Psychological problems from Depression
Posted , 4 users are following.
I have developed some weird coping skills or distractions. I feel totally strange for this - I hate to be at home as it reminds me when I was so bad I couldn't get out of bed or want to see anybody. This is weird but not so if you are extremely depressed. Everything I look at offers no joy or on the other hand is so overwhelming ie. cleaning the house or taking care of myself and washing my hair?? My husband is supportive that I don't think he knows how crappy I feel on a daily basis.
I can take my car out, but this is a means of escape from the house and it is a distraction of just driving aimlessly around - constantly trying to have that perfect comment for the Pdoc about how I feel. Do I feel depressed enough, or am I just one of his depressive patients?
Now to Sertraline, my current med which is alleviating Nothing! What will the doctor do? Have a cessation of the Sertraline slowly and introduce another Slowly. This process can take a month or more. Everything else tried: Lamotrigine (nothing), Effexor (nothing), Latuda (nothing) back to the SSRI's and Sertraline (Zoloft). A tried and true pill which has been around a while. Relief from Zoloft: when hit 100mg, wow got some relief but not lasting. Increase to 150, nothing. PDoc says go back to 100 where you experienced some relief.
Look, Sertraline has been in my system since the end of July. If it was to do what it claims, it would have done it by now.
I am a 65 yr. old woman, who I am told looks 50. I had a nice part-time job prior to the misery of bi-polar. And, when one goes manic, you can be sure that you will fall into a depression sooner or later. It is so complicated.
Thanks for listening to my rant. Medication may help but it should be coupled with psychological help or cognitive behavior therapy. I have tried the latter with my GP, not knowing if it helps when the brain is not working right.
0 likes, 3 replies
c55c nancyew
Posted
hi nancy, at the moment as you know you are thinking with a depressed mind so unfortunately everything seems crap, pointless, hopeless and so on.
once you are on the right med, this will change.
you have given the ssri's a good go and maybe they are not the right family of med for you, so at this point i would switch to one of these meds below, assuming you have not tried them before:
1. mirtazapine (works differently than the typical ssri's and in a study comparing 12 antidepressants, mirtazapine came in first place - (google 'Popular Antidepressants How They Stack Up' to see the study results for yourself)... i took mirtazapine myself in the past and found it excellent and very fast for defeating depression (personally i felt better by one week), but some people get over-troublesome side effects and i was one of the unlucky ones, so i decided to switch meds. but you might be luckier with the side effects and find that mirtazapine is ideal for you, so give it a try).
2. trazodone another antidepressant which works differently from typical ssri's and has proved effective in people who didn't do so well with the usual ssri meds.
i would recommend giving one of those meds a try.. either one. if it doesnt work, try the other one. give each one at least a month though of course (or longer if possible).
and finally, i disagree about tapering off for a month when switching. going by my doctor, i have never had to do that. i just switch the following day to the new med. sure you might feel funny for a day or two but it's no big deal (especially compared to major depression and anxiety).. and doing this saves you having to wait a month with ongoing depression and anxiety to get onto the next med! ... or, do it this way: for the next time when it is time to take your sertraline, skip it that day, and then the following day, start on the new med (so you have a day break inbetween the meds of not taking any meds. i wouldnt leave it much more than a day or possiblly two days though, because then you might start ot get withdrawal effects from stopping your previous meds).
so that's my advice.. and finally, obviously dont start on high doses of either mirtazapine or trazodone. start on the usual starting dose as recommended in the leaflet or by your doctor.
best of luck
julie80193 nancyew
Posted
Hi
You sound exactly how I am feeling
Been on sertraline since July but I'm still hoping and praying they will work as they did before and took 4 months ish
So hang on in there for a while longer
I've been depressed since Jan this year been on few antidepressants but Drs kept switching me at 3 months so I think for me I have trust in sertraline as worked before
With what you say about your house is exactly how I feel thought I was going mad until reading your post
I loved my home before but reminds me of the darkest days
I'm just waiting for my interests to come back still and have a shower like its no big deal
It's not fair Nancy !!!
nancyew julie80193
Posted
This can't last forever Julie! Funny that we have the same phobia about our houses - actually not funny. Don't hold out for sertraline, it worked for me for awhile and then pooped out. Going to try Abilify with it to see if that works. Of course, Dr.s approval first. I am Bipolar!