Depressed and on Anti-Depressants?

Most people don't know that when you undergo to many stress's in a row Everyone's body will go into a depressive mode. However, those of us with depression already really feel the effects. I am bipolar and now take prystic. I was on 150 mg of Effexor but had a ton of weight gain. I have been through all of the meds! These medications treat the serotonin and norepiphin (i think that is what their names are)of the brain. Either one or both.
When I was on the meds that only treated one of them it would work for awhile then wear off. Finally my doctor said we are going to give you a med that treats both. Whew! What a difference! I was actually afraid to give up the Effexor because it worked so well for almost 2 years. However, the weight gain was really bothering me...so I'm trying the prystic. My doctor said it was a newer form of the old "effexor's" that was more sight specific. I've been on it for 2 months and so far so good.
Go get help...you don't need to feel like this! If you were suffering with a heart condition would you tell yourself "fake it til you make it"? It is a MEDICAL (chemical imbalance) condition.

As a psychologist who is a fan of medication if used correctly, I will pose a question to you. Are you in therapy? Have you ever been? Some therapies, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)in particular, helps you understand the way that your thoughts and actions impact your mood - if you depend on medication to do that for you nothing will ever really change for you. It is very possible to be on anti-depressants and be depressed. There is actually a lot of evidence that anti-depressant medications do not work well for those who are mildly to moderately depressed, CBT, however, works better than medication with a lower relapse rate. I would never recommend staying on meds for years and years. I would find a therapist and a psychiatrist who work together. Come up with a plan to change and find medication that can help you get there faster but not have to stay on them forever! I wish you the best of luck and truly hope that you can find what you need to make you feel happy again.

Call your doctor. My medications needs to be tweaked every so often...usually every few years.

Talk to your doctor about any side effects you might be having...those are what drove me to talk to my doctor and we tried something new and boy did that help...a lot!!

Go to your doctor, even if it costs you the price of an office visit you are worth it...you can tell him/her about it and get some assistance.

HUGS...you are not alone!!

Good Day,
You have received great advice here! Please follow through and talk openly with your doctor! I too have run a gauntlet of medications to find the one that works for me! I am on cymbalta and it does help me. But I have a great counselor and a good shrink! smile. You are in my prayers and I am sure a good church and a good doctor will help you a LOT!! God bless you!
Hope to hear you are happy "inside" soon!
You are not alone!
Sincerely,
Kathy N.

Make an appointment with your doctor. It sounds like you need your meds adjusted. No biggie. It's easy to do. Oh and hey- Good job recognizing that something was off! That's a hard one.
Edited---
clinical depression is a chemical imbalance. It is something that is easily treated with medications that your doctor/psychiatrist can prescribe for you. It isn't solved by "pulling yourself up by your bootstraps", "getting over it", or "trudging through". It is a MEDICAL condition that we thankfully have treatment for due to modern medicine.

Definitely call your doctor for an appointment. Maybe it's the meds, maybe you need new ones, maybe none at all, counceling? There's lots of options but don't "fake it"...get yourself taken care of. :)

I was diagnosed with major depression 18 years ago. I tried every form of anti-depressant available and even lithium. I received no change in my depression and yet some, almost disastrous, side-effects. So, I began educating myself about depression. I have learned many things about depression that a medical doctor probably doesn't know. In fact, many psychiatrists don't bother to learn much beyond medication.

I no longer suffer from depression. I was only on the med track for about 5 years. After having a serious suicidal episode, I was put on a medication that actually made the suiciadal thoughts worse. That is when I took control of my healing and went off all medications (in the appropriate manner) and never went back.

I have learned that depression is about unexpressed anger, unresolved childhood traumas, a lack of boundaries, unconcious negative core belief systems. Depression is about feeling powerless. Depression can be cured. Yes, it is about a change in brain chemistry. However, the change in brain chemistry occurs because of experiences and belief systems. Once these are changed the brain chemistry changes. Medications only address the symptom, not the cause. That is why medications constantly have to be tweaked and why, over time, they stop being effective.

You mentioned "worry", "anxiety" , not wanting to talk to others about it (shame), and a philosophy of "fake it til you make it". All of these are based on thoughts and beliefs. All of these are contributing to the depression, not the other way around. When we have basic beliefs such as: "I am not good enough", "I am unloveable", "I am unworthy", "the world is an unsafe place", we create thoughts that are negative and painful and create stress and tension in our bodies. We also have a tendency to not have boundaries, give ourselves away, help others without giving and receiving help for ourselves, are unable to say no, do not have permission for self-care. Anger, guilt, anxiety, fear, frustration, helplessness, and hopelessness are the overriding feelings that follow these thoughts and beliefs. Then, we do not have permission to deal with our feelings properly and so we stuff them into our bodies and there is the perfect formula for deprssion.

