My name is lightningandsnow, and I take "happy pills".

[lightningandsnow]

Specifically, I take escitalopram (lexapro/cipralex) for generalized anxiety disorder.

I've struggled with anxiety for as long as I can remember. I remember being 4 years old, crying and shaking uncontrollably because I got called to the principal's office and was terrified of what would happen. I remember being in elementary school and being terrified to talk to my classmates because I was scared of how they would judge me. I remember being in middle school and simply wanting to end it all.

In my last couple of years of high school, I was having panic attacks 2-3 time a week. In my senior year, I often went home in the middle of the day, telling my parents it was because I wasn't doing anything in class.

I went to therapist after therapist for years to no avail. Finally, a month ago, I burst into tears in my doctor's office because I couldn't face going to university in the fall with how my past year had been, anxiety-wise. She wrote me a prescription for Cipralex.

Although the meds are just starting to kick in, I am starting to feel better for the first time in the span of my memory.

My point is - don't you dare judge anyone for being on anti-depressants, or any other psych medication. A chemical imbalance in the brain is no different than one in the body and I believe I deserve to live a happy and fulfilling life. I have several good friends who said they would have committed suicide without the help of psychiatric medications.

Judging people for having a mental illness - it's not very progressive, is it?

[Solly Mack]

1. K&R

[xultar]

2. I take them too. I've been depressed since I was a kid. I tried to commit suicide @ 8yrs

old.

Fast forward till my mid thirties when I was tired of wanting to die I decided to get checked out and well now I take happy pills too.

I can't believe I waited so long. I can't believe I made it.

[Mad_Dem_X]

74. 8 years old?!

Oh, my goodness...:hug:

[xultar]

170. I'm now trying to look back and figure it out. I don' think I knew what suicide was

but I new in my heart I was tired of living.

I keep trying to figure out, how did I know that. I wrote a suicide note and everything. I didn't tell my mom until I was in my mid to late 20's.

I can remember that day like it was today.

[orleans]

130. i remember doing research in college about

childhood suicide

i remember people couldn't believe children could intentionally kill themselves or attempt suicide

i also remember a case study of a four year old who knew what she was doing and admitted it as she lay dying in the hospital.

i'm glad you made it too. sorry you had to go through all that.

[Philosoraptor]

3. I take em' too.

[EOTE]

4. Are there people here who would do that?

I guess it shouldn't surprise me too much considering what I've seen, but it never fails to shock me when I see so called "progressives" act like people are in 100% control of their lot in life. It happens with regard to the diet/obesity debate and I guess it happens with mental illness too.

I'm very happy that you're beginning to feel better. I've dealt with depression a long time and I've never gotten around to doing much about it. Perhaps it's now time. Thanks for your story. K&R.

[Deja Q]

7. It happens to everybody, for one reason or another...

[Posteritatis]

48. God, yes, are there ever

Just about every threat where mental illness is involved - especially if a crime is involved - there's a small herd of idiots who come in talking about how mental illness is intrinsically evil or specifically Republican or something. It's disgusting.

[Divine Discontent]

73. Glad you found something that is starting to work for you. nt

[Posteritatis]

75. Oh, I'm (for the most part) fine

At least I think so; I wonder if I ought to get my head examined at times given the things I know are in it, but I'm functioning anyway.

It's a subject I get defensive about nonetheless, because a few family members and extremely close friends have to fight the kind of stigma the OP's reacting to on a regular basis; bipolar is heavily represented amongst them. Anyone looking through my post history on DU would quickly notice that that's one of my berserk buttons. :)

[Divine Discontent]

79. 'berserk buttons' ha! love it...

well, I like to think, as someone who has had several anxiety attacks a few years ago that made me think my life was over, it gets better. I just prayed and prayed and learned to accept that I'm not like the hate I see in life. That's what I think is part of the problem, at least was for me. People are so mean, and it is unsettling. I am a good man, and I give til it hurts - and it hurts to not have those around you not be the same. You'd be silly not to be effected by the hate in this world.

please enjoy this song ---

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7GUHL8-NQg&fmt=18

[WildEyedLiberal]

140. Or that "happy pills" are just Big Pharma corporate mind control Soma that no one needs, etc

I don't think that Scientology horseshit has any place here. Yes, sometimes certain antidepressants/mood drugs are overprescribed, but they are also necessary for a lot of people to function.

[K8-EEE]

183. There's a minority though that go all Tom Cruise on the subject of mental health

I live in L.A. so I know some Scientologists and they are really insufferable on this subject (NOBODY needs psych anything, it's all BS, it's poison, etc.) Ugh....btw I really think Kirstie Alley would be better off in a religion that allowed psychiatric health. She's constantly downplaying her obviously serious eating disorder.

[Recursion]

55. What happens is this:

Some people on the site believe (rightly or wrongly) that rich, over-achieving kids are overmedicated for "performance" reasons, and complain about that. Others hear that (rightly or wrongly) as an attack against psychotropic pharmaceuticals as a whole.

[Ms. Toad]

71. If you search around a little you'd probably find somone

who said that just recently...

[nadinbrzezinski]

76. You may want (perhaps not) go into the ADHD thread I started

a couple days ago.

Yep, it is your imagination.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

143. I'm curious to see that thread

do you have the link?

ADD here (ADHD non-hyperactive, so I just call it ADD)...finally diagnosed approx. 3 years ago, and I'm 51 now.

Strattera gave me a whole new life. I knew something was wrong but had no idea how far from functional I was. (It would be great if there were some kind of ADD counselor/coach available, but there's no such thing way out here in the boondocks. I try to improve the old habits on my own. At least my brain isn't burning up and the emotional rollercoaster and depression is evened out a little.)

[Ocracoker16]

5. I am on happy pills as well

I could not function without them.

[cayanne]

6. I've taken ant-idepressants for 17 years

and will for the rest of my life. Ignore those who tell you otherwise.

[JoDog]

8. I'm on happy pills

for generalized anxiety with a dash of depression. I was diagnosed at 17. Without their help, I don't think I would have made it to 32.

There is a catch-22? Because I take the drugs and control my condition, I can't get private health insurance. It's a pre-existing condition for most companies. I am perfectly healthy other than a few extra pounds and taking lexapro once a day. Now that's crazy.

[Pharaoh]

9. Been on em'

for 20 years.................this planet is too insane for me otherwise O8)

[maxpower]

10. I have the same problem

Doc's finally got me on the right meds. Feeling good, for the most part. No pill is a panacea, I still need to find ways to avoid stress in my life, otherwise the ship is sailing straight.

Be Well

Max

[thereismore]

11. I take lexapro. The best thing is, my constant state of happiness is because of

my deep appreciation of how good feeling normal feels. Which does not prevent me from hating republicans!

[Akoto]

12. I'm glad that you posted this.

Your story parallels my own in many ways. When someone posted about "happy pills" elsewhere on the boards, I was furious.

I went through many years of horrible anxiety, and they culminated in my dropping out of high school. Fortunately, I was able to complete my education at home, but things only got worse when I suddenly became chronically ill. Constant pain bred an entirely new level of fear.

My doctor helped me through this and, in my cocktail of pain management medication, included a drug to assist with anxiety. This has helped me to recover some sense of normalcy, and to better deal with my otherwise harrowing day-to-day struggle. I feel normal emotionally, rather than shaking and weeping every day, as I had been doing.

[rox63]

13. I've been taking anti-depressants and anti-anxiety meds for 16 years

They make it possible for me to be a productive, functioning human being. Yes, therapy helped as well, but it was not the complete answer. I have a medical condition that is well-controlled by these meds. I expect I'll probably be on them for the rest of my life.

[Robyn66]

14. I take them too

I was diagnosed with bi-polar disorder in 2001. When people find this out about me they are amazed at how "normal" I am. Well the didn't know me when I was in severe bouts of depression when I cut myself with razor blades, and tried to make my husband understand how delusional HE was for believing there was a reason for hope in the world. They don't know about the days I threw all of the dishes on the floor because my husband said something to set me off. There are so many horror stories I could tell you about what it was like living inside my head.

Depression runs in my family and was probably made worse by the severe emotional abuse I suffered at the hands of my parents. My father, an alcoholic cop would bust down my door when I was 16 and unload a gun with blanks at me when he was mad. If my grades were bad my mother wouldn't talk to me for weeks, you had to earn love. I have been dragged by my hair into the kitchen and had guns pointed at me more times than I can count, oh and I was raped at 14. Let me tell you it took a lot of therapy, a miracle of a husband and some serious medication to give me a decent life.

My husband (who deserves a medal) has been with me since we were both 18 (we are 43 now) and has loved me in spite of my craziness. He is an incredible father to our two daughters, one who has Asperger's syndrome. He moved us away from my parents (which probably helped save my life) and has helped make sure our kids are not living in the dysfunctional hell that I grew up in. He has since supported me through breast cancer and I can only pray that there are men out there that can equal him to marry our daughters some day!

People who call psychiatric medication "happy pills" are ignorant and cruel. Up until fairly recently biological mental illness wasn't even recognized as an "illness" No body likes getting up in the morning having to take a hand full of pills but I am willing to bet people don't like taking insulin either but no one seems to criticize people with diabetes or high blood pressure for taking meds.

Some of the nastiest people I have ever known have been so called "progressives"

[renate]

88. ...

Coming up with words to try to sympathize with what you endured would be useless and inadequate... except I do want to say how glad I am that you've found such a gem of a husband.

:hug:

[BlancheSplanchnik]

144. some parallels

between our stories....

I just wanted to say

:hug: survivors

[SidneyCarton]

15. One of my dearest friends was on anti-depressants for a while to help combat depression

I wouldn't dream of it.

Take care of yourself lightningandsnow, do what you need to do to be whole.

[MonkeyMama]

16. I took them, too...

several years ago. Helped me out of my funk so I could fix the crap in my life that was causing me to need them. I don't know that I would have made it without them.

[ejpoeta]

17. I have been on anti depressants off and on since 1995....

and i had to end up the hospital for them to actually do anything.... I mean, I was not in a very good place.... i had given away all my most prized possessions and cut myself off from everyone. It's a horrible place to be and I don't ever want to go back there again!!

Right now I am having a tough time, frankly. I have not had any meds for about eight months or more because I am pregnant and don't want to take them while pregnant. But I haven't even been able to go to counseling since I went right after my dad died in April. Thankfully my counselor didn't charge me because I found out they wanted me to pay $50 a visit. Which I swear could have pushed me over the edge right there two days after my dad died. I just found out today that they are going to only charge me $25 copay... which I can do... but talk about financial strain!! Money has been so tight lately, and will be getting a lot tighter in a month...

There is nothing that makes me more angry than people who think this is all in my head or that I am just not acting happy enough or trying hard enough. They don't know what they are talking about. I have always likened it to a dark cloud that covers everything in your life.... you have the logical part of your brain and the darkness waits for its moment and then starts making you think maybe people would be better off without you.... that people don't really want you around. I got paranoid in the months before I went in the hospital too... when I was in the hospital and my family members were across the table from me I thought they were conspiring against me.

