I'm sorry you're going through this.

As far as telling if your meds are working, ask yourself if you're feeling better on them. If not, then they obviously aren't.

I was on meds for BP2 for over 13 years with very little positive results. The depression was never very far from the surface, and instead of realizing that I was actually MORE depressed than before taking them, I assumed it was my fault I was depressed.

After some particularly nasty side-effects emerged I went off the meds and got feeling better. About 10 months after getting off klonopin, I decided I need to go back on it due to my crazy sleep disorder where I jerked violently before falling asleep. I had always assumed klonopin was this wonderful med I couldn't live without, but with 3 days of going back on a low dose of it, I was crying uncontrollably. As the days went on, I actually started giving some very serious thought to killing myself which is something I don't believe in so I knew something was really wrong. Fortunately I remembered hearing that some meds have depression and suicide ideation as side-effects so I googled it, and there it was in black and white--what I was going through were side-effects of the meds!! I went off it, and was back to my normal mood within 3 days!! I would never have believed these meds that are supposed to help your depression and anxiety actually have them as side-effects!!

There are lots of other factors to consider in depression and anxiety such as if you're getting enough nutrients for your body to function properly. Low magnesium and vitamin D are both associated with depression. And just because you take a multi-vitamin doesn't mean your body is absorbing it fully--the average OTC supplement is absorbed at about 20% so if it has 100 mgs of a nutrient, you're only getting 20 mgs. This is due to the quality of the nutrient, fillers and any gut issues you might have.

Besides vitamins and minerals, your body needs amino acids to produce neurotransmitters for your brain to function properly. A couple that would help your depression are 5-htp that is converted into serotonin, DL-phenylalanine for dopamine and norepinephrine. For your anxiety, you could take the amino acid GABA and L-tyrosine.

Here's a link to a great book on healing with amino acids. I've got this and another of her books, and they're very helpful.

http://www.painstresscenter.com/Heal...oductinfo/AA4/

Here's another great book on treating depression naturally. You can get a used copy for as little as one cent plus $3.99 shipping. I've done very well buy used books through Amazon.com.

http://www.amazon.com/What-Your-Doct...r+*+depression

Here's a link to an orothomolecular medicine website. Orothomolecular medicine is giving the body the nutrients it needs to function so it can heal itself.

http://www.orthomed.org/