I have cured my depression through many resources. I have had counseling-both individual and group, I have educated myself through actual schooling and lots of research and reading, I have learned about boundaries, anger, co-dependency, co-addiction, childhood trauma and its effects. I have stopped giving all my power up to "professionals" and become proactive and informed in my own healing process. I have, most importantly, given myself permission and work diligently at self-care, setting boundaries, saying no, and really looking to myself for the love and acceptance that I have always craved. I work diligently to release the "shoulds" in my life and to work with "what is."

I have many professionals to thank for their invaluable help, however, I have chosen to be informed so that I could choose those professionals carefully and wisely. I hope you can find the path that will truly lead you out of depression. It does not have to be a life sentence. It sounds like you have been "suffering" for a really long time. On the back of my business cards, I have the word "permission" printed. I feel that having permission to truly heal and take back our power and care for ourselves is the key to true healing and wholeness. I pass permission on to you.

it is totally possible if your thyroid hormones are off or if the antidepressant is not right for you. have a full panel thyroid test done. a family doctor can do this, but a psychiatrist can also better determine whether your current med and dose are still appropriate (which it sounds like they are not). good luck! don't put it off!

Keep in mind that some Anti-Depressants can cause greater depression if it is the wrong meds for you. I say go see your doctor. Hang in there.

Hey I was reading through old posts I had never gotten to and saw yours. Mental health is a very important thing! You should think about going to see a physiologist and or a counselor. You need to have someone to talk to and if you do not feel ok talking to friends and family you need to see a counselor. Try to be straight forward about what you are feeling and be very honest so they give you the right meds. I am bipolar and always talk to my husband and family about how I am doing. If you can let go of the stereo types and just talk to them and hope they will not judge you it might help to have some support from people you love!!!

Oh, goodness. What an interesting range of comments so far.

I agree with those who say it's best to schedule an appointment with your physician and at the very least speak with your pharmacist to see what other products may be appropriate for you based upon your medical history.

Linda appears to have an agenda very much against medication for treating depression. I do not.

I've likely had recognizable Depression and Anxiety since college. I've been treated both medicinally and via therapy. I choose NOT to be on medication at this time. But, my reasons are very simple. I was diagnosed with cancer 2 years ago. Since I don't know the cause of my Hodgkins, I'm trying to manage as much of my life without medications as possible. Full disclosure - I have a degree in Biology and have worked in the pharmaceutical industry for the past decade (mostly in sales but never for Depression/Anxiety meds).

Celexa is known as a weaker SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor). The class of drugs includes medications such as Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil, Wellbutrin, Effexor XR, Celexa, Lexapro (next generation Celexa), etc. I'd either go to Drugs.com, epocrates.com, MayoClinic.com, WebMD.com or Wikipedia.org to see what medications are available.

There are also products called SNRIs - Serotonin Norepinephrin Reuptake Inhibitors and include drugs such as Cymbalta and Pristiq.

Each medication works differently in each person. So while someone else may do really well with Celexa, the person next to them may have no response.

Following my treatment (chemotherapy), learning to be a survivor was really hard for me. I chose to seek therapy at that time to learn how to live again, and it really helped me better handle the stressors I had in my life in addition to cancer (job, marriage, etc).

My best advice: Do WHATEVER is best for you to help you feel alive again. You shouldn't have to pretend and "fake it til you make it". Life's too short, and there are bound to be MANY, MANY people who need you and want you to be happy.

Best wishes!

Since you're on an antidpressant already, I assume you've been going through a doc. Talk to him. If it's not a psychiatrist, I would suggest asking for a referral. Sometimes as things change medications loose effectiveness. Maybe you need a dose change or maybe you need something new.(Don't change what you're taking without talking to the doctor first). Additionally, a psychiatrist can better assess what all is going on than a family doctor. Counseling may help too, especially with everything going on in your life.

It's good that you're not considering harming yourself. Please don't wait until it gets to that point before getting help. You describe classic symptoms of depression.

Why did you go on anti-depressants initially? The doctors are INSANE!!! They will put people anti-depressants at the drop of a hat!

Of course you feel numb. That's one of the many things that AD do to you. They take away your ability to feel strong, important emotions.

