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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 13 of 13. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Mathew on January 8, 2004, at 21:44:26
I am currently at a stage in my life where i have to decide to accept medication like i have had on and off over the past 3 years and the side effects that go with taking them or try to beat it on my own by........your help please. I always seem to be able to pick myself up after a few months and everything will be good and happy for a few months and then it creeps back and im down again.
Have you been in a similiar situation and been able to overcome depression?Cheers,
Mathew
Posted by reluctant on January 8, 2004, at 21:54:15
In reply to Help me stop major depression without medication!, posted by Mathew on January 8, 2004, at 21:44:26
> I am currently at a stage in my life where i have to decide to accept medication like i have had on and off over the past 3 years and the side effects that go with taking them or try to beat it on my own by........your help please. I always seem to be able to pick myself up after a few months and everything will be good and happy for a few months and then it creeps back and im down again.
> Have you been in a similiar situation and been able to overcome depression?
>
> Cheers,
> Mathew
Mathew,In my early 20s and late teens I was on/off meds quite a lot. Then I found that I could pull myself out of it, by reminding myself that the negative feelings did not reflect reality and that I *would* feel better eventualy. About a year ago, things got very dark and I couldn't pull myself back up - now I'm on meds again. I hesitated to go back on - I felt that I should be able to "do it myself" - but I think so long as you don't expect the meds to "fix" you but rather use them as a tool to help you fix yourself, choosing to go on antidepressants is a sign of personal strength. As for living with side effects - hopefully there's a medication out there that will work for you; the trial and error sucks, though. you could also try regular exercise (hard when you're down), b-vitamins, etc etc.
Are you seeing a therapist at all?-r.
Posted by tabitha on January 8, 2004, at 23:21:55
In reply to Help me stop major depression without medication!, posted by Mathew on January 8, 2004, at 21:44:26
I've had success with reducing dosage, but not eliminating meds entirely. The dose reduction helped with side effects, but the tradeoff is that my mood is also lower. The supports that help me the most besides meds are psychotherapy and exercise.
Posted by sb417 on January 9, 2004, at 0:17:50
In reply to Re: Help me stop major depression without medication!, posted by tabitha on January 8, 2004, at 23:21:55
> I've had success with reducing dosage, but not >eliminating meds entirely. The dose reduction >helped with side effects, but the tradeoff is >that my mood is also lower. The supports that >help me the most besides meds are psychotherapy >and exercise.
Tabitha, I'm interested to know what your medications are. I hope this doesn't sound as if I am minimizing the difficulties you face, but you always seem to be SO productive and resourceful. You made such good use of your leave of absence from work, and you always seem to be busy, doing something interesting and/or fun. What could your magic formula be? Granted, most of that productivity comes from within, but I wonder what meds might be helping a little bit.
Posted by Mathew on January 9, 2004, at 0:43:07
In reply to Re: Help me stop major depression without medicati » Mathew, posted by reluctant on January 8, 2004, at 21:54:15
> > I am currently at a stage in my life where i have to decide to accept medication like i have had on and off over the past 3 years and the side effects that go with taking them or try to beat it on my own by........your help please. I always seem to be able to pick myself up after a few months and everything will be good and happy for a few months and then it creeps back and im down again.
> > Have you been in a similiar situation and been able to overcome depression?
> >
> > Cheers,
> > Mathew
>
>
> Mathew,
>
> In my early 20s and late teens I was on/off meds quite a lot. Then I found that I could pull myself out of it, by reminding myself that the negative feelings did not reflect reality and that I *would* feel better eventualy. About a year ago, things got very dark and I couldn't pull myself back up - now I'm on meds again. I hesitated to go back on - I felt that I should be able to "do it myself" - but I think so long as you don't expect the meds to "fix" you but rather use them as a tool to help you fix yourself, choosing to go on antidepressants is a sign of personal strength. As for living with side effects - hopefully there's a medication out there that will work for you; the trial and error sucks, though. you could also try regular exercise (hard when you're down), b-vitamins, etc etc.
> Are you seeing a therapist at all?
>
> -r.Thank you R,
I greatly appreciate you sharing your experience and feelings with me. I do see a therapist but only when i get that low that i feel i should be on medication. This is the first time i have been on this site and to be honest it worries me when i read everyones bad feelings and complaints about taking medication. I just wish i could find some consistency in my life, 3 months ago i was going great guns and slowly things slipped where i stopped training, eating healthy, socialising ect. I know when i do this i feel great yet for some reason i stop and can't motivate myself to do it again even though i know when i do this i feel much better than when i don't....doesn't make sense. I hope you write to me again i found reading your real life experience much more helpfull than a doctor.
Best regards,
Mathew
Posted by Mathew on January 9, 2004, at 0:46:55
In reply to Re: Help me stop major depression without medicati » Mathew, posted by reluctant on January 8, 2004, at 21:54:15
What medication have you found works best for you?
Posted by tabitha on January 9, 2004, at 1:33:30
In reply to Re: Help me stop major depression without medication! » tabitha, posted by sb417 on January 9, 2004, at 0:17:50
Thanks for the admiration. I still have long periods of not doing much. I just like to post here when I *do* get things done to get some positive re-enforcement. My magic combo is celexa and melatonin.
