Thinking of giving Antidepressants another go....

[blip]

.

Edited April 6, 2010 by lsdreamz

[mac]

try to stay positive ill send ya some suggestions on how i work through my down days via pm

[coin]

i have used SSRI's a couple times over the past 12 years when i felt desperate basically...but eventually when i felt that need for pharmacological intervention, i ended up always going back to moclobemide (an MAOI). this starts working straight away because there are no slow neuroadaptive changes that need to take place.

aside from depression i've had equally intense anxiety, and the main side effect from the moclobemide was a lot more energy, which could translate into increased anxiety. but that was tolerable. also i had mild-moderate difficulties with falling asleep and then sometimes more intense dreams. but usually it was what i needed to get out of a funk, get motivated to make more broad changes, and the change of perspective would suddenly open my eyes to how depressed i had been and how badly it was affecting me and others. somehow when it was all at its worst, i just stopped caring and stopped seeing things clearly. i should not fail to mention there was substance issues involved in all of this.

i never really took the moclobemide for more than maybe 2 months.

technically it's potentially risky to be combining amino acids such as tryptophan and tyrosine with antidepressant meds..but it can be a way to fine tune the effects. you need to be well informed before playing around though

if you haven't tried using amino acids already, i would definitely recommend doing that first

Edited August 5, 2009 by coin

[MindExpansion]

Citalopram 20mg daily, an SSRI.

Took about 3 weeks to start feeling the positive effects, side effects started maybe a week prior.

Noticed a significant change in my happiness and outlook on life. Felt better, more energy, motivated, more social, less anxious and uncomfortable.

Side effects that bothered me mostly were sweatiness, particularly the night sweats, and vivid dreams.

After stopping them and seeing the rapid decline in my mood I am on them again.

There is no point taking them without therapy, it defeats the purpose, medication is meant to help you get in the right mindset for the therapy to be effective, well thats how i view it anyway.

Peace

[G*P]

All i'll say is "pleas don't".

There are so many more positive and beneficial methods, longer lasting + less dangerous..

And, winter is meant to give you the 'dippity downs'. I'm in the depth of some dark night shit myself.

Other than going back on antidperessants, can I ask what other suggestions your doctor has made?

Some good ones perhaps?

[blip]

.

Edited April 6, 2010 by lsdreamz

[Μορφέας]

Try steroids, Great mood enhancers.

[blip]

.

Edited April 6, 2010 by lsdreamz

[MindExpansion]

When you tried the lexapro and other ssri's did you try dose adjustment? or try one dose regime and when it didnt work quickly you stopped treatment?

Some docs forget that people are individuals, the recommended dose may not be enough for you, like you say, your response to other drugs may suggest a high general tolerance to things with neurological effect.

Perhaps you should tell him that, try one of the ones youve tried before but at a higher dose.

G*P its easy to say that and pooh pooh the meds, but my depression wasnt getting any better, and i couldnt get motivated to change that, until i snapped one day and realised i couldnt deal with that shit anymore, so off to the doc i went, luckily my gp is a good one, and he wouldnt script me the drugs without psychological evaluation, so off i went to the psychologist, and only after that when i went back and asked for the meds, did he give them to me, and theyve helped enourmously, also i dont think dreamz is talking about the winter blues.

Peace

[coin]

yeah aurorix=moclobemide

when taking the amino acids, they need to be consumed without other amino acids/proteins present. protein powders, etc, won't be helpful this way

you need to assess which ones are suitable as well, which is based on what form the depression takes.

can write more later but the use of aminos for depression/anxiety has been discussed here in depth

[botanika]

Try jogging and long walks in nature.

[blip]

.

Edited April 6, 2010 by lsdreamz

[holymountain]

hey dude

i've never taken anti depressants myself but i have a lot of friends who have used them. it seemed to really take the edge off of them. i guess that's the whole point but i worried about their loss of life and indifference to everything.

a quick question? do you smoke weed everyday? any other drugs? if so i'd recommend stopping that first and seeing how you go before you decide to take medication every day. long term use of weed is a big one for causing depression from what i've seen...it also clouds up your head big time and doesn't allow you to see answers and solutions that are in front of you.

anyway...sorry i couldn't give any personal experience. all the best.