I have undergone periodic bouts of depression caused by environmental upsets; my sweet Pomeranian died 3.5 years ago, and I was advised to go to my doctor and get a prescription for an anti-depressant, because I was grieving as much as if a HUMAN family member had passed away. I was crying several times a day; no, not just crying...WAILING!!! This went on solidly for two full weeks; I couldn't function! I looked at the advisor, and asked them if that would bring Rocky back. Well, no, of course not, she answered. Well, I told her, grief is hard. But it is a fact of life, and it is meant to go THROUGH, not around. They only way we can heal is if we go through the hardship, gaining strength from the experience.

My husband and I are even now enduring financial hardship and have done for five long years (losing our home; having to sell ALL OF OUR FURNITURE and our paid off car just to pay mortgage and bills), having to sleep on the floor and eat meals at a costco folding table with folding chairs after selling our dining set; being over 1,000 miles away from my children and grandchildren, having to have life-saving surger without health insurance and now being harrassed to distraction to pay the medical bills without the income to do so...the list goes on. We are now renting a condo, and even though we still struggle through constant shut-off notices on utilities, and adult children wanting us to fix THEIR problems, we still have each other.

But unless an anti-depressants will help me pay my bills and solve my problems, which they won't, they are not only useless, but also dangerous. The incidence of ACTUAL chemical depression is very low, so few people should have ever been put on anti-depressants in the first place.

And get this; the vast majority of anti-depressants end up exacerbating the depression (making it worse). Then the patient goes to the doctor, and the doctor gives them another prescription in addition to the first one, and at first they feel better, but in due course, the situation goes downhill again, and something else must be done. Do you see how Big Pharma starts the process of enslaving us; making us drug dependant...(more money in their pockets).

One thing you cannot do, however, is to quit cold-turkey in their usage. That is as bad or worse then taking them. You have to wean yourself slowly, over months.

I highly recommend you check out this website:

http://www.drugawareness.org/

It isn't too late for you, but you will be blown away by what you learn here. And if you can, orde the book, PROZAC, PANACEA OR PANDORA, our Seratonin Nightmare by Dr. Ann Blake Tracy.

I have not only read her book, but I have met her, and had numerous in-depth phone conversations with her, after my best friend's brother shot his wife to death in a church parking lot two years ago.

He wasn't even aware that he did it. He was experiencing blackouts caused by the cocktail of meds he had been prescribed by a nurse practitioner. He is now behind bars for a very long time, his wife is dead, and his children no longer have a mother OR a father. And this is becoming an epidemic! Every time you hear of a man or woman killing when it is soooo out of character for them, you will find anti-depressants, and/or mixtures of SSRI's (Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitors) at the root of the problems.

And as if you you hadn't already noticed, you eventually become depressed and/or more depressed from taking them. Oh, and before you say, "but Celexa isn't Prozac", you might as well be informed. Yes, it is...it is an immediate relative with a different name.

If you get Ann Blake Tracy's book, you will be horrifiedly educated!!! She spent over ten years doing research on the effects of SSRI's.

PLEASE, PLEASE go to this website and thoroughly research everything on it, links and all! If you go to your doctor, he/she will just prescribe another med for you that will simply again mask the real issues, not repair them.

Um - these are also classic symptoms of sleep deprivation. Are you getting enough sleep, or have you developed sleep apnea or another disorder? I would just recommend checking.

I would talk to your doctor about a new prescription. I take Effexor XR and it's an anti-depressant and it helps with anxiety. It's helped me more than you'll ever know!

Many times our bodies build up a tolerance for a medication when we have been on it for a lengthy period. You need to discuss this with your Psychiatrist so they can perhaps try another med or add another med. They may also increase your dosage.

Sometimes a person who lives with depression will need to add something else to the mix because it just gives the med we are already on a boost, or it works in a different way.

Like how Tylenol and Motrin are different. Tylenol works on pain like headaches and muscles, it also works on reducing fevers. Motrin, on the other hand, is an anti-inflammatory drug. It reduces swelling and irritation. You take both meds during the day to feel better but they work on different issues. I have a friend who takes an antidepressant and had to add another med to the mix because she needed the Seratonin uptake inhibitor and her current antidepressant didn't work like that. She felt so much better afterwards.

Your Psychiatrist is a specialist in Antidepressants and other medications. They are an MD who focuses primarily on how drugs interact and work on biological issues like chronic depression. They are the ONLY person I allow to tell me to take a medication that I don't question.

