FAQ/Help |
Calendar |
Search |
Member
Member Since Dec 2016
Location: La la land
Posts: 331
7 111 hugs
given |
#1
I've been on a bunch of antidepressants, and they don't seem to work for long. Or maybe I get my hopes up at first and think it's working when long-term, it doesn't.
How much good can an antidepressant really do? It is possible to find one that works? Do the things you learn in therapy actually help more than medicine? I know the combination of meds and therapy are more successful for many people. |
Reply With Quote |
Wild Coyote
|
Elder
Member Since Mar 2013
Location: NJ
Posts: 6,433
11 9,557 hugs
given |
#2
The only AD that’s ever worked for me long term is an MAOI called emsam. The combination of emsam and invega kept me stable for nearly two years. Unfortunately I could not continue the invega due to physical side effects. I’ve yet to find a med combo that has worked as well.
As for therapy, my therapist tells me she has seen me work very hard to get out of episodes when they occur and that she believes I have prevented an episode from getting worse using the skills I learned. I am not sure this is true but I do trust her judgment better than my own, especially now that I am in a depressed state. __________________ Of course it is happening inside your head. But why on earth should that mean that it is not real? -Albus Dumbledore That’s life. If nothing else, that is life. It’s real. Sometimes it f—-ing hurts. But it’s sort of all we have. -Garden State |
Reply With Quote |
Wild Coyote
|
amicus_curiae
|
Account Suspended
Member Since Jan 2015
Location: California Uber Alles
Posts: 9,150
(SuperPoster!)
9 5,382 hugs
given |
#3
Last week when I saw my pdoc she said, "Antidepressants can't really do that much, anyway..." She was not referring to me, she was referring to AD's in general.
I was, to say the least, shocked. |
Reply With Quote |
Wild Coyote
|
Magnate
Member Since Oct 2017
Location: La Porte, TX
Posts: 2,899
6 78 hugs
given |
#4
For a lot of people with BP, taking AD's in the long-term can cause mania. My pdoc has put me on them short term if I'm very depressed (namely Effexor or Wellbutrin), but she points out if I'm on them longer than 3 or 4 months, I usually turn manic. So it really depends on the person. Anti-depressants can help some people with bipolar; for others, it is a flip of the switch and brings on mania.
__________________ Bipolar 1, PTSD, anorexia, panic disorder, ADHD Seroquel, Cymbalta, , propanolol, buspirone, Trazodone, gabapentin, omeperazole I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: two roads diverged in a wood, and I - I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. --Robert Frost |
Reply With Quote |
Wild Coyote
|
*Laurie*
|
Guest
Posts: n/a
|
#5
Zoloft is amazing for me. Pulled me out of a deep depression. I also take lithium to prevent the mania Zoloft causes. Those drugs got me emotionally better and therapy is helping me even more. Therapy is helping me work on the way my brain thinks. It's pretty cool.
|
Reply With Quote |
Anonymous45390, Wild Coyote
|
Guest
Posts: n/a
|
#6
I think it really varies by person. For some people with bipolar (like me), antidepressants very often lead to mania and it gets bad. Sometimes they lead to rapid cycling and/or mixed episodes. And this also ON a moodstabilizer and/or antipsychotic. Other people do just swimmingly on an antidepressant along with a moodstabilizer and/or antipsychotic. I guess it can vary according to the antidepressant.
Since I can't take antidepressants with any good result, I have to depend on moodstabilizers and antipsychotics. There are some that work on getting rid of and helping to prevent depression. In my case my Seroquel XR is the major winner in that respect. I also take a small dose of Lamictal at 100 mg. Seroquel XR is also good for me (along with Tegretol XR) at curbing mania. In my mix, it is always my Seroquel XR that my psychiatrist manipulates. I've heard of and tried other moodstabilizers that are helpful for depression (i.e. Lithium). I know other antipsychotics are helpful, too. |
Reply With Quote |
Anonymous45390, Wild Coyote
|
*Laurie*
|
Grand Magnate
Member Since May 2015
Location: earth
Posts: 3,029
8 1,884 hugs
given |
#7
I don’t really know what your definition of a “bunch” is. But sometimes it takes a lot of trial and error to find one that works. It could be that they don’t work for you. Others have had succes with old school Meds like lithium. Bipolar depression is a different animal than clinical depression. It are you on any other Meds for bipolar? Wellbutrin is another option for people who don’t respond well to SSRIs.