Depression is nothing to scoff at or play around with. Once it starts over riding the logical part of your brain, that's when it gets bad. I have a whole notebook filled with the things my mind was thinking at the time... and it scares me to even look at it. Maybe I'll post a poem or two sometime that I wrote from back in those dark days... I just hope to never go back to that place again.

[Stinky The Clown]

18. K&R

[tosh]

19. K&R and count me in. nt.

[lapislzi]

20. Lexapro user checking in

I suffer the double whammy of GAD (lifelong affliction, but I managed it without meds) and situational depression brought on by recent nasty breakup and daughter's suicide attempt. I had to bite the bullet and fill the script. Boy, am I glad I did. Now I can at least struggle out of bed in the morning. I hope to be in a better place soon.

Every drug carries risks. Not every drug is for everyone. Lexapro doesn't help my daughter's condition. She's on a different SSRI. Your best protection is to do your homework. Ask questions. Read. I made an informed decision to take the medication, in consultation with my doctor. So far, it has worked out.

Hang in there, happy pill users. We're a big tent.

[LakeSamish706]

22. Been on Paxil, Effexor and finally (Cipralex for the past year and a bit)...

Paxil sucked big time, Effexor was a major pain to come off of, but Cipralex is absolutely the happy pill. Have been on these meds since 1998.

[Robyn66]

26. YIKES Paxil

I had a VERY BAD reaction to Paxil and Effexor didn't do much better. Right now I am on Wellbuterine Lamictal and Topomax, although I am bi-polar so that is more than depression. But Wellbuterine is a good anti-depressant.

[LakeSamish706]

28. Mine is more anxiety related and panic attacks..... Once I got settled on Cipralex...

I have not had a problem since.

[Deep13]

189. other way around for me

Welbutrine had me climbing the walls. Paxil is the one that works, even if it is making me fat.

[Quantess]

37. Effexor was very difficult to quit. Terrible withdrawals.

I halved the dose from 150 to 75 mg, which was all I could stand to decrease. Halfing the dose gave me terrible withdrawals for 2 months. I waited almost a year to decrease from 75 to 32.5 mg, then gradually decreasing that over a span of months. At the end, I was counting granules in the palm of my hand. I hear Paxil is hard to quit, too.

Effexor helped me for a little while, but I stayed on it too long because of the physical addiction. This is lucky for Wyeth, because there is no generic yet, and Effexor is VERY expensive.

Effexor made me physically lazy. I have always exercised regularly, but strangely I stopped while I was on the drug. Soon after quitting, I picked up running again.

I have taken Zoloft before, but it was easy to quit and it did not affect
my physical activity levels.

[gkhouston]

53. Effexor is a bitch to quit. I decreased my dose gradually and took Benadryl at

the same time, which really helped with the fizzing shock sensations, but damn, that drug was dirty.

[fizzgig]

105. getting off effexor was awful

i never want to have to feel like that again.

[LuvNewcastle]

21. Me too.

My life is much so much better with the pills than going unmedicated. Glad you and your doctor found something that works for you.:hi:

[Crunchy Frog]

23. I wish I could find some "happy pills" that were actually effective for me.

I've had crippling anxiety and depression my entire life, and have never found anything that was more than marginally effective.

I don't even know what it's like to feel "normal". :(

[LakeSamish706]

25. Have you tried Lexapro/Cipralex? Sure works for me.... n/t

[Crunchy Frog]

42. Yes I have, and no it didn't. n/t

[Lilith Velkor]

64. You are not alone.

Everybody on my mother's side of the family has had bad reactions to SSRIs.

[lapislzi]

38. Hang in there.

Do your research. I hope you have access to health care (we always have to preface it by saying that, don't we?) or are of independent means. But don't give up. You need to find the right combination of medical professional, medication, and other supportive therapies (i.e. exercise is great for working off some of that anxiety).

There's a lot of trial and error involved, and it's not cheap either.

I wish you well. :hug:

[Ignis]

111. Try 5-HTP & St. John's Wort.

Both are doing quite well in clinical trials, both can be taken together, and the list of side-effects is both small and not particularly troubling.

[Last Stand]

178. St John's Wort has the same active ingredient as SSRI's but varies in dosage.

In some ways, not a good thing to take because of the fact that you may take too much or not know how much may be in each portion. I'm a fan of homeopathic medicine, but IMO this is not a good choice.

SSRI's are Zoloft, Paxil, Prosac...all darlings of the pharmaseutical companies. They can be effective, but are generally prescribed longterm and can have significant side effects.

[Ignis]

221. Well, I'm not suggesting you just pick it by the side of the road.

:)

I realize the state of regulation over the "supplements" industry leaves something to be desired, but you can still buy herbs with a guaranteed percentage of whatever active ingredient you're seeking.

SSRIs have so many side effects and interactions with other medications that I'd find it hard to prescribe them in all but the most dire cases. But then, I'm not a doctor, so YMMV.

[grahamhgreen]

246. You can get standardized St John's Wort, However, I find the 5-HTP works great!

I take 200mg/day and I'm happy as a lark!

otherwise, i get depressed.

[justabob]

123. one that I tried is lamictyl (sp?)

I have been miserable for most of my life. I didn't even hope for happy... not mad/sad was the best I could ever manage. I have ptsd and severe depression/anxiety... condition NOS similar to bipolar/borderline personality. The meds doctor told me that lamictyl is really great for many psych problems, but it is expensive. It is usually used for severe conditions like bipolar et al and doesn't have the side effects that others have, though some people are allergic so it is important to go slowly. It takes a while to get up to the theraputic dosage, but it does help. I can't take the paxils prozacs etc.... they just aren't strong enough and actually make me worse. I had to quit taking it because of the cost of seeing the doctor every month on top of the prescription OOP, but you might ask your doctor about it if you have the means. It is available as a generic now and the price did come down a bit while I was on it. Hard to pay for without insurance and working as a waitress. I have continued to feel better than ever even after I stopped taking it. Ask your doctor.

[Crunchy Frog]

173. I tried it already. I had to stop it

when I started getting some really scarey side effects.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

146. I was on Prozac for many years.... but then

I started becoming aware that though the anti-depressant had helped, there was still something wrong.

Yes, clinical depression was a big part--long term abuse issues and chronic illness. But after many many years I started noticing other problems and despairing over how I could not focus, do anything I intended to do, etc. The continuing anxiety, obsessive thoughts, self-loathing, intense mood swings, my brain sometimes feeling like it had its fingers stuck in a wet electric socket. Something was seriously wrong but I didn't know what.

Finally someone suggested that I had ADD and so I read "Women and ADD" too, which spelled out the symptoms--that hit me like a truck in the face.

I knew then I needed to get evaluated. Was diagnosed ADHD non-hyperactive. I now take Strattera, a non-stimulant ADD med. I'm on the highest dosage *brag brag*, and that was the missing piece, pharmaceutically speaking.

Of course I don't know if that's the answer for you, but the combination of intense anxiety and depression, plus not knowing what it's like to feel normal..... your post just reminded me of my experience.

I hope you find your answer!! Keep asking.....

[create.peace]

148. well, there is no normal, but you will know if you feel better. nt

[TommyPaine]

156. Happy clonazepam user here.

I've been dealing with anxiety the better part of my life, my "family curse" as I call it. We're a long-lived bunch, but highly susceptible to mental disorders--depression, anxiety, and addiction.

My real struggles in school started around age 14. Between ages 16 and 21 I must've had twenty panic attacks and nervous breakdowns, including a few catastrophic ones.

Things were fine for a while, but a few years ago the problem resurfaced with a vengeance. I had three major attacks in a three-week span and nearly had myself committed--though without medical insurance (despite working 40 hours a week) that wasn't an option.

My physician put me on a low dosage of clonazepam (generic version of Klonopin, a benzodiazepine derivative) and it's been quite a help. I'm actually able to get to sleep a couple nights a week without staying up worrying, heart pounding, fretting about everything imaginable. If I have a panic attack, I pop one or two pills and I’m calmed within 30 minutes (or less). My mind is more even, though I may feel too drowsy to drive or operate a table saw.

I hate relying on drugs, but a healthful diet, exercise, and a good marriage haven’t quelled my anxiety and depression, so I’ve no problem with a 2-3 times-per-week regimen of beneficial medication with minimal side effects.

At my Costco pharmacy, thirty 5mg clonazepam pills are only $9 *sans* insurance. Not a bad deal.

[JerseygirlCT]

202. You might find that as you feel better with help

from the medication, you also start feeling better, period, and can taper off some. At least, that's been my deal. The positive reinforcement of situations that usually made me terribly anxious no longer doing so made me feel more able to cope with them.

At any rate, I'm glad you found what works for you!

As to relying on drugs, my doctor once told me about a patient who took several xanax every day. Was he addicted to them? Yes. Did they mean that he could carry on with his life, get out of his house, even hold a job? Yes. So the addiction in that case had to be balanced with a full life.

[Deep13]

191. Can't your psychiatrist offer you anything?

I can only wish you well and hope you find a way at least to manage your problem. :hug:

[Crunchy Frog]

216. I've been seeing psychiatrists off and on for 20 years

and have tried just about everything under the sun. I haven't found anything that was more than marginally effective, and quite a few things have done more harm than good. I've thought about trying the Emsam patch, which is an MAO inhibitor which I haven't tried before. It costs $500.00 a month though. I'm also thinking about trying ordering a medication from a foreign pharmacy that you can't get in this country.

Maybe I'm just fundamentally flawed though. :shrug:

[endless october]

24. i have OCD.

have tried pills from time to time with some results. currently am not taking medication (other than alcohol, lol.)

i would never judge someone for taking medication for a mental disorder.

[lapislzi]

30. Lexapro can also treat symptoms of OCD

It usually requires a higher dosage. It is a useful drug with a fairly low incidence of side effects.

People's bodies change over time, and for all kinds of reasons (including what you put into them). What worked for you at one stage of your life might not work now. I found that out through trial and error (and a VERY patient psychiatrist) with my daughter. Lexapro worked for awhile, and then things changed. They could change again at any time. I am constantly vigilant.

[endless october]

34. thanks for the heads up.

i have been on zoloft, which helped for a minute and then seemed to wear off. and more recently, luvox / risperdol. that downside to that one was i wasn't even allowed to have a beer, and i felt nuked while i was taking it. i probably should have given it more of a chance.

[lapislzi]

46. Oooh--Risperidol = big gun

I would be nervous about that one. They used it on my dad in the nursing home to restrain him when he got out-of-control ornery. But, PLEASE don't take my word for anything. I'm not a doctor and all my evidence is anecdotal. Speak to your doctor. Your meds shouldn't make you feel like a zombie. That's a sign you're on the wrong medicine/dosage.

