Anyone Who Takes Antidepressants?

So, keep in mind that I'm very strongly biased by my own experiences, and that the things which have worked for me, do not work for everyone.

That said: I spent years being told that I had "organic" problems and "imbalances" of one kind or another, and that I "needed" drugs to feel happy. I heard this from people with impressive titles, and so for a long time, I believed it.

None of that stuff ever really worked for me, and I grew dismayed of being put on one cocktail after another. I got sick of side effects. I got sick of feeling crazy. I decided I had to find a different path for myself.

I put a lot of effort into finding someone who was a licensed MD, with lots of drug knowledge, who was skeptical of the wisdom of putting unhappy people on these drugs. It was not easy to find someone like that, but they are out there. (Truthfully, first I started with `alternative doctors`, who were in general only too happy to share my distrust of drugs -- but who often suggested things which were very, very unscientific, and very, very expensive).

I had been on these drugs for so long, getting off them, and then returning to any semblance of a normal life took a long time, and a lot of effort.

The things that "worked" were:
* having a lot of love and support in my life from understanding people, some of whom had been through similar difficulties. I know that love and compassion and human interaction are a luxury in the modern world, and I do not know where I'd be now without the patience and support of my wife, family and close friends.
* having an engaging job that I find rewarding and challenging, for which I am compensated well enough to live comfortably and have interesting hobbies. Again, I realize this is a luxury.
* maintaining a strict sleep schedule. Sleeping at least 7-8 hours a night (or, at worst, laying calmly in darkness for that length of time during periods of protracted insomnia and stress)
* maintaining a relatively strict food pattern: lots of fresh fruits/vegetables/lean meats, limited sugar, as few processed foods as I can manage
* regular exercise. You don't have to go crazy, but, we evolved in a world where we probably walked 2-5 miles a day. Sitting down for 8 hours and then going home and sitting down for another 6 hours is unnatural and damaging. Exercise releases stress hormones, which the body then cleans up.
* mindfulness practices: yoga, meditation, whatever.

I question anyone who would pretend to tell you what the long-term effects of these drugs in you specifically will be. No one really knows. People exhibit a huge variety of responses to these drugs. Some people take them for years and never have any issues with them. Other people develop serious side effects which take years to resolve after short-term use. It's a big question mark.

I don't necessarily think St. John's Wort is especially benign, either. It's a plant-derived supplement, but it's clearly got active drugs in it.

From what you said about St. John's Wort, and then SSRIs, it sounds like you've been bouncing back and forth on a bunch of different drugs for a while, so your brain is probably sort of confused and scrambled.

My best advice is to figure out what you want to do. Do you want to try the drug approach? If so, then I'd pick a single drug, at the same dose every day, and stick with that for a period of several months to see what it's really doing. Are you tired of messing with drugs? In that case, I'd say stop taking them, and stick with that for several months. Hopping on and off drugs and supplements, and changing doses, seems like a recipe for disaster.

Whichever direction you go with drugs, I would also recommend taking some basic care of your diet, sleeping the best you can, and getting exercise at least every couple days (a little bit every day, is probably even more useful than trying to do a marathon session once a week). If you're open to the mindfulness practices, I know that I, as well as a number of other people I have spoken with, have found them very helpful in managing anxiety and depression -- but meditation clearly isn't a drug, and it's not going to instantly change the way you feel.

The reason I'm so gung-ho about significant lifestyle changes rather that drugs, is that I believe that anxiety and depression are often compounded by certain kinds of behaviors and lifestyles. So, if there is a lot of unchecked stress in your life, the best you can really do with drugs is paper over that. I think that drugs have their place in the short-term management of very acute distress states... someone in a severe crisis is not in a good position to try to make serious changes to their lifestyle! However, when the drugs do too good a job of papering over the cracks, it can be tempting to just stay on them and keep living the same toxic lifestyle. I think this is burning the candle at both ends, and this is exactly what I did for the years I was on Klonopin. As you might expect, when I finally tried to get off Klonopin, I was in worse shape than I had been to start with!

