Meds working. Now what?

[begonia]

Hello to everyone:

Thanks to the encouragement I got from this forum, I went back to a psychiatrist I'd been seeing for meds when I was in therapy. I have been diagnosed with dysthymia and I was feeling very depressed and felt like nothing could ever work. But I listened to the "don't give up" message from this forum. So the meds (sertraline aka Zoloft) have been helping for about the last 3 months. It's like they actually quieted those thoughts that constantly told me that I'm worthless.

But...I'm working on accepting that this is a long-term problem and giving up the idea that I can be "cured." What do you all do to accept (without resentment) the fact that you'll have to keep working with other tools besides meds to beat back depression?

Thanks again for all the support.

 

[ladylore]

Hi begonia,

I'm glad the meds are working. I have had to deal with depression myself so I know the relief of it lifting.

IMHO deprssion is curable and it isn't necessarily a life long issue you will need to deal with. As for the tools you have learned to deal with depression are invaluable with dealing with life in general. There are great times and not so great times in life we have to deal with - depression or no depression.

Now you know the early warning signs of depression and can head them off before it becomes full blown. And if not, you know something can be done about it to help you get back on the path again.

I stayed on anti-depressents for a year to ensure the seratonine levels were normal. Not so bad. If you need to stay on them longer thats ok too.

I am so happy you are feeling better. And Psychlinks is here to support you even when you are no longer depressed.

:clap: :goodjob:

 

[begonia]

Thanks so much, Ladylore. Unfortunately, for me, it has been a long-term condition, from my teens to now, when I'm over 50. I thought (in the past) that I could be cured totally and forever. But it's more like a chronic condition that has to be managed. When I've been on medication in the past, I expected it to do all the work, which it can't.

 

[ladylore]

I have had depression since I was a kid too. This past episode is the first time I used anti-depressents and have taken the necessary time in therapy. Your right - medication can't do all the work. In my case I use to think therapy would cure everything and everything would be peachy keen - no saddness, anger or any 'negative emotions". I know better now. I have been told that my nervous system is more sensitive and I need to take care of myself.

It may seem strange, but I am truely grateful for all the tools in my tool kit and for the support I have found this time. Depression and other mental illness run in my family, so I feel fortunate that I did find out what was going on - instead of continuing through life as everything was ok on the outside but dying on the inside.

Oh, I'm in my late 30s.

 

[justhere]

i have had low grade depression for several years. i am currently taking zoloft with lamictal and want to wean myself off since they dont seem to be helping any more to treat my depression. i just dont know what to do. help?

 

[Daniel E.]

I would suggest talking to a psychiatrist about adjusting the dose, switching to something else and/or adding another medication.

Most psychiatrists are very open to the idea of med changes.

 

[Andy]

Hi justthere,

Welcome to psychlinks!

I understand the frustrations with medication all to well. If you are thinking that you would like to go off your medication, it is best to talk to your prescribing doctor. This way he can adjust the doses for you and help ween (sp) you off them. I know it might not seem like a big deal but coming off some medications to abruptly can cause a person to become very ill and can even be dangerous.

Maybe you can manage without medication now. Or maybe your doctor can suggest something new to try out. I don't know how many times you have tried medications but it's usually a hit or miss thing. One might work or might not, you have to try them to find out.

I hope that was of some help.

 

[Always Changing]

I would agree that talking to your doctor or psychiatrist is the best way to go about managing your depression. It is more than likely still a case of finding the right med to help plus maybe using diff coping skills. I have read that some medications do lose their effectiveness after a while so your doctor needs to know this.

Do talk to yor doctor first before making any decisions about coming off them.

Hope you are feeling better soon