Posted by Simcha on September 27, 2003, at 14:20:33
In reply to Re: preaching about meds » Simcha, posted by francesco on September 27, 2003, at 14:02:58
Currently my mix is:
Am doses:
Celexa 40mg
WellbutrinSR 200mgPm dose:
Neurontin 600mgThe Wellbutrin is the key to my sexual functioning I believe. This is coupled with the Celexa having less of an effect on my sex drive and my performance.
Sex is so much better now that I'm not depressed. Orgasms are amazing. I've read that Wellbutrin can highten orgasmic intensity in men. I don't know if this is the case or if the fact that I'm not depressed has allowed me to experience orgasm intensity in a new way.
The world is very gray and lifeless when I'm depressed and not being depressed gives me all the color life has to offer.
I'm fortunate to have gotten sane and sensible assessments from two psychiatrists. Neither psychiatrist has contemplated taking me off of medication. Both of them have said that it is a necessity for me to be on medication for the forseeable future. Major Depressive Disorder is insidiously progressive if untreated. I realize that now. Things got really bad before I was willing to take medication.
The current psychiatrist says that perhaps we can start talking about lowering my doses in five years. He says there are new studies that are surfacing that long-term use of these medicatins over 7 years or so can help the brain to produce the proper balance of chemicals on its own. Basically it's retraining the brain. He said that these studies are very controversial right now and that in five years we will know more. He did not say anything definite about coming off of meds at any point.
Acceptence takes time. I'm fortunate that I've been involved in 12-step programs for eight years and therapy off and on for the past ten years. Both arenas have afforded me the tools to accept reality for what it is and to move on. I've made the most incredible progress since I've been on medication in the past three years.
Being in remission really allows me to become the person I'm capable of being. It's unfortunate that I need to use pills in order to experience this. I have come to accept that if this is so, then this is so. I'm no longer fighting treatment and it has made all the difference in the world.
> Thank you for the comments. You said you've accepted your condition and the limits it involves. This is what I have not done yet so I think I'll have to work on this issue. The reason why I excluded major depression is that in that case the computation of pros and cons of the treatment is easier: you have nearly anything to loose and very much to gain in trying meds. About the cure issue I wasn't referring properly to psychiatrists but rather to mass media propaganda (at least in Italy). I'm sick and tired of reading that depression is a curable illness, that you have to take meds just for a little period (what they told me ten years ago), that the new meds are virtually free of side-effects and other stupid things. Unluckly also many self-styled TV-psychiatrists say the same (false) things. By the way, what was the magic cocktail that helped with sexual dysfunctions ? : )
poster:Simcha
thread:263736
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030923/msgs/263761.html