Depression /lifelong struggle

Hi,
I know I have to be on meds for life.......tried coming off them several times each time the depression coming back worse. I m almost maxed out of my effexor 225mg be each time I have to keep upping the dose. Is there hope that other meds will work to keep me stable until I die?
I worry I'll become medication resistant.

I guess I am becoming also medication addicted and losing it.

My family is not supportive and it's very hard on me alone.


Medications can only do so much.You will be fine .Just be consistent with meds .

I missed few doses this week and I can see downswing already .
It's scary feeling.

Sad,

You doc can supplement the Effexor with an anti-anxiety med or other depress med. Just ask.

Also, do you use any daily skills to keep your self focused on the positive?

We have a saying in support group, "We have [a diagnois, but the diagnosis] does to have us.

The skills I use the most are the following:

meditation
walking 10 mins, a day at least
piano, teaching myself
art, drawing, color [ you do not have to be good to get your emotions
out, and get balanced]
yoga
ice, when the dark urges come. Hold the ice til it hurts my hands.

I hope this help in some way.

Peace
Trina

Thanks to you all. I will have hope that my illness will be stabilized for the remainder of my life. Bc truthfully, I don't think I can live with this illness without treatment. It's too painful. I hope research finds new medications for us bc we need as many options as we can get.
People with depression are warriors-we can take alot. Much respect to all of you

RonaldoRoss,

I see by your profile you are promoting Viagra. I hope your post was sincere.

I agree Lynnwood. I just saw the Viagra ad in his post. I must be blind this morning.

Thanks...

Hugs, Karen....

My dad is the same, every time he comes off ads his depression starts to recur after 6-12 months. He has been on them for a while now and says he's never coming off them again, and he's been fine. At one point his old ad didn't seem to help when he went back on it but he found another that works.

I know someone with bipolar that was on huge doses of medication for a long time and still struggling. She's now in her 80s and almost completely off medication and doing fine. We never really know what the future holds, you may not even need the medication later in life like this woman I know. All we can do is focus on the here and now, and try not to let all those anxious thoughts get to us. It's hard, sometimes they never shut up, but I've found writing down an anxiety log helps me put them to one side and not feel like I'm ignoring them, I pick a short period every so often to go through the log and see if there is anything I can address or actually do something about. It doesn't always work great but every little helps

Andy
my email is on my profile ☺

The pristiq works just as well. The Effexor didn't stop working. It went generic and I took brand name for about 15 years. The doctor put me on pristiq because sometimes the generic can be a little different (though they wont admit that) and my insurance probably would not give me brand name. So I gradually went on pristiq (with no withdrawal effects at all) and I have been on it for six years. The only difference is I would get brain zaps on Effexor with a high dose once in awhile. Never on the pristiq.

Best wishes!

Hugs, Karen...