Good luck.

[endless october]

61. my dose was a quarter of a tiny pill.

so small i had to cut it with a razor. still, it's a powerful antipsychotic.

plus, did i mention they wouldn't let me have a beer? lol

i'm a functional OCD sufferer. i did well in school, have held down a job my entire adult life (until the grant ran out, drat), and i front a band most weekends. for me, a medicine would serve to reduce the constant anxiety, self doubt, and social stresses that come along with the OCD. that particular combo of medicine, though, didn't seem worth it.

at some time in the future, i will most likely give medicine another shot. hopefully the chemistry will progress by that point.

[Mnemosyne]

152. I lost five months of my life to that med. I kept complaining how

bad I felt on it and was told I just needed to 'adjust' to it. Nov. 1997 - March 1998

Adjust to it!! I was sleeping 16 - 20 hours a day and couldn't think much or carry on a conversation. And I was caring for my Mom and Dad; Mom had torn Achilles tendon and Dad was a typical 60 yo male chauvinist.

It was a nightmare I couldn't wake up from until finally just refused to take it again.

I only took it in the first place desperately trying to feel "better". I've lost several years of my life between undiagnosed bi-polar, until age 40 and heinous medications (for me anyway).

I'm just grateful to be here, hell, to be anywhere. :)

[Okie4Obama]

135. I have OCD too

I am taking Luvox CR for my OCD, and it's the best I have felt since puberty. I tried Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft, and Lexapro. Maybe you should give it a try by itself, without the risperdol.

[whatthebleepdoIknow]

27. Well, I feel like there is a lot of judging about lots of things...

I also believe that people who decide to take meds should not jump to the conclusion that critics of meds are targeting THEM specifically. The point is, if way back when, your parents had gone to a holistic physician and had you checked out in terms of dietary issues (for instance, hypoglycemia creating anxiety) or other stuff FIRST, I would have a better outlook about the whole thing. How many people go to psychiatrists and get prescribed antidepressants and/or anti-anxiety meds, and the shrink NEVER asks if they are abusing alcohol and/or other substances? Pisses me off!

[Crunchy Frog]

45. I've never seen a shrink who didn't want to know if I was abusing

alcohol or other substances.

[lapislzi]

52. They have to ask that. It's their job.

If you are abusing alcohol, or using it to subdue the symptoms of anxiety, the rebound anxiety can be crushing. I know this from experience. I have radically cut back on alcohol and, along with the meds, has helped to control the anxiety--without me having to pop a valium every four hours to keep from jumping out of my skin.

I have no experience with marijuana or other drugs and anxiety, or their interaction with meds.

[Posteritatis]

54. I'd assume that should be an Utterly Standard Question in those circumstances, no?

Especially if the doc's going to be prescribing medication and the like.

[Mnemosyne]

153. Me either. Can't imagine such a scenario. Although, to be fair, I never could imagine

a shrink telling someone to commit suicide, but one told me that. A drunken, red-nosed POS substitute named, believe it or not, Dr. Love. :rofl:

[Deep13]

192. Um, I have to think that pretty rare.

Every doctor I have ever seen has asked if I was abusing alcohol and that includes the dentist. It's usually in a preprinted form before the appointment.

And mental illnesses are not caused by nutritional deficiencies.

[Dora]

209. FALSE: "Mental illnesses are not caused by nutritional deficiencies."

I'm sure you mean well, but your assertion that mental illness is not caused by nutritional deficiencies is not entirely true.

Vitamin B-12 deficiency is a life-threatening deficiency that appears in a small percentage of the general population, and increases as people age. Left untreated, B-12 deficiency results in depression that progresses to paranoia and hostility. The symptoms of mental illness are so obvious that few medical professional pause to test for an underlying medical condition, choosing instead to medicate with antidepressants, or diagnose the condition as dementia or Alzheimers.

I talked to my MD about depression one year, asking for a Wellbutrin rx. She agreed to it, but also ordered a CBC with a serum B12 test. It turned out that my B12 levels were low. When I began taking B12, my depression lifted far more than it had with the Wellbutrin, which had been only somewhat helpful.

[dionysus]

29. me too.

[armyowalgreens]

31. I'm at the stage where I have not broken down and seen a doctor yet...

I completely panicked before this semester began. I figured I would not be able to handle the work load. I spent several days over the last month or so absolute beside myself.

[elleng]

149. My internist caught it for me,

in a regular checkup conversation. For this I'll always appreciate her. Please don't feel like its 'breaking down,' but rather, being forthright.

And good luck.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

32. Happy Pills rule!

Panic disorder with agoraphobia and major depression here. :hi:

Battled a lifetime -- sometimes successfully, sometimes, not so much. took responsibility for my illness amd actively sought treatment with therapy and supportive treatments.

And then all hell broke lose 10 years ago.

Took a years-long slide into my first major depressive episode --
did everything I could to keep it together, but chemistry won at the end of the day.

Finally went on Celaxa and my life changed. I can say with 100% certaintly I would not be here if it were not for that drug.

I thank the gods I live in a time where this type of treatment is available.

Kudos to you for reaching out and getting the help you needed. :hi:

[Bluerthanblue]

33. you are not alone,

there are many of us out here.

The brain is an organ- an important one. People who belittle or condemn us for taking care of ourselves are the ones with the real problem.

:hi:

thanks for speaking up.


k&r

[Blue_Tires]

35. i'm with you

i use them as well because i cannot function without them...

[Oeditpus Rex]

36. Thank you, L&S

I also found that part of That Post regressive but couldn't think of the words to express my disdain. I thank you for finding them for me and many others. I'm also most pleased to hear of your progress.

:hug: :yourock:

[Dawgs]

39. Me too.

Tried going off my happy pills a week ago...very bad idea. Not sure I would be here without them.

:hi:

[HughMoran]

40. Prozac saved my ass

In fact, after taking it for about a year,I have been able to fight off the depression bug for over 10 years based on what I was able to learn about myself while taking Prozac. If provide just enough clarity of thought so I could better understand how to avoid the negative feedback loop that leads to depression.

[Quantess]

41. "negative feedback loop"

It's like a downward spiral of thinking, isn't it? I believe that anti-depressants by themselves can't cure depression. The drugs can help a lot, but there has to be some changes in wrong-thinking that people with depression almost always have. "Feeling Good" by Dr. Burns is a helpful book to read.

[sixstrings75]

43. Please - more info on Cipralex. Just started taking them

Just got out of a 7 year relationship. Clinically depressed. Was prescribed Cipralex by my Doc. Cost me $11.00 for 60 ea. of them (Go Canada!).

I've only taken them for 7 days - please tell me something is going to happen soon?

I can't eat, sleep, focus. Work is suffering. I pace constantly.

Some good news is what I need...

Thanks

[lightningandsnow]

44. Well, it doesn't work for everyone...

and if you keep having bothersome side effects, talk to your doctor.

I was pretty nauseous for the first week on it....but then that subsided. It apparently takes a couple weeks to actually start to work and up to 6 weeks to get the full effect, according to my doctor.

Hope you feel better soon!

[lapislzi]

59. It can take up to six weeks to kick in.

Fortunately, it has one of the lower side-effect profiles, and many of these go away with continued use.

I started to feel better after about 2 weeks, and the side effects subsided. I'm still not 100%, but I can get out of bed in the morning and drag my sorry carcass to work.

Stick with it and keep checking in with your doctor. He/she may change your dosage or switch you to a different drug.

Exercise can help burn off some of that nervous energy and get you some sleep.

Hang in there. Let time do its work.

[Mnemosyne]

155. I only stopped by to

:hug:

[MountainLaurel]

47. Me too

Dealing with a melange of anxiety and dysthymia, with the occasional major depressive episode. The Lexapro doesn't make me "happy," it removes the clouds and the fear and the tears so that I can function like an average human being.

[hfojvt]

49. three things I don't like here

1. this idea that chemicals determine everything
2. solving problems with pills, it's vaguely "Brave New World"
3. "don't you dare" have an opinion that I don't like. Sounds like you are prepared to be judgemental, and harshly so, of those who disagree with you

[Posteritatis]

51. Three things *I* don't like here

1. This idea that chemicals determine everything was not mentioned in the article; you are reacting to a claim that was not made.

2. Do you hate diabetics too? They solve problems with needles, which means that has to be vaguely "Robocop," right?

3. There's disagreement and there's being factually wrong. Your reactions here suggest you're deep into the latter category, choosing not to understand how mental illnesses and their treatments work because reacting with the usual buzzwords is so much better.

You aren't in the same league as the DUers who think that anyone with a mental illness is a bad person who needs to have restricted rights or is obviously Republican, but yeah, I think you're a valid target for the OP's post nonetheless.

[hfojvt]

89. is there an echo in here?

here

here


here.

1. a claim that was not made? From the OP "A chemical imbalance in the brain is no different than one in the body ..."

See. Problems with the mind, problems with the body - it's chemicals. Except viruses and bacteria are not chemicals really, they are living organisms.

2. Did I say "hate"? We are talking about disagreements about treatment, not about feelings towards people who say they need treatment. So it is a bit of a jump to go from saying "mental illness should not be treated with drugs" to "I hate the mentally ill"

3. So there's disagreement and there's being factually wrong. So what?

Either way is "don't you dare" an appropriate response? How dare I be factually wrong? It happens to the best of us I think. I usually say I am like a broken clock, I am wrong twice a day.

But the OP is only a short anecdote, not a scientific study.

[Posteritatis]

92. Yeah, and I have some theories as to its location

A chemical imbalance in the brain is no different than one in the body ..."

For starters, this is true. That notwithstanding, this is not saying "chemicals determine everything." You are actively misreading the post.

So it is a bit of a jump to go from saying "mental illness should not be treated with drugs" to "I hate the mentally ill"

I draw no distinction whatsoever between "I don't think mental illness should be treated with drugs" and "I don't think diabetics should receive insulin." These are equally incorrect and equally dangerous stances, and the only way one can pull the "but but but they're different!" card involves denying that there's a biological or chemical component to some mental illnesses, which requires stupidity rather than mere ignorance to think in this day and age.

Also, I don't mind someone being wrong if they're capable of admitting it and alter their perspective in the face of evidence. You're not only wrong, utterly and objectively, but you're defending your right to continue to be wrong on the grounds that, if you're wrong enough, you'll somehow be right.

I have no respect for that attitude. If you're going to be discussing topics like mental illness, dismissing the validity of using medicine to treat mental disorders with that same, tired invocation of a novel, then you're in desperate need of at least a basic, fractional education of what you're trying to discuss. Address that and then you might have some views worth listening to, but until then, you don't.

[hfojvt]

101. should people alter their perspective in the face of evidence

or in the face of hostility?

If it is the former, then why do you lean so heavily on the latter?

Did I miss some of the evidence in your post somewhere in the two paragraphs justifying your hostility?

