Quote :

"well can you at least admit that people SHOULD be depressed if they are a fatass and that "ur doin it wrong" if you take a happy pill to make yourself feel better about your lard instead of exercising??"

Ah, yeah this thread kind of isn't about that.

This is about people with a history of mental illness and depression related issues that have led to them to seek some form of treatment to better themselves because the standard things either didn't work or are out of reach. Specifically, it's about a certain class of meds whose effects can vary wildly not only between the types of medication but by the company that produces the medication, resulting in huge swings in quality of life for the people that need them to attempt to correct a chronic imbalance in their life.

If you want a bunch of us who have taken this medication to argue in favor of your silly little views on why most people take meds like these you're going to be disappointed.

^^^^ Haha, go outside or sit in front of some terribly bright lights. That seems to be the suggested treatment.

Quote :

"I am absolutely amazed at how many people take these sorts of meds. The only time I take pills is some sort of fever reducer or cold medicine when I get sick."

That's because you're naive and fortunate enough to not have direct experience with problems that end up requiring serious, dangerous medication. Not all of us were blessed with good mental health, with a lack of incurable diseases, or with a tolerable lot in life. Please recognize that nobody in these situations wants to be dealing with shit like this.

[Edited on November 8, 2009 at 10:58 PM. Reason : Two pages of tomfoolery.]

[Edited on November 8, 2009 at 10:58 PM. Reason : ]

11/8/2009 10:58:22 PM

ok... I think its overprescribed, but you guys are obviously free to keep eating meds instead of exercising (evan).

[Edited on November 8, 2009 at 11:56 PM. Reason : s]

11/8/2009 11:47:31 PM

Who are you to judge people here and say they don't deserve to take medication?

Why did you have to come and shit on everyone here and turn it into a soap box thread? People were trying to help eachother.

I wish this site had functioning moderators, because you would be gone.

11/9/2009 12:09:09 AM

If I wasn't such a nice guy...or perhaps if I hadn't sought treatment 14 years ago, I'd be feeling the overwhelming urge to break this guy's face with a piece of pipe.

11/9/2009 12:17:25 AM

Quote :

"ok... I think its overprescribed, but you guys are obviously free to keep eating meds instead of exercising (evan). "

most people don't debate that they are over-prescribed (so are a lot of meds)

11/9/2009 11:34:29 AM

I went through an odd patch in undergrad, the whole depression/hating yourself thing for no reason whatsoever. I went on lexabro/wellbutrin for a while, and it helped alot. I finally went off it after a year (relatively gradually) simply because I felt I didn't need it any more. Looking back, I think alot of it was actually the birth control I was on at the time. Back then I didn't know birth control could effect my mood so drastically, and didn't pinpoint it as a cause since I'd been on it for so long. Now I have mood swings, but I can definitely pinpoint them as hormonal in nature.

11/9/2009 11:53:09 AM

make a serious commitment to yoga and meditation. in most cases it will work better than any happy pill.

if that doesn't work, get cymbalta.


disclosure: i make $ when people take cymbalta



[Edited on November 9, 2009 at 12:29 PM. Reason : disclosure]

11/9/2009 12:28:01 PM

For the record, I'm not just somebody sitting on the sidelines - I've seen and dealt with severe mental illness before.

That may, in fact, be why I reacted so harshly to the evan archetype (I feel sad that I'm fat, so give me a happy pill).

11/9/2009 1:18:46 PM

you obviously don't know what you're talking about. i won't spill his personal shit on here but there's a lot more to it than that in his case. and his case def is not the norm.

11/9/2009 1:31:22 PM

Depakote evens me out, Wellbutrin lifts me up.

It works for me.

11/9/2009 1:38:55 PM

^^thanks, man - nice to know someone's got my back around here.

11/9/2009 2:52:00 PM

and it isn't a freaking happy pill

I WISH i saw puppies and rainbows around every bend

but i don't

11/9/2009 6:55:55 PM

damn I can't believe people are still preaching that happy pill bullshit

these drugs are designed (well at least used) to bring people out of emotional shit that goes well beyond anything any event could make a healthy person feel, it shocks me people think if a healthy person takes these drugs they will magically make normal problems disappear



[Edited on November 10, 2009 at 2:58 AM. Reason : k]

11/10/2009 2:51:50 AM

^ people think that, because they do to a certain extent.

to a certain type of person, it is easier to hide from their problems than to address their root cause. This saddens me because it perpetuates the stigma for the population that really does have a true medical problem.

[Edited on November 10, 2009 at 7:26 AM. Reason : s]

11/10/2009 7:25:28 AM

I'm not exactly sure how people on medication are hiding from their problems. You were talking about your own interactions with severe mental illness, what exactly was your experience?

