Posted by CamW on February 26, 2013, at 12:20:02
In reply to What works for severe anxiety and depression?, posted by PrettyLady on February 26, 2013, at 11:49:58
Hi PrettyLady, nice to meet you.
Finding appropriate medication(s) for one's unique situation can, & often does, take a lot of trial & error. One of the most common errors is to not give the medication time to work. An adequate trial is necessary, & the length of the trial depends upon a multitude of factors. It seems that you do give adequate trials for most mess, though.
One of the most important things is to not get too discouraged at the time it takes to find the right medications; "start low & go slow". That is, start at low doses (to minimize start-up side effects), & increase the dose slowly over time. Watch for any sign of improvement over the course of time. For an antidepressant or mood modifier you may not begin to see any real improvement for up to 4 weeks or more.
That said, there are observable signs that a particular medication may work for you. This is where the "art" of prescribing comes into play. For instance, I have found that if one gets severe start-up side effects with a regular starting dose of an SSRI, then there is a good chance that that med will work for you. Just get the doc to lower the dose to a tolerable level, & increase the dose very slowly, over time.
I know that it is VERY frustrating not being able to find the correct combination of medications, but most people usually will eventually find one that will allow them to live a "normal" life within the parameters of their affliction.
Unfortunately, finding the proper combination may take years, but for more than 99% of people, a suitable, effective combination is found.
Don't give up hope & hang in there. I am here (off & on) to help with any specific medication questions, & so are several other knowledgeable posters.
I hope that this is of some help
poster:CamW
thread:1038890
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20130222/msgs/1038893.html