I have been on numerous medications over the past 20+ years to help with my depression and anxiety. It seems that none of them has any real lasting effect. They may work for a little while, and then that 'feeling' comes back and I am right back where I was before.

Do any of you believe that medication is not always the best route to take for everyone? Has anyone tried other things that have worked? I have also been in therapy for the past 3 years. That does help me, but I want more. I want to stop having these cycles of depression and anxiety!

Is there really any hope of that?

[online user]

Yes, there is, once you get to the right ones. Ive been on the same ones for about 3 years now and am really doing quite well. I see my pdoc every 4 months but don't see a therapist anymore.

Many people have chronic depression and are on here a lot, sometimes feeling really badly. The ones who do well usually move on--I did, for example. But came back because I'm facing another serious disease and worried about that. So, hanging out on the forums, you see the chronically troubled people and not the success stories.

There is always hope. Newer meds come, therapists gain more skill, we get wiser about our moods and how to control them.

Exercise is a good alternative or adjunct to meds and therapy.

[bharani1008]

I am doing well because of medication. I have been depressed most of my life and have had to change meds numerous times. I will do it as many times as I need to because I feel so much at better with them.
If you have an inclination in that line maybe mindfulness meditation could help you. I also have a spiritual practice that I' very serious about.
I hope you find what you are seeking.

[bos314489]

You sound like me. I have been on 25 medications in 20 years with no real effect. I am in a severe depressive episode now and am going through with ECT treatments to start next week. I am on a mission to get well and have exhausted all options with medications. You might look into that..

[ThisWayOut]

I don't do well on meds... actually, I do WORSE on meds than when I am off. I have tried just about ever med available for depression, anxiety, mood swings, and PTSD over the last 7 years. I'm no longer willing to try anything outside of PRN (as needed) meds for sleep and anxiety because it always makes me more suicidal and more impulsive. My cycles are less severe when I am not on meds.
I have not found anything that works yet, but I am hoping tackling some of the underlying issues with trauma-specific therapy will help. It was the only thing that helped a bit in the past, but I did not continue it because of insurance issues. I'm hoping to be able to get back to that work because I feel it's what drives everything else.
Can you pinpoint what of the therapy helps? Maybe increasing that could work where the meds have failed? I'm not one to buy into the theory that "you just have to find the right meds"... sometimes meds are not right no matter what, it's an individual thing.
((hugs)) sorry it's rough right now.

[NJBlues]

I sympathize, we're trying to find the right med for me now. It's not as cut & dried with psychiatric conditions as with other diseases, which makes it so frustrating.

[Nammu]

Like Rain I'm worse off on meds. I've found diet is very important, avoiding processed foods, sugar, and sugar subs helps me a lot. When I add to that yoga, meditation & fun activities(as opposed to forced gym exercise) I do really great.
For me being in control is extremly important & I don't feel in control w/ the side effects of meds so I'm sure that has a lot to do w/ it.

[Nobodyandnothing]

If you do consider ECT, please research it carefully. Elsewhere on PC I explained my severe and continued long and short term memory issues caused by ECT I have also been on 49 different meds over the past 20+ years. Like you some have worked for a very short time. I still am searching. Good luck.

[online user]

The pdoc I saw in the hospital prescribed ECT and ussed it very successfully on long-term depressive patients who weren't responding to medication. Yes, they did have some memory loss, but also, almost instant lifting of their depressions. One guy, he had venting in a journal. Me, mindfulness meditation and working through Burns, "Feeling Good Handbook." So, he tailored his treatments to fit what the patients needed.

[Nobodyandnothing]

Yes, I was also a lonh term depressive diagnosed with treatment resistent depression. All I am trying to say is that ECT can be helpful but despite what pdocs and others may say, there is also a chance that it can make some matters worse. Mine was slight temporary relief but the cost was loss of memory. I cannot remember college, grad school, the birth of my 5 children and their childhoods through high school, or the deaths of my parents a week apart. I also lost short term memory. Someone can look me in the eye and tell me something and 10 minutes later I do not even remember that they were in the house let alone remember what they said. I will never undergo ECT again. But I am not saying that it did not work for you.

All I ask is that people make highly informed decisions and realize what they may lose. It is impossibly difficult to admit to my children that I do not remember Disney World, camping in the Black Hills, their First Communions and graduations. The look on their faces when this happens breaks my heart.

