Anti-Depressents

[Ashley]

And as a added question do you feel people can go off of them and be "normal" again?

 

[lyn_j]

[SIZE=14pt]In my life before blindness I was a psychiatric nurse. For about 4 years I was on Paxil and or Effexor. I lost my grandmother and had to give up a foster son that we were going to adopt when he tried to hurt my daughter. I am off them now and have been for 7 years.I was a nurse on a childrens unit of a psych hospital for several years and saw good results with antidepressants. Some people need them always becuase their brains dont make enough Seratonin on their own.... some only need help for a little while BUT and this is a big BUT... you have to titrate off of them not come off them cold turkey. That could result in devistating events.[/SIZE]

Lyn

 

[minimama]

All I can say is you can sure tell the difference when my mother misses the morning pill cart!

It is a family joke and she laughs right along wiht the rest of us, but she most definitely is a different person on her meds. And when she is off, she should not be around other human beings!

I doubt she will ever be able to be completely off of them but they work for her. I have also seen a couple instances where they did not work and had bad effects instead.

I believe in them and that soem people can eventually be off of them, but not everyone can.

 

[minimama]

Ah nicole, if that is young adn dumb, you can come hang out wiht me any ole time! I have always been taught that your body was designed to heal itself and only the rare thing actually NEEDS medication. My mother takes meds like candy so obviously she is nto the one that taught me that. LOL I barely take anything, and do not even have a bottle of aspirin in my cupboard. I look for healthy ways to take care of things and natural ways. Or I try to let my body heal itself for the most part. Doesn't always work, but more often than not, I get over the cold or the flu first and everyone that went adn took those flu shots is still sick.

 

[Miniv]

Sorry, but I do believe that anti-depressants can be extremely helpful for some people. I've seen what some of my family AND friends are like when they weren't on them. And it can be very sad, scarey, and harmful for them and everyone around them.

I will admit, however, that doctors DO hand them out to people who don't need them either......sadly it is often to children......and yes, sometimes there are also adults who don't need the drugs but need to look at their environment, their diet, or even just seek psychicatric help.

I also know of some people that were able to return to normal after being on them. People have to realize that every case is different and there is no blanket solution or drug for everyone. Unfortunately there are doctors out there don't remember that.

MA

 

[Lisa-Ruff N Tuff Minis]

I have seen it work great for some and do think there are some that need it however.. I think it is becoming to easy for doctors to not deal with much and just use it as a quick fix

 

[luvmycritters]

I dont believe in taking meds. for every little problem. But depression is a chemical issue and in that case medication does wonders. I have family members that have delt with this issue and so have seen both sides of the coin ( on and off of the prescription's ). I also agree that some doctors will hand out prescriptions much to freely...Lori

 

[Boss Mare]

I couldn't vote. I am not for antidepressants nor against it. It varies. I do believe there are those who shouldn't be without them, only when all of the other environmental and homeopathics don't have success, but I also believe that over half of those on them don't need them and simply need to learn to cope on their own and get over their own insecurities and find the strength within themselves to over come it.

Off hand, I'll give a few examples from personal experience.

My Brother just went on Paxil a few months ago, do I think he needs it? No. My Godmother is on another exotic type of antidepressant, do I think she needs it? No.

However, a friend of mine is recovering from crack and alcohol addiction. I remember on one binge she went on she spent over $65k in 6 months and lost everything she owned and then some, so that gives you an idea of how much of an addict she was. She is on four different antidepressants which includes medications for AADHA. I witnessed first hand what she was like on and off of them. She has been in rehab numerous times and has always relapsed. Now she's back living at home and is clean, though not sober half of the time. In her case, she doesn't want to help herself, so she just lives life coasting synthetically. Does she need them? Yes, only because she doesn't have the will power to seek another alternative.

Me? I refuse to take any medications of that sort, at least in this mind frame I say that, but wholeheartedly, I can't fully judge until I've walked a mile in someone else's shoes and I hope I never have to. I never take medicines, rarely for a headache I might take Ibuprofen. I recently went through some painful dental work and the doctor loaded me up with prescription pain meds and I haven't even thought about taking one ..... Didn't even take a single Ibuprofen in spite of the pain. I only stick to the occasional much needed medications such as antibiotics.

Long post, sorry.... I'm making up for lost time on my day off.

 

[runamuk]

Well hmmmm......the number one anti anxiety drug proven to work for almost everyone with the fewest side effects is alcohol........ok so on to anti depressents...depends on the person and the depression often if you must remain on meds they will have to change over time as your body often develops a degree of tolerance or intolerance.......

