![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 9 to 33 of 33. Go back in thread:
Posted by Honore on January 19, 2007, at 17:35:28
In reply to Re: Sick, sick, sick...and tired of depression... » stargazer, posted by laima on January 19, 2007, at 17:02:58
Depending on what dose you're taking, you could try a higher dose, or you could try other things to boost the effect. I'm not sure what's potentially synergistic with Emsam, but with Parnate, for example, my pdoc suggested lithium, or with Emsam, abilify. Or if there are reasons to think it's anxiety, you could try a little xanax.
You can't entirely discount the idea that sometimes, if there are things going on, you might be more depressed, and the Emsam might not seem to be working. Esp. if you start to question the effect-- rather than maybe just taking xanax -- or trying other combinations.
Probably none of these drugs is potent enough to completely extinguish the negative mental pathways or mental pain pathways that we've built up over the years. So maybe at times, one has to work harder to resist-- or counteract them them, one way or another.
I hope so, anyway.
Honore
Posted by Reggie BoStar on January 19, 2007, at 23:45:30
In reply to Sick, sick, sick...and tired of depression..., posted by stargazer on January 19, 2007, at 9:52:01
Hi stargazer,
You're starting to sound like me. That's not good.
I've been through it all too, including ECT (7 treatments out of 8, anxiety cut it short). I don't know what to do either.
However, I picked up on what your pdoc said about a referral. It's your choice, but if I had the option I'd do it. The advantage of the referral is that you don't have to go shopping around for a pdoc yourself.
Provided, of course, the new pdoc doesn't do things the same way your current one does. I'm assuming your current pdoc is smart enough to know that sending you into the same treatment under a different person won't accomplish anything.
RE "stargazer": is that star as in celebrity, or star as in Regulus? I ask because I have a degree in Astronomy.
BTW "Reggie" is short for "Regulus".
Later,
Reggie BoStar
Posted by leo33 on January 20, 2007, at 1:11:29
In reply to Re: Sick, sick, sick...and tired of depression... » stargazer, posted by Reggie BoStar on January 19, 2007, at 23:45:30
stargazer i understand where you are at completely. If I were to describe my situation I could not have said it better than you did. I go to the hospital for assessment on monday and have no clue on what med to try next. Maybe back to nardil as it worked in 1992 to 1996. The longest any one worked for me.
I too am confused and scared, know that you are not alone. I also know its hard to get positive feelings when some one tries to give you hope.
So I will say the serenity prayer for you.God grant me the courage to accept the things I can not change,
The courage to change the things I can,
And the wisdom to know the difference.God Bless you,
Leo
Posted by liliths on January 21, 2007, at 12:06:29
In reply to Sick, sick, sick...and tired of depression..., posted by stargazer on January 19, 2007, at 9:52:01
hi Stargazer
I am so sorry to hear that you're not doing well. I know you had high hopes for adding a stim to your regimen.
did the adderral/welbutrin/celexa combo help enough for you to consider trying again? Or maybe something similar like an ADD med with wellbutrin?
good luck and please keep us posted on how you're doing
namaste,
lilith
> I am so sick of being sick...no matter what drugs I try there is no end in sight to this madness.
>
> Current drug is Emsam being supplemented by amphetamine which was supposed help my focus, motivation and attention.
>
> It's not working and I'm getting very depressed about my chance of ever getting well again. I recently reviewed all my notes from 1989 and only found that Adderall helped when added to Wellbutrin and Celexa.
>
> I'm reaching a very uncertain point in life and I'm very tired from trying to help my pdoc figure out what to try next. I thought the stimulants were the missing link to the Emasam but now I'm not so sure. It may be time for a new pdoc and I haven't had any luck finding someone myself although my pdoc said he had someone he can refer me to.
>
> I am so scared that nothing will ever work...my life is going down fast...no job, no interests, no hope...
Posted by deniseuk190466 on January 21, 2007, at 14:12:56
In reply to Sick, sick, sick...and tired of depression..., posted by stargazer on January 19, 2007, at 9:52:01
Hi,
What have you tried so far med wise?
