Posted by Cece on May 17, 2001, at 2:49:57
In reply to I'm a little scared of these drugs..., posted by roo on May 15, 2001, at 11:26:50
I was really scared of drugs for a long time, and not open to them. It took years of basket-case depressions, and finally a second major breakdown (and a doctor that I trusted) for me to decide to try and try again to find a drug to help me.
But I am BPII, and I suffered through decades of untreated depression and hypomania- I tried, and was told by psychologists that I just needed more therapy. If I had all the money now that I paid for that therapy, I'd have a good retirement fund! The therapy was helpful, the therapeutic relationships kept me alive, but I had a disease and needed medical treatment. But instead I went for years without treatment with my disease getting worse.
Well, no one drug helped me- it has taken a substantial mix, and I tried many, many along the way. It is clear to me- no question- that I am someone who will need meds for the rest of my life. As new ones come out, some of them have improved my results, and my mix gets modified. Several of the drugs that help me most now weren't even available when I began treatment. It is a lot of work to keep all my meds stocked and now my fear is that I will get old and feeble and not be able to do all this organizing and won't have anyone to do it for me. I can get really scared behind that one.
Zoloft was in my mix along the way, and I hated the sexual side effects. I was able to drop it out, luckily, as my mood stabilizers and my one other AD (Nortriptyline in a very small, 40mg/day dose) modulate if not eliminate my depressions. I also started taking testosterone supplement along with my other Hormone Replacement Therapy (I'm 52), and that helped revive my libido a LOT!
So maybe there are other effective possibilities for you besides the Zoloft. Try to get over the "guinea pig" fears- that's just the crude state that medicine is at these days. And don't judge yourself if you do need meds for life- it's okay, an inconvenience, but okay, and not nearly so inconvenient as depression.
Best wishes,
Cece
poster:Cece
thread:63095
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010515/msgs/63319.html