Trintellix (vortioxetine) for Major Depression or possibly Anxiety.

@ lynnhurster

Oh please don’t worry about it. 😊

I have been diagnosed as bipolar 2, and coirrectly I believe since it pretty much explains my whole life. I was on antidepressants and got flipped. It can happen, and in my case it got pretty scary. Insane depression. Worse than I'd ever known. I went on lamictal about a year-and-a-half ago and have had remarkable success. It was originally administered for epilepsy, then showed significant promise with bipolar, and is prescribed "off label" for the condition. I went from severe depression to all but none, and when it does set in, it's pretty minor and passes quickly, more along the lines of the sort of normal depression everyone experiences from time to time. It never gets existential like it used to. It turned my life around. It's worth asking about.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2655087/
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2655087/

@ rosebookay

Thank you for your comment. You articulated exactly what I was trying to say. I have had periods during this fight of many decades where antidepressants along with therapy both by a psychiatrist and a therapist in addition to the meds. Unfortunately, they all stopped working for me and yes some were torturous for me personally. I also had mentioned I did do TMS twice, once with limited success and the second with no success. I have never stopped trying to treat my depression until my last experience with Trintellex which made me so sick but I still took it for 2-3 years. I had decided enough was enough and believe it or not, my depression has at least been somewhat tolerable since stopping antidepressants. I’m happy that they work for the person who commented to me that he felt sorry for my family. I thought it was truly the most insensitive response I’ve ever heard or read. Thank you for your explanation and validation that there is not a one fix for all.

@daveshaw

Your comment only brought more pain to me. Please in the future realize that there is no treatment that works for everyone do you spare others from your judgmental opinions. Glad you’re having success but not all are as fortunate.

I am sorry and I will stop posting on the site. I was just trying to share my experiences hoping it might help others.
You will see no further posts from me.
Good luck to you.

You are most welcome. From my experience as a mental health professional I too found the response to be very insensitive. I;m glad you found my words to be validating. People seem to think there’s a pill for everything and everyone and it’s simply not true. I wish you all the best on your journey. Many people find they feel surprisingly better when they stop medications that were actually making them worse. Let’s hope that continues for you.

A. Moderator sent me a message and I had the feeling this moderator was thinking we were bordering on “inappropriate” or rule breaking comments yesterday. I stand by my comments and today, the original poster, validated my response. He had found the posters response to be inappropriate and, from a professional standpoint, it was. When you are a mental health professional you are duty bound to calll out unskilled and inappropriate comments. I;m not sure what credentials the Moderator possesses but as I said earlier, I stand by my comments and am thankful I spoke up as it seemed to help the original poster to be validated in thinking someone’s comments were inappropriate. This moderator did also send the message to the poster who offended the original poster so it really felt like she was issuing a kind of warming. I don;t feel I deserved a warning even if it was disguised as something else and, as I say, I am curious as to the credentials of this Moderator.

@daveshaw

It was never my intention for you to stop posting. Please don’t. I’m sure that your insight from your own experiences will help others. I don’t believe anyone especially people who suffer from any type of mental illness would purposely intend to hurt others. Of course the decision you make as to whether to stop posting is yours, but please don’t stop on my behalf. I do only hope you continue to find the relief you deserve. Take care.

I feel certain that I'd be doing much better if I were able to continue with the small dose of clonazepam / Alprazolam that I'd been taking as needed (for anxiety and occasional panic attacks.) We're the same age, but somehow you are able to find a doctor who will keep prescribing your Benzos. I was initially prescribed clonazepam by the VA some 30-some years ago. They no longer prescribe Benzos at all, and haven't been fortunate enough to locate anyone within the tri-county area in which I currently live who will prescribe Benzos at all, regardless of the dose or circumstances. Doctors have sympathized about my abrupt discontinuance of the meds, but tell me to "hang in there" or "tough it out." Both the physicians and I know that it's not only extremely difficult, but dangerous to just stop taking these meds. I've done well enough throughout life coping with trauma, depression, and anxiety, but I've never felt so horrible as I do now. Therapists and psychiatrists are mandated reporters, so I refuse to tell them I'm leaning toward suicide if my depression and anxiety doesn't improve. Until I was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease, I was quite active--surfed, played tennis, did martial arts, and even played pick-up basketball at the school yards. Now, I am able to walk--using a walker or, if I'm well-enough, using a cane. I know that depression eventually subsides, having lived with it most of my life; but never have I had long-lasting and major depression. I know that if I could takes as little as 0.5 or even 0.25 mg/day of either clonazepam/alprazolam I could at least begin socializing, going outdoors regularly, and regaining my life. I'd finally found the ideal "cocktail" for treating Bipolar, depression, anxiety, and enjoying life. Now, it seems over. Just wondering; but how would you react to having your clonazepam stopped.

I said I would not post anymore but I am making an exception for you.
Unfortunately because of the Opioid epidemic in this country “ benzo’s” have been lumped in as a controlled substance. I have never heard of anyone overdosing on clonazepam and I can speak from experience that I certainly don’t use it to get high. I have taken the same dose for over thirty years to treat my depression and I know what I would go through if I tapered much less had to quit cold turkey. I did try tapering because of this site and when I told my primary care physician her comment was why would I do that. She told me that since I don’t smoke or drink and exercise vigorously 6-7 days a week there is no reason for me to stop taking clonazepam. She told me to tune out the chatter on the site regarding “benzo’s” and just continue what I was doing.
I don’t know where the Tri State area is but my guess is it is in a conservative part of the country. Have you tried going outside of the VA network? I would imagine the VA doctors are strictly by the book.
Hang in there. I hope you can find some Doctor willing to think outside the box. They are out there but normally they have been in practice for quite awhile. My primary care physician sees only elderly patients and does think outside the box.
Good luck and I am glad you reached out to me. I wish I could do more for you.