__________________ Eat a live frog for breakfast every morning and nothing worse can happen to you that day! "Ask yourself whether the dream of heaven and greatness should be left waiting for us in our graves - or whether it should be ours here and now and on this earth.” Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged Bipolar type 2 rapid cycling DX 2013 - Seroquel 100 Celexa 20 mg Xanax .5 mg prn Modafanil 100 mg |
Reply With Quote |
Wild Coyote
|
Wise Elder
Member Since Apr 2015
Location: US
Posts: 9,230
(SuperPoster!)
9 9,385 hugs
given |
#8
I also have found success with Emsam. I was on so many ADs before it and they didn't work or they destabilized me. Emsam, as an MAOI, works differently and after just a few weeks on it I started having fewer deep depressions. In combination with the right AP (clozapine) my mood is much more manageable.
__________________ Bipolar 1, PTSD, GAD, OCD. Clozapine 250 mg, Emsam 12 mg/day patch, topamax 25 mg, ,Gabapentin 1700 mg & 100-2 PRN,. 1.5 mg clonazepam., 50 mg Seroquel |
Reply With Quote |
Wild Coyote
|
Elder
Member Since Mar 2017
Location: Florida
Posts: 5,057
7 970 hugs
given |
#9
Wellbutrin has been really good for me. It has helped greatly with my depression plus I quit smoking as a side effect.
__________________ Guiness187055 Moderator Community support team |
Reply With Quote |
Anonymous45390, Wild Coyote
|
Poohbah
Member Since Aug 2017
Location: Australia
Posts: 1,435
6 79 hugs
given |
#10
Pre bipolar a long time ago I suffered from severe post natal depression. I was put on Zoloft and attended fortnightly therapy. I think it was the combo of meds and therapy that helped me overcome the depression.
My son started suffering from ‘low moods’ at 18yrs of age. I was told with children and teens that exercise etc was equally as effective as meds. My son started exercising outdoors an hour a day, taking Vit D and meeting with his youth pastor weekly. I would say he’s doing pretty well now. __________________ Pookyl ———————————————————————————— BP1, GAD, Panic Disorder, Agoraphobia, Claustrophobia Psych meds: Saphris, Seroquel XR, regular Seroquel. PRN Diazepam and Zopiclone |
Reply With Quote |
Anonymous45390, Wild Coyote
|
Account Suspended
Member Since Jan 2015
Location: California Uber Alles
Posts: 9,150
(SuperPoster!)
9 5,382 hugs
given |
#11
Quote:
|
|
Reply With Quote |
Wild Coyote
|
Wild Coyote
|
Poohbah
Member Since Aug 2017
Location: Australia
Posts: 1,435
6 79 hugs
given |
#12
Quote:
__________________ Pookyl ———————————————————————————— BP1, GAD, Panic Disorder, Agoraphobia, Claustrophobia Psych meds: Saphris, Seroquel XR, regular Seroquel. PRN Diazepam and Zopiclone |
|
Reply With Quote |
Wild Coyote
|
SUPERMAN
Member Since Feb 2016
Location: Metropolis
Posts: 3,679
8 2,698 hugs
given |
#13
In my case, I owe my life back to Paxil.
__________________ ]Roses are red. Violets are blue.[ Look for the positive in the negative. PIRILON. If lemons fall from the sky, make lemonade. Unknown. Nothing stronger than habit. Victor Hugo. You are the slave of what you say, and the master of what you keep. Unknown. |
Reply With Quote |
Wild Coyote
|
Account Suspended
Member Since Jan 2015
Location: California Uber Alles
Posts: 9,150
(SuperPoster!)
9 5,382 hugs
given |
#14
|
Reply With Quote |
Wild Coyote
|
Guest
Posts: n/a
|
#15
I’m not *allowed* to have antidepressants. I’ve tried on four psychiatrists. Even w/mood stabilizer it’s no. I give up.
On your therapy question, my anxiety rides together with depression. I find that working on the anxiety really helps both. |
Reply With Quote |
Wild Coyote
|
Grand Member
Member Since Jan 2018
Location: I wish they all could be California gurls...
