[Altered Moment]

It is my intention that people post just successful med stories. If it gets off track...well I have no control.

I would like to report a successful med story. Tentative though because it has only been two months on the new meds.

I was on Effexor and Abilify for at least a year. Were not working at all. I was in one of my much longer term now fairly deep depressions. I have very refractory or treatment resistant depression. To meds and therapy. I have cycled in and out for many years. Some meds have worked better than others some not at all. I have been on almost everyone and every combination and it has never stopped the cycles. Over all I think they have helped or I would have given up on them along time ago. When in a very deep depression I don't ever remember meds pulling me out. Maybe they have at times. Usually it just has to run its course and I snap out of it.

Two months ago I ditched abilify cold turkey and went on lamictal. The plan was to also ditch the Effexor and switch to Fetzima but we wanted to wait a month to see how the Lamictal did. With the Lamictal I noticed a big improvement in mood after about two weeks. Still had all the other symptoms, no motivation, no energy, no showering, won't leave the house. We know the drill. Same after a month on Lamictal, just better mood over all.

So we ditched the Effexor and went on Fetzima. After two weeks I started noticing a huge difference. It was getting me kind of manic sometimes and I would be very calm at other times. It has been a month on it and this last week I have felt wired a lot. I have gotten very weepy at times and cry real easy. Over all I have slowly seen a huge improvement in all those symptoms I listed above. I am not totally out of the woods yet but right on the edge.

Now I always get a little manic for awhile when I come out of a depression and I could be that it has just run its course again and I am snapping out of it like usually happens with me and it has nothing to do with meds. But I know that is not the case. I know my body and mind well after all these years and I can totally tell it is the meds. From the side effects which I am having some but nothing real bad and the fact that I am getting real wired and different effects I cannot explain. But I can totally tell it is different from the other times and it is the meds.

I am a little worried it might trigger a manic episode, this Fetzima is very activating (it is the nor epinephrine), but I think it will balance out and I will be back to my normal self again. Thank God. My normal self is mild to moderately depressed but maybe it will even keep that at bay. I fully suspect that next Nov. I will cycle back into one but who knows maybe not.

So I still say tentative. We will see. My hopes are very high based on what I am seeing.

Now I still have this theory that people who are doing very well on meds long term don't come to these boards and tell us about it and we don't hear a lot of success stories. It gets depressing reading the depression section.

I would like those of us on these boards who read this to post in this thread if they have had success stories with meds. Thank you in advance.
__________________

[splitimage]

I've been really lucky with meds. They work for me.

The very first med I went on was Effexor - blasted me right out of a deep dark depression.

A few years later when the depression came back, my pdoc added Celexa, and a low dose of risperidone. Around this time I also switched from taking Ativan PRN to a regularly scheduled dose of Clonazepam.

Subsequently we've added Seroquel which blasted my anxiety out of the park.

Over the years we've adjusted the dosages, but I'm on a good mix / balance right now. I'm not depressed. I actually feel happy from time to time. Yes I do have periods when I go into a depressive episode, but it's not the absolute bleakness I was in before I started meds, and I usually come out of it on my own within 4-6 weeks.

I'm just lucky I have a great pdoc who really listens, and who really knows meds, and isn't afraid to prescribe a cocktail.

Over the years I've done various talk therapies, and CBT. I'm currently doing trauma therapy one on one with a psychologist.

I think I've been lucky, in that I'be been able to access the best of bost worlds, therapy and meds.

splitimage

Meds have taken me miles along the path to healing. I didn't realize how exactly miserable and unstable I was until I finally achieved a good measure of stability and contentment largely in part to medications that finally worked in the right combinations. Between the right therapy and right meds, things have improved greatly for me.

[iWILLbeatdepression]

Hi, I am new to this site. Just wanted to give some hope to those that are trying Fetzima. Today is the 19th day I have taken it (40mg). It is also the 2nd day that I feel AWESOME!!! Not depressed (and the weather is disgusting which usually has me in bed all day, so something must be working), I have the drive and energy to clean my house and do laundry for the first time in 3 weeks, and feel overall "happy". I will say, the first 17 days of me taking this medication, I did not feel good, and, at times, I thought it was making my depression worse (which I never thought was possible). I almost said 'eff it' and stopped taking it, but I was so desperate to feel better, I continued taking it. I had many of the side-effects others have described (nausea, agitation, moody, worsening of depression, etc.) in the beginning, but decided to keep on truckin' and give it a chance. I am SO GLAD that I did! Today is really the first day I feel alive and well again, and I am so excited! I will re-post in another few weeks to let y'all know if my mood stays this way! (I have been keeping a mood journal so I won't forget )

Best of luck to all the rest of you. I know it sucks in the beginning of med changes, but sometimes if you stick it out for a few weeks and give the medication a chance, it really does work!

