Posted by Racer on July 3, 2005, at 3:27:03
In reply to Re: Rediculous anti-depression medications (EffexorXR), posted by superman on July 2, 2005, at 18:48:06
Let's see, don't tell you that God will provide, don't tell you that you need to find another medication, don't tell you much of anything, huh?
How about this? How about I tell you about my own experiences, and you take from it what you will?
I'm middle aged now, but first started experiencing major depression right about the start of adolescence. Life was worse than I can say for many years, including long stretches when I couldn't get out of bed, but the adults in my life just said that I was "bad" or should just "pull myself out of it, force myself to do" whatever it was that I was supposed to do. Trust me, kiddo -- it sucked quite a bit.
The first time I went on anti-depressants -- before Prozac came out, so none of these nice, new meds -- it was a revelation! Life was bearable, for about the first time ever!
Mind you, that antidepressant -- nortriptyline -- had a list of side effects that makes Effexor look like candy: I was constipated, couldn't sleep, gained about 70 pounds, and was very sedated most of the time. For me, at that time, it was worth it! That was the first relief I'd gotten in so many years, and for the first time I felt as though there was a chance that I could make my life work. Besides, in those days, they said to take it for about six months.
Well, fast forward several years, and I got depressed again. This time, it was a new drug, Paxil, a second generation SSRI. Again, side effects like constipation, lack of emotion, sexual side effects, and I gained about 50 pounds or so. Mostly, it was worth it.
Fast forward a few more years, and I was on Effexor. As far as side effects went, it felt so clean I thought it was a miracle. Didn't last, but it was so much nicer than the older drugs!
And the withdrawal was unpleasant. Ain't no one here gonna tell you any different. It took me about eight months to taper down from 225mg of Effexor XR. I didn't enjoy that period of my life. Would I take Effexor again? Well, I would if I thought that it would work better and longer than it did. So, instead, I take the newer SNRI, Cymbalta.
You know why I take the anti-depressants? I take them because, when they work, they make my life bearable. They allow me to function. Without them, I cannot live my life. With them, I can do the things I need to do in order to make my life work. Easy equation for me.
I won't tell you that anything about these drugs is good, that anything about needing these drugs is fair, or that you'll change your mind once you try another drug. I have no way of knowing if any of that is true.
What I will tell you, though, is that a good therapist *will* make a difference in your life. That's not a "maybe" -- that's a definite. A good therapist, and some hard work on your part, and your life will improve. Give that a chance.
Oh, yeah, and if this therapist doesn't work out for you, you can find another therapist who is a better fit for you. Because trust me on this one, too: better to do something now to improve the way you feel than wait until you're as old as I was when you start working on this.
Good luck to you, and do consider sticking around here. We've got a lot of good people here, who will listen and do their best to hear what you're saying. What's more, we've got a lot of different boards here to choose from, so you can hang out at Social for basic breeze-shooting, or go to Health for weird health things, or check out what we're reading on Books. (You may be too young for kids books, but some of us old folks love them. Check out some of the threads over there for some fun reads.)
poster:Racer
thread:522630
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050702/msgs/522826.html