Posts: 992
6 79 hugs
given |
#16
Quote:
I may be wrong but I think that SSRI’s are the most prescribed antidepressants these days. About two-years hospitalized, having been through all legally available antidepressants, my docs started me on Nardil and I think that I actually smiled within days. Not meant for severe depression but it worked somewhat for me — better than anything else they had tried. Unfortunately, even though the dietary folks controlled the odd diet that Nardil requires, my blood pressure was headed toward Strokeville so I had to come off it after less than two months. I think that it’s an MAOI? There are so many types of antidepressants but some docs won’t stray into older areas. I guess that you need to discuss a desire to experiment with your doc and see if he/she is agreeable. Yes. There are antidepressants that work. Yes. I have been/am being treated with medications and therapy. I’m still as mad as I was twenty-years-ago but I’m much more functional, now. I feel better, although I still have slips and other concerns. Speaking only of my experiences: the meds usually serve to calm me down and the therapy allows me/the therapist listens and coaxes me as I release the voluminous crap that is in my head. When I first sought the services of a shrink I thought ‘this’ll fix me,’ but my disorders didn’t go away. Just like the physical diseases for which I receive treatment, so I continue to be treated for my psychiatric disorders. I think that most people who seek help for, e.g., mild depression, can be ‘cured’ with a dose of CBT and a placebo and get back to living. I didn’t know that my head was ****ed for life. __________________ amicus_curiae Contrarian, esq. Hypergraphia Someone must be right; it may as well be me. I used to be smart but now I’m just stupid. —Donnie Smith— |
|
Reply With Quote |
Wild Coyote
|
Grand Member
Member Since Jan 2018
Location: I wish they all could be California gurls...
Posts: 992
6 79 hugs
given |
#17
Quote:
Here’s a not-so-secret secret: I got married whilst in high school. Almost immediately annulled so I don’t refer to her as ‘my first wife,’ although, well, she was. This was early 1970’s and I didn’t have a handle on my impulsive nature, my risky ventures. Definitely symptomatic of bipolar, too. Because I was ‘exceptional’ no one thought of mental problems. I was able to exhibit the behavior of a bipolar teen without consequences and no one considered the ‘bipolar teen’ behavior anything other than the work of a genius, a mind beyond comprehension. The expectations were incomprehensible. Scary. Stomach-aching. But I knew nothing about mental disorders — they were not on the radar, then. Then off to college and my symptoms roared but my grades were good, always making Dean’s list, so symptomatic behavior was ignored. But I began to suspect that I was exhibiting behaviors that were like those of a manic-depressive. My answer was to flee the country. I was so very ****ed up for so very many years. Well, I remain ****ed up. I played four sports in high school, became a long distance rambler in college. Exercise never exorcized my demons. I should have been medicated in high school. And, while I understand the concern about over-medicating kids, depression can be so debilitating to a teenager. __________________ amicus_curiae Contrarian, esq. Hypergraphia Someone must be right; it may as well be me. I used to be smart but now I’m just stupid. —Donnie Smith— |
|
Reply With Quote |
Wild Coyote
|
Wild Coyote
|
Veteran Member
Member Since Jul 2016
Location: Midwest
Posts: 726
7 16 hugs
given |
#18
Peter D. Kramer (of "Listening to Prozac" fame) has a relatively new book out called "Ordinarily Well: the Case for Antidepressants". I felt like if you do the math yourself for the studies he cites antidepressants didn't come out that well, but he obviously feels different about them. It's worth reading anyway.
For me the only antidepressant that worked was Wellbutrin. |
Reply With Quote |
Wild Coyote
|
Wild Coyote
|
New Member
Member Since Apr 2018
Location: Tampa
Posts: 6
6 |
#19
Quote:
|
|
Reply With Quote |
Wild Coyote
|
Legendary
Member Since Oct 2010
Location: Under the noise floor
Posts: 18,579
(SuperPoster!)
13 11.8k hugs
given |
#20
I was on a lot of ADs. Had genetic testing done and found out I couldn't metabolize most of them. I think there were three ADs I could take, and all of them did not have a generic equivalent and they were very expensive.
I eventually was put on Viibryd during my last IP. I'm taking it with Latuda. I'm just thankful I live near a military pharmacy, or I wouldn't be stable at all because I can't afford the meds. I've been stable over 1 ½ years now. So I guess it depends on the individual. |
Reply With Quote |
Wild Coyote
|
Wild Coyote
|
Reply |
|