Posted by twinleaf on October 19, 2008, at 13:51:41
In reply to Re: it crept up on me when I wasn't noticing... » twinleaf, posted by Phillipa on October 19, 2008, at 12:52:12
Thank you, Phillippa! That's very sweet of you to say. I'm not young (52) and not pretty or beautiful; I think everyone was accustomed to seeing me look kind of discouraged and sad, much as I tried to conceal it, and it was me looking happier and brighter which they probably noticed even before I did.
Over the past ten years, I've taken Prozac, Paxil, Lexapro, Zyprexa, Elavil, Wellbutrin and Lithium. I never really felt any of them had much antidepressant effect. They toned down the pain of the depression some but left me feeling very indifferent and flat- as many others have reported. Wellbutrin and Lithium were probably the best, but I began having elevated blood pressures on the Wellbutrin- that was the one I would have liked to keep on taking- wouldn't you know!.
As to the TMS, it has been shown in animals to have very good effects on brains whose physiology has been altered by depression. Some of the things it does include increasing the blood flow to the left frontal cortex (this is decreased in depression), damping down the HPA axis and thus lowering cortisol output, (it tends to be elevated sometimes, although not always, in depression), increasing BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor) in the hippocampus, which in turn allows the CA3 cells there to start regaining normal architecture and the production of hew neurons (in health the hippocampus makes several thousand new neurons daily).. I haven't had any TMS for about a year and a half, but it really does work wonderfully for about half of the people who try it- and these are all people who have failed a number of drug trials. Since it seems to get at the heart of what goes wrong in the brain during depression, it might be very valuable in helping the brain get back to a physiologically more normal state. I'm considering continuing it on a maintenance basis it for that reason.
I don't think any of the medications I took were in any way useful in helping overcome the depression. I do think the TMS
may have played in important role by giving my brain periods of more normal functioning. But I think the most vital and important role was played by the wonderful therapy I have had for the last year and a half.
poster:twinleaf
thread:858205
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20081018/msgs/858249.html