If what you want to do is change the way you feel, in a sustainable and big way, I think this is really only possible if you're willing to make big, significant changes to the way you approach life. This is easier said than done, but the alternatives are not pretty, either. And, I'm also not suggesting that any of this is magical. I have made all the changes I'm describing here, and I still feel uncomfortable and anxious or sad sometimes. That's part of life. But, there's a big difference between "I feel some anxiety, I'm aware of that and I'm not letting it prevent me from doing what I need to do" and "I am crawling up the walls thinking about killing myself for hours at a time".

 

I do not like drugs! I am not a fan of doctors. But...
Think of it this way:
You go to a mechanic to fix a problem with your car but before he is finished the job you take the car away to someone else and then while he's working on it you talk to someone else who hasn't seen the car and isn't even a mechanic and they suggest that there is something else wrong with it and they could do a better job so you take the car again and get this guy to start working on it.
Imagine the frustration of the Dr trying to help you. You go to him for help. He talks to you about a course of action which you seem to agree with and then some hiccup occurs and then instead of informing him of the problem so he can do his job and adjust things if needed or explain more about the course you have chosen you run to a bunch of people who aren't even Drs asking them what you should do.
Either choose not to go down the drug path or choose to go down it with the qualified Dr at the helm. Otherwise you will continue to run around like a headless chook getting absolutely nowhere or even making things worse.
Personally I would not go down the drug path at this stage for me. That is purely my choice for my individual and unique to me circumstance. But what you need to do is make a decision on something and stick with it long enough to see if it will work.
I hope you can work it all out and be well. I don't believe in luck so I don't say good luck, but all the best to you.

 

Have you looked into cognitive thought training. I think that's what it's called. I read a lot about it and cured my depression about twenty years ago without drugs. You can do it with drugs also or as a help alongside the drugs. It isn't an overnight cure and takes effort and practice. But you could do it while taking the drugs prescribed.

 

That's very interesting but I have found the proof is in the pudding!

I very much doubt that I am experiencing placebo, I guess it depends on the person, some people just don't take kindly to medication!

 

Ok, ok....You want a natural cure for depression? Look no further than camu camu.

"Improves Mood

We all need a little help now and then with balancing our mood and maintaining our mental health. Especially if we are embarking on a transformation journey.

Maybe more amazing than fighting herpes is camu camu’s ability to combat depression. Camu camu is listed second in effectiveness of plants containing chemical compounds with antidepressant properties. It is so effective against depression that it has even been used to wean users off dangerous anti-depressive medications (under supervision).

Alternative medical practitioners have also been testing its effectiveness in combating attention deficit disorder.

Even if you do not suffer from depression, herpes or ADD, camu camu helps maintain clarity of mind during stress (think: test taking, meeting your partner’s parents, or driving in the A.M. rush.)"

"THE SINGLE MOST EFFECTIVE NATURAL ANTIDOTE TO DEPRESSION I HAVE DISCOVERED OVER THE YEARS is a Peruvian herb known as Camu Camu. Camu is actually the dried, powdered pulp of a small fruit that grows in the Peruvian jungles; the powder has a tart, citrusy flavor. Camu has an unusually wide range of benefits. According to nationally-known researcher, Gary Null, it is the most potent anti-herpes substance available, and is used both to prevent and control attacks. Camu is very helpful for people who suffer from headaches and migraines, especially those headaches which result from toxicity of any kind (internal or external).

But perhaps its most interesting quality is its action as a natural anti-depressant, more effective than St. John’s Wort in most cases. And Camu is safer than St. John’s Wort.

The excerpt below is taken from The People’s Pharmacy Guide to Home and Herbal Remedies by Joe Graedon & Teresa Graedon, Ph.D. “We are very concerned about another interaction with St. John’s Wort, with light rather than medication. Joan Roberts, Ph.D., of Ford-ham University, has been studying the effects of light and drugs on the eye for decades. She has discovered that hypericin, an ingredient in St. John’s Wort, reacts to ultraviolet and visible light. When activated, hypericin becomes toxic to the lens and retina of the eye, increasing the risk of cataracts or macular degeneration over time. Because sunglasses don’t screen out visible light, they can’t protect people from this danger. We suggest that people taking St. John’s Wort stay out of bright light completely.”

