1. < Depression & Anxiety

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

Posted by miray67 @miray67, Apr 22, 2020

I have fought depression and anxiety since I was about seven years old when I had panic attacks. Without revealing my age what can you take when you have tried all the older medicines? It’s been with me for MANY years. Not the panic attacks but long spells of depression and anxiety to the point I am ver shaky most of the time. I’m sure there newer medications than the ones doctors want me to try again. I am now on Paxil again after trying it back in 1995. Seems it does everything except what it’s supposed to do. My present doctor refuses to change it but has reduced the dosage again to 25mg from 37.5. I hate to keep changing doctors and trying over and over. Being confined for so long hasn’t helped, of course. I am in good health for my age, still drive a little and do most everything for my self with weak need and chronic pain.

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Moderator
Colleen Young, Connect Director | @colleenyoung | Aug 22, 2022
In reply to @rob33 "I’m 60, have tried a dozen antidepressants over 30 years with bad to mediocre effect. I..." + (show)
@rob33

I’m 60, have tried a dozen antidepressants over 30 years with bad to mediocre effect. I am in really interested in two of the posts below on the test which shows which meds are indicated (never heard of that!) and MAOI’s which boost dopamine instead of serotonin (boosted serotonin helps me with anxiety, but ultimately makes me more depressed).

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Welcome @rob33,
@wsh66 has written a fair amount about (Genesight) genetic testing and can answer any questions you might have. I think you'll find this related discussion helpful:
- Why Genetic Testing for Mental Health Meds is Important https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/why-genetic-testing-for-mental-health-meds-is-important/

Are you currently on medication that is working for you?

REPLY
rosebookay | @rosebookay | Aug 22, 2022
In reply to @audriana "Hello. Disclaimer...I am not affiliated in the medical profession other than as a patient who is..." + (show)
@audriana

Hello. Disclaimer...I am not
affiliated in the medical profession other than as a patient who is treated by a psychiatrist, a CBT therapist and a LCSW therapist.
I think there are two different classes getting confused info.
I am taking desipramine, an MAOI. I do not have any dietary restrictions. Years ago--1991-- imipramine was initially prescribed--no dietary restrictions either.
My psychiatrist's practice had the GeneSite test kits. I had to spit in a tube and several weeks later, we received the results.
Yes, my insurance paid for it.
I don't like to give too many details because every one of us is so different and we each have our own strengths and needs.
Good luck to all. You are great advocates for one another.

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Desipramine is not a MAOI. It is a tricyclic antidepressant and that’s why you have no dietary restrictions.

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1 reply
Shirley Hugh-Jesst | @audriana | Aug 22, 2022
In reply to @rosebookay "Desipramine is not a MAOI. It is a tricyclic antidepressant and that’s why you have no..." + (show)
@rosebookay

Desipramine is not a MAOI. It is a tricyclic antidepressant and that’s why you have no dietary restrictions.

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Wow I must have misunderstood my psychiatrist. Next Wednesday, I'll ask him to clarify. Bottom line as per Genesite, SSRIs...at least the 23+ I have tried since they were marketed to the public, are coded red and exacerbate my suicidal ideations. Same Adverse effects with off-label such as Nuedexta and Savella.
We keep hanging in there. I don't flit from one med to another.
Antidepressants were first prescribed in 1982 while stationed in Germany. Imipramine was prescribed for "Housewife depression." Yes, it is a tricyclic

REPLY
1 reply
rosebookay | @rosebookay | Aug 22, 2022
In reply to @audriana "Wow I must have misunderstood my psychiatrist. Next Wednesday, I'll ask him to clarify. Bottom line..." + (show)
@audriana

Wow I must have misunderstood my psychiatrist. Next Wednesday, I'll ask him to clarify. Bottom line as per Genesite, SSRIs...at least the 23+ I have tried since they were marketed to the public, are coded red and exacerbate my suicidal ideations. Same Adverse effects with off-label such as Nuedexta and Savella.
We keep hanging in there. I don't flit from one med to another.
Antidepressants were first prescribed in 1982 while stationed in Germany. Imipramine was prescribed for "Housewife depression." Yes, it is a tricyclic

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Wishing you all the best.

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Shirley Hugh-Jesst | @audriana | Aug 22, 2022

Thank you for your kindness and relentless desire to make informed decisions.
Good luck to you too.

