Antidepressants

I'm interested to know as well.

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Wellbutrin is also used for SAD and Depression, but it caused me to gain a lot of weight.

I'm a prozac child myself, depression and ocd i guess it's also suppose to help with my anxiety. I tried anxiety meds once but it coincided with a nasty panick attack that ended up in the aemergency room. It was probably coincidence but we stayed way.
mtvmann, are you seeing a psychiatrist or therapist? If so, talk to them about how you're feeling and see if they can help. If you're not, try to look into seeing someone.

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MTVMANN, I second bme and babygiraffe - talk to a psychiatrist or therapist first. A lot of people hope that medication can solve their problems without talking it out with a shrink first. We live in such an over-medicated society - You don't know yet if you do have a chemical imbalance that's causing your emotions (I think the chemical is serotonin?), but please try to talk out your issues with a shrink first, and if that doesn't work then consider talking to a doctor.



ETA - Just saw your post. Good idea. Hope it works out!

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Updated On: 4/12/05 at 06:51 PM

Exactly, Ma.

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MTV - A regular doctor can prescribe antidepressants. But Social Anxiety Disorder is a harder problem to deal with than depression and does not respond well to drugs alone. If you visit the Social Anxiety Disorder websites, they have a lot of info about the current therapies including bio-feedback. Sometimes it helps to start on the meds first (at least 6 weeks) because it "takes the edge off" your moods which can trigger negative thinking patterns that repeat themselves in SAD.

SAD can be very crippling and can worse with age. I know. Treating it now can break up the thought patterns that get so easily ingrained with time. Good luck.

MikeH, I've read about many cases that are similar to your acquaintance/friend. It seems as if that happens when the patients on the meds don't actually have the chemical problems and the meds work in the opposite way than expected.

As the daughter of a dysthymia sufferer, you have my full sympathy. You should ALWAYS start with therapy first before trying medications--sometimes it's all that's needed. Unless there's a biological reason for your unhappiness, medication won't help. And depression, as it is defined, it a consistant feeling of unhappiness for two weeks or more. If you're on more of an on and off feeling of depression, it may not be biological. In any case, I'd definitely recommend starting with therapy first and seeing how that works out before considering medication. And if you're not feeling comfortable/happy with your therapist, find another one. It's all about fit. I've seen medication do wonderful things for some people, but it's not all for everyone.

Updated On: 4/12/05 at 08:37 PM

Also, when picking a therapist, find the right one. It took me a few tries to find one that I responded well to. But if you don't trust your therapist and are not open with him/her, it won't do you any good.

Not always true. I don't have the low low medical-diagnosable lows anymore, but I do have the high highs. Some medications make you numb (eg, watch Garden State) but some don't. Finding the right one is the key.

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I can't respond specifically to SAD, but between knowing a lot of psych, and my own experience, I'll share what I know. I recently had a very huge anxiety attack to the point where I had to be taken out of the anxious situation and then I the anxiety turned to depression. I was first put on klonopin(sp) just because the extremity of the anxiety, that's only to be used in such cases, it can be addicting. Then I was started on lexipro, which took a little while to kick in. Actually, experiences, it takes much more than 2 weeks for most meds to work. I think mine might have taken 6 weeks to months before I started feeling a difference, sometimes it can take 3 months. Lexipro is more for anxiety, side effects it's had on me included increasing tiredness and that seriously increased my appetite. It mainly increases seratonin, the neurotransmitter which controls mood/emotions and dreams...my dreams actually have been more vivid as a result too.

Between the weight and tiredness, my psychiatrist added wellbutrin to the equation and I think with time she wants me to go more ot that than the lexipro. Wellbutrin is supposed to increase more dopamine, which relates to learning and energy and increases norephephrane which well controls mainly arousal, my psychiatrsit made a joke b/c I had just studied all the neurotransmitters yes people like this one becuase it makes sex more enjoyable. Haha. So it's giving me more energy, and I was told it's supposed to make my appetite less, that's odd that it increased yours, Ma.

In terms of getting help for it...I too would recommend finding a good therapist, and it could take time, you wanna find one you're comfortable with. I've seen two years ago, and neither was particularly helpful, one I actually disliked. Now I have a really good one, she's worked with people like me a lot and she loves Broadway and the Yankees so sometimes I'll spend half the sessions talking about Broadway with her, it just makes me happy and more comfortable. Once you find a therapist, usually they're associated with a psychiatrist. The psychiatrist controls your medication. What would then happen is you'd see the psychiatrist once a month, talk mroe about medication but also how you are, and you see the therapist once a week. Again, you may find medication is unnecessary from the therapy. Good luck!

And anyone can PM me any questions they have, I won't be seeing my psychiatrist for like another 6 weeks, but I can totally write down the questions and be sure to ask her if anyone would like.

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MTVMANN is obviously crazy. He comes to a theater message board for advice about antidepressants? Oy.

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