New to this forum, meds stopped working please help!

[Drkpassengr]

I came across this forum and everyone seem so understanding and helpful, I am a 35 year old male and i suffer from major depression and anxiety disorder. After being on cipralex for 10 years living a normal life, I went through a break up last year that triggered my symptoms again and the meds just stopped working! The first day she moved out of our place I stared feeling off at work and the fog came back, the depression hit me and I couldnt believe it's back! it was so hard to manage working and concentrating, the feeling of emptiness along with the tight chest and shortness of breath, feeling pins all over my body and all the physical and emotional symptoms that come with this horrible disease. With my doctor, we decided to increase my dose of cipralex from 10 mg to 20 mg which didn't help, switched to Zoloft for 2 months which didn't help, tried pristiq for 2 months which also didn't help, tried going back to the only pill that ever worked (Cipralex) for Another 2 months which didn't help and finally tried cymbalta for 2 months, that didn't help and it was the worst drug I ever tried...it caused such bad nausea which I suffer from until today and I have been off this drug for 2 months!
I have been battling this for a year now since the break up, I never thought It would last this long and nothing would help;( meds are not working for me anymore, therapy doesn't help, tried natural stuff like 5HTP And St johns wort with no luck, I decided to get off meds completely while trying supplements but that didn't help and it's been 2 months off meds, the nausea from the cymbalta isn't going away! I have already met someone new and am getting married in May but my life is on hold and I can't be happy suffering with this illness. I don't know what else I can do, I have been taking clonazapm to take the edge off otherwise I can't even function at work, my symptoms are worse during the day and especially at work by a computer so it makes it very hard to function, I get some relief at night which is a typical depression cycle. I made an appointment to see a psychiatrist this month but I really don't know what other meds I can try if the best pills of each class - SSRI and SNRI didn't help me. Can anyone please suggest something?? Anyone had their meds poop out on them and was able to find something else that works?

Thanks for listening.

[AJ]

Welcome to the forums Drkpassengr. It sounds like you've been through a lot of medication changes without any relief. I can't take antidepressants (I get manic) so I have not experienced the poop out effect but I know that it occurs. Sometimes it takes a long time to find the right combination of drugs that help and are well tolerated. I hope your appointment with the psychiatrist is helpful.

[shadowlight]

Hi Drkpassenger,

I am also new here. I had taken 37.5 mg of effexor xr for over ten yrs (along with lithium as I had hypo mania in the past and was diagnosed bipolar). I had a bad breakup...that had major life changes involved. The effexor was continuously increased after these changes....but it never worked for me again. the higher dosage actually caused the nasty symptoms of mania ( I say nasty cause they was no euphoria or fun involved just irritability and anxiety). So yes I do understand completely where you are coming from when you say you did well with a med for a long period of time and are now struggling to find something that works. I am trying yet another drug...it's been 7 days...I really hope that I ve found a good combination. Congratulations on meeting someone new. I hope you are able to find balance again with your health so you can enjoy your life.

All the best,

[Drkpassengr]

Thanks for the kind words I am looking forward to my appointment and trying different meds.

[dave]

welcome. as well as my bipolar prescription meds i take vitamin b..vitamin c..vitamin d..vitamin e..omega 3 they are relatively affordable and seem to help..psych meds alone help but are only part of the solution. there are other vitamins that are also helpful. there is info about these online and a library should have some good books. stress is a bad trigger for me..for most actually i think. meditation and yoga can help lower stress. too much coffee can increase anxiety. best luck. these symptoms are a struggle to manage. .make take lots of trial and error..hope..patience..persistence are important. also don't be hard on yourself that never helps. learning cbt..reframing thoughts and mindfulness are helpful for lots of people..one last thought..don't want to alarm you here..ECT is often an intervention considered if meds don't help..not as invasive and scary as it once was..there have been advancements..lower voltage. .etc. still concerns though. .especially memory loss. don't give up. may take time but things will work out. did i mention HOPE....it essential

[Drkpassengr]

Thanks for the reply Dave, Ya I have tried all vitamins and still take them, tried CBT and pretty much everything, I exercise and do some a yoga non of this stuff helps me, it's a clinical condition so it need proper medicating. I wonder if I should discuss stuff like lithium with the doctor even though I wasn't diagnosed as bi polar but I hear it helps with major depression as well, any thoughts? I'm not thinking ECT at this point but I wouldn't rule it out if all else fails!