Also, have you thought about trying some of the stimulation therapies like TMS, ECT, VNS or DBS?
I feel for you I really do because I feel the same way, although I haven't suffered as long as you have.
Just want to say that just because you haven't responded that well doesn't mean you are imagining it. When you find something that works you will know then that you weren't imagining anything.
Denise
Posted by stargazer on January 21, 2007, at 14:34:02
In reply to Re: Sick, sick, sick...and tired of depression... » stargazer, posted by laima on January 19, 2007, at 17:02:58
Laima...although I always remembered responding well to Nardil and Marplan, the second trial with Marplan failed and the Nardil period of success was short lived, around 2 years which is still better than nothing. For all I know I may have retried Nardil but don't remember doing it and never wrote it down, which is my only real way of remembering any of this stuff.
Doesn't depression get progressively harder to treat over the years, hence it's definition of treatment resistance?
Today I tried a 20 mg Adderall-XR capsule even though I was afraid of the dose with a MAO. I'm getting more desperate with every day.
Not sure what to do next, thinking process is considerably slower and less optimistic...SG
Parnate didn't do much of anything but I do remember feeling badly throughout the trial.
Posted by stargazer on January 21, 2007, at 14:41:23
In reply to Re: Sick, sick, sick...and tired of depression..., posted by Honore on January 19, 2007, at 17:35:28
Honore...thanks for suggestions...it's really got me stumped lately...when you're in the middle of a Bad one, all thinking is faulty and there's little logic remaining...I was sure the Emsam stim combo would work...I think for me, a big part of my reaction is the length of time I have had depression and with each subsequent failure comes a real sense of doom and loss of life.
Each day that I lose to depression is another day not living. I want the opportunity before I die to experience life without depression again and longer than a few days or months. That doesn't seem to be too much to ask for. I always played by the rules but they do not apply when you have depression...SG
Posted by stargazer on January 21, 2007, at 14:54:46
In reply to Re: Sick, sick, sick...and tired of depression... » stargazer, posted by Reggie BoStar on January 19, 2007, at 23:45:30
Reggie...Hi, thanks for your response...I would like to have the consult from my pdoc but it would probably mean retrying some of old stuff, despite so many trials in so many years. What I have noticed though is that the doses used today are much higher than doses used years ago, although my positive responses on meds have always been at lower doses.
Stargazer came from a book called "Ahab's Wife" which I read several years ago about the whalers on Nantucket. I don't really know about its astrological origin, although there is also a reference to Orion in the book.
How are you handling your depression today?
SG
Posted by stargazer on January 21, 2007, at 15:05:36
In reply to Re: Sick, sick, sick...and tired of depression..., posted by leo33 on January 20, 2007, at 1:11:29
Leo, Please post after your visit to the hospital on Monday. Who will you be seeing there and do they have a good reputation for treating depression. After you had success with Nardil, what other meds have worked for you? I too had luck with Nardil for only 2 years, but I remember feeling "normal".
I recently reviewed all my notes from drug trials since 1987, and only Nardil, Marplan (2 years) and a combination of Wellbutrin, Adderall and Celexa (4 years, partial response, enough to allow me to work) provided marked relief. I thought the MAO's seemed to give me the most complete resolution of symptoms though. A retrial with Marplan this year failed.
Have you retried Nardil? I wanted to do this before my current trial with Emsam but pdoc wanted to try Emsam first. Of course, I agreed and had some intial improvement but now with diminishing returns. I am currently also trying Adderall with Emsam, risky, but as far as I'm concerned, no risk, no life... SG
Posted by blueberry1 on January 21, 2007, at 15:10:38
In reply to Sick, sick, sick...and tired of depression..., posted by stargazer on January 19, 2007, at 9:52:01
Have you ever visited the website remedyfind.com? It might be helpful to spend a few hours or a few days, even a whole weekend, browsing through the posts there.
From the main page click on 'Health Conditions/Concerns'. Then scroll down and click on 'Depression'. You'll get a list of the top antidepressants, as rated by actual users like you and me. You can also click on 'Click to View Complete List of Depression Treatments' to see reviews of other antidepressants that did not make the top list.
