[mgracer13]

Hi everyone, I am a new poster here, but have been reading the forums for a week or so and decided to post to try and get some help and suggestions from you all. I suffer from major depression and it was well controlled for several years on sertraline. This past April it seems almost overnight the medicine had stopped working and I have been in the deepest rut of my life. I feel very depressed, hopeless, and just all around not myself at all. I have been seeing a psychiatrist and have had my meds switched a couple times after not getting any positive results and still nothing positive with the current medicine of lexapro. I started to see a new therapist because I was just not comfortable with the one I had been seeing when this all started again. There are days where I feel like I would just like I would like to leave this world, but I have never thought of acting on it or had a plan. I am a deeply devout Catholic and have recently reached out to my priest for help. I guess my goal of this post was to just kind of clear my head of everything and see if there is anything you all can help me with to help i.e. journaling, goals, etc... that I am having a tough time starting. Thank you all for listening and thank you for any advice or thoughts of encouragement you have.

[Clara22]

Thank you for sharing mgracer13. I am not sure if I have an advice for you, but I am very interested in reading what your post, please keep posting. I find a lot of help here

I think journalling is fantastic. I read back on mine and it makes me realize how far I have come. And somehow writing it is cathartic. You can yell and scream and use really huge exclamation points....you get my drift.
I have also had the experience of my body getting so used to a drug that it no longer works. I have been taking Wellbutrin which stopped working so have just added Zoloft as a booster. We will see.
Keep us posted, let it out...

[gayleggg]

I too have been a victum of meds stopping working. Been switching meds now for over a year and am just now having some luck with Prozac. Though I thought it was really working the first few days now it's dropped back off but not as bad as before.

I know that journaling helps. I used to do it faithfully, but got lazy and quite. I'm like you I have a hard time starting it again. I've found posting on PC has been a big help, so keep posting.

[vans1974]

Sorry to hear...for me if the meds aren't working then therapy, journalling, positive thinking, and exercising etc., don't help. For me it's all about the meds and proper dosing! I find Lamictal and Latuda at a high dose augment an antidepressant.

[mgracer13]

Thank you all for the responses so far. Today has been a better day so far, it is my sons first birthday so I am trying my best to be positive today and enjoy the day with him and celebrate what has been the best thing in my life. Although I have been depressed for most of his life so far and maybe haven't been as involved as I should be because I just feel isolated I want today to be a good day and I am really focused on that. I have been journaling and trying to exercise but I have been struggling to find the motivation to run. I enjoy running and have run several half marathons and my goal is to eventually run a full marathon but with the depression its been very hard to just get started to train again. I also feel like just opening up on my first post here helped because I was able to just say how I was feeling and not be judged or worry about family and friends thinking I am going to do something to myself and just have a place to express myself fully. Thank you again all have a good day.

[puzzclar]

I've been on at least 19 different meds, sometimes our bodies become tolerant of the med, that's just a fact of life. (think of it like a smell that your nose gets used to) But even with that there are lots of things we can do to help, here's a few, exercise, meditation, yoga, squirrel (I mean distraction), doing something instead of nothing.

[mgracer13]

Sorry for the multiple posts, but I was curious about the SSRI medicines. I have been on all the main ones besides Prozac at some point since I was diagnosed. They all seemed to work at the time but I always tried to get off them and deal with this on my own. I have been back on Lexapro for a couple months now with no real progress. My question is once my Sertraline (generic Zoloft) stopped working do all SSRI's stop working or just that specific drug? Since I have not been on Prozac before I was thinking about maybe asking about that my next psychiatrist appointment or is there anything different that any of you have been on that might help me better than the SSRI's? I know everything is different for everyone but just thinking of things I can bring up with my psychiatrist that we can discuss. Thank you again.

Originally Posted by puzzclar

I've been on at least 19 different meds, sometimes our bodies become tolerant of the med, that's just a fact of life. (think of it like a smell that your nose gets used to) But even with that there are lots of things we can do to help, here's a few, exercise, meditation, yoga, squirrel (I mean distraction), doing something instead of nothing.

HAAAA SQUIRREL? You made me smile. Thanks.

[mgracer13]

Thank you all for the help so far, yesterday I had a pretty good day with my sons birthday and family coming over and just the distraction of not thinking about my depression for a while. Today has been worse than yesterday but not unbearable, I am really trying to stay positive and keep my head up. Does anyone have any advice/experience with one SSRI stop working do they all stop working, or is it just that specific medicine that stops? Thank you again for the help.

Having only been on Wellbutrin, I can't speak to that except that it's not doing it's thing (why they haven't invented a happy pill yet is beyond me.....) so a Zoloft booster was added. I have been on Ambien long term and it lost it's effectiveness so I have to switch it out every so many months and then go back.
I think anybody builds up a tolerance level to anything. It's how our bodies are meant to function, really.
I also have added Omega 3's a while ago and saw some improvement. Plus it's good for a whole bunch of stuff....

I'm sure others with more experience will pipe in.

But I hear you on the good days/bad days dilemma. The good (which is a relative term, I know) days are nice, but when they are over you suffer more, because you get just a teasing taste....

[silenceheals]

I also suffer from depression and have been on sertraline for about a year now. I feel like it has stopped working for me as well but have come to the conclusion that u cannot just rely on the meds. My psychologist recommended me to engage in activities to heighten my arousal so I have been doing yoga, and play with thera putty the putty helps release my stress most of the time. Maybe that may help u! Try it! If u have any ideas of keeping concentration during tough times please share!

Sent from my ST23i using Tapatalk

[vans1974]

Hey mgracer13- For me each SSRI works a little differently, but then they all eventually "poop out". Idk if you've tried other ADs like Aplenzin, Cymbalta or Viibryd...those are all weight neutral and a lot of people have success with them. Best of luck!!

[Damage, Inc]

I was diagnosed with Major Depression back in April and looking back, I think I've suffered from a certain degree of it my entire life. At first I was put on 20mgs. daily of Prozac which had little or no effect, I was then boosted up to 40mgs. with 900mgs. of Gabapentin added on as a mood stabilizer. Initially, I felt a big difference, but it seemed to level off pretty quickly.

Recently, in order to make some money I've started a clinical research study for a depression medication infused intravenously. One of the requirements in order to participate involves stopping all current medications and I've been off everything with the exception of the experimental drug for a month now and I still have frequent peaks and valleys in my moods. Also, I've developed some insomnia.

As I've stated in one of my other posts, there's a lot of guesswork involved in this illness of ours. What is effective for some may be totally ineffective for others. I tried therapy and don't have much faith in it. I came away from my most recent clinical visit thinking, "What the hell is wrong with me?" in that I'm willing to try some chemical cocktail pumped into my veins in order to make me feel that this life of mine is worth living, or at the very least a little more tolerable. Hope you have a nice, happy weekend !