Treatment resistant depression help.

@crabby55
You can lead a horse to water ....
Does he acknowledge (as best he can) the severity of the depression?
Something a friend of my did (when discussion was not welcome) was print off some information/a brochure/book and just leave it on a table. If it's something he may be interested in, perhaps he will pick it up and have a glance at it.
I think we all/anyone who suffers from Depression would love to find that pill. Unfortunately it's hidden in a gold pot at the end of a rainbow.

@crabby55
I meant to add that it is wonderful you are looking out for him and doing what you can to support him. Whether he knows it or not, or acknowledges it to you .... he is a lucky man to have you.

@rufus31
ahhh, thank you. You hit the nail on the head on several points. I definitely am aware of leading the horse to water. My real question was wanting more of an opinion of what those of you are going thru. An opinion I've gotten , hope to get more and respect. It gives me insights as to some of the thought process. It's a fine line between helping and enabling. I'm not a great caretaker. I'll do up to a point. It is sad to see/watch your loved one become someone else and set themselves up for negativity.

To answer your question, I think he realizes the severity of his depression when it's convenient and in denial most the time. [the wishing it would just go away] I've said he is married to his depression. Isn't willing or completely unable to take steps or do the steps/tools he has been given thru outpatient/CBT etc.

@crabby55
Oh Boy .... I wish there was some explaining the thought process of a seriously depressed person. I am one and what my head does to me, what it makes me think and how absolutely almost impossible your own psyche makes it to take the steps you need to help yourself is mind boggling!
I am currently reading (well trying anyway) a book called 'Coping with Depression - From Catch 22 to Hope'. Everything a depressed person should do to try and help themselves is almost out of reach because of the depression....it really is a Catch 22 situation.
I hope somehow he will want to help himself, with the help of others....
It most certainly is not something most people can do on their own.

Thanks so much for your reply. It truly does give me a bit more of insight to the complexity of depression. I’ll definitely look into the book.

@crabby55 There are a couple of new brainwave stimulators approved by FDA especially for treatment resistant depression. They are administered by psychiatrists. It could be worth looking into that.

@joetex
thank you. I will look into it. I appreciate knowing what is out there. Actually my husband has gone thru Stanford for several programs. I think he is seeing a psychiatrist there now. With his depression he is fairly uncommunicative so that is where I'm actually vague on details.

SSRI had always worked for me. But over last few years I’ve had a lot stress in my life. My ARNP kept wanting me to change from lexapro to Zoloft which helped me totally recover from PPD years ago. The switch and Zoloft did not take. I went to a place I could never imagine. Drs have tried every drug and procedure and I’m still so bad sick and deemed TRD with severe anxiety. I worked for 38 years in same healthcare job and have been unable to work or function anymore. I’ve even been to Mayo.
Has anyone had something like this happen to them?

Hi, I understand how frustrating this is and not being able to find the right treatment for your symptoms. My situation has similarities to yours but I eventually put a halt on the medications, many years ago I did have some good results from my medications but eventually I would get off them because either they didn’t help me anymore or I just wanted to try living life without them. I’m now still recovering from the last SSRI antidepressants that I used earlier this year and I had a bad reaction to them, of course my options were to try another one, I even tried a compound pharmacy to help with reducing the dosage to see if it would help reduce the side effects. I finally said enough and stopped taking them but I went into serotonin withdrawal syndrome and it’s been a long and miserable journey but I didn’t give in, I was shocked to learn how many people are going through the same thing, these medications are very difficult to get off them, you’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t. I still have some side effects from the withdrawal symptoms but not nearly as bad as it was before, there’s definitely a light at the end of the tunnel. I’m not saying that you should take the route I took but the alternative is a miserable experience of going around in circles until you find the magic pill, please look for a good doctor with lots of experience with medication or even an experienced pharmacist, I hope that you find the best help you so desperately need.

Yes, me, in the last few years. Have been on Effexor 300 mg a day for many years and it seemed to be working up until the last couple of years. Of course it was exacerbated by my partners, illness, and subsequent death now I’m finding even the addition of other meds, such as Abilify, etc. don’t work. We’ve tried three even an increase of 75 mg of Effexor didn’t work made me feel worse. I’m basically at my wits end and the only thing that helps is Ativan, which I’m afraid to take because I have bad memory loss lately. Has anyone found something that helped them in the situation, such as this?