Interesting is that provigil, while not an antidepressant, is actually rated by a long shot as the best antidepressant out there.
Anyway, click on an antidepressant you have not tried. Then you can read the reviews of users. No matter which one you look at, you will find a mix of things like 'I've tried everything on the market and this is the only one that works for me'; or 'made me more depressed'; or 'didn't work'; or 'worked but with bad side effects'. It's amazing to see how mileage varies.
But the reason I think it is good to spend time reading these is because it can generate the one thing you need the most right now...HOPE. You'll see lots of people just like you who tried all kinds of things and were about to give up when they found magic in something they had overlooked or something they had no confidence in.
As just one of many examples, there are a ton of people who tried every ssri there is except for one and had justifiably lost all hope in them as a worthless class of drugs. But they discovered that last one they hadn't tried worked great. Many other examples.
More importantly, you will see some people who seem to be exactly like you. They tried the same meds as you and got the same results and the same side effects. And you'll see what ended up working good for them. Basically, you will spot some 'trends' or 'patterns' that seem to fit you. That can help guide you in a new direction.
It does take a lot of time. Just browsing through a couple meds or taking a look at a few posts won't be helpful. There is a need to look at all the top meds and look at hundreds of posts. But somewhere in that process I can almost guarantee you there will be new hope and new ideas. Thousands of people have already been in your shoes, and mine (I am in your shoes right now). Reading their stories of eventual success, and what med or combo it what that brought that success, can generate a lot of hope. As well as new ideas. Some of the meds or combos these people got well with were ridiculously simple and straight forward. Most of them did not require exotic combinations or off label drugs.
If you haven't already, try it. I think it has the power to be helpful in gaining some new hope and new ideas.
Posted by stargazer on January 21, 2007, at 15:33:44
In reply to Re: Sick, sick, sick...and tired of depression... » stargazer, posted by liliths on January 21, 2007, at 12:06:29
Thank you liliths...Those are some of the options I will explore when i see my pdoc on Wed.
I took Celexa, Wellbutrin and Adderall for about 4 years and did not write in my diary which meant I was feeling OK. I was able to work for this time although I did remember quite a bit of difficulty in my job, which has always been a problem of mine. But I must not have had the kind of difficulties that usually has made me want to change meds.
What happens to me while working with depression is the depression gets worse and fails to improve as meds are adjusted, while working. I end up quitting the job because the symptoms of depression are so incapacitating. My belief is that if I continue to work I will end up with cancer due to the stress. So I convince myself to quit and then I try to get my meds straightened out which almost never happens within a reasonable period of time.
This pattern is well established for me and has not allowed me to ever achieve a stable work history, so when I find myself in this situation again, I am devastated.
Instead of being able to accept this, I am continually reminded of lost opportunities and failed dreams. I have some hope for now, but with each relapse, that hope diminishes.
I've said too much already...thanks for your support, it means alot...SG
Posted by liliths on January 21, 2007, at 15:46:27
In reply to Re: Sick, sick, sick...and tired/liliths, posted by stargazer on January 21, 2007, at 15:33:44
oh stargazer.. it may not mean very much right now, but your suffering touches mine so profoundly
I understand EXACTLY what you're saying. I feel the very same way... it hurts endlessly. Every day feels that much more diminished as I watch life simply pass without me
If you're anything like me, it doesn't help to know others hurt... but hopefully it helps to know others understand.. you're not alone
namaste,
lilith> Thank you liliths...Those are some of the options I will explore when i see my pdoc on Wed.
>
> I took Celexa, Wellbutrin and Adderall for about 4 years and did not write in my diary which meant I was feeling OK. I was able to work for this time although I did remember quite a bit of difficulty in my job, which has always been a problem of mine. But I must not have had the kind of difficulties that usually has made me want to change meds.
>
> What happens to me while working with depression is the depression gets worse and fails to improve as meds are adjusted, while working. I end up quitting the job because the symptoms of depression are so incapacitating. My belief is that if I continue to work I will end up with cancer due to the stress. So I convince myself to quit and then I try to get my meds straightened out which almost never happens within a reasonable period of time.
