Remnants Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 I was just curious if someone could share their experience of medication working for them? It's obviously different for everyone but as this is the 5th kind I've tried and have gotten nowhere I don't even know how to tell. I'm kinda coming out of a dark period anyway. A lot of stressful events happened which made my mental health deteriorate. So, it's hard to tell what's that or if it's the new meds. I seem to be having 'burst' of being okay, lasting anywhere from a few minutes to several hours. The teariness hasn't subsided (which I didn't have before I tried AD's so it pisses me off), which makes me wonder if it's just environmental factors rather than meds. I guess I'll just give it more time, its been almost a month so I need to go back to the doctor soon to review. She might up them as I haven't had any issues with them, see if that makes a difference. My thoughts were, does it happen slowly or all at once? Does it feel a lot better or just a little bit? Did you notice right away or did it take time? just anything you can share would be great. Thanks heaps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragonfly23 Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 For me it's taking time, a lot of time, however slowly things seem to be moving back into place.i have been working in a cocktail since June Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lysergia Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 i've experienced coming out of a depression on a few different meds, in a few different ways. i remember one med (i think citalopram) taking a few months - but it was like every week i could do one little thing i couldn't do before. like, after a few weeks on the med i felt like showering again. then the week after i felt like leaving the house for an hour or two. then the week after i wasn't crying so much anymore. it all added up until eventually, i couldn't really call myself "depressed" anymore. i remember my first time trying wellbutrin. the first week i felt kinda stoned. the second week i had no interest in laying in bed anymore. the third week i decided it was time to get out of the house and get a job (after being housebound for seven years). by week four i had already had an interview and been hired. so within less than a month, i went from laying in bed half the day, to going out to work 30 hours a week and loving it. every time i start a new antidepressant i kinda throw my expectations out the window. i never know if it's going to work quickly, slowly, not at all, or TOO well (since i'm bipolar). it really is frustrating to never know. especially since sometimes we feel worse before things get better (like, sometimes the side effects seem like that's all there is for the first few weeks). the "bursts" of feeling okay are a good sign, i think. i hope this medication turns out to be the right one for you! reviewing your progress with your doctor after a month is a good idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phoenix_Rising Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 I agree with lysergia: the "bursts" of feeling good seem like signs of improvement to me. When I find a med that works (for me it was Zyprexa for bipolar depression), I tend to come out of my depressed mood within days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissaw72 Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 For me it took time, because some of the meds had an effect sooner than others. So it didn't happen all at once. And the changing of meds to get the right cocktail happened sporadically, ie, the right cocktail wasn't found the first try on meds. Some worked, some didn't, so they had to be changed or the dose needed to be changed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Remnants Posted October 21, 2014 Author Share Posted October 21, 2014 Thanks for sharing everyone. It sounds positive, good to know how it was for other people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flash Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 I don't know how it is with antidepressants, because none have ever worked for me. With Ritalin, I don't get all the way there yet, but I get close. Within an hour, I feel better, but then it starts wearing off an hour or two after that. With lithium, it was a gradual thing about a week or two after I hit a therapeutic dose (although it might not have been the lithium at all). And then I just realized one day that I was feeling great. It just crept up on me without me noticing very much. I've also had it work that way without meds. So I guess it can happen really quickly or gradually, depending on the meds. As for the quality of the improvement, it's very noticeable, even when coming out of a mild depression. I get a feeling of well-being and increased energy. And I tend to start doing stuff that I previously ignored or lost all interest in. I'd say that it's not working if you have to ask. If the improvement is so slight that you can't really tell, you might question whether it's worth taking that medication. Or it could be a sign that the medication is starting to work and you just need more time (and perhaps a higher dose). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geek Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 I was just curious if someone could share their experience of medication working for them? It's obviously different for everyone but as this is the 5th kind I've tried and have gotten nowhere I don't even know how to tell. I'm kinda coming out of a dark period anyway. A lot of stressful events happened which made my mental health deteriorate. So, it's hard to tell what's that or if it's the new meds. I seem to be having 'burst' of being okay, lasting anywhere from a few minutes to several hours. The teariness hasn't subsided (which I didn't have before I tried AD's so it pisses me off), which makes me wonder if it's just environmental factors rather than meds. I guess I'll just give it more time, its been almost a month so I need to go back to the doctor soon to review. She might up them as I haven't had any issues with them, see if that makes a difference. My thoughts were, does it happen slowly or all at once? Does it feel a lot better or just a little bit? Did you notice right away or did it take time? just anything you can share would be great. Thanks heaps While I've found that most side effects start/stop nearly all at once, the mood stuff is more gradual. My pdoc even told me that with Parnate specifically the good stuff would happen in sparks/bursts. I've been teary too. She promises that will get better - and it is reducing, but that's taken a long time to see. What I have seen is it's slowly been easier to get up in the morning. I find myself first thinking about and then actually doing things other than sitting on the couch staring at the tv. I am less easily overwhelmed by multi-step tasks like cleaning the kitchen. It all happened over time. I didn't see much of anything for at least a month or six weeks - and it was slow and intermittent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissaw72 Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 Kind of like what Flash was talking about in above post ... Sometimes the improvements are so small that you don't notice them until one day you feel ok out-of-the-blue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt07 Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 The only psych med that really relieved my depression is Abilify. Tegretol helped me get out of the deepest, blackest depression and keeps me from becoming suicidally depressed, but Abilify raises me up above a depressed baseline. It didn't work for me until I hit 10 mg. With three days, I began to take an interest in life again. I had motivation and wanted to do things and improve my life. Then when I hit 15 mg is was sooooo wonderful. Unfortunately, the bliss only lasted for a couple of months and then I came floating back to Earth. However, I am still much better on Abilify than off it. It works for me as advertised. