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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 10 of 10. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Hattree on March 10, 2003, at 20:57:29
Has anyone had the experience of taking a medication for depression that caused worse depression at first, but later worked as an anti-depressant?
Posted by Krissy P on March 10, 2003, at 23:23:36
In reply to depression as transient side effect, posted by Hattree on March 10, 2003, at 20:57:29
Hi, yeppo! Sometimes it gets worse before it gets better-and it does get better once you find the right med combo for YOU:-)
Hang in and all the best, I'm here for you.
Hoep this helps a little? I'd be happy to elaborate if you want.
Let me know....
Kristen:-)
==================================================================================================> Has anyone had the experience of taking a medication for depression that caused worse depression at first, but later worked as an anti-depressant?
Posted by Hattree on March 11, 2003, at 9:15:40
In reply to Re: depression as transient side effect » Hattree, posted by Krissy P on March 10, 2003, at 23:23:36
> I'd be happy to elaborate if you want.
> Let me know....Please do!
Posted by Krissy P on March 11, 2003, at 14:42:13
In reply to Re: depression as transient side effect, posted by Hattree on March 11, 2003, at 9:15:40
Hi, okee dokee..........
When we are depressed and seek treatment (med management) I believe that the depression has been there for a while and we finally seek help. When a peron first starts a med, as explained in another post, it takes from 3-5 weeks to get into your system and start working. It's different for different people. If you give a med a try, and can push through the negative side effects, if you experience any, under a doc's supervision, it will start to work! But, it takes patience and some time-just my opinion, did this help? Let me know if you weant to know more-I'm here for ya!
kristen:-)
==================================================================================================Has anyone had the experience of taking a medication for depression that caused worse depression at first, but later worked as an anti-depressant?
I'd be happy to elaborate if you want.
Let me know....
Please do!
Posted by Hattree on March 11, 2003, at 15:23:05
In reply to Re: depression as transient side effect » Hattree, posted by Krissy P on March 11, 2003, at 14:42:13
But has this actually happened to you personally? I have been through many a med and many a side-effect (though actually I've been lucky with SEs in general), but I have had my depression go from moderate to crushing on day one or two of a medication, clearly because of the medication. Have you had this experience and ultimately found the medication beneficial?
Posted by Krissy P on March 11, 2003, at 18:29:33
In reply to Re: depression as transient side effect » Krissy P, posted by Hattree on March 11, 2003, at 15:23:05
Yes, it has. But I waited it out under careful supervision from my pdoc (in a behavioral medicine ward) and it worked-I definately have found the medication beneficial and that is coming from one who was in denial-major non-med compliant-lost a doc or two because of that, and who has now understood that medication is a huge part of my recovery:-)
Did this help? Hope so,
Keep in touch.
==================================================================================================
But has this actually happened to you personally? I have been through many a med and many a side-effect (though actually I've been lucky with SEs in general), but I have had my depression go from moderate to crushing on day one or two of a medication, clearly because of the medication. Have you had this experience and ultimately found the medication beneficial?
Posted by viridis on March 11, 2003, at 23:42:17
In reply to Re: depression as transient side effect » Hattree, posted by Krissy P on March 11, 2003, at 18:29:33
So far, I haven't encountered a medication that caused major side effects at first and then helped later. The side effects may change, but if a med is really bad for me initially, it seems to stay bad, even if the side effects change somewhat. I'm not super-experienced, but I've tried enough that I think I can tell pretty quickly whether a med is going to be effective.
Benzos and stimulants work for me; benzos did make me feel a bit drowsy at first, but that wasn't a major problem and quickly went away. SSRIs and Wellbutrin freak me out, and although I got somewhat used to it, things didn't improve, even after months of use. Other drugs that I've tried weren't so bad, but if they didn't help initially, they didn't help in the long run either.
I know it's supposed to take weeks for some of these meds to kick in (and again, I'm not nearly as seasoned as some here), but my experience is that if a med doesn't work in the short term, it's not going to work in the long term either.
Posted by Krissy P on March 11, 2003, at 23:52:03
In reply to Re: depression as transient side effect, posted by viridis on March 11, 2003, at 23:42:17
Yep, you know your body better than anyone else-and I hear what you're saying. I really hope you find something that works for YOU:-)
Keep me posted and hang in there,
Kristen
==================================================================================================So far, I haven't encountered a medication that caused major side effects at first and then helped later. The side effects may change, but if a med is really bad for me initially, it seems to stay bad, even if the side effects change somewhat. I'm not super-experienced, but I've tried enough that I think I can tell pretty quickly whether a med is going to be effective.
Benzos and stimulants work for me; benzos did make me feel a bit drowsy at first, but that wasn't a major problem and quickly went away. SSRIs and Wellbutrin freak me out, and although I got somewhat used to it, things didn't improve, even after months of use. Other drugs that I've tried weren't so bad, but if they didn't help initially, they didn't help in the long run either.
I know it's supposed to take weeks for some of these meds to kick in (and again, I'm not nearly as seasoned as some here), but my experience is that if a med doesn't work in the short term, it's not going to work in the long term either.
Posted by Hattree on March 12, 2003, at 8:54:56
In reply to Re: depression as transient side effect, posted by viridis on March 11, 2003, at 23:42:17
I fear that this is true for me also, though I can't say for sure because there are some side-effects I can wait out (the Lamictal itch went away, for example) but so far increased depression hasn't been one of them.
> So far, I haven't encountered a medication that caused major side effects at first and then helped later. The side effects may change, but if a med is really bad for me initially, it seems to stay bad, even if the side effects change somewhat. I'm not super-experienced, but I've tried enough that I think I can tell pretty quickly whether a med is going to be effective.
>
> Benzos and stimulants work for me; benzos did make me feel a bit drowsy at first, but that wasn't a major problem and quickly went away. SSRIs and Wellbutrin freak me out, and although I got somewhat used to it, things didn't improve, even after months of use. Other drugs that I've tried weren't so bad, but if they didn't help initially, they didn't help in the long run either.
>
> I know it's supposed to take weeks for some of these meds to kick in (and again, I'm not nearly as seasoned as some here), but my experience is that if a med doesn't work in the short term, it's not going to work in the long term either.
Posted by JohnL on March 13, 2003, at 5:47:40
In reply to depression as transient side effect, posted by Hattree on March 10, 2003, at 20:57:29
I've tried a lot of meds that made my depression worse at first. I gave some of them good trials. But if they started out bad, they always continued bad. Sometimes it got a little better, sometimes a little worse, but generally speaking an initial downturn on a new med in my opinion is a clue that it is not the right med and is targeting the wrong chemistries in the wrong ways.
This phenomenon can actually be to your benefit. It can save a lot of time. If you get more depressed right away on a new drug, there's no need to carry on the trial any longer. Jump to your next choice instead. You see, just the same way as some meds will make you feel worse right away, some will make you feel better almost right away. Those are the ones you want to devote longer trials to.
In my book, the idea is to feel better, not worse. Any doc that tries to claim that a drug might make me more depressed before it starts to work is going to find that I am no longer his/her patient. That's ridiculous, absurd, and when talking about depression, risky in terms of suicide, broken families, and lost jobs.
Other people can suffer through a drug that makes them feel worse at first and hope they feel better later. More power to them. Some of them may indeed get better over time. But I won't play that game with my life.
> Has anyone had the experience of taking a medication for depression that caused worse depression at first, but later worked as an anti-depressant?
This is the end of the thread.
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