"involves denying that there's a biological or chemical component to some mental illnesses"

So there your hostility is to your own strawman. If you want to niggle about the difference between an OP that says "chemicals determine this and that and the other thing" and my response about "chemicals do not determine everything" while at the same time making sweeping generalizations about what I said. So nitpick at me for "actively misreading a post" while apparently charging ahead with your own active misreading of my posts.

There are three things in your statement there
1. biological
2. chemical
3. some

It's so generalized that it would be ridiculous for anybody to deny it, but
the question then becomes which cause - chemical or biological and for which problems. None of that leans to a rah-rah for my happy pills that solved my chemical problems.

[Mnemosyne]

157. Excuse me, but the brain is physical, thus "mental" illness is actually physical. And furthermore,

you are taking the lead with the "You just don't try hard enough" group.

At times, medication has nearly killed me and at others it has literally saved my life.

Have a good day.

[anneboleyn]

133. Good points. Schizophrenia, for example, has a definite chemical component

and it has been treated with medication for years. This has literally saved the lives of people afflicted by an often severe mental illness. Anyone who has done any reading about schizophrenia knows about its chemical basis and the ways in which it is treated (which usually include medication).

"There is no known single cause responsible for schizophrenia. It is believed that a chemical imbalance in the brain is an inherited factor which is necessary for schizophrenia to develop. However, it is likely that many factors - genetic, behavioral, and environmental - play a role in the development of this mental health condition."

http://www.childrenshospital.org/az/Site1561/mainpageS1561P0.html

[haele]

182. My uncle's full blown schizophrenia was triggered by PTSD

He was just functional during his teen years when it started developing, but was an corpsman/ambulance crew with the Marines in Korea during the "war" in 1952. He would always have had schizophrenia, but with his form of schizophrenia, the level of his functionality with it was not helped by his experiences.
In his case, both are intertwined to some degree. You're right, there is no single "cause" - there are mitigating factors that can shape the form the condition manifests in. Diet might, or might not help. Exercise might, or might not help. Environmental factors might, or might not help.

Mental Illness is a ride your brain takes you along with it, and YMMV depending on the fuel and the road finds itself on...

With medication, my uncle was marginally able to remain in the "here and now", and his hallucinations and outbursts were manageable enough he could live with his mother until she died.
Thank ghod for the VA. Without that, without the residence home he would end up at, he would have died alone, despised, on the streets in his fifties, cursing at ghosts and harassing pedestrians when he wasn't being dragged into the drunk tank instead of spending the last 20 years of his life in relative comfort and care.

Haele

[Spazito]

63. Judgmental? I suggest you look in the mirror....

it will reflect a judgmental person who see things only in black and white. Quite sad really.

[hfojvt]

90. I was not the one who said "don't you dare" disagree with me.

Where do you see judgement or black and white. For one thing, I don't trust pill manufacturers nor pill pushers.

[Spazito]

94. This is the epitome of judgmental...

"2. solving problems with pills, it's vaguely "Brave New World""

Is that not a 'judgment' on your part and your part alone and is that not a 'black and white' statement with no qualifiers?

To whom are you referring to when you say "pill pushers"? It is obviously not the drug companies because you refer to them separately as "pill manufacturers"?

[hfojvt]

98. the word "vaguely" seems like a qualifier to me

There are a couple of classes of pill pushers. One would be the manufacturers and their ad-men, two would be the other pill users, and a third would be the doctors.

[Spazito]

100. Wow, you really don't see how judgmental your posts really are...

even while you attempt to defend yourself against being seen as such. "vaguely" is not a qualifier when used as you did, in conjunction with "Brave New World", imo. Your second point was to say, in effect, what fools those who take 'happy pills' are and you see those who get treatment for their diseases being the equivalent of:

"The lower castes are treated to chemical interference to cause arrested development in intelligence or physical growth."

(Taken from a summary of Huxley's book, "Brave New World")

All I can say is YIKES.

[hfojvt]

103. look I read Brave New World about 30 years ago

so my reference to it, remembering as a world where people took pills to cope with life, does not mean what you think it means. Hence the vagueness.

[Spazito]

104. If you didn't mean to reference the aspect of pill-taking when you...

referenced "Brave New World" you would not have referred to it given the context of the OP, with or without attaching the word 'vaguely', imo. If you didn't remember the WHOLE context in which 'pill-taking' was used in Huxley's book then, imo, you would have been better served not referencing it at all. As it stands, you used it to disparage the OP's defense of his/her treatment, via 'pills', for their disease and that, imo, was both judgmental and contemptible.

[hfojvt]

113. well at least I got to be contemptible

that's always nice.

Actually it hurts my feelings, but I am gonna take a pill to make me feel better.

Let's see how that works. I referenced Huxley without being fully aware of everything that might mean. This makes me both judgemental and contemptible.

You called me judgemental and contemptible and this makes you compassionate, understanding, and admirable.

Does that about cover it?

I guess you need to carry out the prime directive.

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/hfojvt/37

[Spazito]

116. LOL! Prime directive!

It is interesting you, through your posts, feel free to disparage others yet take GREAT offense when called on it. Your reference to "the prime directive" is quite comical under the circumstances.

[hfojvt]

125. I have 8 or nine posts in this thread

and I do not see one where I disparaged anybody. The Brave New World reference could easily be taken as an insult, and correctly so. But only technically correct, since I explained that my use of that reference was not exact.

You, otoh, have definitely and clearly been disparaging. Not content with having me backtrack on he BNW metaphor, but jumping directly to calling me contemptible. That's not calling me ON anything. It is calling me something, but not calling me on something.

Whatever offense I am taking at your ad hominem argument, really I am just trying to call you on your apparent hypocrisy. You have certainly proven my 3rd point. The "don't you dare have an opinion that differs from mine."

I had an opinion differing from the OP, but was not ad hominem about it.

[Bluenorthwest]

172. Aldous was a huge proponent of drug taking for many reasons

did you know that? On his deathbed, unable to speak, he wrote his final request to his wife Laura, that she inject him with LSD for his crossing over, which she did. What do you make of that?
And here is another factoid for you. Some of the techniques Huxley describes in the book are taken from the fresh work of his contemporary sci-fi peer L Ron Hubbard, principles that later developed into 'the Church of Scientology'. Huxley found those principles to be of great interest, although later he was far more critical of the work.
Just pretty hard to watch you invoke a writer who wrote about what he called the human need to alter consciousness as if he was some straight edge anti-drug person. He died while tripping on acid, ok? By choice.

[DireStrike]

167. The OP said "Don't you dare JUDGE PEOPLE for taking meds"

You disagree with that?

[Hell Hath No Fury]

67. Sometirmes chemicals DO determine everything.

That is their role in the body. :shrug:

I tried solving my problems with every type of therapy available to me, including some off the beaten track.

And then perimenopause hit. My estrogen levels began to drop -- estrogen is needed for the production of seratonin. My seratonin levels dropped and my mind started to tell me things might be better if I were not here.

Within 24 hours of starting my first Celexa (an SSRI) treatment, the bad thoughts started to fade. Within two weeks, I was almost completely normal. This is something that YEARS of very hard work did not accomplish.

I watched my mother enter her first major depressive episode after having her ovaries removed -- no more estrogen, no more seratonin. The same thing also happened when my sister when she went through the same surgery.

All the positive thoughts and treatment in the world isn't going to change the chemistry that, for many, estrogen = seratonin = happy.

[LeftishBrit]

82. Chemicals don't determine everything. But they determine some things.

'Solving problems with pills' - so would you also blame someone for taking antibiotics for pneumonia?

I don't believe in pills for EVERY problem (I also don't believe in antibiotics for an ordinary cold); but I know people who are alive and well because they had pills at the right time.

This post is in memory of two relatives who died before I was born, and each left young children. They committed suicide as a result of acute severe depression, and this was before there were appropriate medications available. My mother had the same disorder a little later; the pills were available by then and she recovered within weeks.

'Judgemental'- you bet I am, just as I'm judgemental of those who would deny people potential treatments for Parkinsons and other neurological diseases because of their religious ideology against stem cell research.

[hfojvt]

96. then we are mostly agreed

"I don't believe in pills for EVERY problem"

I see a society that wants to reach for the pill too quickly, and I push back against that.

[DireStrike]

168. I think you need to talk to more people who have been on meds

Are you against anti-psychotic medication as well? I can think of no more clearly and demonstrably effective psych meds, although the difference between being on antidepressants and not being on them is like night and day.

I hope you wake up and thank whatever order in the universe you believe in that you never needed psych meds.

[LeftishBrit]

225. Where in the OP did it say that people should take pills for EVERY problem????

[treestar]

99. no one said chemicals determine "everything"

Because they had pills in Brave New World - irrelevant

You can have your opinion but you have no experience to base it on. Sort of like not being gay - how can you know how it feels unless a gay person tells you? You can't just base an opinion on your own imaginings without risking being seriously wrong.

[Homer Wells]

201. I must tell you I am SOOOOO Happy

to have whoever it is you are talking to on my IGNORE list.

I've been on a variety of anti-depressants for quite some time now, and they, for the most part, keep me at least semi-sane (this world we live in now would challenge the sanity of any person)!

:grouphug:

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

107. Things I don't like, people who judge things they don't understand.

[Deep13]

195. +1

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

110. How would you recommend treating an unconcious hypoglycemic patient?

[hfojvt]

114. with marijuana, duh

Haven't you heard? That cures everything.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

117. That's about what I expected.

[Arctic Dave]

131. We usually inject honey into the rectum. So don't ever use the honey bear in the unit.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

137. Interesting protocols you have in the arctic.

[Arctic Dave]

139. When you are six to eight hours lifeflight away from a hospital you get some

extra wingle room for your interventions.
Oh I forgot, o2 and more o2.

[proteus_lives]

122. +1

[DireStrike]

166. Please quote the sentence where the OP says "chemicals determine everything"

The OP only even IMPLIED that chemicals "Determine" anything at all. It was definitely never said that they determine everything.

[Deep13]

194. What we like is irrelevant. The facts are what matters.

1. Everything is made of chemicals, so chemicals necessarily solve everything. You may not want to admit that your brain and your mind and everything that you are are made of ordinary chemicals, but they are. Every feeling or thought is the result of chemical interactions in your head. Love your children? A chemical causes that. Afraid of whatever? Another chemical causes that. The distinction some draw between man-made chemicals and ones occurring without purposeful design is completely artificial and without any basis in fact.

2. I have no idea what you mean by "Brave New World." Nevertheless, when ideology disagrees with medical fact, the facts are right. I suppose you don't thing we should solve infections with pills either. A lot of people who are healthy today would be maimed or dead without them. Same with psychiatric medications.

