Antidepressants

[Keltiks]

What do BG readers recommend? I've been pretty emo the past few years and have been on a plethora of antidepressants. Some good, some ok, some bad. However after everything I still feel I haven't found the right one for me. If anyone has any good experiences with antidepressants please share.

Here are my experiences.
Zoloft - Made me sweat profusely at night. Turned my dick off. Not much upside.
Lexapro - A lot like Zoloft.
Wellbutrin - Gave me strange heart palpatations and made me want to quit smoking (drug is also prescribed to quit tobacco). At the same time made me feel a little better about life.
Luvox(Prozac) - Made me an absolute zombie. I lost every passion in my life. Quit playing FF, didn't care to do anything but sleep, could barely make it through work.
Zyprexa (nighttime) - Wonder drug, makes me sleep like a baby. But doesn't help much with depression.
Seroquel (nighttime) - Made me so hungover in the morning couldn't make it through work. Good for sleeping however.
Effexor - I have been on this drug the longest. I still felt depressed at times but I also had moments of happiness while taking this drug. I was heavily addicted to FF during my time on this drug but I also felt more motivated to do things. I am thinking about getting back on this drug.
Adderall - Doc prescribed this for sleepiness. I love it, it does wonders for me. Still doesn't solve the depression though.

Currently: Against the wishes of my doctor, I have been drug free for a week now. I am somewhat stuck in trying to figure out what to do (try something else, go back to effexor, etc.) Does anyone have anything that they have had a very positive experience with? I know everyone reacts differently to certain drugs but its nice to hear positive things. And please try to limit the negativity, everyone deals with depression differently, this is how I do it. If you don't believe in pills then just don't post. Thanks.

[Alleya]

Do you exercise and eat right and do all that good stuff in addition to the meds?

A solid hour of exercise every day helps the body and mind. Helps me a lot more than any pills ever did.

[Intense]

Do you exercise and eat right and do all that good stuff in addition to the meds?

A solid hour of exercise every day helps the body and mind. Helps me a lot more than any pills ever did.

Man, you posted this while I walked down the hall and back, this is what I was going to mention.

[Avé]

Well, I have no experience with medicines, but when I was feeling depressed and "zombie" like a few years back, I eventually worked up the will power to hop on an exercise bike and it helped a bit. That's all I did until I started feeling normal again. That, and I found Katamari Damacy.

[Ivve]

For a little bit, I was on lorazepam. I don't recommend this. It's generally an anti-seizure medication (which was good for me, beause I have a history of seizures) but it was prescribed mainly to help with my anxiety, but it really didn't do much except encourage weight gain.

[TheCursedGatts]

Wellbutrin actually made me have a fit, i got really violent and out of control.
I'm on lexapro, dont notice it doing much.
Caffeine always helps me really, lol.

[Castelak]

"Wellbutrin - Gave me strange heart palpatations and made me want to quit smoking (drug is also prescribed to quit tobacco). At the same time made me feel a little better about life."

Were the palpatations bad? Seems like making you want to quit smoking is a good thing no? If it made you feel better, why not stick with this one?

Me? Well I'm on Zoloft. =p

[Iono]

Meditation. Serioiusly, it's a bitch to actually do tho. I'd suppose it'd depend on what kind of depression you're going through

[gandorf]

http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g9...tos/zoloft.jpg

I was on Zoloft once, Made me gain weight and doctor refused to take me off. Till my mom told him to stfu and we never went back 8) but it took me awhile to lose the weight and that just messed with the problem even more.

I hate med's, I would just recommend not taking them and solve whatever issues you got your self.

[Gafgarionn]

What do BG readers recommend?

Marijuana.

[Alleya]

"Just deal with it" is very rarely something someone with depression can do, or knows how to do. When you're on the otherside, "just deal with it" is as insulting as it is impossible. The main symptom of depression is that they feel they can't deal with it. So taking steps to fix the actual, physical ailment like meds and exercise are far more productive than sitting around somehow willing yourself to snap out of something you have no direct control over.

[TheCursedGatts]

^Agreed.
I know when I try to 'snap out of it' I just put on a pretense, and bottle it up for later. Thats how I started cutting actually, cuz I had to act all cheerful around people and it all built up, until I hated my fucking guts.

[skurlover]

Either finish going /emo and kill yourself, or realize that life is hard and depressing most of the time. Take the joyous times and put them in the back of your mind to recall when you have a down moment.