Good luck Squiggles.

Peace,
Nobody

[eskielover]

Squiggle, I am thinking that your long term depression has to do with the situation you are living in.....I know that everyone in situations like that seriously have their ups & downs with depression & I'll bet if you study & analyze your depression feelings that they correlate to what's going on in your life.......

The thing is that sometimes where we are in life is where we need & want to be even though we don't want all the emotions that go with it......& that is usually why meds don't work because there is no way of changing the environment we are living in & those things keep popping up, & causing the emotions that cause the feelings of depression.....& in reality....that can't be changed....sometimes we have to learn to live with it & learn to find skills that will lessen the emotions or at least distract us from them for a little while until things settle down again.

My major depression was definitely situational....but the situation wasn't able to go away at least for so many years it felt like forever & then other things ended up hitting as consequenses of everything else.

Sometimes the right meds can help lessen the feeling of depression....but because the situation is always still there....the emotions will arise again & the feeling of depression will return for good reason....& it's a valid way of feeling.......so maybe the thing is to accept your feelings & understand WHY you are feeling that way.

I know I always had a problem determining WHY I felt the way I did & for me, sometimes it was because I couldn't admit what it was that was causing it & it wouldn't have done any good anyway.....but now looking back, I can see the emotions that I wasn't able or wouldn't before.

Sometimes we just have to do the best we can in the life we have & try to understand, validate & care for ourselves during the times when we are feeling down.

[venusss]

Originally Posted by online user

The pdoc I saw in the hospital prescribed ECT and ussed it very successfully on long-term depressive patients who weren't responding to medication. Yes, they did have some memory loss, but also, almost instant lifting of their depressions. One guy, he had venting in a journal. Me, mindfulness meditation and working through Burns, "Feeling Good Handbook." So, he tailored his treatments to fit what the patients needed.

instant lifting for how long? Till they realize memories are gone and sink again? People who suffer memory loss for whatever reason often suffer depression... caused by the memory loss. Apparently, psychologists say, bad memories trumph no memories.

Looks like I am going to try another medication. My therapist has strongly recommended it, as well as maybe trying some other things. My last med was Viibryd. It was suppose to be the newest antidepressant on the market. It didn't work. My sister thinks I should give Lamictal a try again. It was so long ago that I took that one, that I can't remember if it did anything for me or not. Then again, what may not have worked in the past, may work this time. At least for a short while!

Originally Posted by eskielover

Squiggle, I am thinking that your long term depression has to do with the situation you are living in.....I know that everyone in situations like that seriously have their ups & downs with depression & I'll bet if you study & analyze your depression feelings that they correlate to what's going on in your life.......

The thing is that sometimes where we are in life is where we need & want to be even though we don't want all the emotions that go with it......& that is usually why meds don't work because there is no way of changing the environment we are living in & those things keep popping up, & causing the emotions that cause the feelings of depression.....& in reality....that can't be changed....sometimes we have to learn to live with it & learn to find skills that will lessen the emotions or at least distract us from them for a little while until things settle down again.

My major depression was definitely situational....but the situation wasn't able to go away at least for so many years it felt like forever & then other things ended up hitting as consequenses of everything else.

Sometimes the right meds can help lessen the feeling of depression....but because the situation is always still there....the emotions will arise again & the feeling of depression will return for good reason....& it's a valid way of feeling.......so maybe the thing is to accept your feelings & understand WHY you are feeling that way.

I know I always had a problem determining WHY I felt the way I did & for me, sometimes it was because I couldn't admit what it was that was causing it & it wouldn't have done any good anyway.....but now looking back, I can see the emotions that I wasn't able or wouldn't before.

Sometimes we just have to do the best we can in the life we have & try to understand, validate & care for ourselves during the times when we are feeling down.

This makes a lot of sense and I do believe it for the most part. But depression/bipolar/anxiety runs in my family. My mother and two sisters have been hospitalized for it. I am the only one who hasn't. So, I tend to think that maybe my symptoms are more of a chemical imbalance that may be exacerbated by my life situations?

My therapist is strongly recommending that I try another medication. She feels that there is one out there that will help me. She doesn't want me to give up on meds just yet.