>
> This pattern is well established for me and has not allowed me to ever achieve a stable work history, so when I find myself in this situation again, I am devastated.
>
> Instead of being able to accept this, I am continually reminded of lost opportunities and failed dreams. I have some hope for now, but with each relapse, that hope diminishes.
>
> I've said too much already...thanks for your support, it means alot...SG
Posted by stargazer on January 21, 2007, at 15:51:46
In reply to Re: Sick, sick, sick...and tired of depression..., posted by deniseuk190466 on January 21, 2007, at 14:12:56
Denise...I have not tried TMS,ECT,VNS or DBS and I was hoping to avoid those, esp ECT which will
not be an option for me...too many lies, too much residual cognitive impairment.I've heard of vagus nerve stim, is TMS something to do with magnets and what is DBS?
Hopefully I can find a medication/combo to work since all of those treatments require another level of treatment with hospital care, etc.
I really believe medication can work for most depression except I believe the pdocs are not the most experienced in choosing which meds will work for which patients. I'm trying to help my pdoc choose the right meds but it hasn't been working lately.
My mood went down in the last week and I saw it for what it is worth, a condition with alot more treatments, but for me, given my history, little options for improvement...SG
Posted by stargazer on January 21, 2007, at 16:40:41
In reply to Re: Sick, sick, sick...and tired of depression..., posted by blueberry1 on January 21, 2007, at 15:10:38
BB...Have you had any success with something you have found on remedy find? I have gone there before and will return as you have encouraged me to look again. I was thinking the tianepine or amulpiside suggestions on PB have always sounded like they may help me, but since they're not offically used by pdocs there is more uncertainty using them.
My latest med, Emsam, was used because I have had success with MAOI's and my pdoc wanted to try this before my suggestion of retrying Nardil. Despite knowing there are more meds to try, I have had horrible side effects from previous trials and I get much worse the longer I can't find something to help.
Again, the loss of time to a depression which is chronic and recurring has given me less optimism in finding an answer that will take care of this once and for all. With each successive failure is more doubt in finding something that can really work. If you have the time and resources and mental fortitude perhaps you can do this indefinately, but I see things differently. The trying and failing wear me down and I fear I will give up after too many failures. It is just the course that I see happening...SG
Posted by Phillipa on January 21, 2007, at 19:45:11
In reply to Re: Sick, sick, sick...and tired of /Blueberry, posted by stargazer on January 21, 2007, at 16:40:41
Stargazer have you thought of upping the EMSAM? Or maybe even adding providgil as I know a person on EMSAM highest dose and providgil and is doing well despite medical conditions. Love Phillipa
Posted by Reggie BoStar on January 21, 2007, at 21:54:54
In reply to Re: Sick, sick, sick...and tired/Reggie, posted by stargazer on January 21, 2007, at 14:54:46
Hi stargazer,
Regarding that consult: it might not involve retrying the same stuff if your current pdoc sends your complete file along with recommendations to the new one. If the new one reads up on everything, there's no reason why he would try something that's already failed.I've run into this before in the course of changing pdocs for various reasons. I've found that as long as I was careful to sign all the release forms for my records so they could be sent to the new pdoc, there were no repetitions of treatment.
Of course that's my experience. Maybe I just got lucky, too.
Right now my pdoc and therapist are still hammering away, always trying new things. I changed both of them after ECT a few years ago. That was when the regimen changed quite a bit. The new therapist is more of the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) type and is very active in our sessions in terms of guiding me through various mental exercises to help me avoid unhealthy trains of though. She doesn't just sit there and listen. It's very interesting.
The pdoc got together with my MD to discuss the situation. After that the pdoc added Lamictal to my medications. I'm still way early in the starter set to know if that will work. In the meantime the MD verified that my testosterone was low and put me on supplements for that. So far, no go and I'm having a lot of bladder trouble. But now he tells me that it takes a while to kick in, and the bladder issues may be unrelated. I go for another test for all that stuff in 2 weeks.