[uni]

Hello Drkpassengr, and welcome to the forum. I'm sorry to hear that you've been having such a hard time over the past year.

Going through a break-up can take a lot out of you, so I wouldn't underestimate its contribution to your current depression. Years ago, the man I wanted to marry left me one day in the middle of winter, and the same thing happened to me as to you- I fell into a deep depression that I was afraid would never go away. I tried all sorts of meds, landed in the hospital, went to therapy, etc. Nothing gave me any relief, and I had horrible nausea too. Having just about run out of options, we finally hit upon a pill that worked (believe it or not, I can't remember the name of it now!)

It sounds like you've been investigating all avenues and trying everything you can think of, which is a huge thing, and even though the results haven't been forthcoming you've persisted in trying, and now here you are on the forum, still trying . Many times, depression will even lift on its own given enough time, whether you take meds or not. I don't know if that will happen with you, but it does happen.

really don't know what other meds I can try if the best pills of each class - SSRI and SNRI didn't help me.

I'm not sure there's actually a "best" pill in each class; sometimes a different one in the same class will be the "best" one for you. There are classes of pills that have been around longer than SSRI's and SSNI's which work for some people when the newer ones don't. In some cases, it may take a mix of more than one med. Lithium, which you mention, may be an option, and I see nothing wrong in asking your doctor about it or any other treatment. I understand how trying out different meds can really get to a person. In fact if I may say so, it can suck majorly and I recall being ready to poke my pdoc in the nose if he told me to "be patient" one more time!

It sounds like your doctor is doing his/her best to help you, but if he/she is a GP (I can't tell from your post) then mood disorder treatment isn't their specialty. If he/she is a psychiatrist, is it the same one your appointment is with? In any case, I hope the appointment is helpful.

Congratulations on your upcoming marriage! Getting married is something special. It's also a major life event, and stressful in its own way. I'm glad you've been able to tackle your anxiety and depression over the last year; you deserve to be a happy bridegroom!

I hope you get as much as I do from this forum. Being depressed can be lonely, so it's nice to know there are others out there dealing with the same thing. We're all in this together.

[Determined]

Hi Drkpassenger and welcome. Your journey sounds much the same as mine in terms of finding relief. Meds, trips to the ER, a hospital stay, none of it seemed to help. I tried vitamins, supplements, diet; consults with naturopaths. I suppose if nothing else each treatment gave me enough hope each time to push ahead. Just thinking that maybe "this is the one that will work" helped me to relax a little bit and gave me a sense that at least I was doing everything I could to get well again. It has been well over 30 years since I was first stricken with depression. It comes out of nowhere, silently, stealthily, without cause or reason and once it takes hold it refuses to let go. Experience has taught me that it doesn't last; not as long as I keep fighting and understand that it is going to pass. I have found that meds and therapy might just be tools to help you cope until the depression passes. In my last bout I was finally able to see a pdoc from out of town, via a video conference. She was very good at what she did and I felt confident that she could help me. It was her attitude that was most beneficial to me. At any rate, she reviewed my history, and my current state and prescribed a type 1 anti-psychotic. (I think that's it) It was an old school med. Within a couple of days I had improved dramatically. Before that appointment I had just begun to apply for disability because I didn't think I would ever be able to work again. I didn't think I would ever do anything at all again.

I guess what I am trying to say through all of this is that even though it looks like you will be swallowed up by darkness your continued effort to be well again will produce favourable results. Sometimes we just have to look beyond where we are at the moment to put ourselves in a better place.

