Does it get better

starn

Like a im being treated for depression. Ive been on anti depressents for the last six months. In this time ive had some small improvement in my temprement. That was until today. I dont like the idea of being constanty medicated. Ive been looking forward to coming off my meds. Which might be happening in the next few monts. That was until today. Last night I didnt forgot to take my anti depresents. I tookk eveyrhing else, Xanex, Valium and slwwping tablet. But forgot the effexfor. Today im dying. Im completely fvcked. I can barly make myself a cup of tea.
This has left me in a complete funk. Not only now am i trying to deal with everything else in my life. But I dont think Im going to be be able to come of these pills with out a serious case of the DTs. It was only one pill out of three I forgot. What sort of state would I be in had I forgotten all three. I just feel completely hopeless now. I dont think I want to get better if the side effects are this bad

Marksie

only advice..if you are worried about side effects and worried what will happen. Go to your Doctor.

Edit: bugger fiorgot i wasnt modding lol

Martron

although these tablets make you feel better they may not agree with you. go to your doctors and ask to lower your dosage of try new ones if you feel you cant cope.

medication is only the start to help with depression you have to try help yourself!

trust me i have been there. things do get better......

snollup

I have been taking effoxer for about 1 1/2 years (small enought dose) and 99% of time all is fine, am getting on with my life. The very odd time I do forget to take it I feel really crap! Like I said, when I take it regularly all is good!

Have a chap with your doc and between you you'll be able to sort it!

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

In my experience, depression is one of those things that people diagnose and atuomatically persrcibe therapy and/or drugs.

Do you know what the actual cause of your depression is? Is it medical? Is it from life experiences?

Does it get better? Yes, it does. There's always light at the end of the tunnel. But unless you know WHY you're depressed, the light tends not to get any closer.

Dragan

Effexfor is a pretty harsh one when you miss a dosage. Don't get wrapped up in how you feel now, just make sure you are more careful in the future.

From my own experience the pills tend to help how you feel but not WHY you are feeling it.

What ground are you making in conciously solving your problems? Don't fall into the trap of thinking pills will make it all better.

ntlbell

Have you ever gone to a different GP for a second opinion.

that sounds like a very unusual cocktail of drugs and one I personally would be worried about as both xanax and vallium are very addictive and are rarely prescribed together.

Have you been referred to a psych? I would put in a request to the GP for a referral as soon as you can

Rb

Dragan wrote: »

What ground are you making in conciously solving your problems? Don't fall into the trap of thinking pills will make it all better.

Indeed, they're only a crutch really so unless the OP is actively trying to change what caused the depression then it won't matter what drugs they're taking as things won't change.

ntlbell

Dragan wrote: »

What ground are you making in conciously solving your problems? Don't fall into the trap of thinking pills will make it all better.

Indeed, a very (non medical) place to start is your fitness and diet this has a huge impact on how we feel and it's usually a relatively easy thing to start changing and has a huge baring on our over all well being..

Looby_Loo

Relating to the original question, any medication changes will be carried out under medical supervision. If your GP/ psychiatrist feels it is time to stop your meds it will be done slowly. 6 months is a relatively short time to be taking psychotropic meds so dont despair yet.
Not all depression is caused by something tangible but exercise/ diet/ therapy are all part of a decent treatment plan

SnowMonkey

hi i suffered depresion for 5 years mate.. but mine was slightly extream...

how evre id like to say that it does get better but i think you have to want to get better to and understand that it can take sometime to get there...

like im haveing a off day to day and we have days like that its just the way it is.. but then we have really good days.. so serously mate hang in there ule be grand..

SnowMonkey

Oh and try listen to up lifting music i found when i had my bad days

ntlbell

Looby_Loo wrote: »

Not all depression is caused by something tangible but exercise/ diet/ therapy are all part of a decent treatment plan

Yep, I wasn't trying to belittle the depression by saying it can be cured with food and exercise, but having a healthy diet and being physical fit can help with the battle.

square1

starn wrote: »

..... It was only one pill out of three I forgot. What sort of state would I be in had I forgotten all three. I just feel completely hopeless now. I dont think I want to get better if the side effects are this bad

When its time to come off your meds your doctor will most likely lower the dosage etc. but don't concern yourself with that now. Instead, set your mobile phone to remind you to take your meds, if its 3 x a day then set your calender to remind you. Hope this works.
Good luck
S1

Wibbs

starn wrote: »

I dont think I want to get better if the side effects are this bad

Well the side effects of missing a dose maybe this bad. A spiral into worse depression is a side effect you don't want from not taking them at all.

