![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 4 of 4. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Jonny on September 21, 2002, at 19:27:58
So, a few months ago i was facing a persistent yet mild case of depression. My general Dr. prescribed Paxil. I was on it for several months, and then tapered off. I feel like it maybe kept me from caring about my problems as much, but it didn't make me 'happy. So now I've been off for a week and am feeling better than when I was on/off Paxil before, but still not totally better. Does this increase of good mood occurring post-paxil indicate what drug may work better, or shed more light on my condition?
Posted by madison88 on September 21, 2002, at 22:11:07
In reply to Paxil done, feeling better yet?, posted by Jonny on September 21, 2002, at 19:27:58
i occasionally stop taking my meds for a couple days because my head clears and i can get so much work done. But it never fails that i quickly get worse after a few days off of the stuff (Paxil included). if you feel alright off of it, fine. but if you are not right, get back on and stay on it. you said paxil didn't make you happy. of course it didn't. that is not what it is suppose to do. it is suppose to allow you to choose to be in an agreeable mood. it won't put you in a good mood, that is not it's job. it should put you in a position to be able to pull your butt off the couch and get stuff done. you can still choose to sit on that couch and be depressed. it should give you the option to feel alright. i have had to come to realize that i don't have to be happy to be OK. i can just be in a fair mood. that is livable. sorry if i sound harsh. sometimes you need to be honest with yourself, and that can be hard. generally, it takes more than a few months for antidepressants to work. i would recommend that you stay on it for at least a year. you have to realize that it took a couple months to start working, so if you quite 5 or 6 months into it, you have only had 3 or 4 months of feeling the full effects. of course, only you can tell how you are. i just know it took me over a year to come out of a severe depression. it takes time, and a psychotherapist can really help. i wish you a lot of luck!
Posted by joy on September 22, 2002, at 9:35:09
In reply to Paxil done, feeling better yet?, posted by Jonny on September 21, 2002, at 19:27:58
You are only off the Paxil a week. Usually symptoms come back for many people within a few weeks. If Paxil helped you not to care so much about your problems, it was successful. That's what 'going with the flow' means, and many people can not do it without some medication, due to depression. I felt content on Paxil when I took it and was sorry I came off too soon. It did not work quite as well for me the 2nd time I tried it. I hope you stay feeling well.
Joy
Posted by linkadge on September 22, 2002, at 14:48:51
In reply to Paxil done, feeling better yet?, posted by Jonny on September 21, 2002, at 19:27:58
When AD's are used to treat mild
depression, often the side effects
are more depressing than the original
depression was. When you come off an
AD - for a mild depression - often you
feel more self confident because are
free of the side effects.This is not your case, but often people
who aren't chemically depressed, but
just have sucky lives for whatever reason,
think that AD's will make their lives better.
Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn'tLinkadge
I really do recoment SJW for mild depression,
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Medication | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.