I wish you all the best as you move forward. And as a side note and not without gratitude will I say that this forum was probably the number one reason I was able to get through my last bout. They're a bunch of great people and always had the right words at the right time to help me.

[Drkpassengr]

Thank you so much uni! It gives me great hope hearing your story which is very similar and knowing that you found the answer and it's just a matter of more trial and error, did you suffer from depression before the man you were supposed to get married to left you? I first suffered depression 11 years ago and meds worked for me and that break up just triggered it again...I'm definitely trying everything and I won't give up cause I know it's just a matter of time. The doctor that helped me before in my first depression episode is my GP and we tried different meds but I agree now it's time to see a psychiatrist and yes my appointment this month will be with a psychiatrist so I'm hoping for the best. Do you still battle with depression and still on meds? sounds like you were able to get off the medication which is amazing if that's the case, i just want something to work and I don't care taking it for the rest of my life cause it doesn't seem like I can get out of it with no meds. Your post gives me a lot of hope so thanks again, wish you all the best, if you do remember the name of the pills you took please let me know.

[Drkpassengr]

Thanks Determined, this forum is amazing and everyone is so kind and understanding, you guys are very helpful and i really appreciate knowing im not alone here. i really do believe as i keep saying its a matter of time and i am a fighter, i beat this before when it was worse so i will beat it again, just need to keep trying and now that i will be seeing a specialist hopefully i will get better results. if there's something i learn from this is that life is short and it made me appreciate it more and want to be better, not to take it for granted when i do get back to feeling 'normal' and in the meantime i try my best to keep busy and doing normal things as much as possible. eating healthier, doing some Yoga...its not a fix for this horrible darkness but it gives hope and purpose.

[dave]

seroquel is often prescribed for med resistant bipolar depression. my pdoc ordered it when i was very ill and not recovering. he also prescribed lamotrigin which is an anticonvulsant thats used as a mood stabilizer and also has shown to be more effective for depressive moods than many other mood stabilizers. thse and all the interventions below seemed to help when used together

[dave]

also i have a book called Healing Depression and Bipolar Disorder without drugs by gracelyn guyol..i just skimmed so far but has a some ideas new to me..one is neurofeedback..only case study described but seems to have really helped her

[Drkpassengr]

I have a friend who takes seroquel mainly to help with sleep and it sounds like it's really strong and knocks you out pretty good which isn't always good. I will definitely ask the doctor about old school anti depressant which I never tried before, something has to work again.

[paul m]

Hello Drkpassenger and welcome to the forums. Seroquel is strong, but it is also an odd medication. In small doses (under a 100mg) is has very little antipsychotic effect and works mostly as a sleeping pill. For some people 300 mg is a huge does that will leave them wandering around like zombies and for the next person 600mg just takes the edge off of life.

Take enough of it and you will definitely not feel depressed or manic, you will feel like a zombie. Another thing is that you can start and stop it fairly quickly. This allows you to start at a low dose of 100 mg and within a couple of days decide whether or not you want to try more or not. Also I prefer the quick release version rather than the rapid release as it gives me more control over how I feel the next day.

I have bipolar and I only use it when I have a bad episode. I only take it for a mth or two until everything comes back under control of my regular meds. So there are pros and cons to seroquel , just like every other med. I hate the way large doses make me feel, but when things get out of hand, I know that it is the most effiecent one to to bring me back from a high or low. I do take it sometimes as a sleeping pill, but usually I then just cut the smallest dose (25mg) in 1/2 and I find that is enough.

In regards to trying older antidepressants. Some of the new ones, especially SSRI's and SNRI's are subject what is known as the " poop out effect" that is they just quite working. If you don't believe me, just try googling SSRI poop out and see how many articles there are by reputable places on this problem. Take Care paul m

[Drkpassengr]

Thanks Pual, I am definitely open to try old antidepressants since I seem to be resistant to SSRIs and SNRIs at this point, which pill is typically recommended as a starting point to try from the old school meds?