Posted by Simcha on September 27, 2003, at 13:13:15
In reply to preaching about meds, posted by Francesco on September 27, 2003, at 12:35:20
I have some things to say...
> Most antidepressants meds are likely to cause sexual dysfunctions. Most doctors are not used to advise the patients about this possibility (just in the case you're the one who won't have SD).
True. This is why I have always taken it upon myself to be well informed about medications.
> This is fairly uncorrect because it doesn't allow you to take an informed decision based upon pros and cons. The doctor advocate for him the right to decide what is good for you. He establishes that a possibile relief from depression/anxiety is always worth the probabile SD. This should be in case a decision of yours.Yes, I agree. We should not have to search to find these answers when psychiatrists can easily inform us about side effects.
> Moreover it's quite stupid. Most people will get depressed in discovering they're experiencing SD so vanishing the eventual benefits of the cure. (With the possibile exception of those who suffered of "major depression". But those are nowadays just a part of the people who take meds).
Yes, and yes. I am one of those who suffer from Major Depressive Disorder. I was so relieved not to be depressed for the first time in my life when I started with Effexor that I was willing to be numb from the waist down. After about eight months of that I got into a relationship where I wanted to be sexual. My psychiatrist and I worked together to get to a new mix of meds that allows me to be able to have sex and to remain in remission.
> Moreover sexual health is clearly co-related with well-being (or with the sensation of it, which is the same). I can't understand how you can *cure* something wrecking something else that has a so tight relation with the former.
This is absolutely true. Eventually, once the depression was gone I realized that I wanted to be a whole person again. Sexuality is part of being a whole person. I won't work with a psychiatrist who is unwilling to take a look at the entire picture when it comes to my well being.
> To say "there is nothing else" isn't a proper answer. It's not psychiatrists' fault if there aren't alternatives. Their fault is to declaim that they can *cure* depression.
Fortunately I've never had a psychiatrist who has claimed to be able to "cure" my depression. Both of my psychiatrists have been very up front telling me that I'm in remission and I'm not cured. They tell me that I need to stay on the medications and I need to continue to make healthy life choices in order to stay in remission. Both of them have explained to me that it is very likely that I will need medication for the balance of my life in order to stay in remission.
I have come to accept my condition and the necessity of taking medication to treat it over the past three years I've been on medication. Sometimes it irks me. I hate being one of those people who have to arrange my pills in one of those weekly dose organizers so that I'm sure I'm taking my medications because they save my life. Then again I'm grateful that I have found an effective treatment for my Major Depressive Disorder.
People in my family one generation back did not have the same options as me and they still suffer terribly. Treatments were terrible and they still can be depending on the case. I'm just grateful to be in an age where it is possible to treat my condition. If it shortens my life span, then that is something I'm willing to face. I'd rather be not depressed for a shorter life than have a long life depressed. (We live well into our nineties and early hundreds in my family.)
I believe that my quality of life is much better than my family members of an older generation. I know that medication does not work for everyone. I'm just grateful that for me these drugs are a miracle that allow me to have a life. Without medication I don't function. It's as simple as that.
At present there is no cure. Any psychiatrist who tells you that they can cure depression is lying. For if this were the case we would not be sharing on this board.
Blessings,
Simcha
poster:Simcha
thread:263736
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030923/msgs/263745.html