Posted by ben21 on July 8, 2002, at 22:38:50
In reply to Re: Mr. Scott, posted by Mr. Scott on July 8, 2002, at 16:01:06
well first off im new to this board. i happened across your post and trust me i can completely relate. it took three years for me to get well, learn, and adjust- but i managed. to be honest ive done quite well and led a "normal life" once we found out which treatments worked best for me. i would suggest that you seek out your resources and follow through. i read books, used the net, and talked with some of everyone and the biggest help was the manic depression and depression association. i had to readjust my life in terms of alcohol and drugs and i still suffer with the alcohol end. im gonna try a support group this month. i managed to sustain for the last 2 years with holistic therapy as opposed to meds, but when i was first diagnosed i was heavily medicated and experienced everything that you mentioned. i suffered from the paranoia, recklessness, withdrawal, suicidal thought etc. trust me things got alot better. its been some some years since ive been in that condition. i lost my parents health insurance and because of irresponsibility i didnt find a social agency- thats why i went off of meds. but the combination of diet, exercise, relaxation, and controling/avoiding triggering environments actually worked well for me. when i was "out of control" lithium was effective and i forget the other drug that i was taking. and that was after alot of experimentation with RX combinations. i recently found an agency and they started me on lamictal which so far seems to be working great. i was checking this board for other peoples responses to this RX and everthing seems positive. im not sure if it may work for you, but ask your MD if he would recommend it. So hang in there and seek out all the resources that you can find. its kinda hard to get the ball rolling sometimes, but once you pool your resources you should be able to get well. i was given a workbook early on when i was diagnosed which sorta step by step taught me how to adjust to this new dilema that i have. it worked well because i systematically found the help and treatment options, and learned about what i was going through. the name of it is LIVING WITHOUT DEPRESSION AND MD by MARY COPELAND. it might prove useful to you because it helps you record your thoughts, get informed, and monitor you moods and really helps in learning what triggers your mood. then you can really adjust to work around some of the factors that make it worse. well im typing way too much but i hope you get well and hang in there. ill try to stay in touch.
poster:ben21
thread:111259
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020628/msgs/111809.html