Posted by SLS on March 28, 2001, at 8:48:10
In reply to Re: treatment resistant depression » Christina, posted by sweetmarie on March 28, 2001, at 3:43:01
Hi Anna.
> It [dothiepin] was the first anti-depressant I was prescribed, and it worked for me 100%. It worked so well that, in conjunction with my GP, I came off it after a year. The depression came back almost immediately (worse than before in fact), so I went back onto it. Unfortunately, it failed to have any effect at all 2nd time around, although I persisted with it (at all levels of dosage) for a further 18 months.
> So, no I`m not still on it, but curse my folly in discontinuing it all the time
I know you realize that you made a perfectly logical decision with the information you were provided; a decision driven by a very understandable desire to discontinue a drug, along with its side effects, that is no longer needed. It is also understandable that you should not want to "rely" on any drug to remain healthy. People with all sorts of illnesses want to be able to live without the drugs they are taking. Many of them petition their doctors to discontinue their medication. It is the responsibility of the doctor to council the patient as to whether or not they should and, ideally, to explain to the patient why. It seems that your doctor at the time did not possess the information regarding antidepressant continuation. At that time, perhaps psychiatry had not yet recognize the potential for post-discontinuation treatment-resistance. Perhaps it was, but your G.P. was without the expertise to remain current with psychiatric issues. Either way, your decision at that time made sense.
"What if...?"
20/20 hindsight provides an unfair advantage for those who have it in advance. I can look back 13 years ago and isolate a single decision made by my doctor that resulted in the loss of my late 20's, all of my 30's, and still counting. I can look back on some of my own treatment decisions that, in retrospect, could have prevented me from getting well. Still, I remember how human I was at the time I made these decisions, and try not to place too much weight upon my shoulders for the blame and guilt I feel for having made them.
I know 12 drugs sounds like a big number. It is. However, compared to some of the people here, you have plenty more treatment possibilities ahead of you than you have had behind you. You should remain optimistic.
I do not regard your decision to discontinue dothiepin as "folly", whether you were counciled properly or not. I wish that I had followed some of my doctors' advise instead of f____ing (follying) around. I try to learn from my past so that I can provide myself with a better chance of having a future.
Sincerely,
Scott
poster:SLS
thread:55847
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010327/msgs/57761.html