[ThunderIdeal]

i wasn't aware this was an issue for tyrosine, but my understanding is tryptophan has difficulty getting into the brain, once it's the brain can convert the desired amount into 5 htp which becomes serotonin. 5htp doesn't have that problem, the major concern is that the resulting serotonin from a 5htp dose can't be controlled by your body. it's your choice with 5htp but if you use tryptophan, since it only enters the brain in the absence of other amino acids, you basically need a period in the evening where no protein is consumed. i can't advise which food has no protein, but i have dinner at around 6pm and any time i realise it's midnight and i haven't eaten in six hours, i will pop a tryptophan in the blind hope that it will improve my serotonin and melatonin levels.

[blip]

.

Edited April 6, 2010 by lsdreamz

[holymountain]

Your right mate I was a daily smoker for 3 years untill one day i suddenly stopped having the urge to smoke and started thinking about my family and maturing etc. That was 3 years ago now and havent smoked since, not even tobacco. I used to be a drinker, 3-4 beers a night for a few months and again i stopped that. I wish there was some clinic you could goto and they take a smaple of your blood while doing all these other tests to find out if everything is ok with you . Instead of sitting down with a doctor and they just give u drugs that take a month to work untill u do it all again.

yeah it goes like that...smoke every day. stop smoking. drink every day. stop drinking. struggle to find something healthy to fill the gaps.

although..i seem to remember seeing someone who looked like you having a cone or two on a camping trip a few months back?

a friend of mine had a bad experience with trying a new med each month. some of them really messed with her head. but she had to keep taking them for the month. then it was time to try something else. for about 6 months her life was really screwed up by this. i know you are looking for help and relief but i urge you to try and do it on your own. someone suggested excercise before...i reckon if you gave yourself a good work out every day for two weeks and didn't feel better maybe then try meds as a last resort. but give every other alternative a SERIOUS attempt first i reckon.

Edited August 6, 2009 by holymountain

[botanika]

I love to go walking in parks, mainly exploring area's of national forests that nobody in their right mind would go. Nothing dangerous (aka heights) just trying to find a cave or something interesting But when im doing this i feel guilty that i should be loking for a job, cleaning this.. doing that. Its like i make myself not enjoy things by using guilt as a weapon.

'a man with rest is healthy man'

I envy you for having time to feel guilty about walking and exploring caves! Keep smiling

[botanika]

I wish there was some clinic you could goto and they take a smaple of your blood while doing all these other tests to find out if everything is ok with you . Instead of sitting down with a doctor and they just give u drugs that take a month to work untill u do it all again.

they do blood analysis in china when I go for my medical. They basically say the same thing to everyone afterwards though: 'get more rest, eat more fruit and vegetables and excercise more'. Simple stuff really - the entire animal kingdom doesn't need antidepresents - why should we?

[eexpee]

Past Experience: Major Depression - I went through a lot of medications during this period. I was on Prozac for a short while (6 weeks) but came off it because that shit messes with your thoughts (bad). I was on Zoloft 50mg to start with not long after this. It wasn't doing anything so eventually after increasing the dosage gradually I ended up taking 200mg at one stage!

SSRI's are very specific to the person. Prozac IMO is shit, zoloft being the best of the lot. Just because the zoloft didn't do much help before doesn't mean it didn't work. I was in a state during that time that only a miracle could bring me out.

I am on Zoloft 50mg now voluntarily as I know they helped my anxiety and since a re-emergence of a latent anxiety disorder I needed something to help me.

With SSRI's you NEED to let them work before you can make up your mind. 6 weeks a minimum IMO because everybody is different. The effects are not how you would say immediately noticeable when they start happening, but when you think back 6 weeks before you realise you generally have been better. I think therapy is just as, if not more important than just taking medication, but then again I can't talk- I haven't seen a shrink in a while...

Anyway, good luck! Sorry if this didn't make much sense, i'm deadly tired - hsc shit

Tim

[mutant]

Short history of a friend:

After a break up with a girl, a depressive and anxiety crisis developed. He went to seek medical advise and went to a psychologist who was decent and good, lucky him. The psychologist prompted him to a psychiatrist and he got prescribed Xanax for anxiety [the first period] and Zoloft as antidepressants, as the psychologist ordered.

At first I thought 'wow! they drugged him alright' when he told me all about it, but then I began to see great changes not only in his mood which is of course constantly unnaturally elevated, but in his thought patterns : you see, this guy was actually doing psychotheraphy with the psychologist, from the begining. The Xanax he took only for some 2-3 months, and as soon as anxiety faded off he stopped them. He is still on 200 mg of Zoloft which are working very well a year after the crisis. He has worked a lot with his issues and I think, that working with this approach has been an ideal example of correct ssri use.

Of course, the ultimate check is when he will gradually lower the zoloft intake to zero intake. Then it will show how the internal changes through psychotheraphy have indeed been established for good and psychotherapy was partially successful.

