Happy Pill?

[memphis1]

I'm supposed to see a therapist about my depression and hopefully it'll lead to some anti depressents. Lately, I've been researching anti depressents and saw that it can take 3 months to even begin to feel any relief. Also, some people have said they go through 4 different prescriptions before they even find the one they really like.

 

How will anti depressents help me? Will I be happy and not sad?

 

how can I prevent myself from having to go through 4 different prescriptions til I find the one that suits me? Shouldn't all of them do the same thing.

 

I just want to be happy and not be sad. Is there a pill for that?

[iJester]

No, there is no pill for that. These anit depressants have plenty of adverse side effects..including...DEPRESSION. Depression to the point of suicide even. Don't bother with these pills, it's not a fix for the real problem, and it's barely a fix for the symptoms even. You have to find true happiness, and I don't know your story or the root of your depression, so I can't help you with that unless you want to share.

[memphis1]

My ex was a cheater. We broke up because of my insecurity. It happened 2 years ago, but still can't trust her. I love her more than anything, but i'm still depressed everyday. I try to contact her, txt her, facebook her and she yells at me and calls me names.

 

that simple.. sad that i still care for someone like that huh? yeah im pretty pathetic.

[AutumnBreeze49]

I don't think a pill will take away the issues that are making you sad. I would think that couseling would help.

[iJester]

A pill definitely won't fix that. First, you need to stop contacting her, period. The rest I think will probably, naturally follow. Maybe counseling will help, but I know the first thing a counselor is going to tell you is the same thing I just did.

[XxJustMexX]

No offense, but people that tell you NOT to take pills are usually people that have never had severe debilitating depression and know nothing about it... Sure, it's over prescribed, but there ARE plenty of people that anti-depressants help. I hate nothing more than people telling others "oh, don't take pills, they don't help, just go see a therapist!" when they themselves have never experienced it. I'm sorry, but "therapy" and "talking" about it, will only help you deal with how to "deal" with being unhappy, it won't take the unhappiness away. Some people are more prone to feeling sad/angry/irritated due to a chemical imbalance. And even though therapy can help you realize all the problems you have, it's not going to make it go away.

 

Sure, everyone gets mad... but how many WAKE UP mad and stay mad all day... Sure, everyone gets anxious... but how many WAKE UP anxious and stay anxious all day...? There's a huge difference between depression and CLINICAL depression... and that's the severity. I'm sorry, but severe depression can't be fixed by "talking". Try going through it and "hopping out" of it, then tell people that depression's fixable by talking to a therapist for an hour a week. Otherwise, people that advise against medication, please stop... Medication I'm sure has stopped a lot of suicides and anguish... I'm sure therapists don't do that.

 

That being said though, I don't think you have clinical depression... a break up can of course cause the sadness that you feel... So no I don't think this is the type of depression that NEEDS medication...

[NightLily]

You are looking for the easy way out. I had been struggling with and I mean reeeeally struggling with life before I started taking Prozac for about a decade. Prozac had no positive side effects.

 

My mood was total blunt effect at first. I felt like a zombie robot. Then I got obsessive over silly things like my pores. As the dosage went up I started having suicidal images in my head all the time. When I stopped taking the pills I felt better.

 

Year later, I'm taking another medication now that is totally different and I really doubt something they would put you on but it is actually helping me I think. I got lucky though.

 

Don't expect things to get better right away because yeah.. it might take a while.

[workoutgirl70]

They can work wonders. I take one for PMDD and it started working within 24 hours. If you need it then you need it. Don't listen to naysayers. Sometimes, as in my case, its a hormonal imbalance and this is the only way to correct it. You can't find true happiness if you don't feel like getting out of bed or going about you daily life.

[treeclimb]

Antidepressants do help a lot of people. That can do amazing things for some people and be a help for others.

 

It can take a while for them to kick in fully. But beware of focussing on the worse possible senario and assuming it will apply to you. It is sometimes easy to do this when you are feeling depressed. For example, don't assume they won't help you until you've been on them for three months. They might help you after weeks, days or even straight away. The thing is your body is unique, and they just don't know for sure how your body will react with the drug, and they certainly don't know everything about how the drugs work. Try and be sensibly optimistic about trying medication.

 

The reason they say might take up to 3 months and stuff like that is probably so people don't decide after a few days, if they're not working to give up on them. The fact is, certain types of meds take a while to build up in your system to work fully. That's just the nature of how they work.

 

The reason there are different kinds of drugs is because they are working on making even better drugs all the time, and at producing drugs at a lower cost, and because everyones body is uniquely individual. The reality is they just don't know which drug will work with which person or cause side effects with which people. This is because each of our bodies are so individual.