11/10/2009 11:25:02 AM

i have a friend that is a supertroll like solinari about psychiatric medications, saying that people are lazy and stupid for taking them, nobody informs the patient accurately enough about potential effects, etc etc.


turns out she took medication for a short while in her late teens and was wilding out and being a ho and blames, in entirety, the medication for it. and now she claims it gave her tourette's because when shes thinking about something shell say shit out loud when she gets a problem. whatever. sounds pretty normal to me, meds or no meds.

11/10/2009 12:13:52 PM

^so she blames medicine for making her a tactless slut?

interesting... usually it does the opposite.

11/10/2009 12:19:29 PM

Quote :

"I'm not exactly sure how people on medication are hiding from their problems."

Some are, some aren't.

I doubt that any in the first category would admit it to themselves... It feels a lot better to puff up with righteous indignation cauze, "you don't knooow me!!! /maury show"

11/10/2009 1:41:46 PM

Unless you have a doctorate in Psychiatry, shut the fuck up and get out.

11/10/2009 1:48:53 PM

Quote :

"^ people think that, because they do to a certain extent. to a certain type of person, it is easier to hide from their problems than to address their root cause. This saddens me because it perpetuates the stigma for the population that really does have a true medical problem."

well I'm not sure what you are going for here, you seem to just have a bone to pick with evan, but I'll state again, a totally normal, healthy person shouldn't feel anything it they take an antidepressant

MDD does not equal normal sadness, now I'll admit many times antidepressants are given to people who would be better off with behavioral therapy but if the ADs helped them then they really did have a problem

11/10/2009 8:58:26 PM

i don't have a bone to pick with evan at all - his example was merely a convenient one. An archetype, if you will.

If it helps you feel better, replace "evan" with "billy bob"

Quote :

"if the ADs helped them then they really did have a problem"

Well, that really depends on how you define problem, doesn't it. Believe it or not, perhaps across the billions of people on this earth, we do not all respond to medication in the same way and furthermore, perhaps we are not all meant to have identical levels of serotonin in our brains.... Perhaps some of us are meant to have different personalities and temperaments.

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=depression+intelligence
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=depression+creativity

Here's a radical thought - just because someone is not perfect, doesn't mean we should medicate them. Again, I do not deny there are legitimate cases and needs for SSRI medication. This thread was intended for people with experience with SSRI and I do have direct experience with the benefit that SSRI medication can have for someone with a true medical condition.

P.S. Just wanted to point out that someone who is truly depressed after losing a parent or child could possibly see an improvement in mood if they took an SSRI. These types of stressors can cause physiological changes in the brain that would respond positively to depression meds. My only point is that you are supposed to be depressed after something like that. You probably disagree and think that they should not feel so bad - that's fine.... Some people like to take a pill to make it easier - there's nothing inherently wrong with that.


[Edited on November 10, 2009 at 9:15 PM. Reason : s]

11/10/2009 9:06:01 PM

I don't think anyone is arguing that you SHOULDN'T be depressed after losing a parent.

They're saying that if you were on the border of needing medicine anyways before losing the parent and are still very depressed well after you should be getting over the loss then maybe SSRI's could help.

But you already know that I'm sure.

11/10/2009 9:24:13 PM

fine... i've made my point anyway. belaboring it won't do any good

11/10/2009 9:28:26 PM

At the time I needed it, Wellbutrin was a godsend.

11/10/2009 9:40:09 PM

Quote :

"My only point is that you are supposed to be depressed after something like that. You probably disagree and think that they should not feel so bad - that's fine.... Some people like to take a pill to make it easier - there's nothing inherently wrong with that. "

false

i like to take a pill so i don't want to slit my wrists, so i can get out of bed in the morning, and function as a normal human being like 70% of the time. i have major nightmares and flashbacks about shit that happened. i am terrified of getting disturbing phone calls. when i was on the phone the other night with my dad he said "we need to talk" and i almost vomited because i thought he was going to tell me that my brother was dead or something. he just thought i was mad at him, luckily. but i told him to NEVER say those words to me again. EVER. i spend most of the day everyday reliving certain moments in my mind of my parents illnesses (the really scary parts) OR trying to force myself to think about other things.

i'm not just sad because my mom died. i know you'll never understand that, but i'll try to explain again. its more of the TRAUMA that i went through and am still going through psychologically. like yes, as i admitted like a million times, everyone feels sad and has these emotions. i don't feel happy. i don't feel "better" now. i'm not cured. it isn't making it easy.

and i know i should be sad because my mom died. but that isn't it. its like - reliving these moments of sheer terror that i can't get over. i mean i was the only one in control of my family and making BIG decisions (like true life or death decisions) and its just really hard not to think about the different choices i could have made 100% of the time.

and i'm not saying that everyone wouldn't feel this way. i'm sure they do/would but i just feel like taking medicine puts me into the realm of "normal" emotional responses to bad situations. it doesn't make it easy. i'm still extremely sad, stressed, anxious, upset but i just feel like i'm feeling these things in a more normal way than i was before taking the medicine. i mean i don't even know what normal is. i just know that i can quasi function now and that is good enough for me.

