Posted by 10derHeart on April 12, 2007, at 14:20:32
In reply to Still Looking for SSRI Success Stories As a Lot Wo, posted by Phillipa on April 12, 2007, at 12:42:55
**poss. mild suicide trigger near end of post**
My daughter and I are both major SSRI success stories. I have a feeling these are not the kind you are looking for, Phillipa, but maybe someone reading will have something in common and it will still encourage them. That's what I hope for.My daughter - When she was 19 (25 now) she experieinced a very sudden, moderately severe depression, triggered by dx of a chronic illness and some other stressors in her life. She called me at work one day, crying (she NEVER cried!) and talking about not want to live any more, etc. After a visit to the ER, and a referral to a very nice pdoc (who also stepped in to get some other drs moving on tx for her medical problems), she was given a script for Prozac.
Bottom line - it worked just the way the pdoc hoped. D. is very sensitive to it, and had to open the capsules (10 mg. I thnk) into a glass of o.j. so she could divide the dose 5mg BID. Any more, and she felt very blunted. Within maybe 2-3 weeks at the most, the suicidal thoughts subsided, then disappeared, after maybe 4 weeks of this med. It gave her that push, over the edge (tweaked seratonin just enough?) so she could feel hopeful again and some enjoyment of the normal things a 19-year old ought to enjoy. She took it for maybe 4 months, then tapered off in about 10 days, with no probelms.
Me - I either self-dx (as pdoc was unfamiliar and/or didn't want to make a definitive dx) myself with adult ADD and depression/anxiety about 5 years ago. I was having trouble getting through a day of work without crying, falling apart or having racing heartbeats, couldn't keep house, had to drop a college class as I cried all the way through trying to do homework from lack of concentration, etc. Had suicidal ideation from time to time. Not overwhelming - but scary enough when I started making plans for specific methods :-( Was rx'd Prozac 20 mg, and about 4 months later, added Ritalin IR, eventually going up to 60-80mgs. a day on the Ritalin. The Prozac dose remained the same.
I took meds and stayed in psychotherapy (blend of CBT and psychodynamic, plus a CBT group), for about 2.5 - 3 years. I stopped the Prozac once I felt more stable, far less depression and little anxiety, and stopped the Ritalin, switching that to Strattera, which I've now been on for 3+ years, with great efficacy with various ADD symptoms, which used to get out of conrol and lead me into a vicious cycle of more anxiety and depression.
So, Prozac and Ritalin together, plus therapy worked really, really well for me, allowing for I'd say 70-80% remission. Then Strattera alone worked even better on the ADD part, and I found with continuing therapy and other life changes, I didn't need a straight AD any more, although you could debate whether in my brain, an SNRI like Strat has, in the end, similar positive effects.... I could describe myself now as having around 80-90% relief from ADD symptoms and nearly 100% from depression, about 90% of my life. My current T. (psychologist) would agree my MDD rarely flares up, and when it does, it's mild and short - maybe a day or two and it will disappear.
The point of all this might be.....my daughter and I were/are at one end of a continuum, where perhaps severely TR folks probably hover at the other end. We are examples of the possibly a AD could work, even the first one tried, the first time for some people. I don't suppose that's typical. But, but for anyone who has never tried an AD at all, and is too scared to, this is another perspective.
Prozac played a key role in possible saving me from at minimum, a suicide attempt, and certainly from settling for the horrid quality of life I was leading 5 years ago. But I seriously doubt without the addition of therapy this would have been the case, at least not without higher doses or some other txs. I can't know that, obviously, but I do know that these connections with caring T's have added immensely to my life.
Sorry so long - I got on a roll.....
poster:10derHeart
thread:749295
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20070407/msgs/749331.html