The nice thing is that my MD, pdoc, therapist, and neurologist (for migraines) are all affiliated with the same hospital and routinely share info with each other. They can do this in person or by phone, which is very efficient - they don't have to wait around while records are transferred. Also I have a pharmacy that's completely computerized and keeps tabs on all my meds to monitor for interactions and other issues.
The pharmacy even raised a flag once when I picked up some Phenobarbitol for my cat! Evidently it's not recommended for someone like me (g). I reminded them that the script was written by a vet for my cat, and that cleared that up.
Now... how am I doing? It's just too soon to tell if the new meds and therapy approaches are going to do any good. I'm very careful not to get my hopes up because of past failures, so it's going to have to be something obvious that lasts before I'll accept it as a real improvement.
In the meantime I try to go for walks, 1 or 2 miles/day minimum, keep a regular sleeping schedule (not doing too good there), and go to free support groups wherever I can find them. Some of these are selected AA meetings where I know my agnosticism won't be out of place. Others are "dual diagnosis" groups (behavioral health plus substance abuse, I'm also a drunk) and bipolar support groups in this area. So far all of the groups I've found are affiliated with the same hospital.
I even tried "Emotions Anonymous" once. That's a 12-step group modeled on AA, for people with emotional issues. It wasn't that good a meeting, but that's just because of that particular group of people. If there were more EA meetings in town, I could probably find a better one.
In summary I guess my approach is to keep saturating myself with new approaches as the old ones fail. It's the only way I can keep from from just folding when things don't work.
Anyway that's my approach. Hope the info is useful, and sorry if I rambled. I have trouble keeping things short.
And if you check these boards for other postings in the past, you'll see I have troubles being consistent. That's another one of my issues that the support people are trying to alleviate.
Hey, I checked out "Ahab's Wife" on Amazon and it looks interesting. I used to frequent the area of Woods Hole and Nantucket in the 80's and so have a rough familiarity with the whaling culture and the community. I had to put it on my wish list, though. Money is a little short in the patient business.
One thing struck me as a little odd - the synopsis said that she went to New England to escape from a "puritanical father". Wow. Of all places to go to escape puritanical attitudes, 19th century New England would not be high on my list. This place was the philosophical pits for hundreds of years after Cotton Mather and his goons were hanging witches.
Just kidding. I'll definitely look into the book. In the meantime, best of luck with your treatments, and please keep on posting so we can all see how you're doing and try to offer support.
Take care,
Reggie BoStar
Posted by Phillipa on January 21, 2007, at 22:06:27
In reply to Re: Sick, sick, sick...and tired/Reggie » stargazer, posted by Reggie BoStar on January 21, 2007, at 21:54:54
Reggie they have an emotions anonymous group here in Charlotte Nc only one and it meets once a week. What type of disorders frequent them. You didn't like yours? Can't believe there aren't others here but there's not. Love Phillipa
Posted by Reggie BoStar on January 22, 2007, at 1:35:02
In reply to Re: Sick, sick, sick...and tired/Reggie » Reggie BoStar, posted by Phillipa on January 21, 2007, at 22:06:27
Hi Phillipa,
Most of the folks at the EA meetings I went to sounded like the attendees at a "dual diagnosis" group. They talked about disorders such as severe depression, bipolar, GAD, and a few other things. The substance abuse component involved alcohol (me), cocaine, "narcotics" (probably heroin - that's big around here). One women had really bad GAD but no substance abuse problems.
There were no really unstable folks, like those with antisocial or borderline personality disorders.
The format was strictly AA, with their own Big Book (they call it the "Blue Book"), daily sayings, prayers, and God talk. I get along with such attempts to disguise religion as spirituality, as long as there are other non-sectarian people around to temper the discussion.
Unfortunately this particular meeting had been comandeered by a lonely woman in a wheelchair who would get the floor and then speak for almost an hour about every little thing that she did that day. She basically just needed somebody to talk "at", not "to".
They did nothing about setting a time limit because their policy is to never interrupt a speaker with emotional problems no matter what. The theory is that someone who rambles may be doing so as a result of their affliction. When I asked someone offline about it, that was essentially the answer they gave.
The problem is that this policy does not take into account someone who's just there for a social occasion and wants to yak.
