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None in my experience. I went thru 10 miserable years and on probably several A/D's and nothing got me out of depression. IT was what I thought from the start, Thyroid, which all the docs and endos dismissed as ME being OK, normal, your numbers are good. We are NOT numbers, we are symptoms and finally my D.O. I was seeing for years for back issues put me on Armour, no labs, nadda, and 10 yrs of depression lifted.
Don't discount a sluggish thyroid and question those doctors.
Over the years, I've been taking Zoloft, 100 mg for my depression. It pulled me out of depression, but I feel like I can do better. I still feel joyless and lost my passion for things, while the years of my life are clicking by.
Has anyone ever taken a better antidepressant? Any ideas on how to get the passion back. Am I looking in the wrong place? What if this is as good as it gets?!!
Would love to hear from anyone.
Thank you!
I just stopped Zoloft cold turkey a few weeks ago and had several rough days subsequently (actually it was more like a rough week). I was only taking the minimum dose of Zoloft (I believe it was the 100mg tablet) so I didn't have to "detox" from a higher dosage level. And the reason I stopped the medication was because I just didn't feel "normal"; I felt sort of numb while on the medication, as if all my emotions and feelings were artificial or something along those lines. But the medication did help to lift some of my depression. The truth is that I have been battling depression for well over 20 years now (I'm 45), and it's been a very rough and rocky road.
I've seen countless therapists and have dabbled in various SSRI's over the years, but only decided to start taking Zoloft about six months ago after not taking any medication for several years. I reached a very low point where I decided that pharmacological help was warranted.
A big thing with me is that I just hate having to take any kind of medication, for anything. I'm very healthy overall and lead a very active lifestyle and generally eat a very clean diet, so I never really get sick or have to take medication for any physical malady. But the depression, of course, is a different animal -- one that has been a persistent and overwhelming at times foe. And since it remains an issue, I may very well go back to taking some type of medication, but likely not Zoloft. I'm not sure which medications may work better for me or which one's may not leave me feeling so "spacey" while taking them.
Regardless, though, depression really sucks! It really does.
I added Wellbutrin to my Prozac and found it gave me new energy. It worked for several years, but then I started getting severe daily headaches. It took 2 years for a dr. to finally say I needed to quit welbutrin. I miss it, but the headaches went away.
Now I take Abilify instead, but I don't think it really helps much.
sure does, I am having it now and expect a hard winter. I had lived in very sunny climates further south for a long time and now, in Oregon, I am really struggling.
I felt the same way on anti depressants (Paxil and then Lexapro for years)- the pills blunted the bad feelings but made me not care very much about anything - I felt like nothing really mattered. now that I'm off them, I realize everything matters!
I had a lot of trouble getting off, even weaning down slowly.
Over the last 20 years I've been on Lexapro, Celexa, Cymbalta, Lyrica, Wellbutrin, Lamotrigine and probably others I can't remember. The last one was prescribed by some idiot nurse practitioner at my psychiatrist's office who thought I was bi-polar and didn't seem to understand dysthymia. I'm back on Celexa and it worked great for about 2 months and then I felt the same way as Anthony; I had no motivation to do anything. I started feeling more depressed although not suicidal like what happened with the Wellbutrin. That one put me on a downward spiral within a week.
Right now I'm weaning off from the Celexa. I was on the lowest dose anyway (5mg) and I'm cutting that in half. Feeling more motivated already. However with dysthymia the depression always returns. My current life situation is also contributing to my depression so I signed up for my second 5K race for the beginning of February. At least it gives me something to work toward.
I've considered ECT and I saw on 60 Minutes recently that doctors have been experimenting with a drug similar to LSD and it has been working well for many people. I don't believe it was something you take everyday. Under strict supervision by a doctor you are given the LSD type med so you have a "trip". All the people interviewed said their depression and anxiety had disappeared. I plan on asking my psych doc about it. I'm 64 years old and have lived with depression since I was a teenager. It robs me of experiencing joy for the most part. Still wish I knew if it was caused by my childhood circumstances or a chemical imbalance.
Today is a good day so I try to make the most of it.
Whomever: Find a good doc who will give you at least a theraputic dose of thyroid support, like Armour or Naturthryoid. It's amazing what a small dose can help. And get those Vit D levels UP.