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dusk Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 I have taken so many antidepressants without results, that when I started my current one (Viibryd) I wasn't expecting anything. And then one day, I was walking to my car to pick the kids up from school, and it suddenly occurred to me that I felt GOOD! I hadn't felt so good for years. I have ups and downs now, but I am so glad I didn't give up on trying new meds because this one saved my life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Remnants Posted October 22, 2014 Author Share Posted October 22, 2014 Thanks for everyone feedback. I don't know what feeling okay is like, I've been depressed for a good 11 years and before that I was a child with the crazy moods that come with that. It's difficult, even moments in time when I feel okay, its uncomfortable, I'm not use to it. Even though I want it, I don't know how to be okay. I do really hope there are some meds out there that make it better, I can't live like this forever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissaw72 Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 Thanks for everyone feedback. I don't know what feeling okay is like, I've been depressed for a good 11 years and before that I was a child with the crazy moods that come with that. It's difficult, even moments in time when I feel okay, its uncomfortable, I'm not use to it. Even though I want it, I don't know how to be okay. I do really hope there are some meds out there that make it better, I can't live like this forever. There is always hope Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foggy Brain Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 When I'm depressed I can't ever imagine feeling better. When I'm not depressed, I can't imagine how I felt so low. When I come out of a depression, it happens in spurts of a few hours and I'm always afraid to embrace it because I'm worried it will go away. Even when I'm not in a depressed state, I worry about the next one coming but I've recovered from each one so I don't lose hope that I will get through it. Feeling good and having a clear mind is such a gift. Keep fighting. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flash Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 The only psych med that really relieved my depression is Abilify. Tegretol helped me get out of the deepest, blackest depression and keeps me from becoming suicidally depressed, but Abilify raises me up above a depressed baseline. It didn't work for me until I hit 10 mg. With three days, I began to take an interest in life again. I had motivation and wanted to do things and improve my life. Then when I hit 15 mg is was sooooo wonderful. Unfortunately, the bliss only lasted for a couple of months and then I came floating back to Earth. However, I am still much better on Abilify than off it. It works for me as advertised. I've been on abilify almost three months and am currently taking 10mg. I don't think it has done anything, akathisia excepted. Do you think I should try a higher dose before abandoning it? I see pdoc in 11 days and he seemed to be leaning toward abandoning it at our last appointment. I'm all for abandoning meds that don't work, but if a higher dose might be the ticket I'd hate to close the door prematurely. Cogentin manages the akathisia and I don't experience any other side effects. Maybe dry mouth? Seems like most psych meds do that to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zelling Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 Zoloft has been amazing. It took a good 2-3 months to really kick in, but boy, am I relieved it works. The first one I tried, Lexapro, I was on from age 14-22 and it did f-all (the doctor would just keep upping the dose). I've tried 5 types of antidepressants, without even taking into account the various antipsychotics & anticonvulsants tried, and Zoloft is the first thing that has been successful for the depression. The first thing I noticed was that everyone else was treating me better, being nicer to me, long before I was actually feeling noticeable effects internally. Then I noticed in the mornings I was content with being conscious instead of going aw fuck awake again. It's a gradual process, but eventually I found it takes me very little effort to be positive about things. Like, without even trying. Considering the state I was in even 6 months ago, this is a huge improvement. Also, I found as time goes on, I have a much higher tolerance for social interaction, and can spend longer looking at myself in the mirror. TL;DR Lots of little things with time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt07 Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 The only psych med that really relieved my depression is Abilify. Tegretol helped me get out of the deepest, blackest depression and keeps me from becoming suicidally depressed, but Abilify raises me up above a depressed baseline. It didn't work for me until I hit 10 mg. With three days, I began to take an interest in life again. I had motivation and wanted to do things and improve my life. Then when I hit 15 mg is was sooooo wonderful. Unfortunately, the bliss only lasted for a couple of months and then I came floating back to Earth. However, I am still much better on Abilify than off it. It works for me as advertised. I've been on abilify almost three months and am currently taking 10mg. I don't think it has done anything, akathisia excepted. Do you think I should try a higher dose before abandoning it? I see pdoc in 11 days and he seemed to be leaning toward abandoning it at our last appointment. I'm all for abandoning meds that don't work, but if a higher dose might be the ticket I'd hate to close the door prematurely. Cogentin manages the akathisia and I don't experience any other side effects. Maybe dry mouth? Seems like most psych meds do that to me. Of course, I think you should do what your pdoc thinks is best. But it is true that 15 mg was amazing for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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