Posted by zonked on June 26, 2010, at 14:41:54
In reply to costs and benefits, posted by linkadge on June 26, 2010, at 12:24:51
> With some medications, it seems like there are so many difficult tradeoffs. The clean meds, don't much work for me, and the dirty meds are, well...,too dirty.
I think many of us in here have felt like this. I used to wonder, with some degree of distress, if I had never started with Zoloft for what now seems like moderately severe depression, and tried to make lifestyle adjustments instead, if I never would have needed to get on the med-merry-go-round, and unintentionally started a process I cannot escape from... Not altogether unlike the spice melange in the novel Dune.
I wish I was still able to just take Zoloft or another SSRI--when it worked, Zoloft really worked WELL until it pooped out. I proceeded to try every SSRI on the market except Luvox with no antidepressant effect. I know lots of folks on SSRI/SNRI monotherapy and sometimes envy them--wish they still worked on me!
I no longer care (and also, I look at my folks--Dad with severe, caffeine-and-nicotine (4pks/day) self-medicated ADD, possibly a unipolar hypomanic; and Mom with diagnosed and treated cyclothymic disorder)--yeah, the meds suck. They also keep me alive, even when they're not perfect. Alive is better than dead.
I also look back on times when meds were working really well and side effects were tolerable--and know I can get "there" again. It's not knowing how long or what it's going to take that is frustrating.
I have confidence that in 10-20 years we'll have better treatments for mental illness...
Hang in there. Look forward to when you're feeling like yourself again (and please post when you do.)
-z
poster:zonked
thread:952249
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20100615/msgs/952265.html