Posted by jujube on November 3, 2004, at 16:04:00
In reply to Day 6 and feeling much better...., posted by yoopergirl on November 3, 2004, at 14:59:38
Hi! I'm glad you are starting to feel better. Don't give up. The "breakthrough depression" you are experiencing is likely the withdrawal, which may last two or three more weeks. So try not to despair. Maybe you might have to be on ADs for the rest of your life. There is no shame in that, especially if the meds improve your quality of life. Work with your doctor to identify an AD or combination of ADs that will work well to get your depression at bay. Perhaps you can ask you gp to consult with a pdoc on appropriate meds. Or arrange for you to have a consult based on your profile. In the meantime, you can ask others on this board what meds or combos of meds have worked best for them, so you can be prepared to discuss options with your doctor. I have found that there are a lot of smart and knowledgeable people on this board, who are genuinely willing to help and who have been where you are right now.
As for therapy, if you can't afford it, look into investing in something like "The Feeling Good Handbook" by David Burns. It teaches you Cognitive Behaviour Therapy techniques to help you overcome or deal with depression and anxiety. I have heard it is quite good. I recently bought a copy ($21 in Canada through Chapters/Indigo), and plan to start using it very soon. There are other self-help books similar to this. You can search on Amazon books to find others that may be useful.
Finally, with respect to weight loss, I had gained a few pounds a number of years ago that made me really uncomfortable. I had never had a problem with my weight before, and used to be able to eat whatever I wanted. In my mid to late thirties, I guess my metabolism slowed down and I started putting on weight, and realized I couldn't put eat like I was eating. I did lose the weight and am now back to my normal weight. I followed a plan called "Mincavie" (roughly translated it means Thin that's life or Thin for Life). It was developed in Quebec, Canada, and was an extremely effective program. I actually lost much more weight than I had planned, and was back down to a size 6. A number of my friends followed the plan as well, and had great success with it. It is well balanced, and not too restrictive (although breads and starchy foods, they are not excluded).
Anyways, I wish you luck. And please don't despair. Things will get better.
Tamara
> I am not so weepy anymore but I still get a that weird feeling at times. As time goes on it's less and less.
>
> When I was on the Effexor (besides getting quite irritable) I was a bit OCD. Has to be from the Effexor---never was like that before. Also, I have always had a bit of a problem with eczema but could keep it under control ----but the withdrawal from Effexor severely increased my itchness and area of eczema. This has since subsided. Whew!
>
> The weird thing about coming off is the crash. I went right down to my lowest place of depression.
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> I am a 43 year old female and overweight. I am going to see my GP tomorrow and would like some input as to the right SSRI and dose that worked for any of you.
>
> I know some of you are going to tell me to see a phychiatrist and get into counceling, but I have no insurance and don't want to put myself in debt. Although I am sure it could help.
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> I am going to be depressed for the rest of my life and I've already accepted the fact that I will be on meds until the day I die. But the weight gain and lack of energy has become a big problem for me.
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> Any thoughts would be appreciated.
>
> The comment about coming off of Effexor being like Heroin Withdrawal was funny to me because, although I have never used Heroin, "Trainspotting" is one of my favorite movies!
poster:jujube
thread:13781
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20041103/msgs/411205.html