Your Health or Your Wants?

Hello @brailoo1217 -- I see that you are new to Connect. I would like to take this opportunity to welcome you. Connect is a good place to ask questions and learn what others with similar health problems are doing for treatment.

I'd like to tag some of our members who are familiar with or have experienced anxiety and depression for their thoughts on the idea of family making things worse with these conditions, like @annedodrill44 @ladybugmg @strongbutterfly @hopeful33250 @gman007 @contentandwell @mscosette @amberpep @coloradogirl and @nanke99.

If you feel comfortable, can you share what you feel are the pros and cons of the decision to switch medications and if your doctor has offered any different choices?

John

I suffered from depression at one time. A letter from my friend in England came and I was reading it to my Mom when I started to cry. Later I watched a movie that was sad and started to cry again. I didn’t know why I was crying, I’ve been through many sad situations before and could always control my emotions. I made an appointment with my doc and was told I was suffering from depression. She put me on Cymbalta and it eventually helped. I was already on numerous anticonvulsants and pain medication 100 times stronger than Morphine that had destroyed my sex life and the Cymbalta only made it worse. I was determined to get off as many meds as I could.
One day a delivery man came and we talked awhile and he said “You have a choice you can be happy or sad.” It made since to me and I knew I had to make changes in my life. I thought about seeking help but did it myself. Some people need the help of counseling, psychologists or psychiatrists along with medication but I believe right or wrong that it takes a lot more than medication alone to get over depression. I was lucky that as hard as it was it wasn’t easy to overcome my depression but easier than most I believe.
I hope this makes since, I had to reconstruct it several times.

Health and wants can be complicated. We all want good health. Medications can only do so much. It takes work and determination for many of us to continue pressing onward. Some choices are hard to make. There is rarely a pill that can make one happy or even another person. Wishing you well whatever path is chosen.

@brailoo1217 You are in a tough place. For me, it depends partly on age also. I have lived a long time and had many experiences. I have accomplished more than I ever wished for or dreamed of, so now my choices are for the best health and quality of life. However, I know that if I were younger and had not mastered so many of my life goals, I might fudge on the health in order to reach for a goal. It has to be a personal decision because you are the one that will have to live with the consequences. If going for your heart's desire shortens or worsens you life, are you comfortable with that outcome? Only you know that. Good luck and blessings to you. You are in my prayers.

@parus
Excellent post!!!

I found a great site with a lot of helpful information on how to understand how your brain works and use that to help you feel better. There are a lot of short videos that are well worth watching. I had the opportunity to listen to Dr. Amit Sood and loved his message of hope, healing, and happiness. Check it out:

-- http://www.resilientoption.com/

John

@brailoo1217 I will echo John's welcome and it sounds as if you are between the proverbial rock and hard place. The thoughts I would add, have basically already been said and better than I could. Do you have anyone outside of your family who offers support? My health has created a fairly isolated life for me, but I don't have a great deal of choice in some of the ways it restricts my activity. If I had the option of shortening my life for better quality of life, I guess I would have to try to understand the full parameters to make a confident decision; how many years vs. what level of quality? Of course, those questions usually have no precise answers, so It becomes a feel decision for each individual, but I hope you can find some support for whatever you decide. We will do our best to provide some here.
Blessings,
Gary

Temperament has much to do with it