Topic Title: Increased depression experiences
| |  "Increased depression experiences"
, Tue 4 Apr 12:34
I've been researching depression medications and herbal remedies for a while now--and it's because I hit that same point many other posters have of saying "Okay, I'm not fine, something needs to be done." It actually wasn't the first time; I've been trying to fix things one way or another for six years, slowly narrowing down problems and trying to make things better. It took me until about two years ago to figure it was neurological; ADD or depression (though it now appears I not only have ADD but also clinical depression AND severe anhedonia--mostly because they've all been building on one another for so long). The first time I tried an antidepressant (Zoloft) was a disaster; I became much more depressed and went off it after about a week. That may have been a mistake, however; I learned later on that significantly worsening depression is actually one of the side-effects physicians are told to expect.
This seemed strange to me, so I researched it. It turns out it isn't surprising in retrospect; SSRIs work by preventing the reuptake of Serotonin, thereby increasing the supply, that's the idea. But your brain is used to a very small amount, so when it sees that there's more than it's used to, it will immediately throttle the production down. So you'll be high for a day and then you'll get worse than you were when you started for a prolonged period--your brain will slow down production, but then it won't have enough so it will slowly start producing it again, but then it will have too much so it will immediately throttle down again...until eventually your autoreceptors become desensitized (i.e. your brain just starts ignoring the "Too Much" signals) and your Serotonin levels go up for good. This is supposedly the reason that reuptake-themed antidepressants take a month or two to kick in.
If this is the case, it would suggest that people who's brains are exceptionally stingy--brains that have extremely low levels of serotonin--would get much worse at first because their autoreceptors are exceptionally sensitive. They would throttle Serotonin production down much faster than a normal person, meaning not only would they feel worse, but they'd feel MUCH worse--they're going from an already small amount to virtually none.
This fit my experience with Zoloft. It made me nigh-catatonic.
As SJW was supposedly a reuptake inhibitor, I had theorized that the same effect would take place, and indeed it has (though it wasn't nearly as frightening since I saw it coming). The very first day, I was motivated and happy (states of being which never occur naturally for me). Immediately after that I went from "I hate my life" to "I HATE MY LIFE!" Other signs of severe serotonin deficiency, which I usually have anyway, also became much more pronounced.
In a way I see that as proof that it's working--it fit my predictions exactly, and those same predictions suggest that the SJW will do exactly what I need it to do, provided I stay on it. But I still have my nagging doubts; my understanding of how these things work is, I imagine, oversimplified.
On this forum I've seen a lot of people who've had the same experience of worsening depression, but all of them went off of it after a week or two because of it (which fits firmly within the projected low point--autoreceptors on a normal person take at least three weeks to stop responding, whereas on an oversensitized person it could take even longer.)
So basically my question is: is there anyone on this forum who got worse at first, but stuck with it and then saw the improvements they had originally hoped for?
Posts: 0 | | Registered: Tue 4 Apr 2006 12:6 |
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| | "Re(1):Increased depression experiences" , Thu 6 Apr 05:46
I think people's experiences vary enormously....
In my case, I tend to have adverse reactions to SSRIs. Both Citalopram and Venlafaxine made me feel groggy and withdrawn during the day and insomniac at night. I literally had to come off both within a week because of the severity of the reaction.
However, I know a couple of people who swear by Citalopram and see it as the 'Holy Grail'.
I think the trick with medication for depression is to try and find the antidepressant that's right for you and take the minimum dose that has the required effect.
Given that finding the right antidepressant can be a process of trial and error, if you do find yourself having to switch antidepressants, make sure (with your doctor / consultant) that it actaully has a reasonable chance of providing something different from the previous medication.......
Too many doctors are obsessed with serotonin boosters to the exclusion of all other possibilities. There are dopamine and norepinephrine boosters (reuptake inhibitors) that offer something different and for some people may work better than the commonly-prescribed SSRIs.
However, for me SJW worked better than all the prescription meds put together!
Posts: 169 | | Registered: Sun 29 Dec 2002 11:31 |
| | "Re(1):Increased depression experiences" , Tue 4 Apr 12:46
quote:
So basically my question is: is there anyone on this forum who got worse at first, but stuck with it and then saw the improvements they had originally hoped for?
...
There are a good number of examples of this in the Experiences section, dating back to October 2000. You can browse them some of them here, but due to a bug in the forum software you probably can't go back all the way. I have nearly finished compiling the archive I've saved, and will release the new forum in the next week or so, making them easier to find. If you want to see what's there now, email me and I'll give you a sneak peak at the new forum.
For some people their depression (and especially anxiety) gets worse as they wait for the antidepressant to kick in... whether that's SJW or a prescription med, most won't have started working in a week anyway. But some people get frustrated and stop, which is unfortunate because they haven't given their treatment a fair chance.
Posts: 839 | | Registered: Thu 5 Oct 2000 21:48 |
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