11/10/2009 9:41:53 PM

oh and maybe taking medicine is "HIDING" from my problem or covering it up or whatever, but unless you want to pay for my therapy or convince an insurance company to or convince medical professionals to focus more on therapy and behavior than just prescribing a pill, then this is pretty much all i have.

[Edited on November 10, 2009 at 9:44 PM. Reason : .]

11/10/2009 9:43:42 PM

Quote :

"P.S. Just wanted to point out that someone who is truly depressed after losing a parent or child could possibly see an improvement in mood if they took an SSRI. These types of stressors can cause physiological changes in the brain that would respond positively to depression meds. My only point is that you are supposed to be depressed after something like that. You probably disagree and think that they should not feel so bad - that's fine.... Some people like to take a pill to make it easier - there's nothing inherently wrong with that."

dude I seriously doubt she just suddenly popped in an antidepressant like a tylenol after it happened, a good doctor wouldn't perscribe one unless he saw that she was not able to function after an extended a period of time and most antidepressants take weeks to work anyways

11/10/2009 9:46:10 PM

technically wellbutrin's not an SSRI


fwiw

11/11/2009 12:23:49 AM

it's actually not even classified as an SNRI... it mainly works with dopamine and norepi.

11/11/2009 1:12:10 AM

Quote :

"Here's a radical thought - just because someone is not perfect, doesn't mean we should medicate them. Again, I do not deny there are legitimate cases and needs for SSRI medication. This thread was intended for people with experience with SSRI and I do have direct experience with the benefit that SSRI medication can have for someone with a true medical condition. P.S. Just wanted to point out that someone who is truly depressed after losing a parent or child could possibly see an improvement in mood if they took an SSRI. These types of stressors can cause physiological changes in the brain that would respond positively to depression meds. My only point is that you are supposed to be depressed after something like that. You probably disagree and think that they should not feel so bad - that's fine.... Some people like to take a pill to make it easier - there's nothing inherently wrong with that."

The amount of incorrectly medicated people is incredibly small compared to the amount of correctly medicated people who have benefited tremendously.

Do you have any cases of some doctor prescribing long-term SSRIs after someone felt "down" due to a loss in the family or are you just spouting bullshit as usual?

11/11/2009 8:49:52 AM

I'm going with bullshit for $500, alex.

11/11/2009 8:54:42 AM

I personally believe that individuals should try diet, exercise, and therapy before immediately popping pills to solve mental problems. Often times medications cause other unforeseen complications. However, at a certain point, medication is the best method for mental equilibrium due to defective neurotransmitters which can be regulated with antidepressants. Diet and exercise should always be incorporated into any medication regiment, but some patients simply ignore this strategy in place of just the medication, which is a big mistake.

[Edited on November 11, 2009 at 9:14 AM. Reason : -]

11/11/2009 9:10:48 AM

I think you're under the impression that people can just walk up to a grocery store and purchase Prozac. That isn't the case. They have to be evaluated by a licensed Psychiatrist who will evaluate whether or not the person needs medication. Often they will recommend the person see a therapist instead.

11/11/2009 9:31:16 AM

You inferred incorrectly.

11/11/2009 9:49:23 AM

Well then I got the wrong impression from:

Quote :

"I personally believe that individuals should try diet, exercise, and therapy before immediately popping pills to solve mental problems."

11/11/2009 10:16:20 AM

That was meant to suggest that many patients immediately skip to step four (requesting antidepressants), ignoring steps 1, 2, and 3 (diet, exercise, and therapy).

11/11/2009 10:35:18 AM

True, and I would hope that a licensed psychiatrist would seek out other avenues before immediately prescribing antidepressants.

11/11/2009 10:36:09 AM

I would hope for perfection in the world, also.

11/11/2009 10:47:11 AM

http://www.who.int/research/en/

11/11/2009 1:06:39 PM

Quote :

"True, and I would hope that a licensed psychiatrist would seek out other avenues before immediately prescribing antidepressants."