In contrast, Camu is actually an excellent preventative against cataracts and glaucoma, according to Gary Null. In addition, like Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil, and most other pharmaceutical antidepressants, St. John’s Wort is an MAO inhibitor. Therefore, St. John’s Wort should not be taken along with any of these drugs. This makes it difficult for people who have severe depression to gradually wean themselves from their prescription onto a more natural alternative. In contrast, Camu is not an MAO inhibitor, and can be taken along with prescription anti-depressants during a transition period.

How effective is Camu at relieving depression?

While no one product works for everyone, I personally have a number of clients who swear by this herb, including several who have made a transition from Prozac and other anti-depressants. One woman told me her friends call Camu her “happy pills” because they are so dramatically uplifting to her mood. A 42-year-old psychologist, who says she was “born depressed”, tried Zo-loft, Prozac, Paxil, Wellbutrin, Serzone, and Luvox in addition to St. John’s Wort, 5-HTP, and a host of other natural treatments, all to no avail. She related that Camu worked for her “pretty much right away” and three weeks after starting, she was taking 2-3 capsules twice daily and felt “as if I’ve gone to heaven — it’s changed my life.”

Dr. Viana Muller, who has been instrumental in bringing Camu to North America, has interviewed a practitioner in New York City who was able to wean ten patients off of Zoloft and Prozac in a year’s time. These patients were able to remain depression-free even without their prescriptions, as long as they continued to take the Camu.

This full time, extremely busy medical kinesiologist states that an “overwhelming majority” of her patients who have tried Camu have found it to be “very helpful” for depression. And best of all, there are no side effects from using Camu, only health benefits. Camu also works very fast, so it is easy to monitor your dosage and your progress."

 

Vitamin C
Camu camu is chock full of vitamin C: 60 times more per serving than an orange! A teaspoon of camu camu powder has 1180 per cent of your recommended daily intake for vitamin C, which is important for gum health, among other functions in our body.

Valine
Valine is an amino acid found in camu camu. It's an essential amino acid, meaning that we must get it in food because our bodies can't produce it. Valine is used by thebody to prevent muscle breakdown and is important for nervous system and cognitive function.

Potassium
Our bodies need potassium for the proper functioning of the heart and kidneys. Camu camu is one way to get it: 71.1 milligrams are found in every 100 grams.

Leucine
This is another essential amino acid found in camu camu, one that our bodies need formuscle and bone tissue growth and recovery and the production of growth hormones.

Serine
Another amino acid! This one is key for digestion: serine helps to break down thebonds in proteins and polypeptides so they can be used by our bodies.

Flavonoids
Camu camu has several different flavonoids, which are compounds that are found in plants and are part of what gives fruits and vegetables their awesome colours. They mostly function in the body as antioxidants, neutralizing harmful free radicals.

Gallic Acid
Gallic acid is found in camu camu, which is good news because it appears to have anti-fungal and anti-viral properties. It also acts as an antioxidant.

Ellagic Acid
This is another acid with antioxidant properties, found in camu camu. It's been studied for anti-cancer effects, though research is still very early. Some research also indicates that ellagic acid has anti-diabetes effects.

Inflammation
In one study, 20 male smokers drank camu camu juice or took vitamin C tablets daily for a week. The group who took camu camu showed a decrease in some markers for antioxidants and oxidative stress at the end of the study, compared to no change for those who had vitamin C tablets.

 

I would just like to say that this is probably one of the best single piece of advice I have seen on this forum since my time on here.

I would only add, Life is a lottery, some can smoke cigarettes their whole life, never get cancer and die naturally of old age, others, not so lucky.
People take pharmaceutical drugs for a certain affliction and it doesn't fix that affliction, or it does, but give's massive horrible side effects and for others it does what it suppose to do without any issue's at all.

I don't just run to medication at every illness I have, throughout life I have never really taken any and even refused to take any for a headache.
I was very depressed, the anxiety never really concerned me, the medication that I am on has brought my old happy self back and I am grateful that I decided to try it, it is the only real medication I have been on my whole life!

Maybe that's why it is working so well.

@linearb , is dead right, A lifestyle change should always come first.

 

I really dont like drugs ..and i have never be on a drug. Some times i takes drugs for headaches but thats all...

