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Depression

I gave up my medication about 4 months ago because I couldn't bear the side effects any more. I know it's not an option for those with serious depression, but for me, I can just about cope without it (well, some days). I don't need to add weight gain and tiredness to my list of problems.

There also seems to be a remarkable lack of support and understanding from my own recent experience. I mean, on paper it's there, but if you go and get help it's all rather crap to be honest.
 
Results from a new survey found that almost all people diagnosed with depression (99%) have experienced at least one symptom of cognitive dysfunction during an episode of depression. Furthermore, the survey indicates that these symptoms can have an enormous effect on an individual's working life; with one in six of those suffering from cognitive dysfunction in depression reporting that symptoms have caused them to lose their job (15%).* Cognitive functions influence every aspect of our lives and are responsible for how we learn, remember, problem-solve and make decisions. Those who suffer from cognitive dysfunction will experience problems in these essential brain-based skills, which will impact upon their education, work, and personal life.

The survey, written in collaboration with Depression Alliance and funded by Lundbeck Ltd., set out to explore the impact of cognitive dysfunction on everyday lives of British adults diagnosed with depression. The most common cognitive symptoms reported by patients were difficulty concentrating (91%), slowed thought processing (84%) and difficulty with planning and organising (79%). Although these findings indicate that cognitive dysfunction impacts the vast majority of those suffering from depression, only half of those surveyed said that they had ever been asked about their cognitive symptoms by a healthcare professional (HCP) (50%). As improving cognitive symptoms during an episode of depression can significantly improve the chance of a functional recovery from depression, these results suggest a large number of patients could be missing out on treatment for an incredibly important aspect of their disorder.[ii],[iii] ...

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/299117.php
 
I've had some weird and interesting experiences with natural depression over the years, but I'll briefly share my worst experience and that was drug induced.
I used the medication Tramadol a few years ago because it seemed to help with the natural depression of detoxing from heroin, but of course I soon became physically and psychologically dependent of the Tramadol instead :rolleyes: I later found out it's not just a weak opiate but an SSRI rolled together, so when you try and come off or even reduce it you have a classic opiate withdrawal but also a horrible SSRI withdrawal which I wouldn't wish on anyone. It's a very dark, gloomy, panicky and scary type of withdrawal, so I would warn against it if your doctor ever tries to prescribe it. In the end I had to use heroin to stop the Tramadol!

It's good to have a designated thread for this subject, everyone gets depressed now and then, it's nice to talk about it and if you're going through it now to let other people know and discuss it.
 
drbastard said:
My mental state has been worse than ever during the last few months which coincides with being prescribed venlafaxine (Effexor in the states I believe) for depression and anxiety. Although it works to some extent I think it's actually making me more crazy. For example I had an episode a few weeks ago where I sent one of my friends a series of increasingly bizarre and unpleasant text messages and afterwards couldn't understand what motivated me to do such a thing.

I mustn't drink alcohol on it (in itself possibly a good thing), as there's a strange interaction in that the venlafaxine stops working but increases the potency of the alcohol so I get an insane hangover with apparent alcohol withdrawal symptoms such as sweating and trembling. I've been told all this will settle down but the sweating and trembling is there all the time (regardless of alcohol).
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See your GP/doctor and let them know. A lot of depression/anxiety meds can make the problem worse via paradoxical reaction : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradoxical_reaction
 
drbastard said:
My mental state has been worse than ever during the last few months which coincides with being prescribed venlafaxine (Effexor in the states I believe) for depression and anxiety. Although it works to some extent I think it's actually making me more crazy. For example I had an episode a few weeks ago where I sent one of my friends a series of increasingly bizarre and unpleasant text messages and afterwards couldn't understand what motivated me to do such a thing.

I mustn't drink alcohol on it (in itself possibly a good thing), as there's a strange interaction in that the venlafaxine stops working but increases the potency of the alcohol so I get an insane hangover with apparent alcohol withdrawal symptoms such as sweating and trembling. I've been told all this will settle down but the sweating and trembling is there all the time (regardless of alcohol).
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For Christ's sake be careful with it. I was on another SSRI back in the 90's called Seroxat and it was horrific.

I started off being over anxious, and diagnosed with OCD. After I was put on that I became a serious danger to myself and quite a danger to others.

