Posted by caleb96 on May 9, 2004, at 17:37:41
In reply to Alternative Therapies, posted by maxziggy2002 on May 9, 2004, at 15:34:25
> It's starting to become clear to me that the dominant personalities on this board are not interested in hearing about alternatives to dangerous anti-depressants and seem vested in shooting down anyone who tries to offer them.
>
> This seems odd. Don't you want people to get better? Just because drugs like effexor have "saved" some people's lives doesn't mean that all of us should be taking them. They are notoriously over-prescribed for mild and situational "depression", which nowadays applies to almost anything.
>
> I was on effexor for 18 months and I hated it. It took me almost 6 months to detox from it. And yes I tapered. And all this I went through without the support of any doctor. They all thought I was crazy because they believed the lying drug company. I wasn't nor am I crazy.
>
> Since then, I relapsed into "depression" when I lost my job. I survived it on my own and decided that I was the one who needed changing. I was overweight and lethargic. So I changed my lifestyle, beginning with diet. I gradually phased out sugar and complex carbs and found my energy level soar. So, I got off the couch and started exercising. And go figure, my mood, motivation, and concentration improved. And I lost 30 pounds.
>
> After going out for pancakes one morning and feeling sleepy, cloudy, and lazy not too long afterwards, I searched "depression" and "sugar" on the net and found several sites referring to "sugar sensitivity", most inspired by Kathleen Desmaisons.
>
> I don't eat the potato--I don't need it. However, I found that my lifestyle changes corresponded to Desmaisons 7 steps.
>
> I've never felt better in my entire life. Was I ever "depressed" in the first place? Or did I suffer from extremely poor nutrition, like most North Americans? Did my doctor ever bother to find out? No, she just put me on a quick-fix and sent me on my way.
>
> The attitudes of doctors and "scientists" are irresponsible. None of us knows what these drugs really do to our physiology. Cocaine used to be prescribed to fight "depression". Would you support that today?
>
> There is no miracle cure for depression. YOU need to look at yourself, and YOU need to fix yourself. But so long as you cling to these drugs, you'll be powerless to do so.
>
> Good luck to all of you. I only wish you the best life you can have.Well maxziggy, you make an extremely strong arguement for your case. And, as you have already experienced, depression is a disorder that can go into remission and pop up again at a later date.
I went through the first 25 years of my adult life in this on-and-off state without even realizing what my problem was. Most people wrote me off as "moody" even though I often had lots of friends and liked having a good time.
I experienced my first panic attack (depression related) when I was 18. My first year as an undergraduate in college was one of the darkest, most frightening periods of my life. Later, I even had a roommate in Grad school who nicknamed me "Mad Mike" because I would go through such dark, brooding spells.
Some of my worst spells of depression hit me in my late teens through my mid-20s. During this time I was very athletic and was an avid distance runner--and there was nothing wrong with my diet--I was in extremely good physical condition. Nevertheless, these black spells would usually last about two to four months--sometimes longer--then I'd experience a remission state for several months or even a few years.
In my early 30s, I started having periods of depression and moodiness again--ironically, this was a period where I had everything in world going for me--physically, financially and professionally. I forgot to mention that starting about age 19, I began seeing psychologists. I probably went to a half-dozen over the years--some helped a little, some didn't help at all. But the "help" was very short-lived. I couldn't beat my problem by just talking to someone.
Finally, In the mid-90s, I saw a good psychiatrist who immediately was able to diagnose me correctly. He put me on a moderate dose of Zoloft. When I saw him at my next appointment, he started cracking jokes. We both had a good laugh, and then he looked at me and said "see." I said "see what?" He said "when I first saw you, you were like a zombie--you barely spoke, you never looked me in the eye. You feel better, don't you?" That instant was like a revelation to me. I finally realized I could be happy, I could take control of my destiny instead of just drifting through life letting random chance determine my fate. For the first time I realized my life didn't have to be all gloom and doom. I finally felt great about myself despite all the flaws.
I've been taking medication fairly regularly since 1994. When I stop the drugs for a month or so, I feel that black cloud start to surround me. I'm happy for you if you can beat this problem without drugs. I wish I could, but I know I can't because I've tried so many times. So please don't trash all doctors and scientists because you realized you don't need drugs. If an alternative therapy works for you, that's great. But I don't think you're in a position to determine what's best for other people. I wish you all the best.
Love & peace,
Mike
poster:caleb96
thread:1016
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040505/msgs/345154.html