[Altered Moment]

Also in the Depression section as people are really struggling there and we need hope.

Thanks. Just copy and paste.

http://forums.psychcentral.com/depre...ess-story.html

[Altered Moment]

Bump

Fetzima update.

For the last week it has been getting me really wired and kind of manic. Which is not uncommon because it is an SSNRI and acts on nor epinephrine and is very activating. And sometimes is causing me to overheat which is sometimes common for me because serotonin regulates body temperature. It only lasts a short time and I think I will get over that.

I was getting really worried about the wired mania thing and didn't know if I should try to get my dose lowered or if they even make a lower dose. So I figured the caffeine in the morning couldn't help and yesterday drank decaf and I felt much much calmer. So the caffeine was definitively making it much worse or interacting to cause it. So here I sit this morning drinking caffeine again.....what an idiot.

It is working very well though.

[littlemiss44]

For the first time in months I am doing much better! I started taking a new med recently which is life saving. It's called latuda. So I'm on the following meds...
Latuda 20mg
Lexapro 10mg
Lamictal 400mg
Geodon 160mg
Adderall xr 20mg
So I actually have bipolar depression, bpd, anxiety, ptsd and adhd. Whew that alot huh? Anyways I've started coming out of this debilitating depression! I'm still lacking Ib motivation but I'm hopeful that will go away too. Since I was diagnosed 1996 I realized that I had been depressed since i was a little girl. I grew up in a very emotionally abusive home which explains my ptsd. I always struggled in school which is where my adhd comes from. I'm SO THANKFUL that I'm feeling better. I am feeling level headed and calm. I can hardly feel my anxiety but I still suffer from social anxiety and I don't see that going away. It's ok tho...I'm managing it well. So whatever "normal" is I kinda feel that way! It's a strange feeling but I'm so happy for it. I wish everyone here could experience happiness. I don't know how long it will last but I'm hopeful! Thx for reading my long post. Take care everyone.

Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk

[Altered Moment]

I am so glad you are having good results. That is a lot of meds and a lot of dx. All kinds of different abuses and traumas have been proven to cause changes in the brain. Don't forget that meds are not the whole answer, we have to work on those past issues too and lots of things work. CBT is proven to change the brain for example.

Thanks for posting.

[ChangingMyMind]

I guess I do have a success story. When I had my first bout with Anxiety/Depression in Jan of 2003 I was very lost. I had no idea what was going on with me since I had never felt anything like this before.

After seeking help from multiple doctors (no insurance back then so most docs wouldn't help me or scheduled me months out) I found one that would see me. If I can remember properly I believe she was a psych doc of some sort. She asked me what was going on and gave me a short questionnaire to fill out. I was out of the office within 30 minutes with a script for Celexa 20mg.

Now this was quite a long time ago but I can recall feeling great relief very quickly. I was actually back to my old self within a short time-frame. Probably a few weeks. I stayed on Celexa for the next 11 years. 8 of those years I didn't even need to add additional medicine. So, I have to say Celexa really did work well for me. It pulled me out of the depression and eased my anxiety to a controllable point. Panic attacks reduced considerably. During the first 8 years I had minimal side effects and great results. Even the following 3 years were good, I only had to add on Ritalin for somnolence. I never had to add any other "mood" enhancing medicine, Celexa was enough to manage it all.

[minus]

Lamictal was truly a godsend for me. When I had my first hypomanic episode a couple of years ago, I tried abilify, gained 10lbs in a week and felt zombified, then tried depakote which caused more weight gain. Finally got around to Lamictal and boy did it make a difference.

It's important to note that the titration up to 200mg was a long, difficult process. I started at 25mg and doubled it each week. Each increase resulted in several days of feeling lousy, headaches and shaking and very upsetting dreams. I stuck with it because I didn't gain any more weight and I was really ready to get to the bottom of this and feel better.