3. Yeah, people who think I should somehow snap out of it or that I ought to be able to find other, more ideologically appealing treatments get nothing but contempt from me. Why should I subject myself to that and reject the advice of psychiatrist because you don't like the idea of solving problems with pills? So far, pills are the ONLY thing that has worked for me. So far, prayer, meditation, reading, Al-Anon and psychotherapy don't work. What does? Drugs. Drugs address the actual problem without having to wade through all this peripheral crap.

[NashVegas]

212. Those Are Very Valid Points

I have personal experience with anxiety attacks and found that with a combination of stress management, emotional support from others, and directly confronting the sources of anxiety (assuming one knows or understands what the source is) can help re-wire the brain in ways I'd never imagined. Turns your world upside down, but worth it.

You can't force everyone else to do what I did, though. On the other side of it, there's a best friend who's suffered life-long depression and would probably have committed suicide ages ago w/out medication.

The thing that bothers me about the popular psychiatric pharmaceutical movement is that, as much as it helps some people cope with what can't be corrected without medication, for others it assists them in running away from their problems, and it markets to all of us the idea that it's better to take the pill.

[prolesunited]

50. Thank you for your courage to post

Nobody looks down on or makes fun of people on insulin. Why should pysch meds be any different?

I am glad you are feeling better and may it be the first step on a fulfilling life's journey.

[billh58]

70. Depression has also

been linked to an imbalance in serotonin levels, which is what many anti-depressant drugs help to regulate. In that sense, these drugs are certainly no different from any other corrective medication.

[blogslut]

56. The "happy pills" comment was rather odious

I have experience with Prozac and Paxil and their benefits. As well, I had the gift of great counseling.

It breaks my heart to see people, in this day and age, that refuse to understand mental health treatment.

[Posteritatis]

62. I figured pointing out the odiousness was the intent there

Not to speak for the OP, but I get the impression he's not a fan of people who dismiss psychiatric medication as "happy pills," like one of the commenters a few posts up from yours in this thread who I reacted to. It's a depressingly common attitude, and I kind of think folks dismissing them as such need to have their faces rubbed in reality a little more often than is managed.

(No direct experience myself, but a few family members on one thing or another for various reasons, and more than depleted patience at the flak they've gotten for it from clueless people.)

[blogslut]

66. Yes, I know

The OP was referring to the title of another thread, as was I. :)

[Posteritatis]

68. Oh! Okay.

If someone was dismissing them as the main point of a thread and I saw it, I'd be a little too tempted to become Name Removed for a few posts. ;P

[sakabatou]

57. I remember taking Lexapro

Never really worked because I didn't have an anxiety disorder. I was an HFA (high-functioning autistic/asperger).

[Javaman]

58. GA sucks. I've had it in one form or another most of my life.

Effexor worked for me.

I'm honestly glad you are beginning to feel better. It's like a heavy weight coming off your chest.

Peace.

[eridani]

60. Taking insulin if your pancreas has a chemical imbalance is not a moral issue

I just don't get why so many don't understand that the brain is a physical organ that can have chemical imbalances as well.

[Posteritatis]

65. They don't like the implications

If the brain is a physical organ as suspectible to chemical, electrical, or immune flaws as the rest of the human body - which, duh, it is - then the implication is that things can happen to it which strip people of some of their control over their own thoughts and emotions. This is also true, but accepting that it's true means the possibility of it happening to you is real (unless you promote yourself to being Unique And Special, which some do), which is a pretty frightening thought.

Add a generalized disdain for medicine, or a reading of Brave New World which extends it to a universal prophecy, and people can start freaking out pretty impressively, ironically enough given the subject.

Add to that the fact that a lot of peoples' opinions on mental disorders haven't substantially improved since the 1930s (or possibly that backpedaling the improved views took in the 1960s), and... yeah.

And, of course, some people are just idiots, ignore that whole process, and decide that mental illnesses are personal or moral failures and that treating them as best as we currently know is simply a copout. Or that they're intrinsically political (see the 1930s comment).

[Mad_Dem_X]

85. +1

[eridani]

120. +10! n/t

[Spazito]

132. Well said!

I think you nailed it.

[Deep13]

196. +1

:thumbsup:

[Klukie]

207. What a great, well reasoned response.....

I may have just found my DU soulmate!:pals: Thanks for the reasoned wisdom.

[GreenPartyVoter]

108. I spent years loathing myself for my character defects only to find out

that an awful lot of the problem was chemical. The pills I take for my bipolar condition help a lot. They don't fix everything, of course, but it's better than nothing.

[Mnemosyne]

158. +1,000,000,000,000,000,

000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 n/t

[Cleita]

69. How wonderful that you finally found something that works for you.

Be happy and I hope others with mental illnesses find a doctor who can give them the medication and treatment that they need.

[Mad_Dem_X]

72. I take Paxil every day

I've suffered from panic attacks since I was 14. I've been hospitalized for depression and anxiety twice - once when I was 19, then when I was 34. The last time is when they finally put me on medication. I take Paxil, and also Xanax when needed. I would never judge someone who is struggling with a mental disorder.

[nadinbrzezinski]

77. Good for you and the more research we do on the brain

the more we find that it can have imbalances like everything else.

Happy for you, that they work.

[wicket]

78. I'm right there with you....

:hug:

[LeftishBrit]

80. k&r

[Berry Cool]

81. K&R. Besides, anyone who calls them "happy pills" in an un-ironic way

doesn't really understand how they work.

They don't make people happy. They don't make people numb to all feeling, either. They don't keep people from feeling sad about that which is worth feeling sad about.

What they DO do (when the right person is matched to the right medication in the right quantity) is bring the sad feelings down to a point of manageability. They readjust sad feelings that are way out of proportion to their cause, to the point where they are appropriate to the cause.

Some people need help doing that. There's no more shame in it than there is in having cerebral palsy or cancer or a hearing impairment. It's just the way some people are.

Edited to add: It's funny that on DU you will find people who will defend to the death their right to smoke a joint or drop acid or even snort coke recreationally, but talk about people getting a prescription for SSRIs, and all of a sudden it's an evil conspiracy by Big Pharma to control all our lives and drug us all into numbness so "The Man" will be able to control us. Not so. Yes, Big Pharma has given us evil, but it has also given us good, and antidepressants, used properly, are part of the "good." They are indeed the equivalent of insulin for diabetics, and have been of incalculable value to many people.

[Posteritatis]

83. "Happy" feelings too, at need - mania can be as scary as depression

Which makes the "happy pills" dismissal even more wrong.

[blueamy66]

93. great post

:thumbsup:

[JackInGreen]

159. I have

no prejudgments like that, but from the tenor of the thread, I'm concerned that if anyone WERE to mention Marijuana, they would encounter negative reactions like the ones you describe some of the grass-friendly folk showing.
I can't hold any use of drugs against someone if it makes their minds work in the way they want and re-establishes a social and mental equilibrium for them.
As a member of the fore mentioned Marijuana smokers, Go HARD.
If it works for you, it works for you, have no shame.

[SeattleGirl]

223. Thank you, Berry

Funny how some people who use pot (or whatever) to feel good or mellow or whatever, jump on the judgement bandwagon and chastise those of us who need medication to function normally without walking around crying all the time or frozen in an anxiety attack.

[NoSheep]

84. Me too. How the hell else am I going to cope while having a conscience in a world like this?

I was born this way. I didn't get the real help I needed until my early thirties. Now I can cope. But I'm still mad as hell at the way the world treats most people.

[Odin2005]

86. I take Paxil for the same thing, and I take meds for Bipola II.

People that bash psych meds never had to deal with mental illness, or have a mental illness and is a sucker for New Age "positive thinking" BS.

[KamaAina]

87. Just started it myself

I, too, feel somewhat lighter. There is a Hawaiian word kaumaha that means "heaviness of spirit", that doesn't apply to me quite as much these days.

[elleng]

150. Good terms; thanks.

I've felt grey cloud lifting.

[blueamy66]

91. I take generic Celexa and probably will

until the day that I die.

I managed to graduate from college and hold down a nice paying job and keep a household while on my "happy pills".

Judge me....call me names....taunt me....I don't care. I feel "normal", am productive and love life.

[Scout]

115. i take Celexa too

finally realized i'd been suffering from anxiety most of my life ... it just got worse when i got older, so i sought treatment.

[blueamy66]

124. How much do you take daily?

If I may ask...

[Scout]

171. see your PM n/t

[Uncle Joe]

95. No, it's not very progressive and peace to you, lightningandsnow.

:hug:

[treestar]

97. When I first took an anti-depressant, it was the first time in my life

that I realized what other people feel like all the time! And I was in the late 30s, I think.

People who don't need these will probably never understand, but if they did, they'd be grateful.

[LynneSin]

102. Be careful with the Lexipro - I gained 60lbs on it

I was ok with the initial dosage but they upped me to the regular one and I wasn't depressed but I gained wait for some reason.

Other than that, I see no issue - anti-depressants and similiar type prescriptions can help get you out of a bad place.

[lapislzi]

118. Lexapro has a lower incidence of weight gain than some other SSRIs

My daughter has become quite the heifer on Zoloft, but Lexapro hasn't had an impact on my weight (yet). Everyone is different. That's why making sweeping generalizations about "happy pills" is so offensive.

Maybe they can titrate you down to a dosage that's still therapeutic but keeps you from gaining. It's more of an art than a science.

[LynneSin]

126. I haven't been on it in ages

Mind you, I swear by Prozac but everyone acts differently. And I knew about the claims, that's why she switched me to LP.

Everyone is different

[fizzgig]

106. i'm glad the meds are working well

i shudder when i remember how i felt before i started taking my meds. you do deserve to have a happy, healthy life and, no, a chemical imbalance in the brain is no different than any other type of 'physical' illness.

it's sad that, even now, the two are kept separate.

good luck to you

[EFerrari]

109. K&R

:yourock:

[Triana]

112. I've been on them at times to get through tough times in my life -- wouldn't be here without them...

...no doubt. I didn't stay on 'em but if I hadn't have used them temporarily - I'd definitely NOT be here.

For those with the chemical imbalances - they're absolutely necessary for normal function. No shame in that. I know lots of folks that are on them.

[ThatsMyBarack]

119. I take Zoloft every day.

Nowadays, I can't imagine my life without it (not that I'd want to!).

[proteus_lives]

121. Some people do need them.

But I think pills are over-prescribed by doctors. Pills affect people differently and lots of doctors are lazy about that fact. I know people who need them but I also know people who are just self-medicating.

[JonLP24]

127. "crying and shaking uncontrollably because I got called to the principal's office and was terrified.

what would happen."

