Question about depression

[coolgirl]

For the people that have depression or on meds for depression. I myself have clinical depression and have to be on meds for them but i keep going on/off them but started taking them again. I remember that at one point of my life I didnt have to deal with the fact that I had to be on meds. I was good, healthy, was stable emotinally and mentally and had no problem what so ever.

 

I would like to know that is it possible to do this naturally and not be on the meds ? ( i tried do this naturally without the meds for a while but causes me alot of problems as far as moods swings, not being able to sleep well, you know the sympthoms of depression )

 

Will I ever be normal and not have this depression going on ? And not have to be on meds for the rest of my life ? I dont like what I have going on. I dont want the meds to help me stablize, I want to be able to be stablized on my own. Does anyone have the same thing going on ? And if so how are you dealing with yours ?

 

One more thing here is an interesting article I found link removed if this can be done to cure depression then why not have it done ?

[karvala]

How long are you on the meds each time, and what makes you decide to go off them at a given point?

 

The idea behhind antidepressants is not as a permament crutch, but ideally to lead to certain structural changes in the brain (related to the number of receptors of certain types of neurotransmitters to put it in the most general form), such that you can then survive perfectly well without them. Unfortunately, it's very far from a precise science, so nobody knows how long that will take for a given individual, what the optimal dosage should be, or even what neurotransmitters to target. It's trial and error, basically.

 

If it hasn't worked for you so far, then the obvious suggestion would be to stay on them for longer at a time. It's generally stated that you should be on meds for at least 6 months after you feel completely better, but that's just a blind rule of thumb. The longer you can stay on for a given time, probably the better chance you have of effecting a more permanent change.

 

In terms of deep-brain stimulation, it's an interesting technique, but the evidence is a little thin on the ground, and the risks involved are considerable; this involves serious brain surgery. It really should be the last resort. Before that, I would try external stimulation; both new techniques such as slow-wave stimulation (equally experimental, but a lot less hazardous) and traditional techniques such as ECT (somewhat unpleasant, but highly effective in many cases).

[coolgirl]

I ususally stay on them when ever i feel in a depressive mood to help me come out of the way I feel and when I do feel better I get off them. When I was on meds 2 years ago I stayed on them for quite sometime I think it was more than 6 months. The meds actually worsened my condition I was taking. I was on so many meds until the Dr prescribed me another medication. And now thats what helping me stablize but my point is I dont want have to be on meds for the rest of my life and being able to be controleld by meds. I want to be able to do this on my own without any help of medication. When I do try to do this on my own I cant even be emotionally and mentally stable without not having to much complication.

[coolgirl]

One more thing what kind of doctor I need to be seeing about this procedure ?

[karvala]

I ususally stay on them when ever i feel in a depressive mood to help me come out of the way I feel and when I do feel better I get off them. When I was on meds 2 years ago I stayed on them for quite sometime I think it was more than 6 months. The meds actually worsened my condition I was taking. I was on so many meds until the Dr prescribed me another medication. And now thats what helping me stablize but my point is I dont want have to be on meds for the rest of my life and being able to be controleld by meds. I want to be able to do this on my own without any help of medication. When I do try to do this on my own I cant even be emotionally and mentally stable without not having to much complication.

 

So you may need to try different meds, and give each a fair trial, and stay on the one that works best for several years potentially, in order to for it to have an effect. It's still far from an automatic condemnation to a lifetime of medication. There are relatively few people that actually need to take ADs for an entire lifetime; the vast majority are off them within five years, though a sizable minority of those may need to take them again during a a future relapse.

 

One more thing what kind of doctor I need to be seeing about this procedure ?

 

If you're talking about the surgical option, the operation itself would be conducted by a neurosurgeon, but a psychiatrist will be the one in charge of the treatment, so it's a psychiatrist you should see. Depending on where you are, you may need to get a referral from your GP/PCP. A psychiatrist is likely to tell you what I've told you here, though, and very unlikely to agree to the surgical option until less radical alternatives have been fully tried.