I had two severe episodes of really dangerously disturbed behaviour, after the first I went to the GP in an absolute panic thinking I'd totally lost it. She doubled my dose. The second ended in my street being blocked by police who'd come to arrest me.

The point is that under their influence you aren't in control all the time.
 
Sound advice there, Oldrover.
 
drbastard said:
My mental state has been worse than ever during the last few months which coincides with being prescribed venlafaxine (Effexor in the states I believe) for depression and anxiety. Although it works to some extent I think it's actually making me more crazy. For example I had an episode a few weeks ago where I sent one of my friends a series of increasingly bizarre and unpleasant text messages and afterwards couldn't understand what motivated me to do such a thing.

I mustn't drink alcohol on it (in itself possibly a good thing), as there's a strange interaction in that the venlafaxine stops working but increases the potency of the alcohol so I get an insane hangover with apparent alcohol withdrawal symptoms such as sweating and trembling. I've been told all this will settle down but the sweating and trembling is there all the time (regardless of alcohol).
Click to expand...
oldrover said:
For Christ's sake be careful with it. I was on another SSRI back in the 90's called Seroxat and it was horrific.

I started off being over anxious, and diagnosed with OCD. After I was put on that I became a serious danger to myself and quite a danger to others.

I had two severe episodes of really dangerously disturbed behaviour, after the first I went to the GP in an absolute panic thinking I'd totally lost it. She doubled my dose. The second ended in my street being blocked by police who'd come to arrest me.

The point is that under their influence you aren't in control all the time.
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Just a point here, if your depression or mental illness is not being effectively treated and you feel you are getting worse then it's time to ask your GP for a referral to a Psychiatrist. Particularly if you have been on a few types of medications and given them a fair crack over several weeks and things aren't improving.

GP's are not specialists they have a journeyman's knowledge and often their prescribing reflects this. If you had a persistent skin condition and your GP had tried a few things that didn't work he/she would refer you on to a Dermatologist. Mental Health issues should be no different.

Any severe reaction to a medication including psychological changes should be taken seriously.


Also start keeping a diary of any issues of when and where they occurred, and exercise can be amazing with depression, I had a friend who started with a indoor cycle as he couldn't leave the house. It made a big difference and certainly helped in his recovery.
 
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drbastard said:
My mental state has been worse than ever during the last few months which coincides with being prescribed venlafaxine (Effexor in the states I believe) for depression and anxiety. Although it works to some extent I think it's actually making me more crazy. For example I had an episode a few weeks ago where I sent one of my friends a series of increasingly bizarre and unpleasant text messages and afterwards couldn't understand what motivated me to do such a thing.

I mustn't drink alcohol on it (in itself possibly a good thing), as there's a strange interaction in that the venlafaxine stops working but increases the potency of the alcohol so I get an insane hangover with apparent alcohol withdrawal symptoms such as sweating and trembling. I've been told all this will settle down but the sweating and trembling is there all the time (regardless of alcohol).
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Take care.

Venelafaxine works quite well for me. It might be the dose you're on? I'm on 225 mg per day.
 
I self prescribed Prozac in the past but didn't like its effects, the best medication I've used for anxiety I think would be Lyrica (Pregabalin) but they're strongly addictive and make you gain weight rapidly. I haven't actually had the doctor prescribe me anything in years, the last time I mentioned depression to him he gave me Mirtazapine which I never took. Because of my history of chemical dependence I don't seem to get any help from doctors nowadays and have always had to just experiment with family members medication and by buying on the dark web. Thankfully I seem to be doing okay in this department since I took myself off of the Tramadol.

Many years ago as a teenager I went to Ireland to get my parents help doing my first H cold turkey, the Irish doctor prescribed without seeing me, Mefenamic Acid and Risperidone to treat the withdrawal. My mum went to see the doctor and he just gave her a script for me! I suppose he was trying to be helpful, but unfortunately in rural West Cork they have very little experience with addicts and were clueless about what to prescribe to ease the symptoms. Anyway I ended up having Acute Dystonias from the Risperidone, not a nice experience, my jaw locked and teeth locked and my neck was being bent back, in the end they rushed me to hospital and had to stab my arse with steroids.
 