As others have said, go back to your doctor and explain all this to them and see if they can allay your fears.

And yes it can get better. Much better. I've known people who have had it rough until they got the right therapies at the right dosage who are really flying through life and loving it. Taking the rough with the smooth in a balnced but realistic way. Indeed better than others who've not had this illness. No comparison to who they were in the grip of that disease in the early stages. You keep fighting and dong your thing and it will get better.

LegacyUser

follow your psychologist advice all the time and don-t stop using any drugs without asking him/her.

However, I once read that the only cure for depression is you want to get out of that state, make an effort and decide you want to be happy again. I know its very very hard but you can do it!

RossFixxxed

No no, don't google <snip>, get a professional. Seriously I've seen first hand what happens to people messign with these things and frankly i'm sick of it.

Google + Medical advice = a NO NO.

Wibbs

RossFixxxed wrote: »

No no, don't google medication and tapering, get a professional. Seriously I've seen first hand what happens to people messign with these things and frankly i'm sick of it.

Google + Medical advice = a NO NO.

I agree 100%

Actually I should have snipped that link. Mea culpa. Chauncey_freak while I understand you're trying to help, I've deleted your post as medical advice is not allowed on this forum. Please read the charter. I'm not closing this thread as it may have valuable non medical support for people, but keep it that way folks. Thanks

leeroybrown

Based on the accounts of a few people I know who've been on anti-depressants over the years a lot of them have some unfortunate side effects as your body adjusts to them and comes down off them. One person I know had to try a number of different prescriptions before they settled on one that suited them. During that time they had problems sleeping, mild nausea, pains, etc as they spent a few days coming down off one then adjusting to a new one.

If you're not happy with the prescription you have then perhaps you should talk to your doctor about alternatives.

VeryBerry

Unregistered wrote: »

However, I once read that the only cure for depression is you want to get out of that state, make an effort and decide you want to be happy again. I know its very very hard but you can do it!

I'm sure you're trying to be helpful, but this is absolute cr*p. And I think comments like this can actually be very damaging for people suffering with depression.

Deciding "you want to be happy again" and making an effort may be a big part of recovery from depression, but it is 100% not the only cure. Medication in combination with therapy also play a massive part.

OP, I know you don't like the idea of taking medication, but for most people anti-depressants aren't forever. It does get better, but it takes time.

LegacyUser

Effexor has a very short half life in your system, that's why you feel like crap if you miss a dose. Maybe ask your GP to switch you to something with a longer half life - that's what I had to do (in my case I switched to Prozac), and it was a lot easier to taper off than it would have been on Effexor.... I was having withdrawal symptoms between doses on Effexor, (without even missing a dose), which apparently is quite common.

Be sure you're ready to come off medication. I thought I was the first time because I felt better, but I wasn't, and had to give it a bit longer. After giving it a bit longer, I felt fine and was able to wean off slowly.

LegacyUser

Rb wrote: »

Indeed, they're only a crutch really so unless the OP is actively trying to change what caused the depression then it won't matter what drugs they're taking as things won't change.

Antidepressants are not a crutch. They are a medical treatment for the physiological aspects of a condition, as therapy is a treatment for the emotional aspects. I would advise that you look into their mechanism of action and the underlying neurological correlates of depressive disorder before making the above assumption. Not everyone with depression has some psychological root cause that they must somehow discover in order to recover. This is the case for some people but for others the depressive symptoms are the result of physiological dysfunction in the brain and all the soul-searching/talking in the world won't change that.

OP, as mentioned by others Effexor can have strong discontinuation effects. However, if you are being weaned off them by a doctor it wouldn't be a case that you'd be brought from your full dosage to 0mg overnight and so you would be unlikely to experience such severe effects as you have done today. I've been through this myself and although I did have some withdrawal symptoms it wasn't impossible to deal with. If they're helping you don't let this experience discourage you. If you think that they're not working sufficiently or are worried about side effects I'd advise talking to your doctor and seeing about switching dosage or type of antidepressant.

Chauncey_freak

RossFixxxed wrote: »

No no, don't google <snip>, get a professional. Seriously I've seen first hand what happens to people messign with these things and frankly i'm sick of it.

Google + Medical advice = a NO NO.

Wibbs wrote: »

I agree 100%

Actually I should have snipped that link. Mea culpa.

Ahh, many many apologies everyone, didn't want to be taken up this way (but understand completely why!).

I agree completely - ALWAYS go and talk to a professional about ANY changes you make. Saw myself a friend who stopped cold turkey and went through a horrific time, just didn't want you to do the same :P