From supplements i was taking the st john for two months until the tinnitus start over.

The problem is i have cronic pelvic pain and now tinnitus ..two problems that many doctors thinks that are psychosomatic disorders. Also my mood is very bad ..im loosing every day my life.I had a hope with antidepressants but now i fear that will make worst the tinnitus and i stopped them.

My doctor said that i will take the antidepressant for 9 months and then ill be probably "healthy"

Now im back to the start.

Maybe ill try remeron (it supposed that is safer for the tinnitus) or back to supplements like camu camu.

Does anyone take antidepressants and helped with tinnitus?

 

after reading of some people having success at having their tinnitus reduced after the intake of anti depressants, I decided to eventually start to experiment. I was prescribed amitriptyline because of the bad psychological state I am, however depression is the last of my problems, I want to try antidepressants to see if, fingers crossed, will help to reduce the tinnitus. I have read here that amitriptyline can be ototoxic (in the list there's mentioned 'ringing or buzzing in the ears'), so I'll skip this one for now. http://www.drugs.com/sfx/amitriptyline-side-effects.html

I am going to see a doctor this week, and ask him to change the amitriptyline to something else ( I still have to decide to what, maybe citalopram).

As I understand, I should NOT say that I am taking the antidepressants for the tinnitus, but that I am taking them for the depression, because no doctor is going to prescribe drugs for tinnitus, am I right?
Thanks and all the best

 

I am trying to learn more about this. I read some people who warn that some antidepressants can be ototoxic, but I have read elsewhere that the ototoxicity is not permanent, i.e. if the tinnitus gets worse after the intake of a particular antipressant, the side effect will stop after stopping taking the antidepressant. Who's right? Is anybody 'right' ?

 

Sorry, but how do you know about that?

I can understand why someone who has biological depression would need to take these drugs, but here we are talking about helping with the tinnitus, because some people seemed to have had the T reduced after taking them. Yes it makes little sense, but there it is.

 

There's also another major reason: profit. Factories that produce these drugs make tons of money.

 

I prefer to hop on my exercise bike and get tired, it really makes me sleepy afterwards, but to each his own

 

Linearb, have you written some posts about them? If so I'd be interested in reading them. Sorry about your negative experiences. I have always been prescribed a lot of drugs, always threw them in the toilet seat, never took them except once, I felt dumb and numb, as if I had smoked heroin or something. I am very wary of any 'illusory' mechanisms that makes one BELIEVE he's better. I was just hoping some of this crap can really help with the tinnitus, but maybe that too is an illusion. I don't know much about all this yet, but after having read for some hours, it looks like I'll better be less enthusiastic about these drugs. By the way, thanks for your input here and elsewhere.

all the best
WL

 

My case. Got T, panicked, depression. Started zoloft, t spiked a bit for few days and then stabilized. No changes in t after that. I was on zoloft for almost 2 years and then withdrew, no changes either. It helps stabilizing your mood.

 

I completely agree. If anyone has the above, he has a treasure, in every sense. For me, the lack of any of the above makes everything really, really bad. My family got dispersed after my mom died, many years ago. I had some excellent friends, but they started to have problems of their own.

The only difference between me and someone in a jail, is that I can go out of the house as I please, but have nowhere to go. Never felt so isolated and alone before, and I used to LOVE solitude.

It's like, I lost all the great things I had many years ago and as a child, all the great people around me, which I took all for granted. As a teen, I was angry and bitter, and about what? I wish I could go back. I would dance in the streets.

The irony of life is that one understands how great something was (family and friends), only when he has lost all of it.

I am glad you seem to be in a much better place than I am. Family and friends are the most important thing in one's life. All the rest is relative: money, 'success', 'careers', and all that, in the end, meaningless stuff.

 

I have an ex bf who used zoloft and his very quiet t became T while on it for maybe 3 weeks. I told him to discontinue immediately and fortunately for him he returned back to baseline t of which he is habituated to.

 

It is my underestanding that amtriptyline has sometimes helped lower tinnitus, do a search. I've taken it for anxiety, it was a low dose and it didn't help but it didn't hurt my tinnitus either.

 

Yes I had already searched before posting, and found conflicting information, that's why I asked here. Thanks for your input.