I know exactly what you mean. I think one of my last real big anxiety attacks minus the crying part was over a year ago when waiting outside the First Sergeant's office in the Army. Anti-Depressants really helped out as I was wreck. I can go into more but anxiety attacks affected my career as I was discharged other then honorable July 27th, 2008

[Jennicut]

128. lightningandsnow, I take Lexapro too

For PMDD....Premenstrual dysphoric disorder. I have terrible mood swings around my period and terrible depression. I have been this way since I was in high school but it did not really get resolved until college when I was 20 and was diagnosed with it. The anti depressants have helped immensely over the years. At 33 I would love to off the meds but the mood swings are just incredibly tough to deal with even on the meds. I wish people wouldn't judge others who genuinely benefit from the use of antidepressents...back in the day people like us were locked up, given shock treatment or worse. On top of it all I have diabetes. If I was off my meds I would have suicidal thoughts, incredible anger, incredible sadness. It sucks. I got enough to deal with the diabetes.

[anneboleyn]

129. Judging others for illnesses is absolutely NOT progressive. You are very correct to say this. And I

am very glad that you are receiving treatment that is helping. I also suffer from an anxiety disorder and it can be truly crippling. Best wishes too for your first year at university. I found the liberation of an academic setting to be wonderful -- a lot of work and stress, but a lot of wonderful opportunities as well.

[blue neen]

134. I use the Emsam patch. It has saved my life.

I got depression at age 27, post partum after my son was born. The hormone changes caused the chemical balance...and it got even worse after a second pregnancy at age 34--it was at that point that NOTHING would work.

I was so desperate at times that I begged my doctor for ECT, but he refused. Thank God, we finally found a medication that worked for me.

They are now finding that some people have different chemical reasons for their depression or anxiety. It can be caused by low serotonin, low norepinephrine, low dopamine, or a combination of all three. It is also an inherited disorder.

Don't pay attention to people who judge you if you have to take medication. They don't judge others who take statins for high cholesterol which can also be an inherited condition, or blood pressure medications for hypertension, which my husband's genes gave him at age 30.

Thank you for posting and good luck.

[Strong Atheist]

136. Agreed. I teach special ed. so I see a lot of this. Medications can help. nt.

[Clear Blue Sky]

138. Well said.

Diabetes is a chemical imbalance, as is thyroid disease, parkinson's disease, etc. The stigma toward chemical imbalances causing mental illness is unfair.

[Withywindle]

141. Thank you so much for posting this here.

:hi: I take Zoloft. It doesn't get me high. It doesn't numb me out. It doesn't blind me to reality. Nobody's getting rich off it; I buy the generic. My shrink knows I don't have insurance that covers him or very much money - I only see him once a year or so, with the understanding that I can call any time if I have to.

It helps me get out of bed, get on with my life, experience the things I LIKE about myself as well as the things I don't. It helped me free my minute-by-minute thought processes from a Moebius strip of self-loathing and defeatist thinking and chronic, unshakable, unjustified sadness and self-pity and irrational fears.

I still have to struggle with depression and anxiety head-on sometimes - the patterns are still there. All the meds really do is give me a toolbox, and some intellectual distance to evaluate these thoughts and realize, "Oh, there's my disease again. I have to be careful now and not make decisions based on that." No one who hasn't been there can really understand what a difference that makes, and how that difference can save lives.

[Lancer]

162. Very well said.

n/t

[ShenandoahAspen]

142. I am on Zoloft, and I have to say...

It has saved my life. I was diagnosed with major depression and anxiety two years ago after hitting rock bottom, and I don't know where I'd be today if I weren't thinking anything. People who say mental illness is something that's "all in your head" and something you can control, make me sick.

[metapunditedgy]

145. I took zoloft for about a week. They prescribed it for some intestinal trouble that

may have been anxiety-related. I couldn't stand the zoloft; the side effects were very unpleasant.

I've had several people recommend anti-depressants to me, and I've known a few people (myself included) that had bad experiences with them.

Not sure what this means, but I just wanted to tell somebody. Best wishes to all.

[JerseygirlCT]

205. My GI guy said that

he's had many patients with Crohn's or other problems do very well on it. But my experience with Prozac was so bad that I'm not eager to try.

I'm on an old-fashioned tricyclic now to help with my migraines. (Very small dose). But it's also helping with my GI issues. The GI doc said they're learning now that problems with IBD are as much about spasming as inflammation. So I suppose, since it's helping with the headaches, and the gut, I have to deal with the weight gain... ugh. There's always a catch!

[BobTheSubgenius]

147. I don't know how many times I've had this conversation.

To their credit, most get it, and some even applaud the reasoning.

I couldn't possibly agree more. A well and happy life to you. :grouphug:

[Autonomy]

151. Have you heard of HSV? It might not be an imbalance...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highly_sensitive_person

If it seems like it applies, check the links to the source websites at the bottom.

(I score 26/26 on the self-test.)

[Mnemosyne]

154. Just wanted to

:hug:

[PatrynXX]

160. They yanked me off Zoloft in June, on Lexapro now

Not entirely sure how well they are working. Been depressed for years, but a disagreement with my dad sent me over the edge into severe depression and that causes all sorts of problems. You simply can't attack the problem logically.

Hell I had my dad thinking it's a joke and encouraged me to overdose on pills. Bleh not my sort of thing. Rather take a straight edge. But of course that primarily is stuck between a dog and a grandpa. And dad. unfortunately is a huge fan of Glenn Beck. Oh deer the world is coming to an end. Yeah having some fucking idiot yelling at me for voting for the anti christ wasn't all that mature. but oh well.

[info being]

161. This thread makes me want to take something

I went through depression when I worked in the cube farm for all those years. I recognized it was not me with the problem, but it was my environment. I could either cope, or change my life drastically. I chose the second option. It was the right choice for me.

[W_HAMILTON]

163. Yep.

I have anxiety issues, which really robbed me of almost 10 years of my life. It got so bad I went to see a psychologist; she helped some, but it just wasn't enough. She recommended me to a psychiatrist, and I was evaluated and given a prescription (for Luvox CR). It made me tired as hell, but almost immediately I noticed a difference. Before, it was like a runaway train when I started having an anxiety attack -- there was no way to stop it. Now, it just passes by, and I am able to live relatively normally.

I don't think badly about people seeking help. I myself thought there was no way that medicine could make me THINK differently. But it did. It really all is a chemical reaction as you said, and the medicine helps get things in order so you are able to live your life.

[Lerkfish]

164. having been unemployed since december, I've had serious bouts with depression

and a simple suggestion from a friend: St. John's Wort, sometimes helps me.

Whatever helps, I say.

[TZ]

175. As long as it doesn't hurt you. However..

St. John's Wort is proven to be no better than a placebo..
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/431386
Also it has potentially lethal interactions with other drugs. So no. St. Johns Wort will not help and in fact can hurt.

[Lerkfish]

177. link only works if you're signed up.

but thanks for the hint. I"ll do some research on my own

[haele]

222. Difference between severe environmental-based depression and chronic -

IME, and from what I have read from European sources, St. John's Wort that has been standardized works for people - without hay-fever or are allergic to ragweed - who are not suffering from chronic chemical-imbalance based depression. For people who need their Wellbutrin, Lexipro, Celexia, Zoloft, etc, it doesn't work any better than a placebo.

It's a low-level SSRI, similar to B12 or dietary/exercise treatment. Which is good for the average person, but not for someone who is chronically depressed.

Which is also true for most other herbal supplements. They're good for the otherwise normal person who is going through a tough time. However, if there's a serious or chronic condition, sometimes it is only the pharma that can get you functional again.
Because of my sensitivities to chemicals, I've examined the cases and protocol for natural medicines and procedures - and have used some to good advantage for me.
For my husband, who has clinical mental and immune system issues, and his daughter, who has many similar problems, I wouldn't dream of replacing their prescribed medicines with what I take for most of my problems. We've had to "stop-gap" treat both of them for some emergencies - no more than overnight - with the natural supplementals I have on hand for me, but most of the time, they wouldn't come close to actually stabilizing the situation, they would just make it a bit more bearable until we could get to a clinic or doctor.

In the past, Asthmatics, Diabetics, people with immune system, chronic, hormonal or mental conditions died young on a regular basis, even with good quality "granny medicine" and other folk wisdom to treat them, my G-G-Grandmother was a successful midwife with apparently some talent in common-sense diagnosis and the pharmacology of the day; even so her diaries and registers show a large percentage of her normal clientele - at least 10% - that were just too far off the norm to treat with common sense and natural medication.

It's easy to say you just need to eat right, have the right attitude, and exercise, and you'll be okay for the most part - if your body developed within a normal functional range. But if you or someone you know is in the 10 - 15% that is out of the normal functional range, it's not so easy to overcome a problem. It's like expecting a one-legged man to complete a .5K marathon at the same time the average person can without any assistance - no prosthesis, no crutches, no cane, no wheel-chair, no helper. "Just keep hopping, you can do it..."

Haele

[valerief]

165. When I was a young adult, I wish it was part of the working class culture

I lived in to take happy pills. Of course, I don't know what existed back then (sixties). I went through several years of anxiety (panic talking to people I didn't know). It finally went away. Don't know how. It just did.

[TZ]

169. I take Lexapro

Does wonders for my anxiety. Thank you for this thread..:hug:

[spiritual_gunfighter]

174. I havent run into these people on DU that judge people for taking psych drugs

but if they are here they are completely ignorant. I suffer from bipolar disorder and if it wasn't for psychotropic medication I would probably be in an institution somewhere. They saved my life and I am so thankful they exist.

[Skittles]

176. people who don't understand anxiety and depression

I tell them, thank your lucky stars - now shut the fuck up. I don't take any medications but I've seen what depression did to my family members, including my dad who took his life at age 50.

[tridim]

179. I smoke pot for stress relief, and I'm labeled a criminal.

I'm no different than a rapist or a murderer in some minds.

That doesn't feel good either.

[Echo In Light]

184. Same here ... although I tend to have fun with others' narrow perceptions of it

I'm someone who, just to look at me, most would likely, and correctly, figure out that I like to get high.

[haele]

180. 70 years ago, in my Father's family -

-six out of the ten cousins in his generation ended up with either severe depression (four)or schitzophrenia (two). Out of the six, one was treated with electroshock therapy for what would now be ADD and Depression, my uncle (his brother) was first treated with LSD, then with Lithium for his schitzophrenia - both were marginally functional all their lives. The girl with electroshock therapy ended up a successful airline stewardess, my uncle ended up in the system, but both were still alive into their 60's.
Four other cousins remained untreated and ended up dying young - in their late 20's/early 30's of either substance abuse or suicide.

And that was the state of mental health care before the 1960's. Back then, every family seemed to have "the slow kid" that stayed at home for their entire life with the folks, the loser who just couldn't seem to catch a break because of his or her schemes to make things perfect ended up with it all falling apart, or the black sheep that self-medicated him or herself to an early death. Mental illness was just as common then as is is now. It's just more recognized as an illness, rather than a sinful habit.

Yes, there are people who over-prescribe their kids through their own poor parenting models. But there are just as many people who need the medication to have some sort of functional, happy life that doesn't lurch from one crisis to the next.