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FrKadash said:
I've had some weird and interesting experiences with natural depression over the years, but I'll briefly share my worst experience and that was drug induced.
I used the medication Tramadol a few years ago because it seemed to help with the natural depression of detoxing from heroin, but of course I soon became physically and psychologically dependent of the Tramadol instead :rolleyes: I later found out it's not just a weak opiate but an SSRI rolled together, so when you try and come off or even reduce it you have a classic opiate withdrawal but also a horrible SSRI withdrawal which I wouldn't wish on anyone. It's a very dark, gloomy, panicky and scary type of withdrawal, so I would warn against it if your doctor ever tries to prescribe it. In the end I had to use heroin to stop the Tramadol!

It's good to have a designated thread for this subject, everyone gets depressed now and then, it's nice to talk about it and if you're going through it now to let other people know and discuss it.
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Ooh, I had the most hideous experience with tramadol! It had been prescribed for migraines , but ended up wreaking havoc on my mental and physical state.

It really started a downward spiral for me, and at one point in time I ended up pretty much nonfunctonal, not from migraines, but from the meds. And the withdrawal is looong. Nasty stuff.

Currently I've been using my own cobbled together methods to treat my depression and anxiety. So far, so good.
 
Thanks for all the kind advice guys.

Just to address some of the comments, I have an appointment on Thursday and I'm going to raise these issues. I am a bit loathed to come off it because when I'm OK I feel brilliant on it. It's just that my slumps are harder and deeper than ever before and like I say I'm having these crazy feelings some days.

Exercise definitely works for me and I have asked to be referred to have some free gym sessions via my GP, I just need to get my arse into gear and go to the first induction session. The problem is with things like this is when I'm well I have good intentions and sign myself up for all sorts of things but then slip into depression and booze and it all goes to hell.

I was initially referred to a psychiatrist because I was fed up with the antidepressant side effects and asked for L-tyrosine which I understand works for some people and seems more 'natural' to me. The GP referred me but they wanted to see how I went on venlaflaxine first.

Workplace-wise I haven't told my boss but it's becoming increasingly hard to hide it. I have seen first hand what bosses are like- they pretend to sympathise but then groan when you go out the door. Occupational health know and they wanted me to mention it to him but I refused. They offer counselling but that would mean me telling him and the department head about it because they would have to 'cost it to the department'. So much for that.

Been on sertraline-did sod all for me.

oldrover-Sorry to hear about that horrible experience. The usual GP response when you have a problem is to increase the dose!

FrKadash-I've had tramadol and I sympathise the withdrawal is hell on earth. You were also right not to take mirtazapine-for me it was horrible. I think it was that one that gave me these weird electrical head pangs.

Ramonmercado-Yes I'm now on 225 mg too. I'd like to know, can you drink on it? (by 'drink' I mean getting really pissed, not just a few pints)

Christ, thinking about it I'm not sure which is worse-depression or antidepressants!
 
Ulalume said:
Ooh, I had the most hideous experience with tramadol! It had been prescribed for migraines , but ended up wreaking havoc on my mental and physical state.

It really started a downward spiral for me, and at one point in time I ended up pretty much nonfunctonal, not from migraines, but from the meds. And the withdrawal is looong. Nasty stuff.

Currently I've been using my own cobbled together methods to treat my depression and anxiety. So far, so good.
Click to expand...

It's horrible stuff, I went up to daily doses of 1200/1300mg sometimes, It keeps you in a trap because when you stop the SSRI withdrawal causes severe depression but the higher you go on it the more depression it actually causes itself because of the rebound consequences of flooding your brain. I had to stop in the end, even with H covering the withdrawal I still felt low for a few days. And it was marketed I believe as a relatively safe and non-addictive painkiller! :banghead:
 
drbastard said:
Thanks for all the kind advice guys.

Just to address some of the comments, I have an appointment on Thursday and I'm going to raise these issues. I am a bit loathed to come off it because when I'm OK I feel brilliant on it. It's just that my slumps are harder and deeper than ever before and like I say I'm having these crazy feelings some days.

Exercise definitely works for me and I have asked to be referred to have some free gym sessions via my GP, I just need to get my arse into gear and go to the first induction session. The problem is with things like this is when I'm well I have good intentions and sign myself up for all sorts of things but then slip into depression and booze and it all goes to hell.

