Depression: What treatment can I try after so many years?

@coleen Thank you everyone for your input. I took the Vraylar as prescribed which is 2 times a week? Yes, she said it would be better for me to go very slowly so 1.5 mg 2 x week. I take another on Sunday. I hear pros and cons. I will go with it and see. One thing I want to say is that the psychiatric nurse did do the Gene Sight test on me. I asked about these meds to is offering and asked what the results of the Gene sight test indicated. She laughed and said I failed. Now how do you fail a gene test. Well, according to her, I was in the middle of all meds. There were no high or low, just yellow-nothing. Some meds had little little symbols indicating weight gain. I do not understand. She did send me a copy which I really don't understand. This test has high rating of being helpful. Not for me I guess. Has anyone heard of this before?

Praying for you and your surgery. Zonisimide is current seizure med-doc felt like I might have mild seizure activity in addition to Bipolar II. Through all of this and other things God keeps reminding me that HE is in absolute loving control no matter what I go through--He's got it and it really is for my good, if eventually. After a few years getting stable on meds, He led me to getting hired at a Christian Psychiatric Clinic and two years ago I completed a book of about 100 poems God gave me! Who would have known--no one but God!

@summertime4

I think the symbols for weight gain are to let you know that taking the medication may cause you to gain weight while taking it.

I just realized that's probably not what you were asking about. I don't know about the gene test. I haven't had one.

@gailb Yes, I gained weight because of Tymlos to make more bone. Also, this Covid-19 has left me in front of my computer and not much activity. I have gained 11 pounds. My endocrinologist said because of my side effects I could go off of it for 2 weeks, but my surgeon said if I went off of it they would have to reschedule my surgery. I'm keep on Tymlos, by surgery is June 9th and I have been waiting a long time. Prayers for me would be welcomed. It's a long surgery.

I will pray for you and your surgeon.
..Will look for your good news in the summer.
Rest and heal.

@gailb My prayers are with you. You got this.

@lilypaws Please know that all of MayoClinicConnect is fully behind you with our thoughts and prayers!

@lilypaws- Best of luck to you! My longest surgery was 7 1/2 hours! You'll probably lose the weight after your surgery!

@lilypaws Prayers from around world now till rehab

Anyone who is having trouble with the side effects of meds or with meds that are not working for you should look into gene testing. Often times drugs don't work or have too many side effects because you can't metabolize them. Your particular make up the chemistry of your system, won't let the drugs work. There's a company called Genesight Testing and Mayo Clinic has their own form of gene auditing now as well. Not only will this testing tell you which drugs you would be able to metabolize best it can also tell you if your body will metabolize them too quickly leading too underdosing or metabolize them to slowly leading to overdosing.

It doesn't matter if your doctor is registered with Genesight or not. You go to their website and you put in your zip code and they will give you a list of doctors who have taken the 15 minutes on the phone for free to register with the Genesight company. This is what I had to do . I made an appointment with and visited a doctor on their list.
She gave me a cheek swab. When it was tested in return I went back to see her and she explained the report to me. Once I had my report I took it to my doctor and we adjusted my meds accordingly. That report is now a part of my permanent medical record and I have a copy as well If my doctor had been unwilling to look at my report or respond to my report I would have found a new doctor. Many doctors are under so much pressure that 15 minutes on the phone means that's one or two patients they can't see. I guess some doctors don't believe in the testing or have egos too large to allow the metric like this to suggest what they should prescribe for their patients.

The testing relates to three classes of drugs. Psychotropic meds for mental illness, antidepressants, and analgesics or pain meds.

The days of bouncing around from one drug to another trying to find one that works for you should be over. I don't know for a fact that this testing is perfect but it was perfect for me and for my son. Mine was covered by my insurance my son's was covered by his MA. I believe the most you can pay out-of-pocket is $360 but I could be wrong about that. If I had to pay that much I would still say, cheap at twice the price. I don't know what Mayo Clinic does but I know that the GeneSight company has a sliding fee scale.

The burden of having these conditions which we need to have treated is burden enough. We don't need to have it complicated by having to play guessing games to find out what we should be treated with.