Dysthemia

[whereismike]

I was diagnosed with Dysthemia which is a mean depression since it has lingered for years.  I am on 150 mg of Wellbutrin and .25 mg of clonopen they weren't doing the job though it helping.  My doctor put wants to put me on Celexa and eventually raise the dose.  Has anyone been on this combo and how did it work for you?  Has anyone dealt with Dysthemia and were you able to get relief?

[serinitynow1]

Hi whereismike,

I have been diagnosed with the same thing. My doctor described my case as depression, although generally not severe, has been with me through out most of my adult life.  
Started out with Prozac back in 1994 and it worked wonders for me.  Got of it  because I thought I could "do it on my own" but after a couple years of suffering went on the generic version of Prozac and that didn't really work for me.  Finally got on Paxil, which worked, but was hell getting off!!!  Doctor is going to put me back on brand name Prozac to see if it can work for me like it did 15 years ago.  I'm also going to be on a low dose of Remeron to help me get through the adjustment stage of Prozac be introduced to my body.  Also Remeron helped finally get me off of Paxil.  Hope this helps

[whodunnit]

Hi there,

Dythsmia is simply a low grade, long term depression. Underlying depression that most of us don't really recognise as depression and tend to assume everyone feels like you do. So often it is neither diagnosed nor treated as it tends to not be severe enough to cause people to be suicidal, desperate and all the other horrible things you feel when a deeper depression hits you.

It is though no less dangerous as it has us at a low ebb constantly, always feeling "off", not right and ready to expect the worst from everything. The step from Dythsmia to deeper depression isn't a big one and one negative life event can make the difference. Such as a relationship breakdown, loss of a loved one, loss of work and so on.

I had it for probably 20 years and knew there was something wrong but had no idea what it was so didn't seek medical help. If I had it may have saved me decades of pain.

Today it seems like something I would prefer to what I have but that's not a choice I can make.

The way to resolve it is therapy. Talk therapy and CBT. Learn what caused the problem for you and resolve that issue or issues. Don't expect meds to fix it, they won't. Ever. They will relieve symptoms and make you think it's OK but once you stop the meds or change the issues that caused the problem will still be there and will resurrect.

So use the time that your D is milder and do as much therapy as needed to find the causes and fix the problem(S). Please. Don't waste more of your life like I did from sheer obstnance and ignorance.

[serinitynow1]

That's spot on whodunnit.  I failed to mention in my previous post that talk therapy is very important.  Meds cure the symptoms but not the underlying problem.