Could the wrong medication for my anxiety have caused me to be depressed?

Question

3 months ago I went to hospital after having a nervous breakdown. I was later told that it was mainly do to my lifestyle i was living( drinking, smoking dope, working night shoots) After this incident I was left with frequent anxiety attacks.

The Dr's I used perscibed me on pur bloka tablets( which apparently control addrenaline), and Espirade Capsules( which is an anti psychotic). After six weeks I was perscribed Cipramil to treat my anxiety.
During the course of my anxiety attacks I never once had depression. I may have been down for having anxiety issues but thats all. Now 3 months later I'm left with major depression. I don't find myself interested in activities which I once did. I feel totally un-attached from the environment around me, I find it difficult to get out of bed too. It just feels like i'm a walking zombie which has no enthusiasm for life.
Could the medication which was perscribed for my anxiety have caused me to become depressed? Please Help anyon

Answer 1

I have been in the exact same situation- I actually experienced a psychotic episode!!

The most important thing is to stop focusing so much on the present- when you do so you wrongly convince yourself that 'nothing could possibly make me happy 'right now''. Thats the point, stop caring so much about the right now, think more about the future- its still there!

When you begin to feel as though the world has nothing to offer, remember something that makes you truly happy (i.e. for me nothing beats a friday night with a pizza and good tv). And more importantly- don't try and explain away this happiness and convince yourself it wasn't true... it was! It very much was!

Stop telling yourself that happiness is ignorance (I always thought that happy people were simply stupid, too dumb to realise that dull reality of it all), its much better to be in on it than out side persecuting it... and when in on it you will realise how infact you were ignorant before.

Drugs plummeted me into this state, and acknowledging that the drugs were capable of this only thickened my dull perception of life. Just keep reading around and you will realise you are not alone, and more importantly you can get out of this. In the future you may look back upon this period of your life and laugh at your ignorance! Trust me: there will come a time when you feel like 'you' again. And you'll be a much better person for having gone through all this.

Answer 2

Yes, your medication could cause depression. It did for me. Just ask for a change. It sometimes takes a while to find the right one for you. Don't give up. It will take some time to work. At least give the new one a couple of weeks to work before you decide if it's good or not. It took me 4 different meds before they found the right one. I also had anxiety attacks and it was just nerves. Also be prepared to possibly gain weight. I did once I got calmed down. But I was too skinny so it was OK. You can e-mail me from my personal page if you want to.

Answer 3

It seems more likely that depression was initially present.
To self-medicate you used alcohol and drugs to feel better,
but that didn't help in the long run, it left you with the nervous breakdown and withdrawl from the drug and alcohol. You likely continued to experience the depression all during this time. Some people who are seriously depressed also develop anxiety.

Medications may subdue symptoms, but until you are able to chemically address the depression and through therapy process new and better ways to deal with your life and emotions, minimizing the depression and anxiety by how you view your life and how you choose to live -- then the annoying symptoms will minimize as you heal.

Answer 4

Whatever you do, don't stop taking your medication.
If it is that which is making you depressed, the consequences of stopping immediately could be terrible.
I suggest you go back to the doctor ASAP, and show him/her all the medication you are on. Tell him/her about the adverse side effect (i.e. the depression) and ask if it could have been caused by a reaction of the drugs.
Good luck!

Answer 5

I suffer from anxiety well not anymore the drugs the give you make you worse trust me I just started doing things id liked again not giving a hoot what anyone thinks started smoking weed again at first it gave me a few panic attacks but after that it helped me and i smoke once a week also just try to live care free I know its a tuff thing to snap out of if i did it you can ill pray for you my friend don't let it get you down if ya ever need to talk email me and I can send u my screen name or something but like i said just hang in there

Answer 6

imho its time to get off the drugs all together and pull yer crap together....its kinda cold-hearted maybe however if u rely on drugs to get thru life what will happen when u run out or the drugs are no longer available....in every case any doctor would have said i needed to be drugged up when i was a teen but thankfully i dumped the dope stopped the drinking ..all i have left is my precious nicotiene and caffiene but if i run out of either its just a headache or some other simple issue....point is that doctors take money to prescribe and promote certain drugs which is not in your benefit...but the simple fact is if u get cured..he loses money..if yer sick he has income...i do have depression at times and what i have to do is find something new that i want to get out of bed for...whether it be work on a hotrod or do some gaming or cleaning the garage..and when u feel like screw it...thats when u need to pick it up and do it anyways because if u dont it will strengthen your depression

Answer 7

Go back to the doctor. A different regime should clear both anxiety and depression.

Answer 8

Yes, those kinds of side-effects are not uncommon with the Cipramil and possibly the Espirade as well . You should call your doctor to discuss this and they can adjust the amount of what you are taking or switch to another medication which might be more expensive but lacks the side-effects.

Answer 9

Absolutely !
It could also be from withdrawal.
Either way your psychiatrist should be able to help.
You should read the information on the drugs in the package insert. If you no longer have them you can go to the manufacturer's website and get the info. You may have to google the name of the drug.

Also check out www.nami.org

Answer 10

Some anxiety meds can cause depression. I would talk to my docs if I was you--sometimes it takes a few tries to find meds that work well with your system.