I was initially referred to a psychiatrist because I was fed up with the antidepressant side effects and asked for L-tyrosine which I understand works for some people and seems more 'natural' to me. The GP referred me but they wanted to see how I went on venlaflaxine first.

Workplace-wise I haven't told my boss but it's becoming increasingly hard to hide it. I have seen first hand what bosses are like- they pretend to sympathise but then groan when you go out the door. Occupational health know and they wanted me to mention it to him but I refused. They offer counselling but that would mean me telling him and the department head about it because they would have to 'cost it to the department'. So much for that.

Been on sertraline-did sod all for me.

oldrover-Sorry to hear about that horrible experience. The usual GP response when you have a problem is to increase the dose!

FrKadash-I've had tramadol and I sympathise the withdrawal is hell on earth. You were also right not to take mirtazapine-for me it was horrible. I think it was that one that gave me these weird electrical head pangs.

Ramonmercado-Yes I'm now on 225 mg too. I'd like to know, can you drink on it? (by 'drink' I mean getting really pissed, not just a few pints)

Christ, thinking about it I'm not sure which is worse-depression or antidepressants!
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I don't drink much these days. You can drink while on venafaxine but its not recommended to get totally pissed.

Been a long time since I've had more than 3 drinks at a time.

The trouble is, imho, when you're depressed booze doesn't really help. You wake up the next day and you're still depressed but you have a hangover as a bonus.
 
FrKadash said:
I self prescribed Prozac in the past but didn't like its effects, the best medication I've used for anxiety I think would be Lyrica (Pregabalin) but they're strongly addictive and make you gain weight rapidly. I haven't actually had the doctor prescribe me anything in years, the last time I mentioned depression to him he gave me Mirtazapine which I never took. Because of my history of chemical dependence I don't seem to get any help from doctors nowadays and have always had to just experiment with family members medication and by buying on the dark web. Thankfully I seem to be doing okay in this department since I took myself off of the Tramadol.

Many years ago as a teenager I went to Ireland to get my parents help doing my first H cold turkey, the Irish doctor prescribed without seeing me, Mefenamic Acid and Risperidone to treat the withdrawal. My mum went to see the doctor and he just gave her a script for me! I suppose he was trying to be helpful, but unfortunately in rural West Cork they have very little experience with addicts and were clueless about what to prescribe to ease the symptoms. Anyway I ended up having Acute Dystonias from the Risperidone, not a nice experience, my jaw locked and teeth locked and my neck was being bent back, in the end they rushed me to hospital and had to stab my arse with steroids.
Click to expand...


It's really is not a good idea to self prescribe with medications, with Prozac for example you could have caused Serotonin Syndrome and killed yourself, it's actually not that rare.

I see a lot of these types of threads on other forums, "this worked for me", "I took 325mg of this and it made think I was a teapot" etc, etc, and I actually don't think they are very helpful.

If you haven't had much success with doctors then rather than experiment you need look at what is going wrong with your relationships with them and work on strategies to resolve this. These days most Psychiatrists try and work with their patients rather than telling them what to do. It's often not just about the meds but having someone completely objective actually looking at what you may need.

There seems to be a belief that people can mess around with psychoactive drugs, pain killers etc and you'll be alright. Eventually you won't, they are scary meds, really scary meds and unless you have direct access to pharmacists and labs to do your blood tests you are playing with fire.
 
FrKadash said:
It's horrible stuff, I went up to daily doses of 1200/1300mg sometimes, It keeps you in a trap because when you stop the SSRI withdrawal causes severe depression but the higher you go on it the more depression it actually causes itself because of the rebound consequences of flooding your brain. I had to stop in the end, even with H covering the withdrawal I still felt low for a few days. And it was marketed I believe as a relatively safe and non-addictive painkiller! :banghead:
Click to expand...

Actually I'm stepping out of this thread as it's scaring the life out of me. Please people don't self prescribe.
 
Moodgym is an online CBT course, it's Australiana, but don't hold that against it.

Moodscope is an online mood tracker.
 