Most AA meetings I've been to, on the other hand, limit a speaker's time or politely suggest that someone who is babbling off-topic (not related to his/her alcoholism) allow time for other speakers to talk.
I tried three of those EA meetings and gave up after listening to the poor woman give hour long speeches at each one.
I'm sure other EA meetings might be run differently. And you're right, there are other meetings in NH. A lot of them are in downtown Manchester, unfortunately, which is one of the places I don't like to be after dark. The one I went to was at a well-lit hospital with its own secure parking in Nashua.
Why not try your local EA meeting to see what it's like? They may run a more structured meeting that allows everyone a shot at talking. As long as you're comfortable with the AA format, it should be OK for you. At least you'll have free coffee and (possibly) cookies or something.
Oh yeah, here's the website:
http://www.emotionsanonymous.org/
There's a link on that page you can use to look for the meetings in NC. There's a legend of symbols and abbreviations that specify the meeting formats.
Take care,
Reggie BoStar
Posted by stargazer on January 22, 2007, at 8:04:41
In reply to Re: Sick, sick, sick...and tired/Reggie » Phillipa, posted by Reggie BoStar on January 22, 2007, at 1:35:02
I went to Remedy find and found too much to read and absorb. I still can't believe this process is getting harder and harder as I get older and sicker. I have so little interest in even reading any of the stuff anymore. I have no ability to understand most of what is being written. Especially any scientific based information. I have lost the ability to understand what any of the chemical are doing. All I want is an answer, I don't even want to try anymore it has gotten so complicated and tiresome. I want to be out of this body forever becasue it is so useless.
I don't know how so many of you have the energy to continue to hope and look for answers. The more I look the more I realize that the solution is so remote, I have almost no chance of finding an answer. At least that is how I am feeling right now.
I went to Remedy find and it was like looking for a needle in a haystack and could potentially mean months or years of drug trials. Is that a life?
Posted by Phillipa on January 22, 2007, at 18:38:15
In reply to Re: Sick, sick, sick...and tired/Reggie » Phillipa, posted by Reggie BoStar on January 22, 2007, at 1:35:02
Reggie thanks so much just filled in e-mail address and asked for the closest meeting and when. Thank-you for taking the time. Love Phillipa
Posted by stargazer on January 22, 2007, at 23:14:17
In reply to Re: Sick, sick, sick...and tired/Reggie » Reggie BoStar, posted by Phillipa on January 22, 2007, at 18:38:15
Went in today to see my pdoc, was a mess, much worse than I realized...told him I thought I was better on low dose (2.5mg) amphetamine with Emsam, then when I tried adderall (XR-20 mg), I got very bad in 2 days.
Told him I was afraid of everything..length of time I've had depression, number of meds tried, so many short, marginal responses, fear of brain damage with each relapse, inability to contribute to suggestions for next meds due to severe, confusion, unsure how to choose a med that might work, fear of never recovering and staying recovered, ability to research meds non-existent, want to understand what part of brain is broken to know how to fix, life not worth living anymore, thought by now I would have figured out what meds work, not sure if he knows how to help me, need another opinion...
Options discussed...Abilify, Geodon..I had NO opinion on these...
Increase Emsam to 9 mg patch, probably will do if I can get the new dose.So confused..how come so many of you understand so much about the meds and know what meds should work and what you would try next and my doctor doesn't?
Remedy find gives me too many options, for every med, there is someone who had a good response for Treatment Resistant Depression. I have no idea where to begin to choose a med that might work for me.
Still discouraged with next steps of what to try, it really just seems like target practice as much as everyone discusses the science behind the meds...my pdoc can refer me but I still don't understand how to know what to try next...
There's always the option of stopping the meds too...I have done this before when things looked too messed up...
Does anyone know if Emsam patches can be split? I have 6 mg and need 9 mg,can I use a patch and a half?
Keep me in your thoughts for something to work...this is the most depressed I can remember being for a very long time, I wish I could just disappear and not have to go through this again....Stargazer
Posted by Reggie BoStar on January 22, 2007, at 23:14:49
In reply to Re: Sick, sick, sick...and tired/Reggie » Reggie BoStar, posted by Phillipa on January 22, 2007, at 18:38:15
Glad it worked. If you go, let us know how it worked out.
