Ever had crisis with Major Depression? how long it lasted, after treatment with antidepressant?

Question

Have you ever had such crisis that you had to stay off the school or work due really bad depression? Once you started to take meds, how long it lasted till your bad symptoms disappeared? I try to be patient, but after a week of taking paxil - no change - still can't rest, eat, fall asleep without med, sleep well... get rid of negative thoughts, anxiety, How long does this hell usually take ? How long has it taken for you to feel better ?

Answer 1

Paxil worked for me in about 5 days if after a week or so it is still not helping you talk to your Dr. Not all meds work the same on different people. He may want to change the dose or the meds completly. Ask him about Paxil CR....works great for me.

Hang in there, life will get better & I wish you the best of luck

Answer 2

Depression and how each person copes with it is different. Some people recovery very quickly, and some never do. It is true, a person can die of a broken heart, which is a result from depression.

I had an life altering event 3 yrs ago when my wife died suddenly in her sleep. I spent nearly 3 months off work, and one week in a behavior correction facility at the local hospital. That is where I met my shrink and got on regular medication.

Today I am functioning as normal, but still have anxiety attacks. I am on Zoloft and transadone, and for anxiety attacks, I take Klopepien. I am told Zoloft will probably be required for the rest of my life because it replaces the chemical in my brain that I was not producing on my own.

It took several weeks after the hospital stay before I was some what normal. If you are not feeling better, discuss it with your doctor. If you are just going to a MD, I strongly suggest you see a shrink. They can prescribe what you really need. Good luck.

Answer 3

I have dysthymia, so I am always in a state of low level depression. But I also occasionally go through major depressions. Like now. I have been through enormously major depressions where I should have taken time off from school or work, but didn't. This was partly because I was raised to just suck everything up and deal with things, leading me to be a huge workaholic who doesn't know when to stop and take care of myself. This has also partly been because the idiots around me during my major depressions have always bombarded me with constant comments such as "Everything is fine, you're just overreacting", or "Why do you look so down, perk up!", or "You worry too much" or my favorite one, "Smile!". Bottom line is that I never let myself take a break, for whatever reasons, and I ended up making myself phyically ill on several occasions. Most of my Major Depressions lasted 3 to 6 months. Also, I don't sleep on a good day, so during bad depressions I can't sleep at all, and I mean for weeks at a time. During one of the worst depressions of my life, back in 2000, I was put on a Paxil/Zolift/Trazadone coctail that completely wigged me out. As a result, I now refuse to take any antidepressants or other mood-altering medications. I do know that in order for those types of meds to work, you have to stay on them for about a month. Also, Paxil may not be the correct drug for you. There are other pills for anxiety that are milder and with fewer side effects that may be better and help you sleep better. Ask your doctor. Also, have you tried excercising?

Answer 4

alright please don't be so hard on yourself. Eventually you will be fine.

It takes anywhere from four to six weeks for the medication to be completely in your system and begin to work, however sometimes what works on one person doesn't necessarily mean that it will help the other. It took me at least four different medications before they found one that worked on me I take Lexapro and it is the only anti-depressant that has worked for me. Not to say that the same thing will happen to you.

If you are feeling anxious you may want to ask your doctor for an anti-anxiety medication such as Klonapin, Xanax or Ativan. That will give your mind some rest while it is taking time for the anti-depressant to kick it. I am not a know it all I have just been in your shoes and it really sucks I know. If you need someone to talk to E-mail me at Shinningstar33160@yahoo and I would be happy to help you out. Good Luck and God Bless.

Answer 5

the last time i was severely depressed, i didn't work for about a year, but the was before i got treated with therapy and pills....it took me about 2 months before i really started feeling better. This was due to the fact that everyone responds to anti-depressants differently. Someone you know can take the exact medication you are and they feel great, but you still feel horrible. If you are not feeling somewhat better by the 4th week, i would definitely go back to the doctor, because this medication is NOT working right and you need to try a different one. You are only talking about a week here. You have another 3 weeks to go before you will really notice anything.

Answer 6

Depression is a tricky little devil. You may not be on the right meds to take care of it. With Paxil, I know that it takes some time to get into your system and to straighten out the brain chemicals. If you are having severe problems, then you might want to consult your Dr., tell him/her of your concerns and let them decide what the next step is. They might want you on some kind of therapy as well as the medication. I know it's hard to be patient, but you are doing great for sticking it out even a week. Keep it up!! I hope and pray that things get better for you soon.

Answer 7

I have had problems with depression all my life and I know how hard it must be for you. I have tried different medications over the years and they do help. Some better than others. In my experience they usually start to help within a week or two. But I feel I need to warn you about Paxel. Paxel has been known to cause people to have extreme out burst of uncontrolled anger and I have experienced that problem myself while on Paxel. I immediately had my meds changed. Please do some research about this particular medication. There are many other good anti depressants. Another piece of advice would be to never ever quit your anti depressants cold turkey. You have to be taken off of them gradually.
Keep your chin up things do get better. I'm happier than I have ever been and haven't been on meds in years. Good Luck!!!

Answer 8

Yes, it's happened to me on three or four occasions over many years. I can't take modern antidepressants and have to take the old-fashioned tricyclic ones which take longer to work. Keep going and I am sure you will soon feel better. Good luck :-)

Answer 9

see a doc.