A D.O. did this for me back in 2002 and that got me out of 10 yrs of depression and their drugs....it was thyroid that needed HELP!!!!!!!!
Being an old soul here and having a doctor who worked with SYMPTOMS years ago I think so much is missed with the numbers game of our hormones.
Inositol is a good mood stabilizer I've been using for years.
Last edited by jaminhealth; 11-04-2019 at 11:36 AM..
Whomever: Find a good doc who will give you at least a theraputic dose of thyroid support, like Armour or Naturthryoid. It's amazing what a small dose can help. And get those Vit D levels UP.
A D.O. did this for me back in 2002 and that got me out of 10 yrs of depression and their drugs....it was thyroid that needed HELP!!!!!!!!
Being an old soul here and having a doctor who worked with SYMPTOMS years ago I think so much is missed with the numbers game of our hormones.
Inositol is a good mood stabilizer I've been using for years.
I worry that being depressed to varying degrees over the past 20+ years combined with my on-again, off-again use of SSRI's has irreparably damaged my cognitive/brain health, because for the longest time, I have been in what I can best describe as a "brain fog"; my thinking and my cognitions seem degraded and sort of slow. I notice that I often stumble over my words and struggle to find the right word to use at the right time -- and this has become more apparent over the last several years. I also have extremely poor short-term memory nowadays and limited ability to concentrate on any one thing for prolonged periods.
Recently I began taking online college classes to use towards the completion of a degree, and I have struggled immensely with doing the class work. The readings, the memorization, the writing -- I struggle much more with these activities than I did several years ago. I did receive two B's in my last two sets of classes that I took last semester, but I struggled to get those grades.
And it's because of the brain fog that I described. It's almost as if I feel as if I am underwater.
A large part of this is likely due to the ongoing depression, as being depressed for long periods can actually physically alter brain chemistry (or so I have read in numerous studies). But I worry that the combination of the long-term depression combined with my on-again, off-again use of SSRI's has damaged my brain.
Whomever: Find a good doc who will give you at least a theraputic dose of thyroid support, like Armour or Naturthryoid. It's amazing what a small dose can help. And get those Vit D levels UP.
A D.O. did this for me back in 2002 and that got me out of 10 yrs of depression and their drugs....it was thyroid that needed HELP!!!!!!!!
Being an old soul here and having a doctor who worked with SYMPTOMS years ago I think so much is missed with the numbers game of our hormones.
Inositol is a good mood stabilizer I've been using for years.
Jam - I'm not sure if you meant this for me but my thyroid was removed in 2014. I take levothyroxine 88 mcg and had blood tests recently. My PCP said, if anything, he thought I was taking too much. I find that hard to believe since I know people without a thyroid that are taking much more. Anyway my next step is to see a endocrinologist.
I worry that being depressed to varying degrees over the past 20+ years combined with my on-again, off-again use of SSRI's has irreparably damaged my cognitive/brain health, because for the longest time, I have been in what I can best describe as a "brain fog"; my thinking and my cognitions seem degraded and sort of slow. I notice that I often stumble over my words and struggle to find the right word to use at the right time -- and this has become more apparent over the last several years. I also have extremely poor short-term memory nowadays and limited ability to concentrate on any one thing for prolonged periods.
Recently I began taking online college classes to use towards the completion of a degree, and I have struggled immensely with doing the class work. The readings, the memorization, the writing -- I struggle much more with these activities than I did several years ago. I did receive two B's in my last two sets of classes that I took last semester, but I struggled to get those grades.
And it's because of the brain fog that I described. It's almost as if I feel as if I am underwater.
A large part of this is likely due to the ongoing depression, as being depressed for long periods can actually physically alter brain chemistry (or so I have read in numerous studies). But I worry that the combination of the long-term depression combined with my on-again, off-again use of SSRI's has damaged my brain.
I'm 81 and never had the Brain Fog and never did get along with anti depressant drugs. I tried them over many yrs and I told you my story. I keep "waiting" for the brain fog to show up but it does NOT...and I truly believe it's from the years of Grape Seed Extract....do a search on your issues and Grape Seed Extract and do yourself a big favor. My grandkids both college kids have been taking Grape Seed Extract since their late teens. They are doing good.
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