After a major life trauma in 1991, I suffered what was probably post-traumatic stress disorder. It was a VERY distressing time, but after a year of therapy, exercise, meditation, and a good diet, I was doing very well. However, after every major life change - moving, etc., I've gotten depressed/anxious again. I started paxil in 1993. It helped quite a lot. I tried to get off in 1996, but stayed off only about 4 months before getting back on.
I got off succesfully in 2001 for about two years until the birth of my daughter. I had a bad case of PPD, and started taking it again. I also took Klonopin on the rare occasion, but found that it helped tremendously when I did. AFter 8 months, I tried stopping the Paxil, but began to feel very depressed again. Because the paxil was causing sexual side-effects, my gynecologist and I decided to try Wellbutrin 300xl instead. Initially, it helped a great deal. We moved recently, and I started a new job, and the anxiety has been almost unbearable and I am depressed, too. What's worse is that I'm having a lot of difficulty sleeping.
I feel that I definitely need to get off of Wellbutrin because I think it's aggravating the sleeping problem and doing nothing for anxiety. I'm worried that continued use of any of these medications might be preventing my brain from ever being able to regulate my brain chemistry on its own and that the more I take them, the more likely it is that I'll never get off. I realize that these drugs are not "addictive" in the usual sense, but I wonder if dependency is likely. I'm strongly considering stopping all medication and working very hard to manage with exercise, diet, and meditation, maybe keeping some Klonopin on hand for the worst days. However, I think I may go through up to a year of depression before things get better. It's hard to be motivated to stick with these habits when I'm depressed, and I am worried about whether I can actually do it. I have recently read that some dietary supplements like magnesium and some amino acids can make a big difference. I have talked to many therapists over the years (only 1 in 5 has been helpful), but have never had an actual psychiatrist evaluate my drug treatment or consider my mental health history. I would like to do this, but can't seem to get an appt. directly with a psychiatrist. I don't have a regular dr. in town yet, and hate to pay for a visit just to get a referral, and I don't want to get one who will just change my meds. I don't really have any support in this except my mother who lives in another state. My husband is understanding, but not talkative.
So,
1) How possible is it that continued drug therapy will result on lifetime dependency?
2) Could Wellbutrin be contributing to my anxiety/insomnia?
3) What do you think of alternative treatments for depression as opposed to drug therapy? I'm pretty conservative about alternative medicine, but I'm open. How do a find a dr. open to this?