A question for the sane among us

[Thom]

I try to stay positive on here but I've hit a low in my life recently. Nothing to do with hair or body image.

Both of my parents deal with anxiety and depression so I've begun to think it's genetics. I try to stay positive but a single thought in my mind leads me to negative places. Now I've always been against meds thinking I can overcome it on my own but I would like to give it a try now. My friends have no idea I go through this as I project a happy demeanor.

Anyway, for those of you who think rationally and do not troll or have not given up on life: Which meds helped you? I would like to try buproprion (wellbutrin) as it can sometimes help libido and mine has been shot since I was 19 and every doctor and urologist I've seen have found no medical reason and has suspected depression (which isn't always recognized).

All help and input appreciated!

 

[Skullator]

Ive been on zoloft, paxil, and wellbutrin. Zoloft didnt help. Paxil made orgasm impossible. Wellbutrin had no sexual side effects, but it made me cry easily for the first two weeks or so. All of them made me feel not entirely myself. I currently take nothing, which is best imo. Do EVERYTHING else first - proper nutrition, vitamin d, omega 3, exercise, getting outside in the sun every day for the light exposure, etc. only then if you think you are still going downhill consider the mind altering meds, just my advice.

 

[Thom]

Thanks guys, I hate the idea of meds I really do. I can work out and eat healthy, feeling good for awhile, but the thoughts come back.

Man, my girlfriend and I broke up about a month ago and I wanted to move on but she kept trying to hook me until she randomly met a guy and just decided I was raw meat. Now she was crazy and logically I dodged a bullet I know, but man it has me down really bad.

 

[Quantum Cat]

I've been on Fluoxetine (prozac) but came off it recently. How effective anti-Ds are is much debated and there's increasing evidence to suggest that a lot of it may well be placebo (this was covered up by the big drug companies when they did their trials).

However I think they can be useful for people suffering from severe short term depression, in the long term.... more questionable. A pill can't change your life circumstances but it might help you to be more proactive in changing the problems in your life. That's why it's important to take anti-Ds in conjunction with other treatment ie. therapy.

as for choosing which one, I would have thought that would be for a doctor to decide after consulting with you. Although I'm aware things are done differently in the US. Last time I was over there I was quite shocked to see anti-depressants advertised on billboards and on TV like they were a brand of candy! Pretty irresponsible IMO...

 

[Thom]

Oh I completely agree, they are way over-prescribed. The only reason I considered it is because my ex just got on them a few weeks back and they've worked wonders for her. She's still crazy but she's experiencing happiness she hasn't known since childhood. I've avoided them my whole life, Im just starting to give up on everything else.

I start teaching next year and I don't want to be a youtube sensation over a mental breakdown haha.

 

[Quantum Cat]

if she's an 'emotional person' or a wackjob anyway, then it's quite possible anti-Ds will have a more noticable effect. Probably the same for a lot of drugs - alcohol affects people in different ways depending on their underlying personality

 

[DoctorHouse]

Thom, please read or download the audio book The Mood Cure by Julia Ross. It will teach you natural ways to help your moods to be more balanced. As Fred said you need to get to the root of your negative thought process. You seem like you have so much going for you, I was surprised to read your post. If the natural ways don't help you can always go on prescribed medication. If you have hit a low, you need to explore why you hit a low. You may need psychological help to explore why? Most reasons why people hit a low is because something from their past is still haunting them. You have some thoughts in your head that might stem from something traumatic that happened to you in the past. Or you might projecting something in your future that is bring you down too. Something is the trigger and you must find what that is and once you do you have to deal with it head on. What helped me alot was finding a friend who thinks along the same way I do and is totally nonjudgemental. We have kind of a group therapy over the phone. It has helped me rise above my low points. I was ready to surrender to medication at one time but I felt I needed to work through my negative thought process so I found other ways to do it. If you need any help, just PM me.

 

[Thom]

I will check out that book House! Right now I am listening to sermons that I like as well as a motivational speaker who is great and it helps pretty well. It's just a hard battle, but life is like that eh?

 

[DannyBoyy]

I know how you feel Thom i have suffered from depression i mean if it wasnt depression then it was a VERY bad "bad day" for those few months...i have also had anxiety which i still have but its not bad i also hate the thought of taking meds i like to think i can do it alone which i have done so far.

 

[ChrisW1980uk]

I'm glad I knocked SSRI's on the head. They weren't the right choice for me, and brought other problems.

 

[seb]

If one is predisposed to depression, it never fully goes away. Certain circumstances, interactions with people, and life events will trigger responses, either making one worse in their depression, or for a short period lessen their depression. Nothing will "cure" once that individual has congential traits for mental issues. The best one can do, is get to the root cause of their problem, and try and deal with it some way in order to function daily. In my case its society laughing/insulting me everyday of my miserable, meaningless life. How do I deal with this......the drugs wont work, they will only make you worse. Endure, and then become word food.

 

[DoctorHouse]

Yes depression can be genetic. My therapist told me so.

You should make sure you don't have children in order to make sure they're not affected by these crippling diseases.

