Psycho-Babble Medication Thread 87384

Shown: posts 1 to 5 of 5. This is the beginning of the thread.

 

BREAKTHROUGH DEPRESSION

Posted by angel1 on December 19, 2001, at 8:30:57

What does it mean when you are taking medicine and it
works in the beginning and then it stops working even
though you take it religously every day? Is this
breakthrough depression? I can't take it anymore.
It's very scary because I feel I will never get better no matter what I do or take. Please help. Does praying to God help anyone?

 

Re: BREAKTHROUGH DEPRESSION » angel1

Posted by paxvox on December 19, 2001, at 10:38:05

In reply to BREAKTHROUGH DEPRESSION, posted by angel1 on December 19, 2001, at 8:30:57

You are asking a "big question" that could have hundreds of answers, but I will try to give you some general responses.

First: Can a med work for awhile, and then no longer be effective? Absolutely! This is a VERY common problem. It requires a good relationship with open communications between the doctor and the patient. You need to let the doctor know when you notice this problem. He may need to increase the dose, give you a different version of the med, or change meds altogether. The key here: talk to your doc.

Secondly: The feeling of "no hope" can happen to all of us, even during times when we are otherwise feeling OK. All of a sudden, we can hit a wall,and feel badly. Again, this relates to the first response. Talk to your doctor. There is ALWAYS hope. If your current doc doesn't (or won't) help you, go find another. Somtimes it is very much a trial and error process. There are many, many different meds available. Just because one may not help you doesn't mean that there are NONE that will work for you. You have to be persistent, yet patient until you come upon the correct med or combination of meds that works best for YOU. Most meds are VERY individualized in how they affect people. What works for one person may not work at all for another.

Thirdly: Does prayer help? I will give you a subjective and an objective response to this.
However, the answer to both is YES, it does.
First, objective, scientific studies have found that people who pray get sick less, and heal more quickly than those who do not. Several published studies also suggest that even praying FOR someone may help them. (Readers Digest printed an article about that a few months ago, their reference was scientific).
Subjectively (what I personally believe) YES, prayer does still work. However, our prayers are not always answered when or how we want them to be, and sometimes the answer to our prayers can be "No". We cannot put human values or expectations upon God. God has purposes we cannot begin to understand. Should you pray anyway? Yes, because that is the only way for us to ask God to help us, (and has also intructed us to do). If you want further thoughts on this subject, I will provide it, but this is probably not the forum to do so (email is preferable).

Bottom line: There IS help available to you. If you have gotten so far down that you are having "bad thoughts" about life, then go to the hospital. If you are just feeling low, but not suicidal, get with your doctor ASAP. Be patient, but be HOPEFUL. Let us know how you are doing.

PAX

 

Re: BREAKTHROUGH DEPRESSION » angel1

Posted by sid on December 19, 2001, at 11:44:08

In reply to BREAKTHROUGH DEPRESSION, posted by angel1 on December 19, 2001, at 8:30:57

It takes time. Be patient, things will get better. The hardest for me was exactly that: I wanted results fast and no setbacks. It took a long time and now I tend to think that depression is a huge test of patience. I am not known for my patience in general, so it was doubly-trying.

I agree with PAX: see your doctor about this, actively seek help (as you did here) and don't despair. As for prayers, well it depends on whether YOU believe in them or not. If you feel like praying then do it, that's what you need to do at that time.

 

Re: BREAKTHROUGH DEPRESSION » angel1

Posted by Cindylou on December 19, 2001, at 13:12:09

In reply to BREAKTHROUGH DEPRESSION, posted by angel1 on December 19, 2001, at 8:30:57

Hi Angell,
So sorry to hear about your crash, "poop out", or whatever you want to call it. It does happen often, and has happened to me often -- especially with Prozac. And yes, it is SO discouraging. But like paxvox and sid have said, don't give up ... there is always hope. My doctor has been more patient with me than I can imagine, working with me for over a year now, trying combo after combo ... sometimes I definitely feel like giving up, but then I hear about something else to try, and I just keep going.

Prayer ... I can't say it any better than Paxvox who put it so eloquently. However, I have, for the most part, stopped praying for help with my mood disorder since the prayer just doesn't seem to help and only makes me frustrated and floundering in my faith. God knows how I feel and what I need. For some reason, I'm just not getting completely well yet. Maybe it is so I can help others someday by empathizing with them.

Hang in there, and most of all DON'T GIVE UP!

-cindy


> What does it mean when you are taking medicine and it
> works in the beginning and then it stops working even
> though you take it religously every day? Is this
> breakthrough depression? I can't take it anymore.
> It's very scary because I feel I will never get better no matter what I do or take. Please help. Does praying to God help anyone?

 

Re: BREAKTHROUGH DEPRESSION » paxvox

Posted by christophreJMC on December 19, 2001, at 15:39:57

In reply to Re: BREAKTHROUGH DEPRESSION » angel1, posted by paxvox on December 19, 2001, at 10:38:05

> Thirdly: Does prayer help? I will give you a subjective and an objective response to this.
> However, the answer to both is YES, it does.
> First, objective, scientific studies have found that people who pray get sick less, and heal more quickly than those who do not. Several published studies also suggest that even praying FOR someone may help them. (Readers Digest printed an article about that a few months ago, their reference was scientific).

I believe those studies have been found to be quite unscientific and have been disproved (I'll try to locate the specifics if you want).
If you believe in prayer, I think it will help you; but it certainly doesn't help everyone (it hurt me -- family forcing religious sentiment in spite of the fact that I've always been strictly atheist).


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