Haele

[earcandle]

181. If you are mentally ill and need drugs that is your lot in life. The people who

prefer not to take those pharmaceuticals are probably
healthier because those pharms are harmful in more ways than
one.

But if you are happier with them, have the insurance to buy
them, and won't hurt others to get your hands on them, then
hey, go to.  There is no debate about the choices one makes
for him/herself and their own medical care.  

But there is strong debate about alternatives that get us out
of the disease industry's hold on the minds and bodies of
America. 
And I think that is healthy debate.  

So, chin up. Your independence to take or not to take is the
American way.  Your independence to have a contrary point of
view does not have to resolve to an adolescent whiny or
hateful message because you need to be right or need to defend
something no one is taking away from you to begin with.  

Get happy!  Why not!  Enjoy and relax.  Don't confront the you
that can stand up against an idea that you are not good enough
and need pills to make it.  It certainly is easier.  And if
you have the bucks to buy that smokescreen, and remove the
pain that can heal you, then live with the character you are
left with and learn to empathize with those in the same boat. 
I wouldn't flaunt your right to stay on happy pills while the
rest of us have to struggle with reality though.  Relax.  Sit
back.  Do some art.  

IMNSHO.

[Scarsdale Vibe]

206. Incredibly condescending and amazingly stupid.

You decry whiny and hateful messages and then proceed to belittle anyone that takes anti-depressants as weak and morally inferior for not "struggling with reality". You dismiss the entire concept of mental illness in your last paragraph and suggest people are just giving in to the "idea that you are not good enough and need pills to make it". You are ignorant and callous (from a position of perceived self-enlightenment), a combination quite often seen in anti-science New Age loonies. I suggest you look in the mirror and reconsider whether you actually live up to the standards you've set for yourself, because your post was full of spite and condescension and your inability to recognize that is disturbing.

IMNSHO

[earcandle]

232. THere you go, whiny and hateful speech when someone expresses their own point of view. Hey, that

is the beauty of being an American, huh?  

[TrogL]

208. Oh, isn't that just cunning

"pharms are harmful" - taken right out of the mouth of homeopathic quacks

"strong debate about alternatives" - the same weasel wording used by creationists

"Get happy!" -oh puhleez

"Don't confront the you that can stand up against an idea ... buy that smokescreen, and remove the pain that can heal you" - so you want me to use good old-fashioned Nietzschian will to override my brain's inability to process certain chemicals. Reminds me of some of the anti-AA folk.

[SeattleGirl]

224. Chin up???? Really??? Would that be your advice to a diabetic,

that they just get their chin up, and all will be fine, fuck the insulin?

Would that be your advice to someone with a seizure disorder who needs meds to prevent the seizures? Chin up, and it'll be just dandy. Oh, and hope you don't crack your skull open with the next seizure.

Attitudes like yours show me just how little you understand about even the most basic of brain function and brain chemistry. I don't take the meds I take to get high (they don't work that way) or to be "cool" (frankly, I wish I didn't have to take them, but since I like to function and actually get things done in my life, I do), and they are not a luxury to me. They are lifesaving.

If you can't wrap your pea-sized brain around that, then please go crawl back under the rock you came from and keep your judgements to yourself.

[earcandle]

233. Try to stay on topic. We are talking about "Happy Pills" and perceived mental illness, yes?

[LeftishBrit]

226. That's a rather long-winded way of saying 'Let then eat cake'

Would you take a similar attitude to those who need antibiotics or insulin?

[LeftishBrit]

227. That's a rather long-winded way of saying 'Let then eat cake'

Would you take a similar attitude to those who need antibiotics or insulin?

[earcandle]

235. Of course not. You people are looking to pick a fight. I am just stating my pov on it,

having had a brilliant and vivacious Mother who was
incapacitated by lithium after being advised to have all of
her female parts removed in a hysterectomy that had the effect
of making her chemically imbalanced.  She suffered greatly.

But in an act of rebellion, she stopped taking those one day
and stopped being a robot and to everyone's surprise put
herself in a cab when no one was looking and took herself to
the hairdresser, called me up and actually started a
conversation that brought me to tears because it was like I
had my Mom back for a couple of days.

But my brother, who was caring for her in his home, was
frightened that she would hurt herself and forced her back on
the drugs, and she didn't last much longer. What a terrible
thing to do to someone. 

So we all react to the circumstances in our lives, and this is
my reaction to psych meds.  I hate what medicine and misogyny
did to my Mother.  And I steer clear.  And I feel like a lot
of people take these Happy Pills, not lithium, to side-step
really important but difficult issues that need to get
resolved to have a whole life.  But hey, if you got the
insurance to pay for happy pills and a doctor to write the
script,its one way of dropping out and not taking
responsibility for those around you that could use your help. 


I also was fortunate enough to grow up in an age where talking
therapies were paid for by insurance.  In the eighties it was
decided that they would only pay for meds, so we have been
groomed to think that is the only way to deal with difficult
emotional issues. Having a trusted family member, or friend,
or partner who can listen and give feedback can go a long way
to relieving anxiety about things we all feel because the
world is quite fucked up at the moment.  There ARE huge issues
that must be dealt with: food issues, energy issues, education
issues, work issues, health issues.  If we get single payer,
then those who need will have.  And maybe that can be the
breakthrough we need to wean people off debilitating drugs and
bring them back into a society that cares about its folks. 

[Hell Hath No Fury]

242. Uh, I spent YEARS ---

going your route - meditation, yoga, herbs, acupunture, healing, soul retrieval, breathwork, hypotherapy, vitamins -- the whole lot.

Some of it worked for me, some of it didn't.

When I got hit with my first suicidal depression and tried to manage it the way I had in the past, it almost ended with me wanting to jump out a window.

24 hours on Celexa had me feeling more normal that 10 years on your route.

I'll stick with Celexa.

[Gman2]

185. Still, be extremely careful, I almost murdered a whole Baja Fresh full

on prozac. I was hit and run, and would never work again, or do anything else, until I had an operation. About 2 weeks in, I went to a baja fresh, and was so irritated, that I truly contemplated killing them all with my bare hands. I spent the next two weeks camped at the beach, meditating, and reading Depak Chopra. Were I not a christian, I would have done all of them. These drugs were not given true trials. On humans. Children. They are so lucrative, that if theere were a problem, they would not admit it, as the alternative, is a lot of expensive therapy.

PS, had to go cold turkey, NOT RECOMMENDED. Thought I would never come back. EVER!

[hedgehog]

186. When I hear "happy pills", I think of valium and others like it that

sedate the person and make them numb to reality. In my experience, anti-depressants replace what is missing and bring a person back to reality. They don't make a person happy, they allow a person to feel happy if that is the appropriate response. They also allow a person to feel sad when conditions warrant.

If an antidepressant makes you numb, you're on the wrong medication or maybe you shouldn't be on medication. Sometimes it's hard to separate clinical depression from existential angst since we use the same vocabulary to describe both.

[Deep13]

187. What? That's insane!

:sarcasm:

Paxil for depression/anxiety and trazadone (sp?) to let me sleep. I find they are not happy pills so much as non-misery pills. And I'll never go back to the way I was before.

One the other hand, people who use eyeglasses are morally weak and lack the will power to focus by themselves. :sarcasm:

[shadowknows69]

188. Very courageous of you to share your story. Kudos.

I would never berate someone who says that psychotropic meds have helped them. Personally I've had bad experiences with the SSRIs and anti-psychotics I've been tried on so far. Not ruling out others in the future, but I can't afford a regular scrip of anything expensive right now so I had my doctor drop me back to just my xanax for my anxiety, which works fairly well with the depression and onset of panic/psychotic episodes too. Therapy really works for me pretty well and I've found a good one (i think) so I just hope I can afford to stay with her. We've decided we'll consult with my primary on some meds when I can conceivably afford to find the one that works for me. Best of luck in your struggles.
-S

[SeattleGirl]

190. I am also on "happy pills"

Anti-depressants for nearly 20 years, and an anxiety med for almost 10 years.

Like you, I would get very anxious in some situations, and sometimes have panic attacks just out of the blue. When I started taking the anxiety meds, it made such a difference for me. Same with the anti-depressant.

People who would judge me for this are people who have no understanding of even simple brain chemistry, have no compassion, or both.

[BonnieJW]

193. Why would anyone judge someone regarding their meds?

I have three daughters and all three suffer from clinical depression. The oldest is bi-polar. They are wonderful women who happen to take medication for chronic conditions. Certainly no less serious than diabetes?

My youngest has chosen to use supplements rather than prescription drugs to treat her depression since she does not have health insurance. She is succeeding and controls her condition with fish oil and B vitamins.

[lib_wit_it]

219. where I do tend to be anti-meds. I think that if one's condition responds to those supp

supplements, it's a healthier path to wellness. I think diet, in general, can have a powerful affect on many cases of mental illness. But I don't tell people they shouldn't take the meds. I take the meds, but I'm not sure they are any more helpful than the supplement/diet treatment, just easier to stick to.

[earcandle]

237. Good for her!

[nolabear]

197. I'm a therapist, and most of my colleagues agree

that the need for and efficacy of psychotropic drugs is as varied as the people who come through our door. I have referred many people to prescribers (I don't prescribe) because they need to have the chemical imbalance dealt with. Otherwise therapy is a frustrating attempt to overcome the terrible weight of a debilitating disease that just results in added guilt, anger and the conviction that nothing can ever help.

But as therapists, we deal with the realities of life. Some people are in just godawful situations and giving them antidepressants rather than helping them change their circumstances is ill-advised at best. Giving a child who is boisterous and inquisitive and loud an ADHD med rather than finding a way to create an atmosphere in home and school that supports that wonderful, troublesome nature is a tragedy. Giving a child who can't focus, fails to thrive in life, and whose impulses are potentially harmful something like ritalin or strattera is a godsend for that child. In general the selective use of antidepressants, anti-anxiety meds, antipsychotics, etc. allows people who would not be able to benefit from therapy the ability to do so. Once we can stabilize the chemical issues, then we can work on situational and personality problems. The trouble comes when we try to do any kind of one-size-fits-all intervention.

Some of the most remarkable, courageous and fascinating people who have come through my door have been able to reach their marvelous potential with the help of drugs. Some don't want them, or choose to work without them. I, and most (not all) of the people I know who share this profession let the patient be the guide whenever possible.

[Klukie]

211. I want you for my therapist!

case by case basis is exactly right....as it it is with most things. Everyone is unique and needs to be treated as such. Thanks for the post.

[nolabear]

234. You're welcome. Btw I agree that everything is chemical.

We don't like to admit it sometimes because we get attached to the idea that "soul" and "mind" are separate from bodies--old Cartesian thinking. I am in constant awe of the mind, but whether the bad things that go on in it are the result of chemicals like cortisol that get going because of trauma of some kind (and you can get a pretty good idea how the mind will be affected by trauma by where on the developmental continuum it occurs--though that's simplistic) or by the way it's naturally wired. No matter what we are and how we are, the way it happens is by brain chemistry.