 

For example, an antidepressant I'm on and works well for me with no side effects made my friend temporarily impotent and sweat all the time. Similarly the drug he's on and helps him I tried but it didn't work for me.

 

Try and be patient. It may be that the first med you try is great for you. It may be that you need to have the dosage altered by your doctor or that you need to get your doctor to try a new med with you. Realise it might work out quickly for you or it might take a bit longer. Try and focus on the positive about it - for example that the meds (typically) aren't addictive these days, side effects are minimal if any, that our bodies are special and unique that they need the right drug, that these technologies are available to us.

 

I would also suggest that you look at other ways of helping yourself or getting help with your problem. Sometimes people think they can only solve a problem by doing one thing at once (e.g. starting to take a med), but there are other things you could do at the same time - for example, get some counselling, discuss things regularly with a friend or family member who is a good listener, is understanding and you can trust. Of course, we don't always have a suitable friend or family member, which is why people see a counsellor or pyschologist. CBT counselling is good. So you could specicially look for a CBT counsellor. Ask your doctor where you could find a CBT counsellor if you don't know where else to look. They should be able to point you in the right direction.

 

By the way, you're not pathetic. Everyone has issues and problems. You are simply human.

[mfan]

The main reason it "takes 3 months to be effective" is because you don't (and shouldn't) start out with the maximum dosage. You have to start very gradually and make sure it doesn't cause any problematic side effects. Gradually you build up until it's enough for you to notice whether it's working (or switch to something else if it causes problems). The different medicines all have different chemicals, so no, they do not all "do the same thing".

 

You need to attack your problem from all possible fronts at the same time. Pills (if they work for you) will help by giving you a weapon, whereas right now you may feel defenseless. But you still have to fight your battle using this weapon. Talk to counselors, try to be strong, develop social connections outside of the current crisis you are going through, post on Enotalone with this great community, and you can get through it!

 

I hope antidepressants end up helping you like they help me. I take a low dosage of paroxetine (Paxil) per day and it's not a big difference, like Wow, I'm one person on the pills and another person off them, but it is different from when I am not on them. It's like having the wind at my back. It doesn't transform my life or do anything for me.

 

I recommend reading up on the 4 different medicines, and reading people's reactions to them and reading about the side effects of them. You may then be able to choose the one that sounds most likely to work for you, if your doctor gives you a choice of options. Good luck.

[memphis1]

thanks for all the replies!

 

Yeah I wish it didn't have to take to long. I wish I could get a high dosage at first instead of gradually increasing it over time.

 

So I hear you don't notice a change when you're on them but you do if you're not on them? I don't understand that?

 

Also, I've been this way my whole life. Just recently got worse after the breakup and went from regular depression to severe depression. I'd like for the pills to give me a different outlook in life and keep me from getting upset. Hopefully I have an option of my prescription. What should I look up on when it comes to these pills? Side effects? Other things i may have to be aware of?

[treeclimb]

thanks for all the replies!

 

Yeah I wish it didn't have to take to long. I wish I could get a high dosage at first instead of gradually increasing it over time.

 

So I hear you don't notice a change when you're on them but you do if you're not on them? I don't understand that?

 

Also, I've been this way my whole life. Just recently got worse after the breakup and went from regular depression to severe depression. I'd like for the pills to give me a different outlook in life and keep me from getting upset. Hopefully I have an option of my prescription. What should I look up on when it comes to these pills? Side effects? Other things i may have to be aware of?

 

I wouldn't worry about looking for side effects. Most of the modern drugs are really good and side effects aren't common. No side effects on the anti-d. I'm on and I'm on a high dosage. My friend experienced sweating a lot on the one he was on. So it would be pretty obvious if that happened. But he switched to another and has no side effects. Four other of my extended family are on anti d.'s with no side effects - have never had any ever. The drugs have helped all of them. (It's just that a few people have things like sweating.) Don't get freaked out if you get a leaflet listing a whole lot of awful potential side-effects. Read ANY types of meds and they list these. It's not going to happen to you. It's just that they list everything they can think of for legal reasons in case you end up sueing them.

[memphis1]

treeclimb, do you feel happier on your meds than you were before you were on them? how often do you get upset?

 

sorry if its personal, but im trying to base my decision on which med i would prefer

[NightLily]

You aren't qualified to figure out if you need medications or which one to go on if you do. The best thing to do is go to therapy and they will decide the best course of action. Then, you will discuss your needs or concerns. If you struggle with your weight they will probably pick a fairly weight neutral one as many can cause weight gain etc.

 

The dosage will start low so your body gets used to it. There will be initial side effects that will wear down after a few weeks and the dosage will continue to slowly go up. If you have horrible side effects like becoming suicidal they will take you off of them.

