anyone found a medication that actually works?

[pooh]

I think the problem with just prescribing drug therapy and having to trawl through them in order to find what works is that it doesnt work. I think the kinds of conditions we have need a hollistioc approach to treatment rather than just a physical medical one.
There isnt a miracle cure drug just drugs that should assist to improve your ability to cope and manage and learn skills to allow you to function.
My own personal experience has been of seroxat, prozac, diazepam and propranolol. They all do there job but then ive found two cocodamol just as effective in calming me down as diazepam how strange is that lol.

Pooh x

[freakedout]

Hi Everyone.

I am still searching and am convincing myself that a mood stabiliser might prove more effective. I have tried propanolol, prozac, citalopram, dothiepin, and currently take Mirtazapine regularly'ish and diazepam when needed.

I am a bit sick of taking meds that dont seem to work, but when I quit them I did start to feel much worse again, so resumed taking them. I suppose they must work otherwise I might not have felt worse when I quit.

A frontal lobotamy in the form of a pill would probably sort me out!

I would like to know a bit more about mood stabilisers - anyone??

Ta

Freaky

[Yvonne]

Freaky

You take Mirtazepine regularly ish. You can't do that with anti depressants - anti depressants don't work on an as an when basis. Take the Mirtaz daily for gawd's sake.

My little list of meds tried is as follows; Seroxat (worked well for years but came off it cos I was well) - Seroxat again, Citalapram, Nortriptylene, Sertraline, Duloxetine and now Venlaflaxine. Like you I take the Diazepam on an as needed basis.

I wondered about a mood stabiliser as well - apparently they can boost the action of the anti depressant. My shrink doesn't seem to think I need one and m y therapist gave me a long talking to about the side effects of mood stabilisers which put me off a lot. They are lithium and valporic acid as far as I know (may be wrong about the valporic acid) - do a search on mood stabilisers and see what you can ascertain.

I dunno what it is with these meds, they most certainly don't do for me what they should. Don't get me wrong I wouldn't expect to be feeling ecstatically happy all the time but I would expect the low mood to have gone full stop and to feel at least content with my life. This med has helped me with the anxiety and the depression to a degree but it isn't doing what it claims on the can!!!!

I'm like you Freaky, I did stop the meds last year and boy did I go through a rough time. You can't win can you??? Let me know if you do find the miracle drug cos I'll get it.

Yvonne

[joy]

I'm in the same boat as Yvonne, tried many meds and nothing works. Scared to stop, scared to carry on

Joy

[ElizabethJane]

I am on a mood stabiliser lithium which I believe has saved my life. I shall be on it long term inspite of all the side effects. I also take prothiaden and until recently mirtazapine. Psychiatrists usually like to prescribe mood stabilisers to monitor your progress and in my case for lithium to check lithium levels by means of blood tests. Once you are stable monitoring is usually done through your GP.

[freakedout]

Yvonne, I do try to take the Mirtazapine regularly and only miss the odd one here and there, since my attempt at quitting them.

I was told that lithium was an option by my psychiatrist about a year or so ago, but then my psych changed and the current one seems to think my depression is caused by anxiety. I am not so sure, although I am sure anxiety contributes. I was reluctant to take Lithium because of the blood tests, the agoraphobia makes it difficult for me to go to the treatment room so I turned it down. I am interested to know if ElizabethJane, have you noticed a marked change with your mood since taking it? Do you feel more stable? Besides the potential toxic blood levels, what other side effects do you experience? Thanks.

Freaky

[ElizabethJane]

My mood is definitely more stable since taking the lithium. I was on 800mg now on 1,000mg and function very well on that. It doesn't make you immune to depression as I had a relapse last year and went on mirtazapine. I have been lucky and haven't had any changes in liver, kidney or thyroid function. I keep my fluid intake up even in this weather.

[Natural Mystic]

i take 20mgs citalopram a day, no side effects i can feel after taking it for 2 years now.

Before i was on venlafaxine 20mgs for 5 years and that was horrible, sweating, bloated, headaches, severe tiredness etc...

beta blockers sucked and diazepam made me want to sleep all the time too.

Every person reacts differently to thier medicine, what works for me might not for you!

I have tried prozac and seroxat and on both occasions didn't take more after the first ones. I just couldn't handle the side effect, it was just awful and worse than my anxiety attacks.

I have just been to the doctors and he's given me 20 mg per day of citalopram but I'm so so so scared to take one. I am looking at it now

[Yvonne]

Freaky

Oh sorry I got the impression that you were taking the med on and off sort of - maybe forgetting to take a dose one day etc etc. I apologise.

I think I would be prepared to try a mood stabiliser just to give it a go - have to say I wouldn't fancy the blood tests but if it worked well then I wouldn't worry about having the blood tests I guess.

Elizabeth Jane --- any nasty side effects with the lithium ??

Natural Mystic - If you can get over the first tablet and suffer the side effects then you're one step forward. It's hard I know - the side effects on start up can be awful. However, if you tell yourself that you might feel bad for a max of two weeks but then should start to feel better that may help you to get on the meds. Do try if you can.

Take care all.

[Natural Mystic]

Thanks Yvonne, I'm gonna take it ... I am I am I am