Meds or no meds?

Question

My husband and I are trying to decide if I ought to go to a doctor for my depression (where I'll likely get prescribed some anti-depressants). I've been depressed off and on for a few years, but it amplified when I got married 6 months ago. Now it's a constant that might have caused my problems with insomnia. I have gone to the doctor for insomnia, and I didn't respond well to the Ambien or to over-the-counter sleeping pills. Honestly, I'm afraid of taking more drugs. I want to believe my depression can go away without meds. However, both my sisters have been on anti-depressants. One suggests not to do it. The other insists I need them. I have been getting some counseling from my pastor. Any thoughts from your own experiences?

Answer 1

If you are suffering from a depletion of serotonin in your brain due to depression, your symptoms may continue to worsen until you use medication to balance yourself again. The medication can help you get balanced until you receive therapy.

Insomnia is one of the key symptoms of depression, and usually that your depression is worsening.

I took medication for several years while I saw a wonderful Christian therapist. It sounds like you are a Christian (since you said you spoke with your pastor) and if so, I would recommend finding a good Christian therapist who can help you walk through your emotions and conflicts. Most of the time depression is connected to deep-seated anger that hasn't been dealt with appropriately.

A lot of times women who have been sexually molested see a worsening of depressive symptoms at the time of their marriages. This was the first thing that popped into my intuition when I read this and is why I responded. While this may not be the case with you, if it is, I would even more urgently suggest medication followed by good therapy.

If for nothing else, you can try the medication for a short trial period (three months, maybe) and if you don't need it, it won't help and you can try something else.

You are not weak or unchristian if you take medication as a help to get you through until you are able to handle whatever soul wounds got you there in the first place. I took medications for years but am now not taking any and I'm doing well!

God's grace to you.

Answer 2

Well, only if you are very lucky will the depression go away on it's own. You will probably have to do something. Try exercise. It really works wonders for some people. The right kind of exercise program releases endorphins that are way better than any anti-depressant you will ever find. Exercise may be the last thing you feel like doing at those times, but forcing yourself into some activity instead of lying around really helps a lot.

Counseling is a good idea. You will know if it is working before too long. Is your pastor the best counselor specializing in depression? Maybe it would help to look at what your options are there.

I suppose anti-depressants are the only thing that work for some people. Some people don't notice any side effects at all, and I imagine the drugs must seem like little miracles to them. Others have some difficult side effects. Aggression, fogginess, weight gain, uncomfortable sensations like dry mouth or tics/tremors, feelings of addiction if you try to stop taking them, changes in your personality. Then, to deal with the side effects, sometimes the doctors will put you on a cocktail, adding an anti-anxiety pill for tremors, or a medication for headaches, or something for insomnia, etc. etc. etc. This, for people who hadn't really tried any of the other approaches first. With the side effects, there's no way to tell which camp you'll fall into until you start taking the meds, unfortunately, and then it is almost too late.

Worst-case scenario, if you suffered all the side-effects to a noticeable degree, would that still be better than the depression you are dealing with now? How bad is your depression? If you are feeling suicidal or if you're becoming abusive to your family or alcoholic or drug-dependent, you have no choice. You must take any treatment that works no matter what side effects you may have. If you're functioning . . . . you have to weigh your options. Is it worth it?

Answer 3

I'm afraid counseling from a pastor will hinder rather than help. If you feel counseling would be beneficial to you, get it from a *professional*. A clergyman can't be objective. His/her judgement is too clouded with religion, and will just add guilt on top of the issues you're already dealing with . Personally, I say screw counseling and/or therapy and get the meds. (I think counseling/therapy is b.s., but that is just my opinion. If you disagree, I totally respect your opinion.) It is very important to keep in mind that different meds affect people differently, and what works for one may not work for another. For example, someone mentioned that Cymbalta helped him (her?). I took this med for three months (you have to take any antidepressant a while to give it a fair chance), and was the most depressed, irritable, horrible b*tch ever!!! It actually made me worse! Prozac on the other hand has been a blessing, though someone else had said it was no good. And I have to disagree with the person who said antidepressants are not a "wonder drug", because, in my case I truly believe it is.

Answer 4

I suffered from clinical depression for many years before finally being diagnosed ten years ago. I've been on meds since and my life has changed so much! I can't begin to tell you the difference they have made, and I wouldn't go off them. I have been able to accomplish so much more than I ever thought possible and only wish I hadn't suffered for so long (anti-depressants, though, weren't available back then). What concerns me is when you say it's gotten worse since you were married. Try to figure out why that is. Depression can run in families: both my mom and her mom suffered from it and neither did much about it (in those days, one of the only alternatives was "shock" therapy which my grandmother did have).

Do try the meds. Counseling can only help so much (I know that from experience, too.) Depression can stem from a chemical imbalance in the brain and meds truly can be helpful!!

Good luck with this.

