I'm so tired

I think when I got on pm 2 years ago I was so happy that someone was going to help stop the pain that I didnt realize just how much of my life I had to change. I feel so lucky to have a pm doc that I feel selfish to to be angry about the things I cant do anymore.  But in the past month I've been feeling so blah.  I know I'm probably depressed and I do have a bottle of cymbalta infront of me that I'm afraid to take as I have a fear of meds(you wouldnt believe how long I stared at my first bottle of oxy before I convinced myself to take it!!) But I know eventually I'm going to have to bite the bullet and just do it. But do anti depressants make you feel happy and change the way you feel? what do they really do. I've beeen doing these treatments that arent working(everything for IC only works for 50% of people) I've always managed to convince myself that I would fall into the 50% for at least one treatment, and even though there isnt any treatment that has a cure they can help or cause a remission.  But I feel like I'm running out of options and have finally realized this condition may be forever.  And that thought is exhausting and overwhelming.  Will anti depressants change that feeling or just help me to be okay with it.  Because I dont have a paying job but have managed to stay active in my community, I have alot of time on my hands(hence why I'm on this forum 10 out of 24 hours) so I have a million hobbies, but how much longer can I really make soap and bath stuff...my husband wants to kill me because I've filled every cabnet with stuff we can never use up in this life time!! I guess I just want to know if anti depressants made a big diffrence in the way anyone feels. My doc perscribed them for pain, but I'm sure she thinks I'm becoming a little depressed too.

Thanks for the replies...I'm just kind of lookind for someones own experience as to what an anti depressant did for them, not the text book description. I really do appriciate the replies though. Maybe I'll have better luck on the depression forum
Thanks for the suggestion gramps-to look at the precautions...I unfortunitly usually do...sometimes I'm so floored by all the warnings. Some seem like more trouble than any possible benefit!! But I'll pay special attention to these

Thank you all so much for the replies. Part of me really wants to take it, and although I do feel depressed I dont know if its situational and just a down couple of moths or something that is going to continue and I should take the extra help. I hear what your saying chutzie, I too have a tendancy for the 'tough it out' way of going...but I guess when the help is there, its there and I should take advantage of it. Just like the forums..thought I could handle everything all myself...but even visiting here everyday has really helped me feel like I'm not alone. I'm glad I finally realized I dont have to be super woman...( like everyone around me doesnt see through that anyhow!!) I guess there is no harm in trying it.
But I totally understand how you feel Gramps when they push for a certain drug because they get something out of it. I heard Cymbalta is really hot on the market right now. I wonder what the docs get in return for pushing it??

I've heard of quaaludes. Too bad they dont make them anymore, because it sounds like we could all benefit from something like that, I would love to have a good laugh at my pain...what I wouldnt give to jump around, run, dance...Maybe they have something in the works that will make us forget what physical pain even is...ahhh, what a crazy dream!!

Hazel,
It's important for all of us cp sufferers to know that the same neurological pathways & biochemistry that create chronic pain also create depression. It's related to the same neurotransmitters, and that's what effexor and cymbalta - more than the other anti-depressants like prozac - are designed to help with. The depression is definitely NOT in our heads, and the right anti-depressant, at the right dose can help you feel more like you. It's true as has been said anti-depressants aren't happy pills, and you have to take them every day for them to work. Frequently they take 4-6 weeks to reach maximum effectiveness, and you may have some side effects. Some common side effects can go away in a week or two, but your MD or pharmacist can tell you what to watch for. I'd just suggest you give consideration to trying one. Living with cp is bad enough; add depression and life really becomes bleek. I speak from one who knows. I tried cymbalta and it helped with the symptoms in my feet, but I had some problems because I also have a seizure disorder and the cymbalta seemed to affect that, but I had no other side effects. I'm seeing my neurologist this week and am going to ask for effexor, as I can't stand the depression and crying and feeilngs of hopelessness. Thank goodness for this board!

gramps, you're cracking me up! 714 sound familiar? LOL! :-D

hazel, I started taking lexapro a few years ago for depression - years and years of it since I hit puberty. My attitude was like that of my family: get over it, pull yourself up by your own bootstraps and get on with it. Sometimes that worked, most times not. I can thank my dog for finally getting treated. When he died, I completely fell apart. Cried all the time and just couldn't stop. I was lucky. The first pill made a huge difference. It's not a "happy" pill, but it clears the cobwebs out of your brain so life isn't just an overwhelming black hole. My brother has a very ill 4 year old son, and I had to do some big time PR work to get him to speak to his doctor about his depression. He finally started lexapro a few months ago, and now he is dealing with everything so much better. He is simply amazed at the results.

One way to avoid side effects is to increase your dose much slower than the doctors usually recommend. Both me and my husband felt like we had a charcoal pit burning in our stomachs the first few days, so we cut the 10 mg pills in quarters. It took a couple weeks to get to the full dose, but escaped the gastro issues that way. I don't know about cymbalta, but drinking is a huge NO NO with lexapro. My husband and a co-worker discovered that one beer too many lead to memory blackouts where the entire night was wiped out of their memories. Apparently that's not at all uncommon with lexapro.

If cymbalta doesn't help you, Lord knows there are plenty of others to try. Even if it doesn't touch your pain, having a clear head will still help you deal with it all better.