Also, avoid meds. Every mass shooter has been on anti-depressants. They **** you up. When I was on them my parents caught me plotting to blow up a nearby barn yard. Listen to me!

IT WILL **** YOU UP

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I'm guessing you're not a real doctor? You advice is the same as those women who watch TV psychologists and think they know what's wrong with everyone. Your kind seriously piss me off. I suffered for years because pieces of **** like you thought you could diagnose me without qualifications. If I'd listened to the professionals earlier I probably wouldn't be permanently ****ed up. PEOPLE LIKE YOU MADE THE CONNECTIONS IN MY BRAIN PERMANENT!

**** OFF! STOP TRYING TO HELP PEOPLE WITH STUFF YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT!!!

Highlander, you mean you actually fell for my advice. And I got all the attention. LOL, you have now been defeated. You did realize the truth in yourself, you are a famous freak on these forums. They created threads about you being on here. You did provide plenty of entertainment for me and all the PUAhaters. I had to get you to break into "classic" Highlander rants. When you first came here, you rants were boring and the people at PUAhate were wanting better from you. I finally broke you and got those classic rants which show your freakiness. Thanks for the fun but I think your game is over once again. I think they want you back at PUAhate.

 

[Quantum Cat]

I'm glad I knocked SSRI's on the head. They weren't the right choice for me, and brought other problems.

side effects?

 

[ChrisW1980uk]

Yep, funnily enough the side effects that people describe on finasteride. Plus I had this very odd sensation in my skull. I don't know how I'd describe it in all honesty. Now I read about them being more a placebo, and it confirms I did the right thing. They aren't for everyone, but that's not to say they don't have some merit.

 

[Quantum Cat]

SSRIs are known to potentially cause libido/ED problems, in a far greater proportion of users than Finasteride actually.

And yet it's finasteride that gets all the hysteria levelled against it.... :dunno:

 

[ChrisW1980uk]

You might think certain people were being hypochondriacs, like the "I took 3 finasteride tablets, and now my penis has dropped off". I don't dispute there are potential side effects from finasteride btw, just some neurotic people who overanalyse the tiniest thing.

 

[Thom]

Well, a doctor reluctantly gave me a test trial but didn't think I needed them. She was right, I took one and that was enough. I was incredibly drowsy and felt my life force drained. Honestly, Im starting to use my pain to drive me in ways I didn't think it could.

Last night I ran a good four miles and it felt fantastic. I think I may be addicted to it now and am looking forward to it again today. I finally just had enough of sitting around feeling bad about myself.

 

[IrishFella]

That's awesome to hear, pal. You should stay away from SSRI's if you can. You don't want to have to rely on drugs to make you happy, yeah, I kinda see the irony in the fact that I'm taking finasteride and it makes me happy because it's stopped my hairloss, but I'd like to think that's different.

Either way, good luck! I'm a smoker, so long jogs are out of the question for me! Haha, but I've just stacked my iPod with a load of music and I'm gona' go on a long walk, finally getting beautiful weather here in Ireland, might as well take advantage.

 

[Skullator]

Yeah, good call - I've learned to view my brain and my mental health the same way as other "physical" aspects of health. The brain IS a body part. Just like teeth like to be brushed, skin likes to be washed - the brain wants to see faces, socially interact (if possible), get out of the house, see sunshine, exercise, be fed certain nutrients, etc. I need to do these things every day or I go downhill pretty fast.

Btw, if you were TRULY depressed in a serious medical sense (as opposed to going through a rough patch in your life) you wouldn't even be capable of forming the thoughts you are having - going jogging, etc.

I think the meds should only be used on true clinical depression. it's interesting that the doctor point blank told you that you don't need them, and then gave them to you anyway. Typical though - I guess they are afraid that if they don't give you something and you self-harm or whatever then they'll get sued. My doctor will pretty much give me anything as well.

 

[Thom]

They sure are! I believe pain is necessary to motivate us and teach us lessons. My recent depression wasn't random, I had a pretty hard situation to deal with, but Im trying to channel that into positive thoughts!

I wish we had some of that weather! My brother and I had to run at night. He's a smoker too so his lungs didn't last too long but I've read that walking is better for you anyway.

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Yeah, good call - I've learned to view my brain and my mental health the same way as other "physical" aspects of health. The brain IS a body part. Just like teeth like to be brushed, skin likes to be washed - the brain wants to see faces, socially interact (if possible), get out of the house, see sunshine, exercise, be fed certain nutrients, etc. I need to do these things every day or I go downhill pretty fast.

Btw, if you were TRULY depressed in a serious medical sense (as opposed to going through a rough patch in your life) you wouldn't even be capable of forming the thoughts you are having - going jogging, etc.

I think the meds should only be used on true clinical depression. it's interesting that the doctor point blank told you that you don't need them, and then gave them to you anyway. Typical though - I guess they are afraid that if they don't give you something and you self-harm or whatever then they'll get sued. My doctor will pretty much give me anything as well.

Well I honestly think she gave me the trial so I could see how bad these things were and stay away, which worked! I agree about the brain though, anyone who is too sedentary runs the risk of getting depressed. We weren't meant to sit around like that.