I am sorry you are having such a hard time. I have to agree with a lot of moms, you need to go to a psychologist and discuss how you are feeling. The right med will not numb you, it helps you see clear enough to work through your feelings. Perhaps a new med or dose will be required. Sometimes it takes time to find what works. I am on meds that work for a chemical imbalance but occasionally I will also have to add something for anxiety. A good doctor will listen to your concerns and work with you. Also in many cases just meds do not treat the root of the problem so perhaps find a counselor as well. I know it can be hard to talk to someone, but a professional is going to give you tools to use to help you. Not to mention please try to find a friend of loved one to talk to, you need support. If you can come on a moms board I understand that being anonymous makes you feel safer to share personal info, but I hope you can find someone in your life to talk with. I think its important to talk to someone, women are social animals and that is how so many of us work through our problems. If we keep stuff bottled up we will explode. Best of wishes to you.

Updated

I am sorry you are having such a hard time. I have to agree with a lot of moms, you need to go to a psychologist and discuss how you are feeling. The right med will not numb you, it helps you see clear enough to work through your feelings. Perhaps a new med or dose will be required. Sometimes it takes time to find what works. I am on meds that work for a chemical imbalance but occasionally I will also have to add something for anxiety. A good doctor will listen to your concerns and work with you. Also in many cases just meds do not treat the root of the problem so perhaps find a counselor as well. I know it can be hard to talk to someone, but a professional is going to give you tools to use to help you. Not to mention please try to find a friend of loved one to talk to, you need support. If you can come on a moms board I understand that being anonymous makes you feel safer to share personal info, but I hope you can find someone in your life to talk with. I think its important to talk to someone, women are social animals and that is how so many of us work through our problems. If we keep stuff bottled up we will explode. Best of wishes to you.

It sounds like you need to discuss with with your MD, or whoever is prescribing your meds. I too have suffered from depression and sometimes over time, you need to change medication. I know it must seem scary when you're already feeling so down and blue, but remember that there are many new hybrid SSRIs now that treat both anxiety and depression. Lexapro is one of them, and I have seen it work for friends who suffer from both. Please please please discuss it with your doctor. If you have a therapist, you should discuss it with her/him too. If you don't, now would be a good time to try talk therapy to discuss what you're feeling, and get to the root of the problem. Sending you all the best from Brooklyn and a reminder that things WILL get better if and when you seek treatment. Call and make an appointment NOW!! :)

Hey,

After seeing many people on anti-depressants that don't really work very well or help them, I am against them. I have seen firsthand doctors and psychiatrists that overprescribe them. Studies have shown that antidepressants don't work - they numb your emotions so that you are not in so much pain, so they do work in that way, but they are very harmful to your organs, cause lots of yucky side-effects, and just aren't safe. I think they should only be used short-term for severely depressed people. I have worked with mentally ill people in my profession, and have family members with depression and anxiety. I can't as I know anyone that has done great with them, only been mildly relieved, but never cured.

Have you tried Qi Gong? Try Matthew Cohen's DVD "Fire and Water" It is great for anxiety and depression.

PS. You privately emailed me about a past comment where apparently my answer offended you. Please forgive me if I offended, and now I understand that you are not in a happy place right now so I am sorry if I made you feel worse.

PPS I love Tiffany's response. I think she is exactly right - our thought systems can make us physically and/or psychologically sick. You have to learn to write your thoughts down and see where your flawed thinking comes from so that you can change it. Also, if your life is very unbalanced, you have to find a balance of taking care of yourself and quiet time to meditate/relax, rather than always being busy working or whatever we are all super busy doing.

I would definitely contact your doctor. Some things I do to support myself are take Omega-3s (fish oil supplements), get out in the sun for ten minutes without sunscreen to raise my Vitamin D, make sure I get as much sleep as possible, and get acupuncture treatments. Prayer and meditation can really help with the anxiety, too. And a wonderful book that really helped me is What Happy People Know by Dan Baker. It's not preachy or technical, but actually fun to read.

Most of all, don't be ashamed or blame yourself. It's a biochemical imbalance and not something you caused! There's nothing wrong with asking for help. Contact your doctor and I hope you feel better soon!

Psychiatrist time. The dosing could be off, or you might need a new med. Our body and brain chem changes over time and with different stimuli.