And now that I've gotten off my soapbox, it was very nice of you to reply. Thanks. I'm being flushed with endorphins as we speak (vbg).

[NashVegas]

215. Wonderful Post

Thanks for adding to the discussion.

FWIW, I've rarely seen any kind of judging of anti-depressant or other chemical users on DU; we reserve more than a little measure of scorn, though, for advertising pharms that play on fears and anxieties.

[nolabear]

236. I know. It's a difficult line between help and avarice.

I've seen the discussions here pro and con for pharmaceuticals.

As I write, literally, an ad is running saying, in efect, "Write the state senators and tell them how wonderful their support of 'biomedical research' is, how it's improved lives, provided jobs, made this a better world. No problem; I'm all for it. But they never mention that the ad is from the pharmaceutical companies until the little banner at the bottom admits it. I do wish they'd be up front about it.

[earcandle]

239. Sounds right to me. I second that emotion.

[varelse]

198. I wish they'd been prescribed for me (or even existed)

I might have finished college.

edited for spelling - it's a little late for me to not be awake yet :silly:

[Politicub]

199. Lamictal is a miracle drug

as far as I'm concerned. I had tried a pharmacy's worth of anti-depressants and anti-anxiety meds, but finally my psychiatrist prescribed Lamictal. I tend to be more hypo manic rather than highly manic, but I was crippled with depression.

And my whole life has been better since I've started taking Lamictal. I woke up from years of depression, and learned how it feels to enjoy life once again. I had forgotten what it feels like to be comfortable in my own skin, and it's an amazing feeling.

If anyone out there has a mood disorder, don't give up. There's likely a medication out there for you or some kind of therapy that you'll respond to that will help you. The biggest barrier I needed to overcome was the malaise about working deliberately with my doctor to find the right medication. I'm so happy that I did.

And the ramp up isn't so bad. After the first few days I started feeling better than I had in years. And being engaged with life has only made things better ever since. Taking the low dose of Lamictal while I amped down my Lexapro greatly lessened the side effects that people can feel getting off Lexapro (the "brain vibrations," etc).

[JerseygirlCT]

200. The analogy a doctor used with me

if you were diabetic and needed insulin, would anyone give that a second thought?

Personally, the SRRI I tried was awful for me. I've been better with occasional meds as the situation warrants. But I know so many people who have simply been helped to be themselves again.

Judging that is just plain weird.

[onehandle]

203. I don't berate others for being religious or in a religion unlike many at DU.

I'm not religious, but if it makes them happier in life, then so be it.

I do what my doctor says and don't judge others for what helps them.

Whatever makes you happier and healthier. Do it.

[earcandle]

240. This is exactly what I said in my post, but it was taken so out of context by those too defensive

to hear me.  Go to, if it floats your boat. 
Just not good if most of my generation are this isolated
when we need their help to change the world.

Well... I find myself contemplating if any of this really
helps to change the world.
It certainly is moving slow.  

[grahamhgreen]

204. Natural alternatives - these work for me! 5-htp or tryptophan,

Also try

St johns Wart,
holy Basil
lecithin
tyrosine

and don't forget your fish oil!

SSRI's should be the last line of defense after natural alternatives fail.

[earcandle]

241. I Like the way you think! Thanks for the referrals.

[Fleshdancer]

210. I wouldn't wish anxiety disorders on anyone

My best friend suffered for years before he finally got the help he needed for it. The way he described his panic attacks still gives me chills...the first few times he got them, he went to the hospital thinking he was having a heart attack. His disorder got so bad that he ended up with full blown agoraphobia and rarely left his house. I researched his symptoms for days and then I fought like hell to get him into the doctor's office. This was one of the best things I've ever done because I truly believe he would have become suicidal if left untreated. He had no quality of life back then.

He left for his first trip to Europe last April and the little shit isn't back yet and I miss him. He's trying to get a work visa in Denmark now because he loves it there so much. He's a completely different person than he was just a few years ago and I'm proud of him. What people tend to forget is that it takes a great amount of strength and courage to seek help when you need it most.

[808]

213. I took Lexipro - it was a period of relative peace in my life

All of my relationships improved and I started making progress with my work. I have had a lifelong struggle with depression and anxiety, and it wasn't until my late 30s (can you believe it) that I finally figured it out - it's a never ending, low-level grinding sense of anxiety and aggravation and melancholy - a very weird combination, and for so many years I thought it was some kind of badge of honor to have such a different view of the world - even though I was just using that as a way to compensate for the extreme alienation and frustration I felt. At times the level of anxiety and frustration would go way up, and I would be walking around, basically, feeling completely stricken.

No health insurance here. Went to the community health clinic, got diagnosed with Anxiety Disorder, and they said 'here are the pills.' Very little follow up, and when I made the decision to go off (I'd gained 30 or so lbs) the Nurse Practitioner said, 'it can be difficult' going off it. It took about a month of stressful, weird days, some ok, some not-so-much.

Still, when I think of how stressful my life has been and how some of my primary relationships have suffered, since quitting Lexipro, I have to ask myself if it's not time to revisit this whole issue.

THANK YOU FOR MAKING ME THINK ABOUT THIS AND SHARING YOUR STORY.

[earcandle]

243. The world is full of anxiety and frustration. It isn't you. It is run off. Congrats on getting

off the drugs and hope you find an alternative to addressing
what we are all mediated to experience (propagandized media,
media messages that cause fear and loathing on a daily basis,
school messages that are turning our kids into policed drones,
health problems and death caused by the industries paid to
protect us) so many things to worry about.  Not to mention, no
work, no money, no food.  

Easier to give in and give up than hold onto your spirit and
recognize that the ability to deal with ambiguity is a sign of
mental health. We are not in control to fix the media and the
services that government are supposed to provide to keep us
safe and confident, but we are in control of how our bodies
and brains work with information and natural resources that
can help us bypass those things that are out to harm us when
we pay attention rather than surrender to our most vulnerable
anxieties.    

I am shocked that people would trade bleeding stomachs for the
peace of mind imagined in the story lines of commercials?  Why
can't people take a walk?  Have a conversation?  Tell the
truth and get past it, whatever the issue?  Admit defeat and
start another path?  Love oneself enough to take care and pay
attention to what is happening? Learn how to protect oneself
from the onslaught of a mass media that would like us to hate
each other rather than get along?  That causes a lot of
anxiety, especially in women.  

[VOX]

214. I too battled a crippling anxiety disorder from age 12 onward. SSRIs saved my life.

With each runaway gallop of endogenous anxiety (gagging, choking, dizziness, sight/hearing/smell senses on overload, sleeplessness, tremor, exhaustion) the disorder slowly took over my life, spreading out like the contents of a can of oil dropped on a hard floor. By the time I was in my 20s and 30s, **everything** I did was dictated by the limitations imposed by the anxiety -- sitting near the door when attending classesor a meeting, and so on. During one particularly bad phase, where this stuff was all firing off daily (and nocturnally), I was completely immobilized.

SSRIs changed my entire life for the decidedly better-- it was as if the charging anxiety had been simply turned off at its spigot.

[earcandle]

244. Feelings of anxiety are a call to take care and pay attention.

How we interpret our ability to deal with anxiety and what we
are willing to stand for has a lot to do with what kind of
chemicals are released from the brain that generated energy in
the body. 

It is scary to stand in front of others and perform, or speak
your mind, or take a opposite point of view, but to feel like
you have to turn on your own body and mind to avoid the
courage to move through the anxiety is terrifying.

But perhaps doing the opposite of what you fear (ie: fear of
performance-) to actually get on a stage and process that fear
to get beyond it, causes a different kind of chemical reaction
in the brain, a release of endorphins (that faith producing
hormone) that invokes joy on the other side of the originating
fear. 

Whereas contracting with the fear, and not even imagining
doing the opposite, but being thrown down the path that the
frightening thoughts and body reactions from those thoughts,
is taking me, will cause yet another, entirely different
chemical reaction in my brain, one more primal and one that
may scare the fuck out of me enough to make me want to take a
psych med and then justify it.  

Would you consider that biology and physics in one's body and
mind follow the path of the spirit and its willingness to
make meaning to find cause in one's own behalf?  

[Captain Hilts]

217. Winston Churchill, Theodore Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt probably should have taken them.

You're in fine company.

[lib_wit_it]

218. I's like to defend Happy Pills. If they existed, and were safe, I can't see any reason in the world

not to make them freely available.

I also agree with the OP. I'm still working on finding the right cocktail for my Depression/Bipolar. People are still living in the dark ages when it comes to acceptance and understanding of mental illness.

[lightningandsnow]

220. Thank you all for your kind responses on this thread.

It means a lot. :grouphug:

[Ilsa]

228. You betcha! I also take

Lexapro, around 15mg a day for depression and some anxiety. I was "okay" throughout most of my life, and usually lots of exercise helped keep my mood up. But I'm older now and I think I finally crossed a threshold that exercise couldn't fix. I had lost twenty pounds and was exercising almost every day, but my depression was still present. Ten days on lexapro fixed it.

The bad news: I've tried to go off it, but can't. I decreased it from 20mg a day to about 15, but the world gets awfully mean and I tend to feel despondent if I try to go more than two days off the med.

[nolabear]

238. Doesn't it though! Positively therapeutic. Good folks. eom

[Liberation Angel]

229. Info re: "Happy Pills" Throid disorders and environmental causes of depression

in response to this OP I posted a new thread (actually by accident) on the subject of whether there are ways to get at the environmental causes of depression and other "mental illnesses" so that people CAN get off the SSRI's and other pharmaceuticals.

It is not a critique of this OP but meant to expand everyone's understanding of a subject close to me and my family:

..

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=6402485&mesg_id=6402485

Hypothyroid disorder caused by environmental trauma (toxins) can cause depression and can be treated AND can improve treatments for depression and resolve depression for many and other related problems such as anxiety disorder and OCD, bipolar disorder etc.

Useful info for everyone

[Lagomorph]

230. There are soooooo many people...

who are either on medications, or desperately need them, that I can only wonder if this society we have built is even suitable for human habitation.

The cities we live in were built to support the industrial era. We're post-industrial now so I'm not sure our cities, as they are, are even a good idea.

[TommyPaine]

231. No, it's not. It's barely suitable for the wealthy minority.

We're isolated, miserable, and living way beyond our means in both economic and environmental terms. The future of humanity looks much different—the disappearance of the suburbs, smaller, self-sustaining communities, more interaction and less depression and anxiety as a result. Unfortunately it may take a great calamity before society is reshaped in a more sensible way—something we’re likely experiencing the start of here in the early 21st century.

[earcandle]

245. Thank you! I am hoping we can get a grip and come back to health.

[deaniac21]

247. They screw up my sex life but other than that....got to have.