to make the effort to become better themselves. That is like Tom Cruise criticizing women who have post partum depression by saying they need to take vitamins and exercise to pull themselves out of it. What a %$^!.

And yes, a pill is unfortunately what some people have to rely on to feel better. Just like diabetics have to rely on a pill or a shot. Or some people have to rely on a pill for their heart disease or their blood pressure. Perhaps we should flippantly tell them to learn to cope without medication.

But depression is not life threatening? Tell that to families who have lost loved ones to suicide.

[Sheri257]

It isn't a matter of "learning how to cope" or a "bad attitude" in many cases. I lived with it for many years because I didn't want to be "doped up on medication." There are some people who CANNOT come out of depression by learning how to cope, because that isn't the issue. When I finally admitted to myself I needed to give medication a try that was the single best decision I made for myself in a long, long time.

I'll agree there are plenty of lousy attitudes and episodes of self pity that can be worked out with some diet, exercize and counseling, but someone who has never suffered from true depression cannot understand, and it only makes it worse when they allude that those who take medication are weak or don't try hard enough. In my case as well as many others, antidepressants will need to be taken the rest of my life. It is a mental illness just like schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. Antidepressants aren't a "quick fix" for people who don't want to make the effort to become better themselves. That is like Tom Cruise criticizing women who have post partum depression by saying they need to take vitamins and exercise to pull themselves out of it. What a %$^!.

And yes, a pill is unfortunately what some people have to rely on to feel better. Just like diabetics have to rely on a pill or a shot. Or some people have to rely on a pill for their heart disease or their blood pressure. Perhaps we should flippantly tell them to learn to cope without medication.

But depression is not life threatening? Tell that to families who have lost loved ones to suicide.

You're jumping to conclusions. I didn't allude that people are weak or didn't try hard enough. I didn't say depression is not life threatening. I didn't say that depression is not a mental illness either.

If you feel you need the drugs, ok. But, as you pointed out, there are side effects, etc. that eventually prompted you to stop taking some of them. This is why drugs may only be a short term solution. This is also why my doctor didn't want me to take the meds in the first place. She felt I would be better off in the long run without them.

For me, beating depression took years. Even when I was feeling my worst, my doctor did not want to give me the meds. She said I would feel a lot worse before I felt better but it was a normal part of the process of getting better for the long term without the drugs.

All I'm suggesting is that there are ways to beat depression without the drugs and all of the associated complications that occur with drugs ... especially if you can find a really good doctor who wants to help you get better for the long run.

Personally, I can't thank my doctor enough. I am forever in her debt, really.

:typing

[Jo Dirt]

Personally, I can't thank my doctor enough. I am forever in her debt, really.

:typing

Well, we have some kind of miracle worker. With what you insist she can do we could empty out mental hospitals and shut mental health clinics and pharmaceutical companies down.

I'm very skeptical, myself, that what was going on was a true case of mental depression.

[Sheri257]

Well, we have some kind of miracle worker. With what you insist she can do we could empty out mental hospitals and shut mental health clinics and pharmaceutical companies down.

I'm very skeptical, myself, that what was going on was a true case of mental depression.

So ... am I supposed to be skeptical and pre-judge your diagnosis as well because we have a different view of the situation?

Just because I'm suggesting alternatives to medication .... medication which you previously mentioned you had to stop taking because of adverse effects ... you're questioning my diagnosis? That I wasn't a true case of mental depression?

I was hospitalized twice. The "miracle" as you put it ... took ten years.

If it makes you feel better ... go ahead. Thankfully, I do feel better ... without the meds.

If meds work for you ... fine. What's wrong with suggesting alternatives, especially if you have problems with adverse effects like what you previously mentioned?

:typing

[rn/writer, RN]

It's time to take a couple of deep breaths and a couple of steps back from the intensity that is starting to develop. Intensity isn't bad in and of itself but when it's linked with negativity, it can get hurtful and ugly.

On the topic of treatment for mental illness, what works for one may not work for another. What works for someone now might lose its effectiveness down the road. Side effects and adverse effects are always a consideration. There are trade-offs only the person who is taking the meds is in a position to evaluate.

It's wonderful to be able to learn to manage depression without meds. I don't think anyone would argue otherwise. But some folks may not survive long enough to complete the process if they don't buy the time they need to deal with root causes. Others may live but end up with terribly messed up bodies and lives because of the things they have done under the influence of great pain. Families have been destroyed in trying to help and handle someone who is severely depressed.

If taking meds can slow or even stop the destruction, maybe that is the best choice possible for some.

Don't forget that depression can be intrinsic (originating on the INside--organic brain lesions, chemical imbalances, etc.), extrinsic (originating on the OUTside--situational depression, drugs, alcohol, abuse, etc.) or a combination of both.

One size fits all treatment ends up shortchanging everyone to some degree. The best approach is the one that works. And that can vary from person to person, from time to time, and from situation to situation. A good example of variability within a single person is the case of a child who has one treatment regimen during the school year and another for holidays and the summer. As his situation produces different demands and stressors, so his schedule is adapted by changing meds, dosages, administration times, therapy appointments, and other options.

There are so many out there who don't understand the great weight mental illness places on individuals, families and communities. It would be great if those of us who do have some awareness could refrain from adding to the burdens and actually offer each other companionship and support, even if there are differences of opinion regarding treatment details.

In the end, each of us is accountable for his or her own choices. We're the only ones who can count the cost to ourselves and our loved ones.

Please be good to yourselves and to each other. Caring and being cared for has universal application and is habit-forming in the nicest possible way.