If I were to get depressed and run off and take anti depressents........well woo doggy watch out...you would not want to be on the other end of the reaction those will cause in me

My sister went through some crap...she finally went on paxil I think for about a year and was weaning off slowly when one morning she forgot to take her dose and ran off to work about 1/2 way through her shift they ended up taking her to the ER (she works in oncology) as her blood pressure was through the roof and other horrid symptoms.......so some of them are as extremely addictive as crack/herion/coke....and yes you will go through withdrawls going cold turkey..so don't do it.......

Often the pills work and then the depression resolves and suddenly the side effects become very noticable....so yes many many people go off anti depressants

I am not a medical professional BUT a card carrying member of the whacked out nutjob crew......I come from a very long line of crazy people if you can think of it someone in my family has had it

 

[Ashley]

I am not a medical professional BUT a card carrying member of the whacked out nutjob crew......I come from a very long line of crazy people if you can think of it someone in my family has had it 

Hum for some reason I think that is on alot of peoples list of issues/life stuff.

and yes you will go through withdrawls going cold turkey..so don't do it.......

SO that explains some of the stuff.

 

[DunPainted]

Great topic, Ashley!

There are situations in life for some folks, such as divorce or loss of a child, where anti-depressants, coupled with therapy to monitor the patient's progress is quite necessary.

What's frightening are general practioners prescribing psych drugs and not educating themselves about the side affects and, most frighteneing, the withdrawal symptoms if the patient goes cold-turkey. Because the drug rep didn't "inform" them of this dirty little secret, depending on the med, doctors tend to scoff at patient concerns.

There are folks who grew up in a perpetually stressful environment. Sadly, that the part of the brain which produces seratonin (where our sense of well being comes from) is tapped out, doesn't function. If that's true, how different is taking a seratonin producing medication than a diabetic taking insulin?

Based on many hours of research, I learned anti-depressants are actually harmful to folks suffering from bi-polar disorder (a proper diagnosis that usually takes ten years of seeking help). After so many years of taking anti-depressants, true bi-polar patients suffer an absolute meltdown, for whatever reason, and finally get the help they need. Both my mother, grandmother (and their families) suffered from the effects of what used to be called manic depression. Sadly, people suffered in silence.....or, in extreme cases, institutionalized or subjected to shock therapy.

That said, I think if folks step outside of themselves and their life's whirlwind, maybe the peace they seek can be found in many forms...besides a magic pill.

Just sayin is all.

 

[shane]

my sister ahs had depression all her life one min shes on a high and the next a low when shes on a low you couldnt be in the same room as her she would kill you her children have seen her with blood up the walls on numerous suiside attempts, she was told that she has bi polar, i can no longer see her as she is intolerable but thank god she is on medication for her childrens sakes. I on the other hand suffer from depression i hibernated for 10 years no one new i existed and thank god the last 6 years ive been dealing with it i have very low days but i refuse to take medication i have to deal with what life has threw at me and i dont want to mask it with a pill, because id rather suffer there and then with out my head being played with, i believe that doctors DO hand ourt tablets to easy without listening to the patients problem. i wish all the people that are suffering would get help because i walk a day in your shoes every step i take...... :new_let_it_all_out

 

[Trish]

I was on anti depressants for almost a year. Had anxiety attacks often.

A friend of mine started on a all natural product and told me about it.

Reliv is a food product that is all natural vitamins. I started on it and stopped my RX, it took a week of having the fog lifted, but I have clearer thinking and feel great. My son was on Rx for ADD and he was tall skinny kid, still having problems focusing in school. We started on the product the same time. He is off his RX and on Reliv product twice a day and his grades are fantastic A's and B's and on the Honor Roll. He no longer has teenage acne and they girls are googling over him.

I am now a distributor for Reliv and believe in nurishing our world.

Please check the website www.Reliv.com

 

[justjinx]

For some people, anti-depressants are absolute life savers and affect the QUALITY of life as well. Some people have a shortage of Seratonin produced by the brain as mentioned by several people here already. SOme people DO need anti depressants for life.

There are other cases where people need the help short term to get through difficult times.

Yes, you certainly get withdrawal from suddenly quitting meds.

I could get on a soap box about this...but i won't. Suffice it to say that i would not have hit age 40, let alone 50, without a wonderful psychiatrist's assistance and anti-depressants....

jennifer

 

[DunPainted]

Great Response, Jennifer

It took courage to share your story on the Forum and respect you for it. Don't mind saying Dunpainted is in your boat and for the reasons stated.

There are positives resulting from those suffering with depression or bipolar!

Masterpiece art by VanGogh OR beautiful music by Bach

 

[runamuk]

  Great Response, Jennifer 

It took courage to share your story on the Forum and respect you for it.  Don't mind saying Dunpainted is in your boat and for the reasons stated.

