Posted by leor on July 7, 2002, at 10:04:29
In reply to What do you do when meds don't work?, posted by ensoul on June 30, 2002, at 23:38:53
Hello.
You might want to investigate the effect that your allergy meds are having on your depression.
I know that any product with antihistamine, decongestant or analgesic effect leaves me feeling very depressed.It couldn't hurt (and might help) to interrogate
your pharmacist, p-doc and family doctor about
possible interactions between those allergy meds, your depression and-or any meds
you are taking to manage your depression.Be forewarned - many doctors are not aware that such interactions are possible. If either of the physicians say there is no possible interaction demand that they do some research - just to be sure.
After all, it`s their obligation as good doctors to insure
that the medications they prescribed
are not doing you any harm.I realize how tremendously difficult your total
situation must be. Never forget, though,
that if you can stabilise your health new categories of possibilities may open up for you, and perhaps allow you to do positive things unthinkable right now.For example: while in the doldrums of my depression I was unable to work during the summers (I am a University student from September to May). Apparently I was unemployable, held back by my lack of marketable skills, fatigue and poor concentration. This went on for four terrible years,.
During the past year my medical situation has become somewhat more manageable. Thanks to the resulting increases in confidence, organization and focus, I have drawn more deeply upon what resources of skill and experience I possess. The result has been that I have gained employment (all be it only at an entry level), am devising new ways of developing marketable work skills and am enjoying life more fully.
A turning point in my ordeal came when I resolved to become an equal partner with my p-doc in working to find an effective treatment for my combination of manic-depression, seasonal affective disorder, attention deficit disorder & hyperactivity. (Many specialists had told me that my situation was untreatable). My p-doc, as it happeans, is s a world renowned specialist in bi-polar disorder and even he could`t figure my condition out until I did a great deal of research and conveyed it to him. Why? Because I understood my body far better than he ever could.
I had to read a great deal in order to come up with treatment options that my doctor had not thought of on his own. I had to research countless different treatments, conditions associated with depression, log and reflect upon my own symptoms & e-mail specialists for over two years before I came up with results. Doing so did not require much scientific knowledge. In fact, I obtained much valuable information from psycho-babble postings.
It was a long painful battle and often their seemed to be no possible escape from ruin. But I made it in the end.
I know that this may not provide much in the way of consolation while you are in the midst of a darkness which seems infinite. Still, try not to focus on the future. Focus on making the most of the resources you have to battle your illness. Often, I believe, perseverance, and a personal effort to understand one`s condition and the treatments available for it count for much more than the level of `expertise` that one`s p-doc has.
Best of luck!
Leor
poster:leor
thread:485
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20020702/msgs/536.html