Greetings

Hi people.
I'm a 61 year old woman diagnosed with Dysthymic Disorder. It wasn't noticed by my parents when it began because my mother was suffering from depression herself. She, however, refused to have anything to do with the psychiatric profession having seen her own mother institutionalized (we're talking late 1930s-early 1940s) and in awful, awful shape.
So far, the best meds for me have been maximum dosage of effexor with a half mg of mirapex thrown in. The best my mood has become is feeling nothing. My doctors have been screwing with my meds because of a sleep disorder I've developed about a year and a half ago- Non-REM Parasomnia. Of course we did a sleep study and it was normal, but I constantly am moving my legs while I sleep (I've been unaware of this). The doc thought it was caused by the effexor and halved my dosage and we started on Welbutrin. Ever since then I've been slowly descending down to that dark, dark place that I haven't been to in a while. For about the past 10 years, since I was stable, my PCP has been managing my meds, but with these new developments, he's suggested I see a Psychiatrist. I've also started talking w/ a thearapist, but it may not be a good match because I get little response from him.
In the mean time, I'm waiting for my academy award because every time I go out, I fake a smile and pleasant disposition.

The worst feeling for me is waking up and seeing that the sun has come up and I have to fill another day. (I'm on disability due to back issues along w/ the depression).
I'm hoping I can find a sympathetic group here.

Hi mimsy. Welcome to Psych Central (PC). I am sorry you have suffer from Dysthymic Disorder.
Glad you have joined our community. It has been a slow process over the last year, but I have become more active in the community and it has helped balanced out my isolation on the outside. I have also found it has helped me build self esteem. This article explains that in more detail
Building Self-Esteem | Psych Central

Many people here at PC find they can share these feelings and what they are going through with the confidence that people go through similar things and can empathize. So many forums are offered as well as Chatrooms (after you have 5 posts or comments on others posts). Depression chat meets on Thursday night at 9pm EST and Anxiety Wednesday at 8PM.

You can also be an active member in other ways like supporting others in their questions, reading articles and posts http://forums.psychcentral.com that are applicable to your area of concern.

Please feel free to private message me or any of the Community Liaisons by left clicking on the name in blue to the left of their post) for questions or just to share.

Aloha Mimsy,

My depression symptoms are similar and I too have had nervous system complications from medications. (Parkinson's) I would encourage you to see a good psychiatrist to find some relief. Proper sleep is also critical for me to reduce the depressive symptoms as much as possible.

My psychiatrist also insisted I be seen by an endocrinologist and a neurologist where it was discovered that I had medical conditions which has contributed to the severity of my depression. A truly competent psychiatrist can see the big picture and work with you & other physicians to achieve the best possible outcome for you as a individual.

Best wishes, I too live with a false smile and cheery attitude (on the outside) everyday... It gets a bit old after a few decades!

Hi there Mimsy,

Welcome. This is a good sympathetic place to be.

I hear that having good sleep is very important for your health in general and your mental health. It's one of those things that tends to get worse as you get older. I don't know much about sleep other than the usual advice that you can find on the internet. I'm experimenting with improving in this area myself.

One thing you might suggest to your docs is to double check for any of the purely medical or nutritional problems that can really drag you down and contribute to depression. There are quite a few common problems and you can't really tell if you've got one yourself except that you feel really depressed or low energy. There's a list of such things here:

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

One thing that really helped me an enormous amount is understanding what was actually happening in my head when I was depressed. You might find these notes to be helpful for that:

http://egg.bu.edu/~youssef/SNAP_CLUB...0164151576.pdf

- vital

Hi and welcome to PC, sorry you have been living with dysthymia for so long. I also have dysthymia and when, for different reasons medication that had helped me stay fairly well for many years became ineffective I developed severe depression. I too would encourage you to see a psychiatrist, there is always something to try. Do you have to stay with this therapist if you don't feel right?
I really hope you get the support you need, this is a very good place for understanding and support in the meantime.
The very best of wishes as you find a way forward. This community has really helped me and I hope you find them as helpful as I have.

Hello Greetings - I too dread waking up and seeing another day for me to endure. I've been on all the anti-depressants and anti-anxiety meds. I turned 60 a few days ago and never thought I would STILL be in this shape at this age. I guess I thought I would "outgrow" the depression and anxiety. No such luck. I have a Master 's degree but also am receiving disability which mkaes me feel even more worthless - not being able to put that 9 years of college to use. My Mom also had depression and anxiety so I think there's definitely a genetic component involved. I just try to "stay in the moment" and not think about what the future holds. Taking a DBT class certainly helped, but one must remember to use these tools or just be back - depressed. I wish you the very best!