Posted by SLS on May 16, 2012, at 21:04:01
In reply to Re: Did patience pay off for your AD to work?, posted by papillon2 on May 11, 2012, at 6:18:31
Yes.
I agree with the sentiments represented in the previous post.
- Scott
> The usual advice is that it can take up to 8 weeks to notice an improvement, but often one does get an inkling about whether a med is going to work after 2-3 weeks. Psychiatrists admit to this. There are always exceptions. I don't think I responded to Remeron, for example, until I hit 45-60mg; but then I ended up scrapping it anyway for lack of efficacy in the face of intolerable side effects. So who knows?
>
> I took Effexor for 7 years. I and others have experienced a definite increase in anti-depressent effect from each dose increase. However, I can't recall what the early days were like. It may be that I first had to reach a particular doseage.
>
> Patience and persistence does pay off - in bucketloads! I had 2 proper trials of SSRIs fail before we found a medication that worked (yep, this was Effexor XR, AD no. 3). I have taken something like 14 different psych meds over 11 years, often more than one at once. 'Worked', for me, entails a significant decrease in symptoms and significant increase in functioning. I don't think I have ever reached full remission, but I do believe it is possible. There are others here who have been on even more psych meds, who have been fighting far longer than me, and who are winning the war. It is worth it.
>
> Maybe Effexor will eventually kick in, maybe it won't. The important thing is to keep fighting. It is highly likely that you will find relief from your depression. This may involve medication, other treatments or a combination thereof. Hang in there!
Some see things as they are and ask why.
I dream of things that never were and ask why not.- George Bernard Shaw
poster:SLS
thread:1017537
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20120508/msgs/1018064.html