whalewager said:
All good suggestions....the medications for depression are kind of a double edge sword. I've been taking Effexor for nearly ten years now--it was a lifesaver when it was originally prescribed but now I think I've got everything else under control to the extent that I'd like to stop. Problem is that the withdrawal from it is a bitch--I start getting dizzy, my skin feels like someone is sticking needles in it and it feels like its taking all of my concious effort to keep my brain from exploding. I've reduced my dosage to a half pill a day (37.5 mg) down from a high of 225 mg per day 5 years ago--basically its just enough to keep the withdrawal symptoms at bay. At some point I'm going to take a two or three week vacation where I don't need to do any serious mental activity and try to go cold turkey. If I went to a spa or something where I could eat healthy and spend my days excercising and relaxing I could finally get off them altogether.
My only real regret about the antidepressants is that the doctor that originally prescribed them gave me no information about these withdrawal symptoms. It's partially my fault because I didn't ask. I was originally on Prozac, which takes a long time to work and a long time to get out of your system so you sort of "withdraw" naturally when you stop taking it. My incorrect assumption was that all antidepressants worked the same way. Effexor is good on one hand because it works a lot quicker but the downside is that when you stop its like a truck has hit you.
Moral of the story--if you need the meds take them but make sure you talk to your doctor about withdrawal effects. I'm fortunate in that I never really had any serious side effects from taking Effexor, but make sure you ask about these too. Antidepressants effect everyone differently, so its kind of hard to tell what will happen just from the experience of others but at least educate yourself on the potential side effects. Obviously cost shouldn't be the primary concern when dealing with your health but a lot of these drugs are expensive as hell--since I'm a self employed sports handicapper I don't have a great benefits package so I pay out of pocket for my antidepressants. Were I taking my full prescribed dosage it would be nearly $250 a month!
Anyway, depression is a bitch to deal with. My best suggestion is to take the meds if you need them but while you're taking them try to make some other changes in your life--like WhaleWager suggests, I've found that regular excercise and particularly a healthy diet works wonders. Not only will you feel better physically its amazing how it impacts your mental state as well. For example, I've pretty much eliminated all meat from my diet. Now, I'm not some dirty hippie vegitarian--I love steak and if I go out to a nice restaurant I'll damn sure be getting meat--but for everyday meals I eat a lot of salad, pasta, fresh vegetables, grilled fish, etc. I have more energy now than I did when I was 20, and I think a lot of it is due to my diet.
It's also important to stay connected to friends and family, and to do things that you enjoy. If I don't watch myself, I can stay at my computer screen pouring over stats and watching lines move 24/7 so I force myself to get out and do stuff to keep perspective. I volunteer at the local animal shelter, go listen to live jazz, hang out with friends--obviously these activities are different for everyone but particularly when your life is trying to beat the 11 to 10 you need to keep perspective on the bigger picture of what is important as a human.
Anyway, don't let the bastards get you down and keep fighting the good fight ; )