After about 2 months I felt so much better. It has allowed me to feel good, like myself--I don't feel medicated, and I was able to feel happiness again. I noticed an ability to just let things go--things that would normally upset me would just kind of roll off. I am so grateful for this med.

Unfortunately I have recently had another bad spell, a mixed episode I guess, simultaneously irritated and anxious and sad and elevated. My pdoc has increased my lamictal to 400mg and I'm starting to see an improvement. Going 2 years without a med change and without any significant symptoms seems like a success to me, although 400mg is the highest they'll prescribe so next time might mean I have to try something else. It's encouraging to see so many new meds on the market and I hope to have another 2 years or more without major issues.

In short, those who are starting lamictal: hang in there. The titration is a bumpy road for sure, and I know it won't work for everyone, but don't give up. It might very well be worth it.

[Nightside of Eden]

Meds (Zyprexa and Stelazine) have made a big difference in my depression and anxiety. It's not completely cured, but much better than it was off meds and my moods are more stable.

My ADD med (Dexedrine) is highly effective as well.

I do have a fair list of failed meds as well, and have decided to live with a certain level of depression because anti-depressants seem to cause mixed episodes for me, as I hear they do to a lot of people with Bipolar. I was lucky to find Stelazine to treat my anxiety since nothing else works.

So far every type of therapy I've tried has made me significantly worse, so I'm lucky the meds alone make my symptoms tolerable.

[Denman]

I saw a new pdoc last Tuesday. He increased my Cymbalta to 90mg per day and added Klonopin 0.5mg 3x per day. I haven't felt this good in months. On the first day
of taking the meds I felt like a new person, I have never felt that good. So far I am
very pleased with how the medications are working for me.

[eeyorestail]

I just got back on my meds after trying to go off of them...the difference is crazy huge. I feel so much better than I have over the past 9 months or so.

[Fresia]

Decades of various wrong meds and more than I can count, some very curious and some hurtful docs and therapists along the way, and not so helpful therapies.

15 years now right meds, good matched docs and T (all working together), helpful therapy, and also just needing the dosages adjusted periodically. What a difference, and worth going through to get find the best matches.

Listen to your instincts and trust in them, be in close contact with docs and/or T's, and if not working, life is too short to suffer; make a change with either different therapy, meds, or find the right doc or T for you that will listen. You are worth it and deserve it.

[Sometimes psychotic]

Had constant psychosis 1.5 months...went on risperidone 2mg...stopped 98% of hallucinations....had side effects I didn't care for so switched to abilify 10mg which I was on for a year and stable...no hallucinations started to taper off ended up on 7.5 mg for another year then tapered at 2.5mg down every 6 weeks. Been off the meds about 6 months now so basically early and consistent treatment along with cbt therapy resolved the condition entirely...as far as I'm concerned I could not have gotten to where I am today without the meds....

[Altered Moment]

Psyche meds get a lot of bad press lately and for very valid reasons. There are studies that say anti depressants are no better than placebo. Side effects, withdrawal, diabetes, etc, etc. The real world data seems to say they are effective in a certain percentage of people. 30 to 50%. I am not sure. There is the StarD study done by NIMH.

I am very interested in why they work good for some and not for others. Of course probably no one can answer that for me. Not enough is known.

I thought I would bump this thread to see if any others want to report success with meds.

[Ripose]

In the last 10 years my meds have been dismal failures. Until I get a new pcp and she agreed to increase my risperidone from 3 to 5 mg daily. Within about 3 weeks I noticed (so did my wife) that my angry outbursts had all but disappeared, the voices went from yelling to mere whispers and I was no longer seeing spiders. The sense of relief has been incredible.

Remember: After a reasonable length of time if you are getting nowhere with your pdoc find another or ask your regular doctor for help. It can keep you from wasting years due to undue suffering.

EDIT: I forgot to mention that I also no longer think that someone is sneaking up behind me to kill me. I can use my computer worry free during the night now.

[simplydivine1030]

Hello all I take lamictal,vyvanse and abilify. I can't do SNRI's because they make me manic and I've tried 2 SSRI's (lexapro and zoloft) and they made me like a zombie. I do feel like I need something to help depression and mixed episodes. I'm only on 7.5 mg of abilify and I'm hoping at a higher dose it will help my paranoia and panic. My doc is pretty open to letting me try different meds so if anyone has a suggestion??