Posted by 49er on November 17, 2007, at 8:58:45
In reply to Re: Treatment resistent depression/Linkage, posted by stargazer2 on November 8, 2007, at 15:31:13
Hi Stargazer,
I wanted to share my personal experience since it addresses the concerns you raised:
In 1995, I started psych meds for treatment of depression and ADHD. Except for a year and a half, the meds really weren't that great. But like alot of people on this board, I kept chasing that ultimate med.
Eventually, I realized on some level, these meds were not the answer and that chasing more of them was not going to change anything. But having been on meds for so long, I just didn't see what the alternatives were. And of course, I was scared that if I went off of them, I would fall apart.
My thinking changed when I was diagnosed with a mysterious hearing loss in 2005. In doing research, I found that hearing loss according to the Mosby's drug book, is a rare side effect for two of the Drugs I was on which is Wellbutrin and Remeron. As a aside, I have found that what is listed as rare side effect occurs alot more often than you think it does.
Needless to say, with a learning disability and ADHD, having a hearing loss was the last thing I needed to be worrying about. Also, it seemed that the tinnitus I already had which definitely was a side effect of Wellbutrin was also a sign of ear poisoning according to articles on ototoxicity.
Anyway, as soon as I moved to a less stressful job, which was in 2006, I decided to taper off of my psych med coctail. I am down to two meds and continue to do well in spite of dealing with crises like a near death in my family and finding a permanent job.
Stargazer, let me give you a specific example of how I am learning to cope without meds even though I am still on two of them. Right now, I am working a temp job that I am not very happy in.
If I was on my full complement of meds, I would just probably get real depressed and then not have any idea what was going on and simply say" Da--- those meds".
Knowing that I have to learn non med coping techniques, I keep telling myself that I have options and I am not stuck in this job if I don't want to stay there. I keep asking myself what is this depression telling you, what do you need to do.
Of course, people might say I was wrong in expecting meds to do this work for me and you're right about that. But in my opinion, what happens when you are placed on a psych med is that you subconciously no longer do the work to manage your life. It isn't because you are lazy or any of that stuff. It just happens. At least that was my experience as I am not saying this is true for everyone.
My advice to anyone considering going off of meds is to taper very very slowly. Not more than 10% of current dose every 3 to 6 weeks. I found I was able to go faster thanks to taking supplements but I think I am the exception.
I would also take good quality supplements, not the ones you buy at your local CVS. They do not need to cost a fortune. By the way, I do not work for any alternative health outfits.
I hope this helps Stargazer. Let me know if I can help in any wa.
49er
poster:49er
thread:793454
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20071115/msgs/795547.html