Rollercoaster

Diagnosed with MDD and GAD years ago. I've been on the same medication for over 6 months now and I just landed back in the pit again. I was never feeling great when I first stated taking this particular combination,it kept me from completely hitting the bottom, but I've been in a rut for 2 weeks now. And when I hit the bottom it gets really bad...
My T keeps telling me it doesn't last, and logically, I know she's right, but it doesn't make me feel better now.

This has been a pattern for me, ups and downs. I'm tired of the rollercoaster. I want off the ride. I think this is typical from those who deal with MDD, the rollercoaster, but it's usually followed by "medication can help treat these symptoms..." Blah blah blah. Well I've been doing that for a couple years now and out only provides temporary relief. Do people usually find themselves on the rollercoaster even though they're on medication?

when the roller coaster starts up I am on the phone to the pdoc to see what adjustments may be necessary. When I am in the dumps, I do exercise, mindfulness, and yoga to try to offset the depression and reenergize myself. I avoid sugar and alcohol and try to eat a diet with adequate protein and small meals or snacks every 3-4 hours to keep my blood sugar from crashing.

I am sorry that you are feeling these up's and downs. Maybe your medication needs the be tweeked. I know how you feel when people say to you "it will pass". It can seem like forever. We have to help ourselves sometimes.. and for me music really helps me. Sometimes we I am low, it just takes my mind away, it's just a distraction. I don't think there is any quick fix with depression. What hobbies did you have that you liked, maybe you can revisit those. I hope that you feel better soon. Distract yourself. Best wishes

Does your doctor know about your up phases?

I wouldn't necessarily call them up phases. It's more of a "i feel like I can handle right now" and be okay. Not happy or sad, just okay. I told my T the other day that even when I'm in the period of being "okay", there's still no light the end of the tunnel. There isn't a lot of hope.
When I go downhill it becomes I can't deal with anything and I'm upset, hurt, angry, irritated etc. My thoughts here turn into I really don't know if all this is worth it, what's the point of living?
I haven't seen my pdoc in a while and I think he's aware of my rollercoaster experience, but I wasn't having that issue when I last saw him (I was in a couple week phase where I was okay and could handle things for a while).

I strongly suggest talking to your pdoc again, and use the word "rollercoaster."

Hi shamon,

Unfortunately, a rollercoaster where a new medication works for a while but then poops out is typical because of "oppositional tolerance." That's one of the main reasons that people end up on multiple drugs or having complicated drug histories and running into side effects and, generally, not getting much better.

One thing I would suggest is complaining to your MD(s). It may be that the path of least resistance for them is to just try one more thing that might work every time you complain loudly enough. Express your dissatisfaction with how you're doing, if that's how you feel. Ask what the overall plan is. Ask them to recommend options that you might not have tried. I also think that it's almost always wise to double check for common purely medical or nutritional problems that might have been missed by your MDs.

Another thing you might want to do is to experiment yourself with the many safe and healthy things you can do that are known to at least sometimes help depression. There are many of these and you have nothing to lose by trying. You might get some ideas from this:

http://forums.psychcentral.com/4262681-post105.html

You MDs might have suggestions like this too.

- vital