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franzk | @franzk | Aug 26, 2022
In reply to @abc123xyz "You will laugh, but I found relief in Martha Stewart’s CBD Gummies! I buy them online..." + (show)
@abc123xyz

You will laugh, but I found relief in Martha Stewart’s CBD Gummies! I buy them online through Green Wellness, & they taste delicious. I take 1 (10 mg CBD) at bedtime, & maybe one more during the day if I begin feeling that “hopeless” feeling. No THC in them, so safe to take drug tests, if required. No side effects that I could feel (antidepressants ALL gave me miserable side effects). These give me enough lift so I can shake off the hopelessness and start moving.

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Hi abc:
I just discovered Martha's gummies & they are helpful. I took 1 mg, in morning and night doses of .5 each, of klonopin for 20 years & thought I had tapered off after 4 months. But I developed leg twitches and pin pricks just as I was dropping off to sleep. Went to a neurologist who gave me gabapentin but now I'm taking that with CBD. I'm taking 15 mg at night and hoping this helps. The twitches are still going on, for the past 7 months. Does this story sound familiar to you? Hope you're feeling better.

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johncottingham | @johncottingham | Aug 26, 2022

At 78 years old my wife developed depression to such a degree that I was concerned for her life. I tried CBD tincture (with <0.3% THC, the legal amount nationally) at the recommended dosage and her depression went away in 3 days. The normal process is to "begin low and increase slow" until the symptoms go away. Then stay at that level. Learn about CBDs at http://qualitylivingusa.com for endorsed products (tested to confirm advertised claims). You can even buy endorsed products from the site, but the purpose is to educate before your medicate.

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aethos | @aethos | Aug 29, 2022
In reply to @lindasmith1222 "I don't want to take my meds anymore either. How do you titrate off Wellbutrin? I..." + (show)
@lindasmith1222

I don't want to take my meds anymore either. How do you titrate off Wellbutrin? I have been on only 150 mg for one year with no results that I can see.

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Linda, I went from 150 mg to 100 mg and then I just stopped taking them, not recommended way I know but didn’t bother me.

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jasmai | @jasmai | Aug 30, 2022
In reply to @cococoyote "After being diagnosed with treatment-resistant depression (and anxiety), my insurance covered transcranial magnetic stimulation, which helped..." + (show)
@cococoyote

After being diagnosed with treatment-resistant depression (and anxiety), my insurance covered transcranial magnetic stimulation, which helped a lot. I also did ketamine treatment, which my insurance did not cover, which was even more helpful.

The next big thing in treating mental illness is going to be psychedelic drugs. The FDA is expected to approve psilocybin and MDMA as treatments for depression/anxiety & PTSD within the next two years, respectively. Experts believe it needs to be accompanied by short, intensive psychotherapy, so this is really considered psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. This is not using these drugs recreationally. If you’re skeptical, watch the Netflix series “How to Change Your Mind” based on the book by Michael Pollan. They have videos of patients undergoing the treatment in clinical trials, as well as interviews in which they say just a handful of treatments did what years of conventional drugs and therapies failed to do. It gave them their lives back. I was literally in tears watching it.

There is hope for healing by harnessing our own minds with the help of these miracle drugs.

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The “How to Change Your Mind” docuseries on Netflix is based upon and named after Michael Pollan’s book of the same title, which is especially enlightening if you are interested in the history of psychedelics and their successes in the treatment of mental health disorders. Another really good documentary, currently on Netflix, that delves into the surprisingly little understood mushroom is titled “Fantastic Fungi” - the stunning (ground breaking, really) discoveries that a guy named Paul Stamets has made which harbor a measure of hope for the betterment of our health and our planet.

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1 reply
cococoyote | @cococoyote | Aug 30, 2022
In reply to @jasmai "The “How to Change Your Mind” docuseries on Netflix is based upon and named after Michael..." + (show)
@jasmai

The “How to Change Your Mind” docuseries on Netflix is based upon and named after Michael Pollan’s book of the same title, which is especially enlightening if you are interested in the history of psychedelics and their successes in the treatment of mental health disorders. Another really good documentary, currently on Netflix, that delves into the surprisingly little understood mushroom is titled “Fantastic Fungi” - the stunning (ground breaking, really) discoveries that a guy named Paul Stamets has made which harbor a measure of hope for the betterment of our health and our planet.

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I’ve read HTCYM. I have FF, but haven’t read it yet (or seen the Netflix program).

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