There are positives resulting from those suffering with depression or bipolar! 

            Masterpiece art by VanGogh OR beautiful music by Bach

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I agree.....and while we are at it could we lose the term bi polar as an alternative to manic depression.......they are discovering that the two syndromes are not actually the same

 

[RainSong]

I'll peek oput for five seconds here and answer this one.

As someone who's suffered major depressive bouts since I was around 11 and has bi-polar running in her family, I never really was sure one way or the other. I'd seen the difference Prozac had made in my sister, but never experienced it.

I'd also never been diagnosed with anything- I'd never seen a doctor about it, and until fairly recently, I didn't even recognize that I was having manic and depressive episodes. I literally did not (could not) see my behavior and thinking processes as odd, since it was NORMAL for me. I knew I got awfully "blue" for awhile, but no one ever mentioned anything and I never asked.

During the last few months of my pregnancy, I knew I was more "off" then usual. After Nathan was born, it was like my brain splatted on the pavement. My anxiety caused me to start fixating and fearing normal everyday baby stuff, and my bi-polar dropped me into post partum depression. The PPD was so strong that I could barely eat- I would get hungry, but the thought of putting food into my mouth, chewing, then swallowing, made my stomach churn. I literally had to distract myself just to eat.

I was crying for no reason, couldn't handle anything, and Nathan's crying during diaper changes (Thank GOODNESS he was such a calm baby

) literally hit me like some sort of psychological warfare. I was supposed to love my son, but felt no love- only anxiety, fear, dread, and this overwhelming sense of hopelessness. I knew something was wrong... I couldn't go a day without calling my mother, and multiple calls to the hospital nursery as well. And I'd delt with babies before, too.

The doc put me on Effexor, and it was the difference between night and day. I realize now, looking back, that I was in a place I never want to see again. It terrifies me (literally) to think of ever being that depressed and mentally haywire again. I'm still on the Effexor for now, but will be weaned off it soon- within the next 3 months.

As I told the doctor, I cannot remember a time in YEARS that I have had such a stretch of clear-headedness.

I do believe in anti-depressants. However, like any drug, they can be over prescribed. I will not take medication unless it is needed (in fact, I have at least three precriptions I never filled from the time around when I had Nathan), and have no qualms about asking why it's being prescribed.

I believe that without the aid of Effexor, Nathan or more likely myself would have come to harm. That was one of the few things that surprised me about it all- through out the entire span of my crash and burn after Nathan was born, I continued to take care of him... Even when I was exhausted, crying, scared to death, etc. I knew if I didn't do it, there was no one else who would (since hubby was at work)- and while I wasn't important, that (not so) little baby boy wasn't going to suffer because of me.

Now I look at him and I love him... even if I'm not liking him at the moment because he's missed his nap and is screaming like a banshee in my good ear

I've never been suicidal (I always had the thought of people who needed me/would be devestated without me, but never a thought that I myself was important), but I've been to some pretty messed up and dark places.

My head is my trap, and my brain is apparently not my best friend; the Effexor saved me from breaking down completely. In doing so, it may very well have saved a life or even lives. I jokingly call it my "magic pill"... it's making light of a very frightening experience.

The hope is that my system will once agian be "normal" (whatever is normal for me, that is) as the hormones from pregnancy and such will have mostly gotten out of my system, and I can return to a "normal" existance soon (There's alot more I could say about that, but I won't.)- I'll have been on the Effexor for four months come December 22nd, but the Dr may keep me on this dose for another 2 months (for a total of 6) before he starts to wean me off the medication.

Sorry to have gone on so long about that. It's just one of those "things" with me.

 

[runamuk]

I'll peek oput for five seconds here and answer this one.
As someone who's suffered major depressive bouts since I was around 11 and has bi-polar running in her family, I never really was sure one way or the other. I'd seen the difference Prozac had made in my sister, but never experienced it.

I'd also never been diagnosed with anything- I'd never seen a doctor about it, and until fairly recently, I didn't even recognize that I was having manic and depressive episodes. I literally did not (could not) see my behavior and thinking processes as odd, since it was NORMAL for me. I knew I got awfully "blue" for awhile, but no one ever mentioned anything and I never asked.

During the last few months of my pregnancy, I knew I was more "off" then usual. After Nathan was born, it was like my brain splatted on the pavement. My anxiety caused me to start fixating and fearing normal everyday baby stuff, and my bi-polar dropped me into post partum depression. The PPD was so strong that I could barely eat- I would get hungry, but the thought of putting food into my mouth, chewing, then swallowing, made my stomach churn. I literally had to distract myself just to eat.