Posted by reluctant on January 9, 2004, at 7:45:08
In reply to Re: Help me stop major depression without medicati » reluctant, posted by Mathew on January 9, 2004, at 0:43:07
Matthew -
I'm (supposedly) getting ready for work now, but I wanted to quickly reply, to say this: I understand what you mean by being put off by everyone's bad experiences that you read here. I felt the same way. Remember this, though - more people will feel impelled to write about their *negative* experiences than about their *positive* experiences. After all, if taking a medication made you feel normal again, would feeling normal drive you to find a web board where you could share your normal feelings? All the same, there is a good deal of positive here too. Everyone's experience is different, so don't anticipate the bad - judge by your own experience.
better than your doctor, huh? man. so much for my fine arts degree. (Thanks - I'm glad I could be helpful). Good luck & let me know how it goes -
-r.
Posted by reluctant on January 9, 2004, at 14:43:33
In reply to Re: Help me stop major depression without medicati, posted by Mathew on January 9, 2004, at 0:46:55
Well . . . once upon a time, Zoloft worked well for me. I gave it another shot this fall and it was a no go - just made me lethargic and blah. Wellbutrin worked very well for getting my energy up but wasn't very helpful for a lot of other things, like recurrent negative thought patterns - it got me partway out of the pit, but not all the way. I'm still on Wellbutrin, and my pdoc has switched me from zoloft to lexapro. it's still trial time, I've been on it not even two weeks yet - last week went well, this week is less good, but it's probably too early to tell. At least no terrible side effects, and it seems to be doing a good job of keeping the edginess that came along with the Wellbutrin at bay. I'm also starting regular weekly therapy.my only other antidepressant experience was with Prozac - which worked OK but only after I went through a very scary manic phase that felt GREAT at the time, but during which I pretty much dismantled everything in my life that I thought needed changing, all at once. All stuff that needed to happen, but my behavior was very rash, and when the mania was over I crashed hard - too much had changed, too suddenly.
The thing is - it's all different for everybody. So in a way, what worked for me is irrelevant.
Good luck!
-r.
Posted by Mathew on January 9, 2004, at 20:12:15
In reply to Re: Help me stop major depression without medicati » Mathew, posted by reluctant on January 9, 2004, at 7:45:08
> Matthew -
>
> I'm (supposedly) getting ready for work now, but I wanted to quickly reply, to say this: I understand what you mean by being put off by everyone's bad experiences that you read here. I felt the same way. Remember this, though - more people will feel impelled to write about their *negative* experiences than about their *positive* experiences. After all, if taking a medication made you feel normal again, would feeling normal drive you to find a web board where you could share your normal feelings? All the same, there is a good deal of positive here too. Everyone's experience is different, so don't anticipate the bad - judge by your own experience.
>
> better than your doctor, huh? man. so much for my fine arts degree. (Thanks - I'm glad I could be helpful). Good luck & let me know how it goes -
>
> -r.R,
Thanks for taking the time (maybe works time ? :) to write to me again. I understand what you mean about people's negative writing or experiences due to their mental state, and did have a good laugh to think if i had my shit together would i be spending Friday night on the pc posting threads about depression ect?
I have only ever been prescibed Effexor which i have taken on 2 occasions for 6months and recently Edronax. To be honest with myself i know my thinking and moods are a litle bit different than the *norm* and would love to have the stability to live life and see things differently (Not that others see me having a problem...just how i feel inside sometimes) . A lot of the posts on this site worry me because i do not want to "join the gang" that become walking cocktails of A-D medication in search of the right combination. When i read some of the threads i think a lot of these people will always find an excuse why medications, doctors can't help them.
My doctor is on leave until FEB which is a bummer because the Edronax is not working. It gives me more energy even though it doesn't allow you to have a solid sleep.It does not help with the negative reoccurring thoughts and i could do without it's Side effects for a little bit of extra energy. I have really found that writing to you helps. I find it easier expressing my feelings and thoughts in writing....to a complete stranger than DR's, family or friends.
I think stability in my life would go a long way towards securing better feelings, then again i have read where people have the perfect job, relationship ect and still can't help how they feel. If you don't mind me asking have you been in this situation before?
I aplogise if this email did not make much sense or have much direction- I think it is just helping me by writing my thoughts.Thanks R.
I would like to keep in contact with you R, but understand if you do not want to.Thanks again-
Mathew,
Posted by reluctant on January 9, 2004, at 20:31:05
In reply to Re: Help me stop major depression without medicati, posted by Mathew on January 9, 2004, at 20:12:15
Mathew - I'm happy to help. It's helpful for me, too.
walking cocktails: know what you mean. I was really not happy about adding pill no. 2. but, like i said, the main thing is to remember that the pills don't have much power to change anything - they can make it a lot easier, though.perfect lives: well, my life's not perfect, but it's pretty damn good, all things considered. most of the problems that I do have are a direct result of my depression. It helps to be in a job that's meaningful to me & to be living in a place that I love, but I was surprised to find that when I got those things, I didn't feel much happier than before. And realizing that made me feel more depressed! I couldn't blame my depression on outside circumstances.
Not sleeping well can have a big impact on your mood - I know it does for me. Deprive me of too much sleep and I'll cry at the drop of a hat. Once again, I'm going to plug Yogi Tea Co.'s Bedtime Tea (no, I don't work for them! It's just been so helpful for me.)
hope you sleep well tonight, anyhow. fret not, I'm spending my friday night here too, apparently.
-r.
Posted by sb417 on January 9, 2004, at 23:31:32
In reply to Re: Help me stop major depression without medication! » sb417, posted by tabitha on January 9, 2004, at 1:33:30
Posted by Mathew on January 10, 2004, at 0:32:37
In reply to but of course » Mathew, posted by reluctant on January 9, 2004, at 20:31:05
Are you on-line now R?
This is the end of the thread.
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