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I've had two bouts of depression, 10 yrs from 1991 to 2002 and it was thyroid that was crying for HELP.
After years of "doctor shopping" I hit a smart doctor, the doctor who worked on my back for years. Imagine that, a doctor who knew more than the back issues.
Then in 2006, a lowness hit me and it was Vit D deficiency.
As the article says, we all have ups and downs and I've had my share and live thru some right now.
I went on Prozac in 1998 and it really helped me through a very dark period. I went off 2 years later. I went back on however when my PMS would send me into a downward spiral that kept me in a very dark place for days on end. I stayed on it for about 5 years and decided I no longer wanted to take it. Two years later I went on Celexa for the exact same reason, my PMS.
I went off that but now I am on Elavil but not for depression. Its for my peripheral neuropathy. It doesn't really work though.
I went on Prozac in 1998 and it really helped me through a very dark period. I went off 2 years later. I went back on however when my PMS would send me into a downward spiral that kept me in a very dark place for days on end. I stayed on it for about 5 years and decided I no longer wanted to take it. Two years later I went on Celexa for the exact same reason, my PMS.
I went off that but now I am on Elavil but not for depression. Its for my peripheral neuropathy. It doesn't really work though.
I was given Prozac in 1991 when this all started for me, it was post menopause, and the drug did NOTHING. So I got off it pretty fast.
Took Zoloft for a while and that helped but not the answer.
I suspected thryoid for years but the lab numbers ruled the MD's decisions. Sadly today's MODERN docs go by numbers and "forget the symptoms"...so many "smart" older doctors who worked before the labs even came into our existence.
I've had two bouts of depression, 10 yrs from 1991 to 2002 and it was thyroid that was crying for HELP.
After years of "doctor shopping" I hit a smart doctor, the doctor who worked on my back for years. Imagine that, a doctor who knew more than the back issues.
Then in 2006, a lowness hit me and it was Vit D deficiency.
As the article says, we all have ups and downs and I've had my share and live thru some right now.
It's like we're a country of despondent people.
My mom had major depression and my dad was bipolar - he had ECT before finally getting on some good meds. Many suicides in my family...so when I was "down" all the time and started planning my own end I finally got smart and went to a psychiatrist myself. Despite having my thyroid taken care of (and much later getting on Vit. D) I needed antidepressants. I'll never be the happy go lucky type but I'm alive, working, and doing okay now.
Genes probably have a lot to do with this. My parents were not depressed and my mom sure had enough to deal with living with an alcoholic husband, but her prayers seemed to get her thru her long life to 91. In spite of alcohol, dad lived to almost 96.
Her issues were a LONG SITUATION of alcohol. Back then depression was never mentioned.
On the thyroid I know many do NOT do optimally good with the synthetics. But for you, could be genetic.
Genes probably have a lot to do with this. My parents were not depressed and my mom sure had enough to deal with living with an alcoholic husband, but her prayers seemed to get her thru her long life to 91. In spite of alcohol, dad lived to almost 96.
Her issues were a LONG SITUATION of alcohol. Back then depression was never mentioned.
On the thyroid I know many do NOT do optimally good with the synthetics. But for you, could be genetic.
Yup - when there are suicide attempts and actual suicides on both sides of the family, without other family "dysfunction" it points to genetics and that's pretty hard to overcome by pulling yourself up by your bootstraps - time to bring in the professionals.
My daughter was diagnosed bio-polar at 21 when she checked herself in the hospital because she wanted to commit suicide. On all different anti-depressants for 3 years. Then her doctor prescribed Prozac. Kept getting more and more depressed on them. One night she went down into the kitchen and was about to cut her wrists, when her BRAIN took over. "I am taking "happy pills" but still want to kill myself"? She dumped all her pills, and never looked back, or went to any doctors for anti-depressants since. Seventeen years have passed. So where is her bio-polar now????? She tells me her new treatment is learning how to cry in her pillow, cleaning her entire house, or going out jogging. Plus, a lot of LOVE from her wife.
Remember that German Airline Pilot, also on Prozac, who slammed his plane into the Alps, not only committing suicide himself but killing 100 innocent people as well? Yet, they now are prescribing anti-depressants for menopausal women with hot flashes? Buy a fan and use ice packs. LISTEN to those adverse reactions that they must talk about on TV. "Thoughts of Suicide". Kinda counter productive, don't ya think?
It it all part of the American psyche that is must a pill for everyone, and everything that bothers you.