God, I hate the "I'm so depressed bullshit.", we all get there, the successful ones learn to deal with their problems and move on with life.

[Gafgarionn]

Either finish going /emo and kill yourself, or realize that life is hard and depressing most of the time. Take the joyous times and put them in the back of your mind to recall when you have a down moment.

God, I hate the "I'm so depressed bullshit.", we all get there, the successful ones learn to deal with their problems and move on with life.

Right, except many people have a chemical handicap that makes it much harder.

[TheCursedGatts]

Yeah, skurlover, you're a fucking douchebag.
Without sufferring from a chemical imbalance its hard to understand, its not that i choose to be sad, its that i cant choose not to be, hence medication, which helps with the chemical balancing.

[Alleya]

Either finish going /emo and kill yourself, or realize that life is hard and depressing most of the time. Take the joyous times and put them in the back of your mind to recall when you have a down moment.

God, I hate the "I'm so depressed bullshit.", we all get there, the successful ones learn to deal with their problems and move on with life.

Words of someone who's never had to deal with it.

[Khamsin]

Some mental exercise can help, too, such as thinking of and focusing on the things that are good about your life and playing down the things that aren't. I've never been clinically depressed before, but I have had funks for no apparent reason that took awhile to get out of. Since I don't even like over the counter drugs (never even taken an aspirin or tylenol), usually I just get through it by thinking why the bad things don't matter and what I do have going for me. After a bit, I realize that I'm just being silly and that the way I act due to the way I feel is making things worse (and hence, a cycle), I move on.

As for the anti-drug thing, it's not really because I'm anti-drug... it's actually because I have a bad gag reflex. When I do have to take meds (prescription antiobiotics or something) I can't even make myself swallow, so it takes a while (and some luck) to actually get them to go down. I take chewable multivitamins, too. lol

[Skyylya]

Taking medication is only part of the fix. You can't take meds and just sit back and expect life to get all jolly and wonderful. Because the drugs are only designed to correct whatever chemical imbalance there is, the rest has to come from you.

Do what some people mentioned, try getting into excercise. Find a med that helps a little without many side effects, the rest has to come from you. It's like being in rehab, the dr's and classes can only do so much to alleviate the pain that you go through, the rest you have to somehow find it within yourself. It's not easy and anyone that say's it is has either never been truly depressed or is just an asshat.

Now don't get me wrong, i'm all against /emo depressed my life sucks talk cause that doesn't help anyone and they can go run into a wall. But for someone who's got a serious chemical problem in their head, take some kind of med that helps, and the rest has to come from within. If you're not willing to do what it takes or find the outlet you need, then no amount of drugs is going to help you.

I never wanted to take drugs to get through any problems i've had, although i'm sure they could've helped. And for about 5 years i was about as low as you can get (enter playing FFXI about 20 hours a day and insomnia). Instead of drugs I just did different things til i found something that made me feel like i knew i should have. I ended up playing the guitar and getting pretty good at it along with playing ffxi all the time. I tried to focus on school more and work and anything other than how I was personally feeling. Eventually I met my current gf and to not sound as corny as I think it does she kinda put my life into perspective in a different way. She's better than any drug I could've taken.

Do what you have to do to make yourself feel happy, and even though it sounds selfish screw anyone else in this regard. (unless it directly harms them of course). Just do what's right for you until you figure it out.

[TheCursedGatts]

Oh yeah, obviously it still takes a hell of a lot of effort, but with meds, I find it easier to cope, and stuff, idk its hard to explain.

[skurlover]

Either finish going /emo and kill yourself, or realize that life is hard and depressing most of the time. Take the joyous times and put them in the back of your mind to recall when you have a down moment.

God, I hate the "I'm so depressed bullshit.", we all get there, the successful ones learn to deal with their problems and move on with life.

Words of someone who's never had to deal with it.

Ok, glad you know.

Honestly, if you go to the right doctor at the right time, he would prolly tell me I have a 3rd tit growing out my ass. All of this "depression" diagnosis is completely subjective depending on the doctor and how he chooses to medicate, I mean practice medicine.

Depression is a part of life, a cycle if you will. Pills may be able to trick your brain into thinking it should be happy, but like a poster said above, its not going to cure the problem. Pick yourself up by the bootstraps and realize you aren't the only one dealing with shit in life.