Anti depressants

marine1

marine1

Honorary Master
Joined
Sep 4, 2006
Messages
50,703
Reaction score
3,232
Location
A black hole in the universe - JHB
Need some advice, close friend having issues.
Been on cirpralex for a few yrs after having bad post parton depression.

She didn't see any benefit long term and the doc changed the meds recently to Zoloft.

She wants to stop taking these completely as she just feels its not benefitting her.

What's your advice on this?
I am not in a position to offer advice, the doc says its ok to go off.
 
Does she feel she needs to take something?

How long has she been on the Zoloft? The meds will take anything from a few weeks to a few months to have a noticeable effect, so it's easy to think they are not doing anything.

Finally, if she stops, she must do it carefully, and not cold-turkey, as that is quite dangerous.

The bottom line is that if she needs medication to function, she will have to try various options, until she finds one that suits her. If she doesn't need it it, all the better.
 
Thanks copa, well look she has had a tough time emotionally - relationship etc.
She is not depressed as she gets up for work and functions every day in society.

She will be weaned off by doc but yeah makes sense about the time it takes to see effect. I guess we both don't know enough about zoloft.
I think the thing here is the piLls aren't going to fix the problem but I don't know if she shld wait a while before going off or go off and then see if she feels she needs to go back on
 
marine1 said:
Thanks copa, well look she has had a tough time emotionally - relationship etc.
She is not depressed as she gets up for work and functions every day in society.
Click to expand...

This is a concern, either she's not depressed, in which case she should not be taking anti-depressants, or the medication is in fact functioning, and she will have an enormous crash when she stops using it, been there got the t-shirt, it's not pretty...

She will be weaned off by doc but yeah makes sense about the time it takes to see effect. I guess we both don't know enough about zoloft.
I think the thing here is the piLls aren't going to fix the problem but I don't know if she shld wait a while before going off or go off and then see if she feels she needs to go back on
Click to expand...

Pills don't generally fix the problem, but they do enable people to function, and therefore face the things that cause and/or exacerbate the depression. Also, some people are just naturally chemically imbalanced, and in this case the pills do indeed actually 'fix' the problem, for all intents and purposes.
 
It really depends on what you mean "doctor." No matter how good your GP may be in other respects, they DO NOT understand depression and bipolar well enough to be handing out pills. If her meds are not working, she should go see a psychiatrist, who will be able to diagnose and treat as appropriate.

I have someone in my family with quite severe bipolar disorder, who have been treated by GPs for depression for a decade before making the switch and the change is startling. For periods, the meds seemed to work, but the longer term trajectory has always been downward. Having bipolar treated as depression or vice versa is very dangerous. You do not want to witness the hell that may result.
 
marine1 said:
Need some advice, close friend having issues.
Been on cirpralex for a few yrs after having bad post parton depression.

She didn't see any benefit long term and the doc changed the meds recently to Zoloft.

She wants to stop taking these completely as she just feels its not benefitting her.

What's your advice on this?
I am not in a position to offer advice, the doc says its ok to go off.
Click to expand...



I agree with the posters saying the Doctor isn't in a position to understand depression well enough or her true state.

If she is potentally bipolar Cobus is right as the mediaction could induce mania/hypermania(periods of hyperactivity and being super happy for a day or busy), or rapid cycling, her moods change constantly.

Post parton depression is usually caused by an imbalance of the brains neurochemicals along with all the hormone changes that occurred when she had her baby.

This 'imbalance' never just dissipates for good and i agree that she needs to go to a psychiatrist for a range of tests, including a thyroid blood test(GP can order this test too), which is very common in woman, especially woman who have had children.

The symptoms often mimic bipolar so that should be your number one priority,and i would be shocked if this test wasn't done on her already.


Trying only 2 different types of antidepressants is still not enough and it can take up to 3 or 4 attempts to find the right meds as everybody is different.It could take up to around 2 months for the pills to start working so i trust this much time has elapsed.


Weaning herself off of the meds very slowly is her choice once the tests and consultation from an expert state she is fine however, she might always need meds depending on the severity of her depression, as her seritonin levels(your feel good chemicals), could be very very low.

Finally i hope she is taking a daily dose of Omega 3 fish oil pills/capsules(preferably omega 3,6,9), as this is very good at improving her mental well being and they are often called natures happy pills, due to naturally boosting the brains seritonin.
It takes around a month to start working too so i recommend it.


I wish your wife the best and don't let her give up on finding the right combination of meds if it isn't her thyroid as her long term happiness is at stake here despite how she may persieve it.
 
Last edited:
Did the doctor make the diagnosis? If so, she needs to see a psychiatrist asap and he will help to ween her off the drugs having no effect and on to something more appropriate for her.

Anti-depressants are a hit-and-miss and even psychiatrists will admit to it being more of an art-form than an exact science. The fact that her doctor is oblivious to this and continues to prescribe drugs without a referral to a psychiatrist is worrying...
 
DJ... said:
Did the doctor make the diagnosis? If so, she needs to see a psychiatrist asap and he will help to ween her off the drugs having no effect and on to something more appropriate for her.

Anti-depressants are a hit-and-miss and even psychiatrists will admit to it being more of an art-form than an exact science. The fact that her doctor is oblivious to this and continues to prescribe drugs without a referral to a psychiatrist is worrying...
Click to expand...

This ^^
 
First things first , if the doc prescribed it then I wont neccesary go of it in my opinion, then secondly people can function 100% correct on the outside like going to work , eating , sleeping etc etc but still be severely depressed.

In my experience the meds calm things down a lot and takes away what I would call the noise. Its like listening to your favourite song with the bass turned down and treble turned up. It just don't sound the same. Now imagine life like that , what you see , feel , speak , listen , breathe etc.

So my advice is to seek advice from a professional and don't under any circumstances allow her to take herself off the meds becos she thinks she is okay.

There is no shame in seeking help and admitting that you need meds to have a "normal" life.
 
sparticus said:
First things first , if the doc prescribed it then I wont neccesary go of it in my opinion, then secondly people can function 100% correct on the outside like going to work , eating , sleeping etc etc but still be severely depressed.

In my experience the meds calm things down a lot and takes away what I would call the noise. Its like listening to your favourite song with the bass turned down and treble turned up. It just don't sound the same. Now imagine life like that , what you see , feel , speak , listen , breathe etc.

So my advice is to seek advice from a professional and don't under any circumstances allow her to take herself off the meds becos she thinks she is okay.

There is no shame in seeking help and admitting that you need meds to have a "normal" life.
Click to expand...

PPD is a term thrown around too easily these days. A depressed person cannot work , eat or sleep like a normal person. People die of depression , some via suicide and lots die from their body shutting down.

Weaning someone of their meds isn't a bad idea as long as they're seeing a Psychologist(at least).

The newer Antidepressant drugs like Zoloft & Cipralex are NOT habit forming like the older drugs.

Going cold turkey can work too due to the above reason , just as long as there is support.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X