IMO, taking ssri or some antidepressant while not wanting to see an analyst, working with the issues is a bit naive. Not working with your issues, might just have you worse after you cease the antidepressant use. But yeah, if I had depressive tendencies and I had not motivation or whatsoever, I might just go for it.

And oh, yeah, I think cannabis overuse + depression = bad news

[kenny]

I wont list my experiences or what I took. The list is too long and embarrassing.

Suffice to say the time I spent trying to help myself with pharmaceuticals was a waste. Healthy eating + exercise + finding something you love doing and staying focused does the trick. It took some heavy psychedelic journeys to figure out this plain and obvious fact, but hey... I got there

Everyone is different of course but I would recommend trying ALL other routs before resorting to antidepressant/anti psychotics.

[poo]

yeah it goes like that...smoke every day. stop smoking. drink every day. stop drinking. struggle to find something healthy to fill the gaps.

although..i seem to remember seeing someone who looked like you having a cone or two on a camping trip a few months back?

a friend of mine had a bad experience with trying a new med each month. some of them really messed with her head. but she had to keep taking them for the month. then it was time to try something else. for about 6 months her life was really screwed up by this. i know you are looking for help and relief but i urge you to try and do it on your own. someone suggested excercise before...i reckon if you gave yourself a good work out every day for two weeks and didn't feel better maybe then try meds as a last resort. but give every other alternative a SERIOUS attempt first i reckon.

I'm in much the same position as holymountain in regards to never having taken anti depressants, so I guess I might have no idea really, but like him, I've known and been close to those who have had to use them. His advice is really very wise IMO. Be honest with yourself in trying to understand your situation without chemicals/drugs/relaxants/anti depressants - not that that's easy to achieve of course, but it's in your best interest as you know. It's a damn hard, horrible, frustrating, irritable, cunting annoying shit of a couple weeks, but it can be interesting if you can manage to look at it that way. Each to their own and all that, but I've had some horrible, testing, scary, ugly full of fear/hate kinda times coming down from somethingarather on the odd occasion (to say the least), and looking back it's been the most amazing part of that journey. Fucked if it's anything like that at the time - but looking back and re-journeying through it; it's amazing. I know your experience with depression is far from the same thing, but there are similarities on some levels.

Clichéd I know, but be strong. All the best man, oh... and check out the mighty boosh live shows if you haven't already, PM if you can't find em

[G*P]

hey dude

i've never taken anti depressants myself but i have a lot of friends who have used them. it seemed to really take the edge off of them. i guess that's the whole point but i worried about their loss of life and indifference to everything.

I've found the same. The lights go from peoples eyes, even as they say "yeah, im happier than ever..!"

Everyone is different of course but I would recommend trying ALL other routs before resorting to antidepressant/anti psychotics.

Absoloutely.

Fuck, I was being abducted by aliens every night, lost all my friends and family- had my life fall apart after being hospitalised..

and my doctor was still too responsible to feed me that shite. And im glad for it. It took a full year to recover after having a level 4 (first ever shroom trip) due to the thorazine that essentially 'froze' my mental state. Mind you, not many ppl can still see after staring at the sun for as long as I did.. tripping in the daytime no less.

I was forcibly removed from my own home by social workers and police- I was beaten, cuffed and eventually strapped to a hospital bed while they grey alien doctors (lol) implanted me with ... valium and other nasties. lol

Oh.. the juice is, that I lost my house.. my job.. everyone I knew disowned me.. haha..

I dont know about others situations, but if I can get over all that funk without antidepressants im fairly sure anyone can exercise and eat right till their shit hooks back up.

[blip]

.

Edited April 6, 2010 by lsdreamz

[SunChaser]

Over the years I've tried heaps of different anti-depressants and I'm just gonna say one thing, STAY AWAY!

They simply don't work you just need to read a few case studies to realize that they are nothing but a billion dollar scam! A placebo! I mean some will help with sleep and others will help a little with anxiety but if you think your depressed now just see what happens when you have a bad side effect and have to stop taking the medication suddenly, a bullet in the head won't seem so bad.

Stuff those dangerous drugs. Now my only medicine I use is the good old herb, helps me sleep, eat, makes me happy, gets rid of my anxiety and helps me socialize which I have a hard time doing (due to having aspergers) and most importantly there are no life long side effects and you can suddenly stop smoking without any real side effects. Like someone said if you smoke to much your not going to do your self any good, but like wise with all drugs.

Just do some research, don't take the doctors word for it, in my experience they have no idea even if they cared!