1. < Depression & Anxiety

drug-resistant depression (DRD)

Posted by godsgirl1969 @godsgirl1969, Jan 16, 2018

I apparently have drug resistant depression : I have been on antidepressants for 20+ years some helped for awhile and now it seems like nothing helps. I also talk to a therapist once a week talking helps a little at least for that day. I am really wanting some insight from others that have struggled with this. I have been looking into ketamine injections or transcranial magnetic stimulation? Has anyone out there tried either of these and if so I would love to hear the effects it had? I'm tired of crying and tired of trying to get through every day!

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Depression & Anxiety Support Group.

georgette12 | @georgette12 | Jan 19, 2018

Thank you. We lost our home in Florida during the economy crisis and everything we had, including money. We then moved a lot for he husband's work. We were never able to catch up. Currently we don't have much to downsize to. I am trying to keep my faith.

REPLY
Mentor
Jim, Volunteer Mentor | @jimhd | Jan 19, 2018

@charlie75 @godsgirl1969

I'm alive today thanks to good therapists and psychiatrists and the meds they've prescribed. I tried a string of meds and landed on Wellbutrin for my antidepressant and Klonopin for anxiety. Abilify didn't do anything for me, but it helps many people. There's a cheaper alternative. I recently started taking Mirtazapine as a secondary medication for depression, and it's helped. It's quite common to take a combination of antidepressants to achieve mental stability. I take pain meds, as well.

Jim

REPLY
2 replies
godsgirl1969 | @godsgirl1969 | Jan 19, 2018
In reply to @jimhd "@charlie75 @godsgirl1969 I'm alive today thanks to good therapists and psychiatrists and the meds they've prescribed...." + (show)
@jimhd

@charlie75 @godsgirl1969

I'm alive today thanks to good therapists and psychiatrists and the meds they've prescribed. I tried a string of meds and landed on Wellbutrin for my antidepressant and Klonopin for anxiety. Abilify didn't do anything for me, but it helps many people. There's a cheaper alternative. I recently started taking Mirtazapine as a secondary medication for depression, and it's helped. It's quite common to take a combination of antidepressants to achieve mental stability. I take pain meds, as well.

Jim

Jump to this post

Mirtazapine (remeron) knocks me out even the smallest doses and I had a horrible reaction to Wellbutrin 🙁

REPLY
Mentor
Jim, Volunteer Mentor | @jimhd | Jan 20, 2018
In reply to @godsgirl1969 "Thank you for sharing with me. Prozac was the best for me I was on it..." + (show)
@godsgirl1969

Thank you for sharing with me. Prozac was the best for me I was on it for 8 years then it just stopped working. I have been on celexa, Prozac, Wellbutrin, remeron (made me sleep too much) Lexapro, Zoloft, Cymbalta, Effexor, pristique, buspirone. Haven't tried marijuana, i'm already tired with no energy. ECT probably isn't the most handy thing for me, I would have to travel a ways however I wouldn't have to go to far for the ketamine. Just wondering about long
term effects? It seems the older I get the worse my depression is and now I have anxiety on top of it. Doesn't help that my last child just graduated and moved out :/ proud mom that my kids are living on their own and doing good just hard for me to have a empty house and no identity anymore 🙁

Jump to this post

@godsgirl1969

I surely understand how you feel.

Did you take the Remeron at bedtime? I take 30mg at bedtime, and didn't feel any differently in the morning when I started it. In the past, I felt drowsy in the morning for awhile, but as my body adjusted, I became less groggy. Coffee helps. I use a BIPAP and sleep well for 9 hours, which might be too long for some people, but it's always been the optimum # of hours for me.

Jim

REPLY
Mentor
Jim, Volunteer Mentor | @jimhd | Jan 20, 2018
In reply to @parus "@godsgirl1969 Truly a rough road to travel. Seeing others that are helped with medications leaves one,..." + (show)
@parus

@godsgirl1969 Truly a rough road to travel. Seeing others that are helped with medications leaves one, at times, insidiously discouraged. We keep working hard at quality of life even when there are times the emptiness engulfs us and we seek out others that "get it". Safer that saying anything to those that are near.

Jump to this post

@parus

So true. I made the decision November 10, last year, not to say anything about my pain to my wife, and to wear the"I'm fine" mask to hide the emotional pain. I'm doing it for two reasons. One is that I don't want her to worry about me or be concerned about my physical and mental health. The other reason is that I don't want to hear her say things like "you should have figured it out by now", or minimize the reality of the pain. Those kinds of things are hurtful, every bit as much as sticks and stones. Sometimes, I wonder how tired my therapist must get of hearing about my problems. I think I hold them in until my next session.

