Are there temporary medications?

hi kiss, in terms of anti-deps, for something fast acting, maybe a mood stabiliser might help. epilim is a good one.

herbal, st.johns wort. esp for milder type. very good.

hoping you feel better soon. check with ya doc and or pharmicist.

with healing compassion, jamie.

Thank you so much for your advice!  I'm going to pick up some St. John's Wort today and see how that goes.  If I need something heavier, I'll definitely talk to my doc about the mood stabilizers.  Again, I really appreciate the help. 

Take care,

Kiss

K-
Please check with your doc (or at least a pharmacist) before starting on the St. John's Wort. It can interact with certain prescription meds.

Regarding ultra short term meds (1 day or so), I'm not sure where it's at for clinical trials, but I know it was in phase I some years ago -- Ketamine. Yes, there can be SEVERE side effects from the drug & they dose it differently than it's dosed for pain -- but they were looking at putting it on label for severe depressive (read: suicidal) episodes. Phase I went well & they were headed to phase 2 last I heard (I wanted to be in the trials, but was disqualified).

Also, one doc I saw recommended Marinol. I refused it for obvious reasons, but some people swear by it & say it gives quick relief. It is scheduled so you need a doc with a DEA license to prescribe it.

But with you saying that narcotics & alcohol help your "depression", I wonder whether you've ever been evaluated for anxiety. Depression & Anxiety often go hand-in-hand and it's not always easy to tell the difference. But alcohol & hydrocodone are both classified as CNS depressants so it would be hard to imagine who those would help with simple depression. Only a doctor could diagnose you (& maybe you've already been diagnosed?), but if it's anxiety instead of depression, there are all sorts of anti-anxiety meds that are fast acting. From my own personal experience, I would say the effect is similar to prescription narcotics. I don't like that zoned out feeling at all, but maybe it would be helpful to you.

Hope that helps. :)

frances

K-
You are so smart to try to get ahead of the game, so to speak. Depression & anxiety tend to respond much better to treatment when it is started early.

The one thing I would point out, very humbly & respectfully because I can certainly understand where you are coming from, when you are saying that you don't want to jump into any "heavy meds", hydrocodone is a very, very strong medicine. It is intended to treat acute physical pain when it is unresponsive to less aggressive treatments. I am not at all questioning that it is an appropriate medication for UC, but among those who consider narcotics to be an appropriate treatment for anxiety/depression, that would rate at the very farthest (most dangerous) end of the spectrum. If you do suffer from panic/anxiety, then something like Serax would be the least aggressive, "safest" treatment -- or perhaps something a bit stronger like Valium. Self-medicating with hydrocodone can be very dangerous, even if you are already on it & are only using it occasionally for depression/anxiety.

Counseling would be the least aggressive route, but if you need some additional support while working with a counselor (people often may use meds for several months when they are first starting out with counseling, partly because counseling can bring on some added stress when we first start to actually face problems head-on rather than avoiding them through food, alcohol, work, drugs, or other self-destructive behaviors).

But beyond that, I would point out using narcs for non-physical pain will over time lessen their effectiveness on your physical pain. A long time ago I struggled with using Ultram for an occasional really stressful day. I only had so many doses per month & while it only happened 1-2 times per month, I grew less able to handle stress on bad day & would get totally overwhelmed more often.

Once I got my stress a bit more under control, my physical pain decreased as well (even though I have a degenerative condition) and I was able to take fewer meds for my pain. I was on Serax for about 4 months, maybe 3x/week as needed. It worked very well & was a much safer alternative to Ultram. Plus, I had the peace of mind knowing that I didn't need to hide using it from my neurologist. :) Peace is the best gift of all.

That's crazy that your PCP diagnosed your UC as hemorrhoids. I agree that you probably should get a second opinion from a specialist. If you do go in search for a psychiatrist, try to find one who has worked with patients with UC and knows how to select meds accordingly. Some people with UC have posted that when their doctor tested for how much medicine was actually getting into their system that certain delivery systems worked much better than others. Not sure what all options might be available, but it would be good to have a doc who knows about those kinds of things. ;)

wishing you peace,
frances

K-
We all do the best we can. I wasn't offended at all. It's a big decision you're facing. I hope things are going well for you & you are getting the relief you deserve. :)

blessings,
frances

PS -- You mentioned non-drug treatments. Originally I assumed that this was life-or-death level of depression. If that's the case, you need professional help. But if you'd like more info or would like to try some different relaxation techniques & stress reduction, Mayo has a good on-line resource. It has a 3-part navigation on the left side that takes you through informational materials, stress reduction strategies & relaxation techniques. It can be found at www.mayoclinic.com/health/stress-management/my00435