This is a subject I know virtually nothing about, but I did read two interesting books on related topics, one by a doctor who had himself suffered from a form of clinical depression which was cyclical (he would have short periods of hyperactivity and even euphoria followed by a plunge back into a depressive state) and another called 'Habits' - can't remember the author - who claimed that habit-forming was basically genetic and if you were liable to become 'addicted' to activities that were not inherently harmful then you were especially likely to become addicted to harmful things like tobacco or heroin - and that constantly changing your addiction was likely to add depression to the other hazards.

I can't comment on whether either of these books were scientifically or medically sound, but they certainly made me think.
 
OUR NEANDERTHAL DNA MAY HELP SCIENTISTS UNDERSTAND DEPRESSION AND ADDICTION
EARLY HUMAN INTERBREEDING HAD SOME LASTING EFFECTS ON OUR DNA

Around 60,000 years ago, modern humans left Africa to begin exploring other continents. Along the way they met other early humans, such as Neanderthals, and the different species periodically bred together. Scientists have known this for a few years—there’s evidence in our DNA, of which 1.5 to 4 percent in modern Europeans is Neanderthal (it's even higher in people from other parts of the world--people from East Asia have 20 percent moreNeanderthal DNA). But scientists never knew if those bits of genetic code had a lasting effect on our health. After analyzing specific parts of DNA in 28,000 people, a team led by researchers at Vanderbilt University discovered correlations between Neanderthal DNA and 12 different health conditions, including depression and disorders of the skin and blood. The researcherspublished their work today in the journal Science.

The researchers identified 135,000 alleles, or variations in the genetic code, that some modern humans had inherited from Neanderthals. They then correlated the presence of those variations to more than 1,500 medical conditions listed in the patients’ electronic medical records.

Neanderthal DNA was correlated with a higher incidence of depression, addiction to tobacco, skin lesions caused by the sun, a slower metabolism, too much blood clotting, and a mutation connected to Parkinson’s disease.

Clearly, these genetic variations aren’t helping us be healthier these days. But that might not have always been the case. Back when humans and Neanderthals were roaming around Europe together, faster blood clotting would have been essential to quickly close open wounds to stave off infection. A slower metabolism would have been useful when food was more scarce or lower in calories than we have now. ...

http://www.popsci.com/neandertal-dna-linked-to-dozen-medical-conditions?src=SOC&dom=tw
 
Cochise said:
This is a subject I know virtually nothing about, but I did read two interesting books on related topics, one by a doctor who had himself suffered from a form of clinical depression which was cyclical (he would have short periods of hyperactivity and even euphoria followed by a plunge back into a depressive state) and another called 'Habits' - can't remember the author - who claimed that habit-forming was basically genetic and if you were liable to become 'addicted' to activities that were not inherently harmful then you were especially likely to become addicted to harmful things like tobacco or heroin - and that constantly changing your addiction was likely to add depression to the other hazards.

I can't comment on whether either of these books were scientifically or medically sound, but they certainly made me think.
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Would the first book be "An Unquiet Mind"? It's by Dr Kay Jamison and is one of the foremost accessible books on the subject of Bi-polar disorder (manic-depression). Stephen Fry presented a superb documentary on bi-polar ten years back called "The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive" and just recently there was a follow up documentary on the BBC: "The Not So Secret Life of the Manic Depressive: Ten Years On". Although bi-polar is its own unique set of conditions, you can discern the pain that depression alone causes. It also gives insight into the problems that occur during manic episodes. It's not simply sad, sad, sad, happy, happy, happy, sad,sad, sad.
 
Naughty_Felid said:
Also start keeping a diary of any issues of when and where they occurred, and exercise can be amazing with depression,
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It's the reason I started running. Yes it works very well. I haven't been on tablets for over five years now*, although I haven't been out running in over a year. :oops:

Was taking pills for nine years, I got totally fed up with the doctors saying the same thing every consultation. Read an article about Ronnie O'Sullivan the snooker player who was running for his depression and he said he would rather give up snooker than running.

Can I also give meditating a recommendation? It's not easy to start with but I used podcasts initially and now don't need them at all. All you need is 10-15 minutes a day, but you have to keep it up. It's no use just once in a while when you're feeling down, got to be every day.

I didn't just stop taking pills and switch to mindfulness and exercise - it was gradual!
 
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