Answer 5

As Christians we would like to say we are happy all the time and don't need medications. We should be able to pray this away. That was my theory for a while. Depression does run in families, and admitting you have a chemical imbalance and need help doesn't mean you have less faith. Be honest with yourself. If talking isn't helping then try an antidepressant. I suggest Wellbutrin (no weight gain, no sexual side effects). It has worked well for me. Also, Prozac has been around forever and works well to, but you will most likely have the aforementioned problems. Good luck to you and keep talking to your Pastor and hang in there. You will make the right decision.

Answer 6

Try something natural , smoke weed. I'm not saying this as a joke either. I used to lay awake and worry about things , it used to take me 1-2 hours of laying in bed to finally fall asleep. Since I began toking before I go to bed , I haven't had any problems sleeping. Also marijuana isn't addictive , I can start it and stop it any time. It doesn't have with-drawls like cigs . It can make you a bit paranoid at first , the more you smoke , the more it just makes you giggly, hungry and sleepy. It can affect your memory but only in a mild way . Really they should just legalize it , it has great medicinal value and has less side effects than most prescription drugs.

I used to take prescription drugs for anxiety problems I had , I used to hyperventilate to the point where I would have the shakes, headaches , vomitting , and even convulsions. Sometimes my heart would just start pounding so fast , seemingly for no reason.I would hear voices that told me that they were going to hurt me. This all started when I was 8 years old during my parent's divorce.

At age 13 , I was having problems in school , and the panic attacks worsened. I start skipping school and my parents put me in an institution for a couple of months. In there I was taking like 5 different medications at one point . I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't move my arm. I was having a bad reaction to one of the medications it was making my jaw and leg twitch and move involuntarily.

At age 15 I took Paxil and Prozac. Paxil stopped the anxiety but caused me to gain weight. I went from 118lbs to 245lbs in a VERY shory period of time.I didn't even look like the same person. The weight gain caused strech marks, I had bone spurs in my ankels and my knees were destroyed . I still to this day have trouble with them. The only good thing is that when I stopped taking this medication I lost nearly all of the weight , after I weighed 130lbs. Everyone asked me how I lost the weight ,I gave them an honest answer I stopped taking Paxil.

I used to hear in the news about how people would take prozac and become homicidal , I believe it. When I took prozac I became angry and violent . I would hurl things at people. I would fight with my parents constantly.

Prescription meds are man made and far more dangerous than natural substances. Since I began toking , I haven't had ANY anxiety problems.

Answer 7

It really depends on how much the depression is interfering with your life and relationships. I put off going on meds for years, because my periods of depression were less frequent than periods without. What finally caused me to give in to my doctor's urging to try an anti-depressant was my growing tendency to take my frustration out on my kids. My verbal outbursts were getting worse, and I decided anything I could do was better than causing them permanent psychological damage. The medication (Effexor) helped, but as I was taking it I learned that it has serious withdrawal symptoms, which my doctor seems unaware of. I've weaned myself off slowly, against the doctor's less-informed directions. I'm seeing the irritability coming back, and may try something else.

Weigh your immediate need against your overall principles, and then do a lot of research on the drug you're considering. It sounds like you already know better than to be satisfied with any one source of information, whether your it's your doctor, your sister, or the internet. Good luck.

Answer 8

You really need to do what you think is going to benefit you in the long run. If you take meds, yes it's gonna get better faster than it would without them but if you do take them these are going to be pills you are going to come very dependant on. I chose to do it without meds because I just didn't want to go on them and then when I come off them feel horrible all over again. I am doing great these days I still have some bad days mixed with some good. But I also feel a big sence of accomplishment knowing that I chose which way I wanted to go and I didn't give up no matter how hard it got I stuck with it. Thats what was best for me. just consider all the options. If you go see a psychologist, they try to help you fight depression without meds, that will allow you to really get in touch with your self and know if you want to do it that way and if not that psychologist can figure out what kind would be good for who you are and get a psyciatrist to write a prescription. But if getting better needs to be done right away and you don't really have the time to wait than you know what your best bet would be. Good luck to you and way to go on getting yourself better :)

Answer 9

I am inclined to say visit your gp as you maybe suffering from ptsd rather than depression i can not diagnose as i am not a doctor but the fact all of your sisters have suffered depression could be to a traumatic childhood event being triggered as any major change in your life will retrigger anxiety or low mood. You need to be brutally honest with your gp as only he can diagnose you noone else is qualified to. Antidepressants are not wonder drugs but they do work extremely well if you take them and are honest with your gp if you feel they are not working then you need to try another one. I also recommend a referral to a counsellor who specialises in your problem or psychotherapy as this is extremely effective. Noone but you can go for help and it will only work if you are ready not by someone else forcing you to go as you just won't bother accepting treatment that is offered. Good luck i wish you all the best. Congratulations on your marriage.

Answer 10

You never know until you try meds. The doctor may have to change your prescription a few times to find something right for you. Everyone reacts different ways to different meds. I have fought depression off and on for years and tried a few meds that only made me more depressed. But I know people who are doing a lot better on them too. I'm finally over my depression now without meds, but it all depends on how bad it is and what may be causing it. I'm currently on Fluoxetine(Prozac)right now for anxiety and so far am feeling fine.