Extreme Depression - Will medication help?

[fragmint]

A while ago I was doing counseling and getting better but she suggested I take medicine because I was showing signs of depression. I was afraid of being dependent on medication so I said no. 2 years later now things are way , much, much worse. Not only do I have emotional outbursts and have depressive feelings as well as physical symptoms and in the past 6 months i've lost my social life. I actively go out of my way to avoid seeing and talking to people now. I don't feel like I am worth their time and I am embarrassed and depressed about my low self worth and being unemployed.

 

I am trying to keep my head up and stay positive while trucking on but it has gotten to the point where I catch my own mind wondering about self injury or ending things. I am extremely burdened by the expectation that I am a happy go lucky and fun person to be around that makes people smile and laugh - that's why I've mostly avoided people for a while now, I can't keep that up anymore and I feel exhausted and just sad inside and stressed. I am wondering if medication could have helped me and if it is too late? I am still worried about being dependent on it but want to ask if any of you have been on any kind of medication for depression and how it was? How were the side effects and was it easy to wean off of?

[jjkk]

Anti-depressants saved my life! Sometimes it takes a little while to get the right medication but for me it was SO worth it! The first one I took didn't help and after a short while the dr. switched me to a different one and w/in 3 or 4 days I had already started feeling better. It didn't feel like I was on drugs, I felt back to my old self. It'd been so long since I'd felt that way that I hadn't realized how depressed I actually was.

 

You do have to wean off of them and some people need them for the rest of their lives and that's OK.

 

Talk w/ your doctor and give it a try. It was completely worth it for me!

[AnyaNova]

Though antidepressants can help, I would recommend two things first.

 

1) Go to your doctor now, as fast as you can. Many times depression is not, indeed, a primary condition, but rather a secondary effect of some other condition. Please get a full metabolic panel, TSH, T3, FT4, as well as test Vitamin D, your common b vitamins, and all of your electrolytes.

 

2) Also, get yourself to the nearest copy of The Depression Cure: Six Steps to Beat Depression Without Drugs by Dr. Stephen S. Ilardi. He is a highly prominent Professor of Psychology at KU. Buy the book and do them. Stick to them rigidly. This book is based on a ton of research and is likely to create long lasting change that will be so beneficial to you.

 

If after these, you still need medication, than you still need medication. But if you follow the six steps, and incorporate them truly into your life, you will likely find that you will not need the medication. Though I'd stick with the counseling.

 

Hope you feel better!

[Fudgie]

I know for me, I was diagnosed with severe depression years ago and my 2 anti-depressants have saved my life, literally!

 

I will be on them for the rest of my life and you know, I don't care. I don't have any really serious side effects and I feel a lot better on them.

[Natasha24]

Depression is a disease. It can't be fixed by willing it to go away. Medications can save your life. You won't necessarily become dependant, and if you feel like you are, you can ask your doctor to wean you off them slowly.

 

I was originally on the generic brand of Zoloft. It was good, it helped me a lot within only a few weeks. There were a few side effects - I lost my sex drive quite a bit and I became pretty lazy. I also had a few doses of Lorazepam because I would occasionally get really bad anxiety. I took these medications for about 9 months until I felt I was "better" and I stopped taking it on my own without talking to my doctor. Bad idea...

 

About 4 months after doing that, I became depressed and EXTREMELY anxious again. I finally made myself go to my doctor. I'm back on Lorazepam. I told my doctor my concerns with the side effects of Zoloft and I did a bit of research on my own. I told him I wanted to try the generic brand of Wellbutrin and he agreed. So I'm taking that now

 

Go talk to your doctor. You will be AMAZED at the difference these medications can make in your life. There is still hope, it's never too late.

[catfeeder]

While a combo plate of talk therapy, diet and exercise can work for some people to change the chemistry of the body causing depression, in some cases the depressed state of the body prevents a person from pursuing enough exercise to change the chemistry--and in some cases the chemistry has been so altered that medication is the only efficient way to change it, at least temporarily until the other methods can take over.

 

I can understand rejecting meds when you feel 'better,' but not when you're just spiraling downward. While I agree with the advise above to have other conditions ruled out, I strongly suggest not just going on meds from a regular MD without also working with a therapist to monitor you while on them. A regular MD isn't trained in that specialty, and you'll want the best feedback loop because meds are not exact--they and need to be adjusted properly over time.

[fragmint]

First, thank you all for the advice. I am looking into where I can go now to talk to someone about it and I will also look for the book mentioned above to check out. I have been slowly getting myself to get up early and try to at least get out of bed in the mornings and do a few things to get going. Otherwise I just end up wallowing and trying to sleep the day off so I don't have to deal with anything.

 

I am still a little worried about side effects but you guys are right I need to just ask them about it to know. I know I have no motivation to exercise although I've been forcing myself to half hazardly stretch a little bit each day and do some yoga and that seems to have helped. I really don't see things getting better if I don't get a job soon though at the very least. At this point it might actually be making things worse in that department as I've read many articles saying you should be positive otherwise your negativity will show in an interview and no one likes that. I don't have the energy to hide how terrible I feel inside anymore and I don't think my attempt at it worked last interview since they haven't called me back. And I'm not actually sure I even have the knowledge or wits to know HOW to pretend effectively - how do I pretend to be happy when I can't even remember the last time I was happy? Anyway now I 'm just rambling. I will try to make an appointment and I appreciate all your replies as it has helped me feel a little better and not alone in doing this at least.