 

That is the drill and really all you have to know. If you are lucky the first medication will help you and if not you try another.

 

Pills won't make you happy though.. they will just give you enough of a boost to function to the level where your life doesn't fall apart so that you can pursue happiness. The goal here is to *function* through medications and therapy. Anything above that probably will just come from a lot of hard work.

[memphis1]

yeah i know im not qualified. just sayin that i could research this and try to brain storm with the doctor about all of this. of course the doctors opinion is best, but since i'll be the one consuming these meds, i feel i should have some say in this.

[turnera]

meds did a lot of good for me. The best one was Wellbutrin, but that was because I had no energy, and Wellbutrin is really good for that. It was VERY intangible - no side effects. I just literally WANTED to get up and get something done. And when I've been on and off it, it usually takes about 2 or 3 weeks, not months, to see the change.

[turnera]

I have to say that, in your instance, you CHANGING your day to day routine will probably be the most important thing for you. Start new routines. Exercise. Take new classes. VOLUNTEER - the BEST way to feel better about yourself.

[Car Chick]

Be careful to make sure you have a proper diagnosis first. If you have bipolar, anti-depressants can make you worse. I am going to a doctor soon to see if I am bipolar. They had given me anti-depressants years ago and they messed me up so bad. All I could think of was suicide. I wouldn't get out of bed. I gained about twenty pounds. It was horrible.

[Car Chick]

No, there is no pill for that. These anit depressants have plenty of adverse side effects..including...DEPRESSION. Depression to the point of suicide even. Don't bother with these pills, it's not a fix for the real problem, and it's barely a fix for the symptoms even. You have to find true happiness, and I don't know your story or the root of your depression, so I can't help you with that unless you want to share.

 

This is only true if the depression is caused by something going on in a person's life. It is dangerous not to find some sort of medical help if you have clinical depression or any form of depression caused by PHYSICAL issues. Depression is a disorder. It's caused by an imbalance of the proper hormones in the brain. Simply finding happiness, getting God, finding yourself, meditation, or whatever cannot change the physical dynamics of this horrible disease. I have, for the most part, a pretty good life right now. My depression is physical. I could have a perfect life and I would STILL suffer from depression because it's not a mood thing, it's a physical thing. It's like saying that thinking that you don't have cancer is enough to keep you alive. No, you need chemotherapy for that.

[Car Chick]

Absolutely. Most depression goes far beyond the surface. In this case, I'd say the medicine is necessary until the wound is healed. It's like my therapist said, "If you get shot, you have to remove the bullet and surgically heal the damage. But first, you have to bandage the wound to stop the bleeding, or you'll die." Until he has these wounds fully healed, he needs something to stop the bleeding.

[Car Chick]

They can work wonders. I take one for PMDD and it started working within 24 hours. If you need it then you need it. Don't listen to naysayers. Sometimes, as in my case, its a hormonal imbalance and this is the only way to correct it. You can't find true happiness if you don't feel like getting out of bed or going about you daily life.

 

 

I agree, these "naysayers" aren't medical doctors. Don't take their advice over that of a person who spent eight years studying medicine to get a degree in how to help you.

[Car Chick]

yeah i know im not qualified. just sayin that i could research this and try to brain storm with the doctor about all of this. of course the doctors opinion is best, but since i'll be the one consuming these meds, i feel i should have some say in this.

 

That's very good. It's important to be actively involved in your own treatment. That's how I found out I was taking a dangerous drug. I got a second opinion and it turned out that the medication my doctors was giving me was doing major physical harm to me and making me very, very sick. I stopped taking it right away and took system detox pills to get it out of me. Afterwards, I felt much better. I later found the TRUE source of my issue that the doctor had originally prescribed the meds to me for. Turns out, it was food allergies. All I had to do was stop eating soy- not spend 45 dollars a month on meds that were harming my body.

[Sanesoul]

I refuse to believe that it is impossible to cure clinical depression without meds. I have it, and will not take medication anymore. Not after the horrid experience I had.

 

I am managing my depression quite well without any chemical help. I get bad days, but who doesn't?

[Sanesoul]

And, I wouldn't always take a doctor's word as law either. Too many these days are quick to give you the "quick fix".

[turnera]

My doctor said: When you undergo a prolonged period of depression-causing events, your body 'uses up' your happy feeling. Which comes from the chemicals your body/brain produces to give you that happy feeling. Basically, it runs empty after awhile. And many people simply cannot kickstart the juice again. The AD is like greasing the engine to get it started again; after awhile, you don't need the AD any more because your juices are flowing again.

 

I asked her if it could be done without the meds and she said it's possible for the few people who have the fortitude to withstand the depression as long as it takes to climb out of it. AND if they change the environment that CAUSED the depression in the first place.