Good luck with it,
Reggie BoStar
Posted by Reggie BoStar on January 22, 2007, at 23:28:48
In reply to Re: Sick, sick, sick...and tired/Reggie, posted by stargazer on January 22, 2007, at 8:04:41
Hi stargazer,
I know it's a tough call. I'm not patronizing, I'm 56 and still haven't found an answer that's very effective.
In fact, you'll see that some of my other postings around here (possibly today's, if I can get to it) are pretty morose.
But the bottom line is that I keep trying because, frankly, I don't know what else to do.
I think one thing that keeps me going is a small thought that's always in the back of my mind for some reason.
It's that as the years go by, new and more effective treatments are being developed. You have to admit that things are at least a little better than they were just a few decades ago, when all we had were tranks and commitment to mental health facilities.
In this sense, even if we can't get exactly what we need right now, we have to keep plugging because a new one that works could come along at any time. It keeps me going because I'm always afraid that if I quit now, I could miss out on something that will come along tomorrow.
Presently I keep myself alive by forcing myself to get out and walk a mile or two every day. I can't always do it - I sometimes have sleeping marathons of two or three days at a time while I'm cycling into severe depression. But when I'm up and about I do it, and it seems to help at least as much as some of my meds.
Plus the fresh air and being outside really does clear all those troublesome thoughts out of my mind for a while.
By participating in trials, you're at the forefront of anything new that's developed. I don't even do that. I just wait for the pdocs to tell me what's new and already FDA approved.
I should take your example and look into more studies like that.
So you see, not only is continuing to try a good idea from the standpoint of being there when something what works is developed; you helped ME by giving me the idea to look into more studies.
Keep in mind what you can do for other people, too. I'm in AA for the obvious reason, and one of the basic tenets of the program, aside from all that 12-step junk, is that helping other alcoholics is a VERY IMPORTANT part of the recovery process.
I guarantee that if you go to a therapy group and give someone there some helpful advice - even if it's a negative report about a medication - you'll feel better. Other people can use any information they can get about meds, even if it's negative.
Try it; it works, trust me.
And keep posting. You never know what you'll pick up from someone else here, and you'll be helping us too.
Take care,
Reggie BoStar
Posted by blueberry1 on January 23, 2007, at 3:23:22
In reply to Options for treatment, no clearer/EMSAM dose Q's, posted by stargazer on January 22, 2007, at 23:14:17
Me too. Exactly. Well said.
>
> Told him I was afraid of everything..length of time I've had depression, number of meds tried, so many short, marginal responses, fear of brain damage with each relapse, inability to contribute to suggestions for next meds due to severe, confusion, unsure how to choose a med that might work, fear of never recovering and staying recovered, ability to research meds non-existent, want to understand what part of brain is broken to know how to fix, life not worth living anymore, thought by now I would have figured out what meds work, not sure if he knows how to help me, need another opinion...
>>
> So confused..how come so many of you understand so much about the meds and know what meds should work and what you would try next and my doctor doesn't?
>
> Remedy find gives me too many options, for every med, there is someone who had a good response for Treatment Resistant Depression. I have no idea where to begin to choose a med that might work for me.
>
> Still discouraged with next steps of what to try, it really just seems like target practice as much as everyone discusses the science behind the meds...my pdoc can refer me but I still don't understand how to know what to try next...
>
> There's always the option of stopping the meds too...I have done this before when things looked too messed up...>
> Keep me in your thoughts for something to work...this is the most depressed I can remember being for a very long time, I wish I could just disappear and not have to go through this again....Stargazer
Posted by Phillipa on January 23, 2007, at 19:23:31
In reply to Re: Options for treatment, no clearer/EMSAM dose Q's, posted by blueberry1 on January 23, 2007, at 3:23:22
What is that test or scan a while back that some poster was doing that tell you what meds your brain needs? Love Phillipa Remember it was up North.
This is the end of the thread.
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