My daughter was diagnosed bio-polar at 21 when she checked herself in the hospital because she wanted to commit suicide. On all different anti-depressants for 3 years. Then her doctor prescribed Prozac. Kept getting more and more depressed on them. One night she went down into the kitchen and was about to cut her wrists, when her BRAIN took over. "I am taking "happy pills" but still want to kill myself"? She dumped all her pills, and never looked back, or went to any doctors for anti-depressants since. Seventeen years have passed. So where is her bio-polar now????? She tells me her new treatment is learning how to cry in her pillow, cleaning her entire house, or going out jogging. Plus, a lot of LOVE from her wife.
Remember that German Airline Pilot, also on Prozac, who slammed his plane into the Alps, not only committing suicide himself but killing 100 innocent people as well? Yet, they now are prescribing anti-depressants for menopausal women with hot flashes? Buy a fan and use ice packs. LISTEN to those adverse reactions that they must talk about on TV. "Thoughts of Suicide". Kinda counter productive, don't ya think?
It it all part of the American psyche that is must a pill for everyone, and everything that bothers you.
Jo: Thanks for the personal share about your daughter and finding her way out of a DARK place in her life...sounds like she was able to "fix" factors that put her there. Good good for her and her loved ones.
Personally I never thought of suicide until my recent knee issue and the ongoing undetected staph infection. During the first rehab experience I really wanted to die, pain was so unbearable, drugs were doing me in with their side effects and I thought about "that pill" to end it all. Since I didn't walk for so long and the thought of losing my leg entered into the scene, I was so so scared and wanted to leave. If I had the "pill" would I have taken it, hard to know. I thought of pushing myself onto the floor and maybe I'd die, but knowing myself, just hurt my body more.
Thank goodness THEY finally did the correct test, MRI, and found the infection and off I went to getting my life back. I'm so thankful to be walking (with walker mostly) and I'm not out of the woods on it all, but happy to be alive and living and enjoying as much as I can. I'm not a big fan of drugs, but I could have died if not for the antiobiotics FINALLY given me for the infection.
Life is Precious and Death is Forever.
Last edited by jaminhealth; 09-07-2017 at 01:20 PM..
My daughter was diagnosed bio-polar at 21 when she checked herself in the hospital because she wanted to commit suicide. On all different anti-depressants for 3 years. Then her doctor prescribed Prozac. Kept getting more and more depressed on them. One night she went down into the kitchen and was about to cut her wrists, when her BRAIN took over. "I am taking "happy pills" but still want to kill myself"? She dumped all her pills, and never looked back, or went to any doctors for anti-depressants since. Seventeen years have passed. So where is her bio-polar now????? She tells me her new treatment is learning how to cry in her pillow, cleaning her entire house, or going out jogging. Plus, a lot of LOVE from her wife.
Remember that German Airline Pilot, also on Prozac, who slammed his plane into the Alps, not only committing suicide himself but killing 100 innocent people as well? Yet, they now are prescribing anti-depressants for menopausal women with hot flashes? Buy a fan and use ice packs. LISTEN to those adverse reactions that they must talk about on TV. "Thoughts of Suicide". Kinda counter productive, don't ya think?
It it all part of the American psyche that is must a pill for everyone, and everything that bothers you.
There are a variety of bipolar disorders, and it's possible someone may have a single major depressive episode and never have one again (that could be the case for your daughter). For others, it can mean multiple episodes of depression alternating with mania that make living a normal life very difficult -- from a few episodes a year to frequent episodes (called rapid cycling bipolar disorder).
Your daughter dumped her pills and didn't look back - where is her bipolar disorder now? It may be that she has another episode down the road; it may be that she never does. It may be that her self care since has kept her from having another episode. She (and you) should certainly be aware of this, and keep an eye out for symptoms. As you experienced, major depression can be a killer.
Self care is useful, and anti-depressants are as you say way overprescribed. But for those that need them, they need them to be able to function normally. That doesn't appear to be the case for your daughter -- and use of anti-depressants are not the first choice for bipolar disorders (they can trigger manic episodes) -- but readers of this thread should be careful about generalizing to all bipolar disorder patients based on a single data point. It's a broad category of disorders and for some, meds will be needed to manage their disorder.
If she was diagnosed and treated by a general practitioner rather than a psychiatrist (I have to wonder because of the Prozac prescription), I'd suggest considering a second opinion from a psychiatrist. But even psychiatrists get diagnoses wrong -- its an art as well as a science. Bipolar disorder (if that's what she really has) is thought to be a disorder of the mechanisms in the brain that control circadian rhythms (thus the ups and downs) - which would explain why self care like getting enough sleep can be important for those with bipolar disorders. Here are some self-care tips:
The other thing I'll point out to readers of this thread is: you have to work with your doctor and psychiatrist. If something isn't working, or is having negative side effects, tell him/her. Doctors aren't mind readers and unless you'll tell them they're not going to know something's wrong in a majority of cases.
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