Depression help without meds?

Thank you Mjd.

Paxil was the first and only SSRI I've taken. 40 mg/day. I tried cutting down with the intention of stopping, but that didn't work well. It wasn't awful, I just didn't feel good. Hard to describe.

I do remember how happy I was not that long after I started taking Paxil. I would let a lot of little things bother me, everything stuck. Paxil fixed that. I reclaimed some control over a large part of my life.

And yes, good advice. I will be staying on Paxil.

(For those not familiar, Paxil has a reputation as being hard to quit, and my limited experience would confirm it. But as the structure of my brain, specifically serotonin re-uptake, hasn't changed, I see no reason to quit.)

Thanks again Mjd. I have not had a panic attack in the last 20 years. Panic attacks are nasty things. Hard to explain, but for those who have been through one, you know what I'm talking about.

All the best.

Joe

@heyjoe415 Thankyou Joe , you give me hope again. I went off Paxil and had horrible experiences with Lexapro and Prozac. I’m now on day 22 of 15 mg of Paxil and hope my psychiatrist will increase it today. I went off as I was on too much for my age of 78. I had tremors and 60 mg was too much. It worked so well for me, I hope it works again.
Mjdennis

You're very welcome MaryJean. Thanks for sharing your experiences with Lezapro and Prozac.

Paxil has worked for me since 2002, 24 years. When I started feeling "off" about two months ago, I talked with my PCP and she upped my dose from 40mg/day to 50mg/day. That has seemed to help quite a bit.

She also said 50mg/day was the maximum dose she would prescribe, so yes, 60mg/day sounds like too much.

Please let me know if your Dr increases your dose. 15 mg/day seems low but it's better, I think, to taper up until you find a dose that works.

All the best MJ!

Joe

@heyjoe415 Thankyou for you response. I have increased my Paxil to 20 mg. Since I was off Paxil for 60 days with the adjustment I uncomfortable with side effects but will not give up as it really worked for me when I was on it. You may not have had adjustment problems as you were already in it. I was off for 60 days and starting from the beginning. I really want it to work again and I’m hopeful and plan to see this through.
Mjdennis

Hi MJ,

I was on 40mg/day of Paxil for a very long time. A few years ago my PCP had me cut down to 30mg/day for one month and then 20 mg/day. Once I got to 20mg/day I just didn't feel right. Hard to explain. My mood was darker and for whatever reason, it bothered me most in the afternoon (I'm retired now and in the gym everyday).

He put me back on 40mg/day and things got better. Then this year, still on 40mg/day, the dark afternoon clouds returned, along with OCD. I saw my new PCP, and her recommendation was to increase by 10mg to 50mg/day, and that has helped quite a bit.

It sounds like Paxil has helped you as it has helped me. IMO there is no reason to stop taking it, and to only lower your dose and taper to a stop under a Dr's guidance. If 60 mg/day is what works for you and your Dr is ok with it, then stick with what works.

It sounds like you're at 20mg/day now and increasing the dose until you feel it is really working? Is that right? Is there a reason your Dr won't put you back on 60 mg/day if that is what worked?

It's always best to take the lowest dose possible. Your case sounds a lot like mine. I'm at 50mg/day now and I do feel better. As for OCD, I have to work at it and catch myself doing something I know to be useless, then I can stop. Problem is that those behaviors seem normal in the moment and are hard to spot.

All the best MJ! Please stay in touch.

Joe

@heyjoe415 Just out of curiosity why doesn’t anyone mention Zoloft/ Sertraline. When Prozac made the cover of Time Magazine I called my PCP at the time and said the article finally told me what I had been suffering from all those years. I tried Prozac and it made me anxious and she prescribed Zoloft. I have been on it for 35 years and have now reduced my dosage to 50mg. My psychiatrist recommended I add Wellbutrin and Buspar and I found them to all work well in tandem. I kept those doses the same.
Just curious. Last I heard Zoloft was the most prescribed antidepressant on the market.

Hi Dave,

I think you're right. Prozac does seem to get the most attention, or at least it did when SSRIs first surfaced. And I wouldn't be surprise to hear Zoloft is the most-prescribed SSRI.

Prozac may have made the cover of Time because it was the only SSRI available at the time. It was a breakthrough, although I have never taken it. Now there are many, many Rx drugs for depression, so selection is key. All SSRIs have similar results but different mechanisms of action.

Personally, I don't think Drs ask enough questions and patients are afraid to share much info with a Dr out of a misplaced sense of shame. When I finally reported my chronic depression to my Dr, he asked me a series of questions, not all of which I can remember.

But one question seemed to trigger the Paxil Rx. He asked me if I was bothered by what were really small matters and out of my control. I answered in the affirmative and he prescribed Paxil and I've been on it since 2002. I still don't know what that has to do with depression!

I tried Buspar for anxiety but it didn't work for me. I was prescribed the antihistamine Hydroxyzine by my dermatologist to deal with itchy forearms. Hydroxyzine is also used off-label to treat anxiety and it works for me. The only downside is that the body builds tolerance to Hydroxyzine.

It sounds like you suffered from depression for many years before SSRIs came along and the physiological reasons behind depression became known (serotonin transmission in the brain). I understand what that feels like, to be suffering from something you can't even really name and those close to you cannot understand. I hope you also started talk therapy. I found that very useful.

I have heard that Drs are adding Wellbutrin to boost anti-depressants that are losing potency over the years. I'm just glad you have an answer.

It's next to impossible to describe how crippling depression is to someone who hasn't experienced it. In closing, I found vigorous exercise to help my mood. Any eXercise program should also be discussed with one's PCP for their approval.

All the best Dave!

Joe

@heyjoe415 Yes it was nice to finally put a name to what I had been suffering from for years. I think you were prescribed Paxil because you were exhibiting symptoms of OCD in answering your Doctors initial questions.
I was in commission sales the majority of my working life until I retired and I did try other antidepressants but always came back to Zoloft, Buspar and Wellbutrin. Zoloft and Wellbutrin actually worked so well together that my psychiatrist told me they had a name for it. They called it “ Welloft”. Somehow Buspar got thrown in the mix probably because I was in sales.
Good luck to you Joe and all the others out there suffering this debilitating disease. I was lucky enough to have a psychiatrist that actually became a friend. That doesn’t happen much anymore. That was my talk therapy.

Thanks Dave,

I spent my career as a 100% commission salesperson as well. Until you get used to "working without a net", it's stressful. But in the end I did much better in my career.

I like "Welloft" - and yeah, I agree I was prescribed Paxil for depression AND OCD.

Joe