I was crying for no reason, couldn't handle anything, and Nathan's crying during diaper changes (Thank GOODNESS he was such a calm baby 

) literally hit me like some sort of psychological warfare. I was supposed to love my son, but felt no love- only anxiety, fear, dread, and this overwhelming sense of hopelessness. I knew something was wrong... I couldn't go a day without calling my mother, and multiple calls to the hospital nursery as well. And I'd delt with babies before, too.

The doc put me on Effexor, and it was the difference between night and day. I realize now, looking back, that I was in a place I never want to see again. It terrifies me (literally) to think of ever being that depressed and mentally haywire again. I'm still on the Effexor for now, but will be weaned off it soon- within the next 3 months.

As I told the doctor, I cannot remember a time in YEARS that I have had such a stretch of clear-headedness.

I do believe in anti-depressants. However, like any drug, they can be over prescribed. I will not take medication unless it is needed (in fact, I have at least three precriptions I never filled from the time around when I had Nathan), and have no qualms about asking why it's being prescribed.

I believe that without the aid of Effexor, Nathan or more likely myself would have come to harm. That was one of the few things that surprised me about it all- through out the entire span of my crash and burn after Nathan was born, I continued to take care of him... Even when I was exhausted, crying, scared to death, etc. I knew if I didn't do it, there was no one else who would (since hubby was at work)- and while I wasn't important, that (not so) little baby boy wasn't going to suffer because of me.

Now I look at him and I love him... even if I'm not liking him at the moment because he's missed his nap and is screaming like a banshee in my good ear 

 

I've never been suicidal (I always had the thought of people who needed me/would be devestated without me, but never a thought that I myself was important), but I've been to some pretty messed up and dark places.

My head is my trap, and my brain is apparently not my best friend; the Effexor saved me from breaking down completely. In doing so, it may very well have saved a life or even lives. I jokingly call it my "magic pill"... it's making light of a very frightening experience.

The hope is that my system will once agian be "normal" (whatever is normal for me, that is) as the hormones from pregnancy and such will have mostly gotten out of my system, and I can return to a "normal" existance soon (There's alot more I could say about that, but I won't.)- I'll have been on the Effexor for four months come December 22nd,  but the Dr may keep me on this dose for another 2 months (for a total of 6) before he starts to wean me off the medication.

Sorry to have gone on so long about that. It's just one of those "things" with me.

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Please do not take this as a flippant answer..please....but TADA here is what hormones can do to an otherwise sane person.......puberty, child birth, menopause, even pre menopause, or athletics (anorexia or other major changes) can set off Bi polar...or manic depressive episodes.........I know........glad the meds are helping and that you are looking to wean back off.......and where the heck are pics of that boy of yours?

 

[RainSong]

Just a sidenote- I've been exceptionally lucky. The only side effect of the Effexor that I've suffered was dry mouth, and that resolved on it's own.

I have heard of many many people having bad problems with side effects off of alot of prescription drugs. We can't fool ourselves here- it's not just anti depressants that have nasty side effects and can't be quit cold turkey. I think it's just more of a "known issue" because of what cold turkey removal can cause with anti-depressants... I mean, what's more obvious- suicide or a mental breakdown, versus damage to internal organs? How long was Vioxx being precribed before they discovered it's life threatening side effects?

 

[RainSong]

Please do not take this as a flippant answer..please....but TADA here is what hormones can do to an otherwise sane person.......puberty, child birth, menopause, even pre menopause, or athletics (anorexia or other major changes) can set off Bi polar...or manic depressive episodes.........I know........glad the meds are helping and that you are looking to wean back off.......and where the heck are pics of that boy of yours?

 

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I wasn't completely "sane" before I had him. Truth is, if not for the severity of the PPD (I'd had episodes before that were bad, just not that bad) and Nathan I wouldn't have gone to the doctor about it... again. Nathan has had the odd effect of making me take care of my own health

But you are very right. My Dr even mentioned something about studies indicating that patients who present with severe PPD after childbirth may very well have been bi-polar/manic depressive (whichever they wish to call it- I have had people say they are different, and people say they are the same) before childbirth, but undiagnosed. He also said they are finding that there are people who are "bi-polar", but don't fit all of the symptoms from the manic/depressive cycles, or simply don't fit the severity of what is usually considered to be "ill" with these... diseases?

Truth is, I'm scared spitless to wean off the meds. I'm scared to death I'll go back to that dark pit the PPD dumped me into. But at the same time, I want to know if I can wean off the meds.

Oh, pics... I posted a few not long ago- bad digi cam pics. But we recently went and got more rolls of film developed, so I should post soon- and I will, I promise, when I can. Nathan is cutting his first tooth, and we're having a lovely war over nap and sleep times at the moment. At least we're not scrambling to make it to appointments every other day now, though.