Jim

REPLY
godsgirl1969 | @godsgirl1969 | Jan 20, 2018
In reply to @godsgirl1969 "Thank you for sharing with me. Prozac was the best for me I was on it..." + (show)
@godsgirl1969

Thank you for sharing with me. Prozac was the best for me I was on it for 8 years then it just stopped working. I have been on celexa, Prozac, Wellbutrin, remeron (made me sleep too much) Lexapro, Zoloft, Cymbalta, Effexor, pristique, buspirone. Haven't tried marijuana, i'm already tired with no energy. ECT probably isn't the most handy thing for me, I would have to travel a ways however I wouldn't have to go to far for the ketamine. Just wondering about long
term effects? It seems the older I get the worse my depression is and now I have anxiety on top of it. Doesn't help that my last child just graduated and moved out :/ proud mom that my kids are living on their own and doing good just hard for me to have a empty house and no identity anymore 🙁

Jump to this post

Jim, I took 5mg of remeron at bedtime and slept for 16 hours

REPLY
Mentor
Teresa, Volunteer Mentor | @hopeful33250 | Jan 21, 2018
In reply to @godsgirl1969 "Thank you for sharing with me. Prozac was the best for me I was on it..." + (show)
@godsgirl1969

Thank you for sharing with me. Prozac was the best for me I was on it for 8 years then it just stopped working. I have been on celexa, Prozac, Wellbutrin, remeron (made me sleep too much) Lexapro, Zoloft, Cymbalta, Effexor, pristique, buspirone. Haven't tried marijuana, i'm already tired with no energy. ECT probably isn't the most handy thing for me, I would have to travel a ways however I wouldn't have to go to far for the ketamine. Just wondering about long
term effects? It seems the older I get the worse my depression is and now I have anxiety on top of it. Doesn't help that my last child just graduated and moved out :/ proud mom that my kids are living on their own and doing good just hard for me to have a empty house and no identity anymore 🙁

Jump to this post

@jimhd

Jim, It sounds like you have found a good combination of meds and med supplies (BIPAP). I'm sure it took some time to come up with that combo. Your persistence in finding answers really paid off for you!

Teresa

REPLY
Mentor
Jim, Volunteer Mentor | @jimhd | Jan 21, 2018
In reply to @godsgirl1969 "Thank you for sharing with me. Prozac was the best for me I was on it..." + (show)
@godsgirl1969

Thank you for sharing with me. Prozac was the best for me I was on it for 8 years then it just stopped working. I have been on celexa, Prozac, Wellbutrin, remeron (made me sleep too much) Lexapro, Zoloft, Cymbalta, Effexor, pristique, buspirone. Haven't tried marijuana, i'm already tired with no energy. ECT probably isn't the most handy thing for me, I would have to travel a ways however I wouldn't have to go to far for the ketamine. Just wondering about long
term effects? It seems the older I get the worse my depression is and now I have anxiety on top of it. Doesn't help that my last child just graduated and moved out :/ proud mom that my kids are living on their own and doing good just hard for me to have a empty house and no identity anymore 🙁

Jump to this post

@hopeful33250

It has been a long process. And it's not over yet. Who knows what tomorrow holds?

Jim

REPLY
Mentor
Terri Martin, Volunteer Mentor | @windwalker | Jul 24, 2018
In reply to @charlie75 "Hi DRD, I can understand your situation as I've done a lot of research on medicines,..." + (show)
@charlie75

Hi DRD,
I can understand your situation as I've done a lot of research on medicines, etc, and how the meds treat different types of mental illnesses. Since I have no idea what your diagnosis might be, it is difficult to discuss treatment options. I have bi-polar 1, and I've tried to play doctor and treat myself. I would research different drugs and then discuss the drugs with my Doctor and most of the time he would change my meds. and then I would find myself in a worse situation. My Doctor had recommended a mood stabilizer sometime ago, and I nixed that idea due to the stigma of taking that type of drug. I finally found myself in a psych hospital and feeling suicidal. I decided to quit playing Doctor and listen to my Doctor. My Doctor prescribed a lesser dose of antidepressants and added the mood stabilizer. I have responded to this medicine and haven't experienced the highs and/or lows that had filled my life for so many years. I hope you can find a solution that works for you.
charlie75

Jump to this post

@charlie75 Hi there. I am about to set out on a journey next week to try to help my daughter who is also bi-polar 1. We are still trying to figure out wjat meds will work. A friend of mine who also has this said she takes Trintellix and klonopin. I know that what works for one person may not work for another, but I am trying to put together some possibilities. May I ask what you take?

REPLY
Mentor
Terri Martin, Volunteer Mentor | @windwalker | Jul 24, 2018
In reply to @charlie75 "Hi DRD, I can understand your situation as I've done a lot of research on medicines,..." + (show)
@charlie75

Hi DRD,
I can understand your situation as I've done a lot of research on medicines, etc, and how the meds treat different types of mental illnesses. Since I have no idea what your diagnosis might be, it is difficult to discuss treatment options. I have bi-polar 1, and I've tried to play doctor and treat myself. I would research different drugs and then discuss the drugs with my Doctor and most of the time he would change my meds. and then I would find myself in a worse situation. My Doctor had recommended a mood stabilizer sometime ago, and I nixed that idea due to the stigma of taking that type of drug. I finally found myself in a psych hospital and feeling suicidal. I decided to quit playing Doctor and listen to my Doctor. My Doctor prescribed a lesser dose of antidepressants and added the mood stabilizer. I have responded to this medicine and haven't experienced the highs and/or lows that had filled my life for so many years. I hope you can find a solution that works for you.
charlie75

Jump to this post

@godsgirl1969 Hello. I have a daughter that feels the same way you do. I am trying to get her better help. It breaks my heart that anybody feels like this. I hope you can find something that can help you. Don't ever give up, and keep researching. Keep an eye out for new treatments i.e. magnetic resonance therapy. Visit the NIH website or Mayo Clinic, and punch in key words to learn more about what is trending in mental health. Sending you a big hug.

REPLY
View MoreView Less
Please sign in or register to post a reply.