Unfortunately, a lot of people see their general physicians as a first step for treating symptoms of depression. These physicians aren't trained in psychotherapy and usually will be inclined to prescribe medication as a first step. Some psychiatrists also do the same; when I first started therapy, I went through several psychiatrists who immediately wanted to start me on medication without trying alternatives first. I think it's the practice of most Duke mental health professionals to prescribe first with hopes of making therapy sessions easier.

I've spent years trying to alter my lifestyle (diet, exercise, etc) in hopes of getting off of medication, and my current psychiatrist (who I have been seeing twice a month lately) completely supports my mission to eliminate the need for any medication. Unfortunately it hasn't been easy, and I get very ill, very anxious, super OCD, and highly dysfunctional when I try to reduce my dosage any. Usually after a month or two I have to go back to my normal dosage.

I hate... HATE being on medication, but if it helps make me feel almost normal and allows me to be functional, then I think it's worth it. I feel better than I have in a long, long time, and I attribute that to my working hard over the past 8 years to find that ideal balance between lifestyle, therapy, and medication.

11/11/2009 8:56:47 PM

Many of you would benefit from Cannabis

11/14/2009 2:29:48 PM

Looky here, n00b...my guess is that damn near everybody in this thread has already experimented extensively with cannabis, myself included.

It has a pretty bad effect on me, believe it or not...and there's a good chance that if you came and got stoned with me, you'd end up leaving on a stretcher in a meat wagon. i get really mean when I smoke. So I don't smoke anymore.

11/14/2009 2:44:26 PM

I can't smoke weed. The last several times I did, it led to very, very bad panic attacks.

[Edited on November 14, 2009 at 2:59 PM. Reason : ]

11/14/2009 2:59:19 PM

Okay...Look here, son. I'm no noob, I've lurked this place ( not extensively) for many years, long before I registered. Also my experience level with my topic is much higher than yours. As for your comment, perhaps your smoking environment has something to do with your aggression. Maybe the people you smoke with give you bad feelings that you would normally not express. Maybe you should consider that your reaction is somewhat justified. When you smoke, it does not "make" you a certain way. I am only offering my experience with the world to be helpful, not get hated on by some mad dude.

As for arcgreek: This is common, you could try adjusting your dosage/smoking method to gain better relaxation effects of cannabis. If you smoke certain strains, too much, or from a vaporizer, you will get mostly THC, and you WILL probably get a panic attack if you are prone to them. The trick is that some people need lower THC for pot to even be enjoyable for them at first, but over years of usage will slowly seek higher THC percentages as they get accustom to the effects. -peace

[Edited on November 14, 2009 at 3:43 PM. Reason : =]

11/14/2009 3:42:25 PM

I have absolutely no want to smoke. I work in a company that test, and will shortly resume competing in a sport that tests. It's effects on the body are not of benefit w/ my current goals. I no long require the meds mentioned in this thread. I don't find it as something that I want to use due to my current and future goals.

I've smoked a good bit of it in hs, and the earlier years of college. The cost, legality, potential loss of job, potential disqualification, and potential negative impact on my future career would make smoking pot a royally stupid idea.

[Edited on November 14, 2009 at 3:55 PM. Reason : dosage? are you fucking kidding me?]

11/14/2009 3:54:51 PM

Who the fuck you think I'm kidding. I'm sorry your that deep in that ALL these things will happen/even apply if you smoke: "The cost, legality, potential loss of job, potential disqualification, and potential negative impact on my future career" (President?)


I tried to give you some tips as to what works for many people that UNDERSTAND the subject. You act like I violated your brain. I'm glad you got off the prescrip meds, they can sometimes have negative side effects, many of which, especially long term ones, are not fully understood given the relatively short period of time humans have been using them. Perhaps I should say I'm glad that your proud of getting off them, because in some ways that helps to stop using them, if you get my point.

Less aggression next time, more thinking.

11/14/2009 4:07:17 PM

Pot isn't the universal cure-all. Get over yourself/cause.

11/14/2009 4:12:55 PM

I take lamictal for my bipolar, and it works.

11/14/2009 4:17:48 PM

I know I never made that claim, so why did you? Many people combine it with SSRIs or whatever else works for them. Again, I'm giving advice, and you attack like it raped you. If you don't want to smoke, ok, wonderful, but you seem like an aggressive little prick. How about you get over me and don't post back or just be an adult, end this amiably and disprove my prick theory, I'm only trying to help. I hope someone reads my first post and it helps them have a better life. peace

EDIT: If you medicate in some way and feel like you have an effective solution, then disregard what I said, and continue doing what you do and don't listen to doubters.



[Edited on November 14, 2009 at 4:26 PM. Reason : ++]

11/14/2009 4:24:10 PM

wow, its always awkward when you see someone piss their pants during their first internet argument.

11/14/2009 4:25:08 PM