feel really depressed

[clpa07]

Well, again I'm depressed. This time I'm very apathetic and don't see any real purpose to it anymore. I mean maybe venting here is a good idea, I guess we'll see. So I completely lost all ambition to do anything. I recently became ill for 4 months and i don't see how i can possible get back to life; i really dont have a desire too. I am also a nervous wreck, I don't believe that medication will do anything except suppress my reality. Anyone have experience with this and medications that can help me? I'm willing to give them a try, how long to they take to see improvement. thanks

[clpa07]

ok, thanks that helped clear things up

[Hensley258]

The symptoms you described are the first symptoms I had prior to being diagnosed with Severe Depression back in 1994. I had a really bad Un-connected type feeling. Kind of like I was not in tune with my surroundings. It's hard to explaine. Feeling like this REALLY frightened me. I kept thinking, "OMG what if I am stuck like this forever!"

The first medication I tried was Zoloft (Sertrailine) which I took for about 4 years until I slowly began to build up a resistance to it. At that point I changed to Effexor, which worked for about 5 years before it too lost it's effectivness to control these symptoms.
Now I am on a Tri-cyclic antidepressant which eventually will probably lose it's effectiveness for me at some point.

Zoloft is a good place to start. It works well to make you feel normal again.

As for "do the meds I take now help? Absolutly. If not for medication I would fall right back into the same symptoms your experiencing right now.

As for "did I have a hard time concentrating?" Oh hell yes! At my worst before taking medication my level of concentration got so bad that I became completly non-functonal.
It got so bad that I could not even retain a simple thought.

And YES, my symptoms do return if I do not take my medication.
There is no cure for this type of Depression, only treatment. Sometimes if a persons depression is mild then they can be treated without medication.

Usually when someone is experiencing the kind of symptoms that you described, then the problem is of a more serious nature than just, "mild or moderate."

In which case Medication is almost always required. You could always first try some natural treatments first like, St. Johns Wort, SAMe, B complex and Omega 3, but most of the time these types of treatments are only successful for milder forms of depression.

Is it hard to get off these meds once you start? People talk about "withdrawl" but understand that this withdrawl they speak of is not like the kind of withdrawl that a heroin or Cocaine user experiences. It's not that kind of withdrawl. The withdrawl from stopping AD medication is very real, but it's not the same as that of a narcotics user.

I can stop taking my meds anytime, I will feel like **** and then my Depression and anxiety will slowly come back too. These meds don't cure anything. They control the disease, just the same as High Blood Pressure medicine controls hypertension. Once the high Blood pressure medication is stopped then the patients blood pressure will again rise. Same with Antidepressants.

Does Antidepressant medication make you feel "weird or un-natural?" No not at all. As a matter of fact my medication actually makes me feel normal. Just like I felt before the symptoms of my depression started.

For me my meds only made me feel like I felt before I ever had depression. No different.
My meds do not mask my emotions or change who I am at the core.
I still feel, anger, love, hate, joy, sadness, excitement, and all the normal emotions.
AD medication just helps to eliminate the symptoms that depression causes. It doesn't block your ability to feel normal emotion.

Will you get side effects from taking AD medication? Yes, you absolutly will. 90% of the time the side effects will fade with time, but not always. I get dry mouth, and constipation from mine, along with some sexual side effects that are not that bad now.
In my case the trade off is worth it. I will suffer ANY side effect not to feel the full force of my condition.

I just had to explain all that because there are so many misconceptions about AD medication. Most of these misconceptions are from people that shouldn't have been taking AD medication in the first place.

If one takes this kind of medication and is not really suffering from a depressed brain, then yes, they will most likly have a very bad experience. There are also some (very rare) severly depressed people that can not take AD medication because their system is highly Hypersensitive to it. When they take it they tend to get side effects far beyond what is normal.

Hope that clears some things up.

[clpa07]

yes, that is precisely how i feel. in a fog, something that doesnt seem to be right.

and when i participate in activity i mostly feel detached and unimportant.

o ok, i will ask about zoloft. I am supposed to see a psychologist tomorrow. Are the meds you take now help you? you still have hard time concentrating? and is it hard to get off these meds once you feel better? or do your symptoms return upon withdrawing from the SSRIs?

thanks

[Hensley258]

So are you also having symptoms that make you feel strange, kind of like your looking thru a fog?

Does your vision seem somehow skewed? by that I mean that you can see fine, but that your preception seems altered in a strage way? (it's hard to describe)

Do you have a strange sence in your head that something bad has happened, yet obviously nothing bad has really happened to justify this strange feeling?

Do you often have times where you are participating in an activity, but in your head you don't feel connected to the activity. Almost like you doing it, but not really involved in it?

You will notice that the only way I am able to describe the above so accuratly is because I have been there.

If you can say yes to all the above, then YES, an SSRI medication will absolutly help in a very big way. If these are some of your symptoms then SSRI's work very good for them. In my case after 6 weeks Zoloft completly eliminated the above symptoms and made me feel normal again. That was many years ago and I am on different meds now, but Zoloft is a good first choice for this.

[clpa07]

thanks. ive also been experience like depersonalization. i dont feel normal at all. have an extremely hard time concentrating.

and yes, i was on anxiety medication just for a brief period. i dont really experience anxiety as much anymore and dont really need the medication.

do SSRI help with concentration problems that you know of? i might get evaluated soon since this has been happening a while. thanks

[Hensley258]

Apathy alone would not necessarly constitute a diagnosis of clinical depression. In most cases depression will also produce a large host of other symptoms along with apathy.

If wanting to seperate yourself from social situations is out of the ordanary for you then I think it's cause for some concern.

You mentioned in your first post that you were also feeling unusually or overly Anxious?

You very well could be experiencing a clinical depression.

SSRI medications can often help a lot with Apathy. They can also work to lower your generlized level of anxiety.

I would get evaluated for sure. If an SSRI is suggested by the doctor then I would follow his advice.

[packrat1127]

I have been dealing with depression for many years and finally reached a point where I started cutting myself and thinking about suicide.  I confded in my husband and had his support to see a therapist and begin taking 60mg of Cybalta daily in the morning.  At night.  I take unisom to help me fall asleep at at it has been woking.   I stll take the cymbalta and am also taking benadryl at night to the affects it may cymbalta it gives me when I try and sleep.  I really need to go after  take 4-6 a day.

Hang in thee and, if you havre to the erge to have one try to eat a snack instead!

Gook Luck!!

[clpa07]

Hi, ive never been on any medications, just a little ativan for anxiety. Im experiencing apathy (not wanting to participate in anything), i do go out socially, i have no desire to. should i get evaluated? can they know for sure if its depression? thanks

[Hensley258]

Exactly what symptoms are you having?

I think before you consider medication it's important to be sure it is 100% nessasary.

[Artistguy]

Well,
have you taken medication in the past? I've been depressed most of my life, trying various medications along the way. I've had two major back surgeries in the past four years and live with chronic pain. Meds helpy pain greatly and I'm also on Cymbalto 60mg. for the depression. It's the one med that's worked for me with really no side effects. I have mood swings also so I just started lithium. The Cymbalta doesn't suppress my reality at all. I'm able to function and feel normal. I would say it took a good month or more to start working, but it's worth it. Everyone is different so you might have to try different meds to find the one that's right for you. i deal with great anxiety also and the combo of meds work very well. I also talk with a therapist which helps greatly. If your depression and anxiety interferes with your life i would say find a good doctor and give the meds a try. i wouldn't worry about your reality being suppressed, if anything it will make you function and feel better. Good luck. Let me know what you decide and how you are doing. Take care.