Posted by Tomatheus on January 24, 2015, at 8:41:25
In reply to Dopamine increasing drugs, worsen depression, posted by meffect on January 24, 2015, at 2:07:39
meffect,
I think that it would be a good idea to talk to the medical professional who prescribes your medications about testing for known physical abnormalities that may lead to depression or depression-like symptoms, if you haven't already had such tests done. Some tests that might be ordered include those that measure for thyroid disorders, anemia, and deficiencies of vitamin B12, folic acid, and vitamin D. It's possible that all of the tests might come back with "normal" results, but there's also a chance that an abnormal test result might point you toward getting better treatment for a condition related to your depression that you don't even know about.
As far as medications are concerned, it sounds from what you've written like you benefit to an extent from SSRIs. Do you think it's worth taking the SSRI medications, even though you seem to feel tired on them? Does caffeine help to counteract the tiredness at all? Are you currently taking an SSRI?
Assuming that you haven't tried all of the available depression medications, it might be the case that you'd benefit from a medication that you've yet to try. But other than guessing that you probably wouldn't respond favorably to medications that boost norepinephrine, it would be hard to know how you might respond to various medications without going through the trial-and-error process that psychiatrists put us patients through. Ultimately, some patients respond well to medications, others end up being partially responsive, and yet others don't seem to respond very favorably at all to medications. Regardless as to which of these groups you might belong to, you might find your overall treatment to be most effective if you combine drug treatment with other treatment modalities, such as psychotherapy, peer support, and healthy lifestyle choices. Of course, this assumes that you haven't already tried such treatment modalities.
Going through the process of being treated for a mental illness can be difficult, especially when it's hard to know what treatments might be helpful, but I think that options are available for pretty much everybody with a mental illness. Some of these options, like most medications, are well known, but I think that there are also other potentially effective options that don't necessarily get discussed so often. In your case, I think that getting some tests done might be a good thing to do if you haven't already gone that route. Ultimately, though, you play the decisive role in directing your treatment, and I hope that whatever you decide to do that you find something that ends up being beneficial. Good luck.
Tomatheus
Has long-standing difficulties with energy and concentration, as well as perceptual and cognitive problems
Taking Abilify & supplements including vitamins B3 & D3
poster:Tomatheus
thread:1075449
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20150102/msgs/1075455.html