Posted by Bob on July 11, 2002, at 0:12:57
In reply to Re: Real Depression, posted by LostBoyinNC1 on July 10, 2002, at 22:24:22
> > In addition if you have your first depression treated it can prevent further breakdowns, however if you cycle on and off medication (and I did, I hated taking all those pills) and have subsequent depressive episodes, eventually those episodes have a great chance of increasing to the point where a technically minor disappointment can launch you into a major depressive episode. I think when this happens it must be the time when people who have never had depression think its a character flaw a "wimpy" quality: because it really must look silly to other people, but it is absolutely real to the person suffering. Whether or not they fit into someones arbitrary decision about what "depression" is.
>
> Its very true that going on and off antidepressants too frequently, bouncing on and off them, can cause these meds to lose their "punch" and effectiveness. I personally think a fair amount of treatment resistant depressions develop that way.
--------------------------------------------------Possibly there is some merit to the theory that TRD depressions can develop from med cycling. I wouldn't be one to argue with you, as I've done a great deal of med changing, and have only gotten worse. However, I don't think the patients can necessarily be blamed. I think people often find it very crushing to their spirit and physical feeling of well-being on the meds (I think the thought of enduring the side-effects for the rest of one's life, or at least long-term, is often horrifying for people) and so they go off them, or they try other meds that they pray don't have the unwanted side-effects. It's a harsh sentence to endure these meds for the rest of one's life. The current armamentarium is not very "patient-friendly", and we need to eventually come up with more tolerable treatments. If the treatments were tolerable and effective, people would not be playing musical meds nearly as much. It's only human to try to escape from the unnatural oppressive effects and feelings the meds cause.
poster:Bob
thread:91928
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020709/msgs/112005.html