Possible Unnecessary Caveat:
Always, always, always see a brain specialist when you're messing with your brain. You wouldn't see a GP for heart problems, you'd see a cardiologist. So when you start messing with your brain, make sure you're seeing someone who specializes in it! :) :) :)

I have to agree that seeing a psychiatrist is going to be your best bet. they have been trained on the brain chemicals and deficiencies and surplus that could be going on in there. I too have been on anti-depressants for years and went through a major depressive episode while on them, even though they had been working for quite a while. I was on Celexa, I'm now on Lexapro for my depression and on Wellbuterin for my anxiety which showed up when I was 31. I had "faked it" until I was having so much anxiety that I was afraid to leave my house. you don't want to get there. it takes a lot to get to where you can retrain yourself to trust with an anxiety disorder. I do talk therapy as well as see my psychiatrist, a good one will meet with you regularly, mine was once a month until we knew the meds were doing their job, then we still meet every 2 months but when my mom was diagnosed with cancer he asked to see me once a month for a few months to regulate that nothing was changing with the meds. a good one will be like that.
I'm happy for the people who are able to go off their meds. good for them that it worked. I worry about the blanket no one should take them idea though. I've had two uncles commit suicide, off meds--and a good friends older brother decided he could treat himself without his meds, also killed himself because his body needed the chemicals. If someone needs a pill to keep their heart working, or a pace maker, or if they have to take insulin for diabetes you don't hear people saying oh, stop doing that go do it all natural. if you had a birth defect that required you take a pill to make your thyroid for example function no one says, fake it till you feel ok. or oh, I can't believe you take those pills, you should.....(you would get a few fanatics yes but with depression it amazes me how many people think they understand it) there is a difference between feeling down, and having depression, going through stuff in life that gives you depression and having the disease of depression. My brain doesn't make serotonin, I need that chemical to be happy. I can exercise, take multivitamins everything but if I don't have that serotonin my brain doesn't recognize the happy. If you are on the right dose of your meds you don't feel flat, you enjoy life. you feel your emotions, you have good days and bad days. the bad days freaked me out at first I thought I was going back into depression but it was interesting to find that it was a day or two not months or years. that I could be sad for 15 minutes and then move on to other emotions. It was hard to learn to process that, I'm still learning. people who don't have the disease of depression can't understand that. I'm glad they can't because I wouldn't want them to have to understand, but it makes it hard when they think they know what it is like. If you were having heart problems you would see a cardiologist, if you were having issues with your lady parts you go to an OBGYN you see a specialist to treat your issue--a Psychiatrist is that specialist. get referrals just as you would in any career field you want a good one, and you want one that fits for you. don't be afraid to shop around for one that you are comfortable with.
I understand not talking to anyone about it--everyone has an opinion and we don't want anyone to think less of us, or to not validate what we are going through. I stayed quiet way too long and I hospitalized myself because it got to the point I didn't trust I wouldn't harm myself but I knew it wasn't me or what I really wanted. it was the most humbling thing I have ever had to do. I don't like to ask for help or admit I am struggling, or hurting. if I had been having a heart attack I would have gone to the ER. My docs have helped me see it was a brain attack--that I had to get the help. I needed the chemicals right so that I was the one thinking and feeling. I don't talk about this a lot for obvious reasons but I think I should more to say take care of it before it gets that bad. if it is that bad it isn't too late, get help.
I had lost too many loved ones to suicide, seen what it did to people you never would have guessed were connected to that ripple--I knew I couldn't do that. I had made myself a promise if it got that bad I would go to the ER. and I did. the worst time in my life has turned into a time of healing and hope. with the right meds I feel what I assume is "normal" I enjoy a rain storm, I love the feel of sun on my face. I get frustrated at the dogs when they make a mess and laugh at their antics a moment later. I'd never had that before.
My heart goes out to you, I'm sorry you have to deal with depression, remember it is something you have, but it doesn't define all of you. once you get it under control your life can be enjoyable and your smile will be genuine. Please go see your psychiatrist and if you don't have one, get one.

You may have something else wrong with you. I'm bipolar and have run the gammet on meds. If you med is making you numb you need to tell your psychiatrist. You may be on too high of a dose. I hope you are seeing a psychiatrist for this as well as a therapist. Drugs alone do not do it. There is no magic pill. The anxiety you describe may be GAD-Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Don't be afraid of the label. It is easily treatable with anti-anxiety medicine. They may switch you from anti-depressants to those. Please talk to your psychiatrist soon about this.

Hi, I haven't read through all the responses, and apologize if I am repeating something. Perhaps you need to change to another medication? Also, you might consider having your blood tested for things that are not commonly tested in a physical, but could be having a great affect on your mental state, like low vitamin D, or high iron (two things that my depressed anxious husband was just diagnosed with). Your doctor might have other suggestions. I'm sorry you are going through this, and am hoping for the very best for you.