Anyone Successfully Treated For Treatment Resistant Depression?

@yram
I am a 65 year old man. I too struggle from pain. I have chronic post op nerve surgery pain and am on oxycodine and morphine that only mildly helps. This pain has tremendously exacerbated my many years of depression and anxiety. I am literally broken down physically and mentally....I am now out of desperation trying TMS for the depression. I have just been advised that acupuncture properly done can be very helpful with many types of pain including the type you and I suffer from. Additionally I was told it can also be helpful for depression and anxiety! I will be contacting a acupuncturist this week to incorporate it in my attempt to try and put my life back together...
Good luck my friend and please consider trying acupuncture yourself.
Be well!

@jimhd that does sound very challenging. I am rooting for you to make your decision based on what you feel is right for you. Your wife’s feelings matter in your relationship, but in the end, it’s you who has to live your life. You can start something and not continue it, by the way. I mean you could try Spravato and just see how it goes. If it’s not working out, you can just stop doing it. Or you could start tapering off those meds so you could try TMS, and if you start going to a dark place, you can restart the meds. I hope that is helpful.

I also have suffered from chronic depression for decades, with treatments working short term and then not working. I'm on Escitalopram (generic for Lexapro) 20 mg, and it seems to be taking the edges off of the depression for the most part. For anxiety, my doctor prescribes gabapentin - twice a day. And it really seems to help - the weirdest thing is I was a life long nail biter; got on the gab and I no longer have any urge to bite my nails. As I am sure you are aware, there are approximately a bazillion anti-depressants out there; when one stops helping, try something else. The doctors don't really know why some work and others don't - it's all very individualized, so you just keep trying until you find one that works (for however long it works, and then it's time to try again). Good luck.

@jimhd
Hey Jim,
I'm 65 years old and seem to have had the same horrific past 25 years of failed depression/ anxiety treatments / meds.
Out of desperation I am trying ETS. Ughh it's a 1/2 hour ride five days a week for 36 sessions. I am currently on my 14th treatment. I don't notice any improvement yet although they told me any possible improvement would be after 20 -25 weeks...I have been in a really bad way giving up hope that I will ever be able to live a normal happy life. If this doesn't work I will have no choice but to try the few options left: ETC, Spravato.
God bless, and I hope what ever treatment decision you choose works for you! Should you get good results with a treatment PLEASE LET ME KNOW...

@yram
God does love you. I try to believe that as I try to navigate my similar journey.
Be well!

Yes. But by definition, there is no treatment. (Defining “resistant” as “impervious”) .
[https://www.thefreedictionary.com/impervious]

TRD must be TRD to exist. If you believe it does. If it is capable of being “cured” and evidence thus shows, then it never was TRD in the first place.

“Impervious: Not capable of being affected or disturbed”.

DSM only requires two adequate attempts (failures) to treat successfully a known depressive disorder, to be labeled TRD. But does that make it an unknown disorder? And the attempts both need not be medicinal. Acupuncture let’s say.
TRD could be called an untreatable depressive disorder. Like some end-stage disease. Perhaps it should be called an “untreatable depressive disorder”. But that really is rather depressing. There are only depressions whose successful treatment has yet to be found. Many even turn to God. Like He’s not really booked out❗️

[https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/impervious]

And then there’s esketanine; the ankle-monitored, unemployed brother-in-law of ketamine. Apparently its creators aggregated such a plethora of potential side-effects that the numbed patient forgets about his depression and most everything else (“disassociation, dizziness, nausea, sedation, spinning sensation, numbness, lack of energy, feeling anxious, increased blood pressure, vomiting, headache, feeling drunk” [https://www.spravato.com/?&msclkid=8e8f4c41e3f31da32945252de5d4c72e&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=EG-DTCB-BR-RTD-Spravato-JJ-Core-Exact-Q3&utm_term=spravato&utm_content=Spravato%20Core-TXT-National-NA-1-EX&gclid=8e8f4c41e3f31da32945252de5d4c72e&gclsrc=3p.ds&gad_source=7&gad_campaignid=23014979215].
Its website challenges you to “feel like yourself again”. Ah - Thanks no.

@jseabass I’m starting Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) which includes acupuncture and herbal supplements. TCM unlike Western Medicine (WM) aims to heal the body in a holistic manner, not just treating symptoms. I started on Effexor and stopped because I’ve concluded all antidepressants deal with symptoms only. They alter your brain and the only thing you can hope for is that your body will heal itself or be on meds forever.
I’ve had 4 acupuncture treatments so far and feel positive but of course not cured. I tend to keep on for another 2 months (1per week) I’m also taking some TCM herbal supplements and WM supplements to ease off the Effexor. Symptoms are tolerable.

Here’s some info on TCM relating to depression/anxiety.
“Progress of research on the treatment of depression by traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions

3. Conclusion and prospects
The treatment of depression remains a major challenge for modern medicine due to a lack of understanding of its pathogenesis, and existing treatments have not been successful in halting or reversing the progression of depression at an early stage. TCMPs have long been under clinical investigation for their efficacy in the treatment of depression. This article reviews the antidepressant mechanisms of classic TCMPs by examining their clinical research and mechanism of action, including improving neurotransmitter levels, regulating inflammatory factors, balancing the HPA axis, increasing brain-derived neurotrophic factors, enhancing neural plasticity, and improving intestinal flora disorders.

The field of TCM boasts a rich history and extensive expertise in addressing depression. It has fewer side effects than WM, which makes it an advantage in this regard. Moreover, TCM does not produce drug tolerance. Taking Suanzaoren Decoction as an example, it can affect the levels of neurotransmitters and inflammatory factors in the body through CAMP/PKA/CREB, JAK2/STAT3, BDNF, and other pathways, thus improving the patient's depressive state. This indicates that TCMPs has multi-mechanism and multi-pathway characteristics, which is consistent with its multicomponent structure. Similarly, the characteristics of multicomponent, multimechanism, and multipathway also bring certain difficulties to their in-depth study.”

@meingan
Thank you so much for your enlightening, and informative info regarding TCM and how ut can help my years of am depression and anxiety along with my pain issues. Now I eagerly look forward to my intake thus week with a acupuncturist.
Again thanks for the positivity and support!!!
Be well!

@jseabass Since TCM is so complex, I believe that it is critically important to find a TCM/acupuncturist who is very experienced. I believe God led me to the one I have. She is so gentle, attentive and is never in a rush. She listens carefully to all my concerns and we have helpful discussions about the strategy she intends to focus on at each session. Her treatment is the only one I look forward to, giving me comfort and hope. Look hard to find a very reputable doctor. Best of luck! God bless!